Gendered Power Relations

Citation:

Authors: B.A. Usman, O.F. Akinola

Abstract:

Women tend to be exposed to more restrictions in their mobility requirements than men and a lot of evidence from research has shown that there are differences between males and females in terms of the access, usage pattern and burden of transport. This study examines the usage of transport modes, transportation problems and adaptation strategies of male and female students in Ilorin city. A total of 381 students were sampled from four higher educational institutions in the city. The data were analysed using simple percentages, tables, graphs and chi-square statistical technique. Results show that more males (16.7%) than females (9.2%) travel by bus while 28.3% of the females as against 23.3% of the males travel to school by taxi. Magnitude of various transportation problems was also found to differ between the sexes. The difference in modal choice between the males and females was however, not significant at 0.05 level of significance. In addition, the study shows that the male and female students significantly perceive the magnitude of the various transportation problems differently and also significantly differ in their adjustment to these problems. Recommendations include the provision of more on-campus hostel accommodation particularly for female students, provision of more school buses and adoption of separate queues for males and females at bus stops.

Keywords: gender differences, travel behavior, campuses, transport modes, transportation problems

Topics: Gender, Gender Roles, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Infrastructure, Transportation Regions: Africa, West Africa Countries: Nigeria

Year: 2017

Citation:

Kronsell, Annica, Lena Smidfelt Rosqvist, and Lena Winslott Hiselius. 2016. “Achieving Climate Objectives in Transport Policy by Including Women and Challenging Gender Norms: The Swedish Case.” International Journal of Sustainable Transportation 10 (8): 703-11.

Authors: Annica Krosnell, Lena Smidfelt Rosqvist, Lena Winslott Hiselius

Abstract:

This article explores whether women can become the change agents for a sustainable transport sector and how such a change can be accomplished through transport policy. Based on the Swedish case, women still on average have transportation behavior with lower environmental impact than men have; women also tend to have stronger preferences for improving sustainability in the sector. The results imply that there are interesting behavior and attitude characteristics expressed by women that ought to be recognized and applied, e.g., through contesting prevailing norms and methods, in order to achieve sustainability goals for the sector. Altogether this suggests that women, beyond democracy reasons, should become more active as change agents to challenge the dominant male norms. Policy implications of these findings include measures to improve gender equal participation that would, e.g., make it possible to take advantage of these differences by (1) putting more emphasis on the relationships among travel patterns, sustainability, and gendering on all levels in transportation planning as a measure for improved sustainability; (2) implementing new ways of framing the problems to be solved, challenging existing norms working against gender equity and raising consciousness of sustainability issues; and (3) using gender mainstreaming to monitor policy impacts on different groups of men and women. However, today there is a lack of incentives to apply these tools. Since there is a tremendous complexity in the relationships on all levels, more research is needed together with improved dissemination of knowledge for the competence to increase within the transport sector. 

Keywords: attitudes, CO2 emissions, gendered institutions, sustainability transitions, travel behavior

Topics: Gender, Gender Roles, Women, Gender Mainstreaming, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equity, Infrastructure, Transportation Regions: Europe, Northern Europe Countries: Sweden

Year: 2016

Citation:

Authors: A. W.-T. Lo, D. Houston

Abstract:

Directing growth towards denser communities with mixed-use, accessible, and walkable neighborhood design has become an important strategy for promoting sustainability, but few studies have examined whether compact development strategies could help reduce within-household gender disparities in spatial behavior by increasing accessibility. We analyze spatial behavior of heterosexual married couples in Southern California based on the 2012 California Household Travel Survey and find that households living in areas with greater regional accessibility and neighborhood walkability have smaller, more centered, and more compact activity spaces overall compared to households in less compact areas, and that married pairs living in more accessible areas have greater equality in the size and centeredness of their activity spaces. We account for residential selection bias in our multivariate analysis and find that a ten unit increase in near-residence Walk Score was associated with a 12–18% decrease in activity space size, a 6–8% decrease in residential distancing, and a 12–13% increase in spatial concentration for both men and women. Men and women, however, had significantly different activity space behaviors regardless of their neighborhood type. Compared to women, men on average had larger activity spaces and conducted their activities farther from home. Overall, results support our hypothesis that compact development provides married couples greater flexibility in how they divide household out-of-home activities by making destinations more convenient and lowering the overall spatial fixity of these activities. Future research and planning efforts should carefully consider which aspects of compact, accessible development are most effective for a given local context.

Topics: Development, Gender, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Households, Infrastructure, Transportation Regions: Americas, North America Countries: United States of America

Year: 2018

Citation:

Haina, Lu. 2019. “Adding a Gender Perspective to China's Belt and Road Initiative as an International Human Rights Obligation.” Frontiers of Law in China 14 (4): 455-77.

Author: Lu Haina

Abstract:

China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has a significant impact on the gender equality of receiving countries. It is noted that many BRI countries are facing challenges to realizing gender equality. Nevertheless, China has not developed a gender-mainstreaming or rights-based approach to implement the BRI. Hence, this paper argues that it is China’s international human rights obligation to develop such an approach and the country should adopt a gender policy in its BRI to ensure that its overseas investments and aid programs respect and promote gender equality. First, this paper maps China’s overseas investments and aid globally and particularly in BRI countries, and examines, in general, how the BRI may have an impact on gender equality both globally and in BRI countries. Second, the paper reviews international standards on gender equality in transnational trade and foreign investment and aid projects in the context of international human rights’ norms. It clarifies China’s obligations to promote gender equality within the BRI framework under international law. Third, based on the aforementioned findings, this paper conducts a gap analysis on the gender policy followed by China’s overseas investment and aid programs set within the context of international standards. Finally, the paper recommends some possible policy steps to ensure gender equality is mainstreamed in BRI projects of China.

Keywords: gender equality, Belt and Road Initiative, BRI, China's overseas investment, foreign aid, human rights

Topics: Development, Gender Mainstreaming, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Infrastructure, International Law, International Human Rights, Multi-National Corporations, Privatization, Rights, Human Rights Regions: Asia, East Asia Countries: China

Year: 2019

Citation:

Khoja-Moolji, Shenila. 2018. Forging the Ideal Educated Girl: The Production of Desirable Subjects in Muslim South Asia. Oakland: University of California Press.

Author: Shenila Khoja-Moolji

Annotation:

Topics: Class, Coloniality/Post-Coloniality, Development, Education, Gender, Girls, Women, Gendered Power Relations, Patriarchy Regions: Asia, South Asia Countries: India, Pakistan

Year: 2018

Relevant Links: Forging the Ideal Educated Girl: The Production of Desirable Subjects in Muslim South Asia

Citation:

Author: Ivone Gebara

Annotation:

Summary: "In her book, Latin American theologian Ivone Gebara brings together two contemporary strands of theological thought: Latin American liberation and ecofeminist theologies. Both engaging and critiquing her fellow Latin American colleagues, Gebara offers a critical assessment of the androcentrism and anthropocentrism of contemporary and historical theologies through an ecofeminist hermeneutic. One of the first monographs to extensively treat ecofeminism from a Latin American perspective, Gebara is influenced by her North American counterparts, especially Rosemary Radford Ruether and Sallie McFague." (summary from Michelle A. Gonzales, Journal of Hispanic/Latino Theology)

Table of Contents: 

Prologue

Introduction

Topics: Feminisms, Ecofeminism, Gendered Power Relations, Patriarchy, Religion Regions: Americas

Year: 1999

Citation:

Author: Leny G. Ocasiones

Abstract:

Land grabbing has been present in the Philippines for the past decades. It occurs when local communities and individuals lose access to land that they previously used, thus threatening their lives and livelihood. Civil society organizations that are skeptical toward the growing trend of large-scale acquisitions by foreign corporations, however, argue that land grabbing can be committed by domestic actors and sometimes in cooperation with foreign actors. Land grabbing raises important questions about the welfare, livelihood, and land security of farmers in the Philippines. Using archival sources, key informant interviews, and focus group discussions, this study investigates women's experiences of land grabbing and resistance among farmers of Aloguinsan, Cebu. This study reveals that land grabbing has profound impacts on the lives of the farmers and that women farmers are affected differently than men because women are generally considered a vulnerable group. Further, land grabbing generated fierce resistance from farmers, especially from women who developed creative ways to defend their lives, land and community. The study concludes that the resistance put up by the Aloguinsan farmers is gendered, and serves as a case of the feminization of resistance.

Keywords: land grabbing, feminization, resistance, women

Topics: Civil Society, Gender, Women, Gendered Power Relations, Land Grabbing, Livelihoods Regions: Asia, Southeast Asia Countries: Philippines

Year: 2018

Citation:

Author: Gideon Kofi Agbley

Abstract:

Keywords: land grabs, equity, efficiency, participation, sustainability

Topics: Development, Gender, Women, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equity, Land Grabbing, Livelihoods, Rights, Land Rights Regions: Africa, West Africa Countries: Ghana

Year: 2019

Citation:

Author: Sônia Fátima Schwendler

Abstract:

PORTUGUESE ABSTRACT:

O presente artigo analisa o processo pedagógico da luta de gênero que ocorre dentro da luta pela terra a partir do protagonismo das mulheres trabalhadoras do campo. Com base na literatura da temática da educação, gênero e movimentos sociais e, a partir de extensa pesquisa de campo desenvolvida no Sul do Brasil com mulheres e homens do Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra (MST) e com o Movimento de Mulheres Camponesas (MMC), este estudo evidencia os principais elementos que contribuíram para o empoderamento das mulheres camponesas e a mutação das relações de gênero na luta pela terra. Ao examinar o impacto da intencionalidade socioeducativa na transformação das relações de gênero, argumenta-se que o saber social produzido na luta político-organizativa, a partir de uma leitura de classe e da influência da teoria feminista, promove a organização das mulheres camponesas em torno das demandas estratégicas de gênero com vistas ao enfrentamento das desigualdades e da subalternização da mulher. Evidencia-se, no entanto, que apesar de sua importância, este processo pedagógico que emerge na dinâmica da luta social não é o suficiente para a transformação das relações de gênero. Há a necessidade de leis e políticas afirmativas que garantam à mulher condições efetivas de participação política, econômica e social.

ENGLISH ABSTRACT:

This paper analyzes the pedagogical process of gender struggle that takes place within the struggle for land from the agency of rural workers’ women. Based on the literature on education, gender and social movements and, from extensive field work carried out in southern Brazil with women and men of the Landless Workers Movement (Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra – MST) and the Peasant Women’s Movement (Movimento de Mulheres Camponesas – MMC), this study highlights the key elements that contributed to the empowerment of rural women and the shifting of gender relations within land struggle. When examining the impact of socio-educational intention in changing gender relations, it is argued that the social knowledge produced within the political-organizational struggle, from a class consciousness and the influence of feminist theory, promotes the organization of peasant women around strategic gender demands aiming to confront inequality and women’s subordination. It is evident, however, that despite its importance, this pedagogical process which emerges in the dynamics of social struggle is not enough for the transformation of gender relations. There is a need for laws and affirmative action policies that guarantee effective conditions for women’s political, economic and social participation. 

Keywords: education, gender, women, land reform, social movements, educação, género, mulheres, reforma agraria, movimentos sócias

Topics: Class, Education, Feminisms, Gender, Gender Roles, Men, Women, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Land Tenure, Political Participation, Rights, Land Rights Regions: Americas, South America Countries: Brazil

Year: 2015

Citation:

Franco Garcia, María, e Antonio Thomaz Júnior. 2002. “Trabalhadoras rurais e luta pela terra no Brasil: interlocução entre gênero, trabalho e território.” Terra Livre 18 (19): 257-72.

Authors: María Franco Garcia, Antonio Thomaz Júnior

Abstract:

PORTUGUESE ABSTRACT:

A construção de relações de gênero nos territórios de luta pela terra (assentamentos e acampamentos), dos trabalhadores e trabalhadoras rurais no Brasil, só pode ser compreendida a partir da processualidade social que os define. As funções sociais das trabalhadoras acampadas mudam uma vez que se transformam em assentadas, o que repercute diretamente na redução do seu espaço político e social. A preocupação que permeia esta interlocução radica na necessidade de desvendar processos estruturais e locais da divisão social e sexual do trabalho, que criam e reproduzem a ideologia hegemônica que por sua vez, direcionam as relações de gênero, com o objetivo de manter o status quo do controle social.

ENGLISH ABSTRACT:

The construction process of relations of gender inside Land Struggle’s territories (establishments and camps), of Brazilian Rural Workers Without Land, it can only be understood starting from the social process which defines them. The camped workers’ social functions change once they become to have seated, what directly rebounds in the reduction of their political and social space. The principal worry of our dialogue starts in the need of unmasking structural and local processes of social and sexual division of work, that create and recreate hegemonic ideology, which address the relations of gender with maintaining the status quo of the social control objective. 

Keywords: rural worker, territory, land struggle, relations of gender

Topics: Environment, Gender, Gender Roles, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Hierarchies, Political Participation, Rights, Land Rights Regions: Americas, South America Countries: Brazil

Year: 2002