tag:theconversation.com,2011:/africa/topics/gender-gap-17659/articles
Gender gap – The Conversation
2024-03-11T09:49:34Z
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/225377
2024-03-11T09:49:34Z
2024-03-11T09:49:34Z
Networking: an opportunity or an obstacle for women?
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/580668/original/file-20240227-30-hs49ph.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=62%2C27%2C4536%2C2561&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption"></span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/es/image-photo/diverse-business-people-dinner-party-1383546575">Rawpixel.com/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Networking can help to <a href="https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/CDI-12-2019-0289/full/html">build and improve</a> informal working relationships. When done right, it can be a mutually beneficial exchange among <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/2772990">individuals or groups</a>, often leading to new opportunities or even promotions, making it a fundamental ingredient of professional success. </p>
<p>However, despite its <a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/Interpersonal_Skills_in_Organizations.html?id=855XAAAAYAAJ&redir_esc=y">widely recognised benefits</a>, people can often feel uncomfortable or insincere when networking, and do not find it necessary or effective.</p>
<p>Understanding and confronting the challenges of networking is a crucial part of preventing talent loss, and of creating an equitable working environment.</p>
<h2>Women and networking</h2>
<p>The need for creating and expanding professional networks is especially pronounced for women, who are less represented than men in leadership roles, and often have to work harder to get noticed and advance in their careers.</p>
<p>In 2020, women occupied less than 30% of the highest ranking positions across the world, and <a href="https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/2022-09/Progress-on-the-sustainable-development-goals-the-gender-snapshot-2022-en_0.pdf">it has been predicted</a> that gender equality in management will not be reached for another century. Studies have shown that this gap cannot be exclusively attributed to <a href="https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/09649420310462361/full/html">women’s lack of training or ambition</a>: the gender dynamics of networking play an important role.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/2393451">A great deal of research</a> from the 1990s and early 2000s has shown that women frequently find themselves excluded from informal networks, which are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/job.253">mostly the domain of men</a>. Family responsibilities place further limits on women’s ability to take part in networking events outside of the regular working day. While men might share these responsibilities, they are much more likely to affect women.</p>
<p><a href="https://novapublishers.com/shop/gender-diversity-past-present-and-future-perspectives/">Our study</a> asks the question of whether the gendered impact of networking continues to fuel the gender gap in senior management, despite the cultural changes, policies of inclusion, diversity, equality and gender quotas that have emerged since earlier studies.</p>
<h2>How networking affects careers</h2>
<p>In our research, we analysed the experiences of 901 managers and executives (both male and female), with the aim of looking closely at the different impacts of networking on men’s and women’s careers. Data was gathered via an online survey, and included questions on networking habits (<a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1059601101263004">using the Forret and Dougherty scale</a>), as well as questions on career achievements such as promotions and raises.</p>
<p>The study confirmed a positive correlation between networking activities and professional success among both men and women. However, this general trend belies the fact that, for women, some networking practices may be more effective than others.</p>
<h2>A double-edged sword</h2>
<p>For women, networking is a double-edged sword, in that it can present both opportunities and obstacles to career progression. In particular, our results showed that women who strive to get noticed by taking on project leadership roles may actually be penalised in their long term career development, unlike their male counterparts. This disparity stems from entrenched gender norms and social expectations surrounding networking and social behaviour.</p>
<p>Women, often constrained by traditional gender roles, may find success in fostering professional relationships through informal channels, thus aligning themselves with social expectations of cooperation, care and socialisation. However, attempts to assert themselves through proactive action may have adverse consequences, as they risk being perceived as too aggressive or ambitious. This, in turn, can lead to dissatisfaction if it is not reflected in recognition or career advancement.</p>
<p>Our results highlight the need for companies to create an equitable working culture, where success is defined by talent and merit alone, and not by who gets noticed. In such an environment, qualified women would not miss out on being deservedly promoted or rewarded, which can result in feelings of discouragement and, ultimately, the loss of significant talent from a company.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/225377/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Miryam Martinez Martinez receives funding from the Spanish Plan Nacional de I+D+i, reference number PID2020-114183RB-I00.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gabriela Contreras receives funding from the Spanish Plan Nacional de I+D+i, reference number PID2020-114183RB-I00.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Susana González Pérez receives funding from the Spanish Plan Nacional de I+D+i, reference number PID2020-114183RB-I00.</span></em></p>
Making contacts and increasing visibility at work is not the same for men and women.
Miryam Martinez Martinez, Profesora Adjunta Área de Comercialización e Investigación de Mercados, Universidad CEU San Pablo
Gabriela Contreras, Assistant Professor, Radboud University
Susana González Pérez, Adjunct professor, Universidad CEU San Pablo
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/223870
2024-02-26T19:01:05Z
2024-02-26T19:01:05Z
QANTAS pays women 37% less, Telstra and BHP 20%. Fifty years after equal pay laws, we still have a long way to go
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/577858/original/file-20240226-21-g26oah.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=121%2C175%2C1774%2C915&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Men continue to outstrip women in the salary stakes, with men’s median annual salary $11,542 greater than women’s, according to newly released data for Australian private companies. It’s a gap of 14.5%, down from last year’s <a href="https://www.wgea.gov.au/data-statistics/data-explorer">15.4%</a>.</p>
<p>Men’s median annual base salary in 2022-23 of $79,613 compares to $68,071 for women.</p>
<p>When bonuses and overtime are added - common for high-paying jobs mostly held by men - the gap in total remuneration widens to $18,461, equivalent to 19% and hardly budging from the previous year’s <a href="https://www.wgea.gov.au/data-statistics/data-explorer">19.8%</a>). </p>
<p>This is the first time that the Workplace Gender Equality Agency, which annually reports gender pay gaps by industry, has released the names of actual companies and the differences in what they pay male and female employees.</p>
<p>In this year’s <a href="https://www.wgea.gov.au/data-statistics/data-explorer">snapshot</a> released on Tuesday, the difference is largest in male-dominated industries (including mining, construction and utilities), with a gender gap in base salaries of 17.5%.</p>
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<p>The <a href="https://www.wgea.gov.au/">WGEA</a> data is based on the median of workers’ annual salaries in all large private companies in Australia. The agency includes all workers and converts the numbers into full-time equivalent earnings.</p>
<p>The gap, highlighted in these figures, is the difference between what men and women in each company earn overall, as opposed to the differences between what they are paid for doing the same job.</p>
<p>While the latest <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/labour/earnings-and-working-conditions/average-weekly-earnings-australia/latest-release">ABS figures</a> for average weekly earnings released last week show women’s wages are improving, they are still lagging behind men.</p>
<h2>Which industries and companies?</h2>
<p>Companies have been required to report their gender pay gap to the WGEA for the past decade, but until now, these statistics relating to individual businesses have not been made public. </p>
<p>New laws mandating the publication of numbers mean we can now dive deeper into company spreadsheets and find out the size of the gender pay gap for <a href="https://www.wgea.gov.au/data-statistics/data-explorer">every private organisation in Australia.</a></p>
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<p>This data reveals that we can’t typify companies by industry. There are bad performing companies - as well as good performers - across all industries.</p>
<p>Among Australia’s biggest employers, the retailers had relatively low gaps in total remuneration, with Woolworths reporting 5.7%, Coles 5.6%, and Wesfarmers 3.5%.</p>
<p>The mining companies had much bigger gaps, with BHP Group reporting 20.3%, and Rio Tinto 13.5%.</p>
<p>Qantas reported 37% and Telstra Group 20.2%.</p>
<p>This new transparency is part of <a href="https://www.wgea.gov.au/about/our-legislation/publishing-employer-gender-pay-gaps#:%7E:text=From%202024%2C%20WGEA%20will%20publish,Federal%20Parliament%20in%20March%202023.">reforms</a> passed last year to the Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012, designed to spur companies to take more action on gender equity. </p>
<p>Of the almost 5,000 companies included in the WGEA report, almost 1,000 have a gender pay gap in median base earnings exceeding 20%. </p>
<p>About 350 of these have a gap of over 30% and for about 100, the gap is greater than 40%. </p>
<p>At the other end of the scale, there are about 1,000 companies where the pay gap favours women. These companies deal mainly in health, education and disability services where the high concentration of women means that senior roles are likely to be held by women.</p>
<h2>Who does this data empower?</h2>
<p>Pay gap transparency places public pressure on employers to do something about their gender pay inequities. </p>
<p>It equips employees with more information to take into their salary negotiations. This tackles the problem of “asymmetric information” where employers know where each worker sits on the pay scale, but employees don’t.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/now-youre-able-to-look-up-individual-companies-gender-pay-gaps-224167">Now you're able to look up individual companies' gender pay gaps</a>
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<p>Transparency gives customers and investors more information about whether a company is an equitable employer. They can use this new knowledge to make decisions about which companies to do business with.</p>
<p>This data empowers the whole Australian community. Any member of the public can go to the <a href="https://www.wgea.gov.au/data-statistics/data-explorer">WGEA data explorer</a> and search for any large private sector company to see the magnitude of their gender pay gap. </p>
<p>Supermarkets, banks, telecommunication companies, retailers, airlines, builders and energy providers are all on the list.</p>
<h2>But new knowledge needs to be followed by action</h2>
<p>While <a href="https://www.wgea.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/UK-Gender-Pay-Gap-Publication-Research-Brief-February-2024.pdf">evidence</a> on the benefits of transparency for closing the gender pay gap is promising, it’s not a silver bullet.</p>
<p>Firstly, while this public outing aims to spark stronger pressure on companies to take action, some companies will be more driven by public perceptions than others. </p>
<p>Evidence of how widespread these gender pay gaps are could even <a href="https://www.kcl.ac.uk/giwl/assets/bridging-the-gap-an-analysis-of-gender-pay-gap-reporting-in-six-countries-summary-and-recommendations.pdf">normalise</a> them, leading companies to reason they are not that out of step with others in their sector.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/577833/original/file-20240226-31-86coh6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/577833/original/file-20240226-31-86coh6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/577833/original/file-20240226-31-86coh6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577833/original/file-20240226-31-86coh6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577833/original/file-20240226-31-86coh6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577833/original/file-20240226-31-86coh6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577833/original/file-20240226-31-86coh6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577833/original/file-20240226-31-86coh6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">One of the biggest gaps in pay exists between men and women in mining.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/workers-discussing-on-going-job-2013337805">Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>Secondly, there are risks in expecting individual women to use this new information try to negotiate more strongly for a pay rise.</p>
<p>Women still face the risk of <a href="https://www.gap.hks.harvard.edu/knowing-when-ask-cost-leaning">backlash</a> for showing assertiveness in bargaining. Being armed with extra data does not necessarily shield against these other gender biases. </p>
<p>Thirdly, even if women can bargain successfully, studies suggest <a href="https://www.inclusionhub.com/articles/empowering-women-in-the-workplace-strategies-for-equality-leadership-career-advancement">pay transparency</a> mostly empowers senior women. This was the outcome in <a href="https://www.iza.org/publications/dp/13635/pay-transparency-initiative-and-gender-pay-gap-evidence-from-research-intensive-universities-in-the-uk">UK universities</a> where transparency led to more senior women securing a pay rise or switching to another higher-paying employer. Junior women with weaker bargaining power could not leverage this data in the same way.</p>
<p>Research shows that pay transparency can even worsen <a href="https://academic.oup.com/qje/article/133/2/611/4430649">morale</a>, <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jofi.13136">productivity and perceptions of fairness</a> if not also matched by clear explanations from employers on what actions they are taking to rectify inequities.</p>
<h2>Employers and governments now have to act</h2>
<p>With their gender pay gaps now in full view, the onus is on employers to adopt more equitable hiring, promotion and pay-setting practices.</p>
<p>This can even bring cost savings.</p>
<p>After Denmark mandated pay transparency, the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jofi.13136">gender pay gap narrowed</a>. Not because women’s wage growth accelerated, but because men’s faster wage growth slowed down. It means pay transparency can moderate employers’ wage bill.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/benevolent-sexism-in-startups-widens-the-gender-gap-by-advantaging-men-over-women-222486">'Benevolent sexism' in startups widens the gender gap by advantaging men over women</a>
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<p>While greater transparency of information is empowering, it alone will not be enough. It needs to be accompanied by actions.</p>
<p>The fact Australia’s gender pay gap has endured, even over <a href="https://theconversation.com/50-years-after-equal-pay-the-legacy-of-womens-work-remains-118761">50 years since equal pay was enshrined in law</a>, reflects a combination of society-wide factors, family dynamics, organisational culture and practices, and policy settings.</p>
<p>Actions also need to include evidence-informed policy, such as increasing access to affordable child care and expanding paid parental leave, to close the gender pay gap for good.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/223870/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Angela Jackson undertakes research consulting projects for state governments and non-for profits focused on achieving gender equity in Australia including closing the gender pay gap. Angela is currently a member of the Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee which will make recommendations to the Australian Government on measures to improve economic inclusion, including gender equity, ahead of the Commonwealth Budget.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Leonora Risse has undertaken research for WGEA and made a submission to the review of the Workplace Gender Equality Act. She serves as an Expert Panel Member on gender pay equity for the Fair Work Commission. She receives research funding from the Trawalla Foundation and the Women's Leadership Institute Australia. She is a member of the Economic Society of Australia and the Women in Economics Network.</span></em></p>
The naming for the first time of specific companies, not just industries, and what they pay their male and female workers is set to pressure employers to take action.
Angela Jackson, Lead Economist, Monash University
Leonora Risse, Associate Professor in Economics, University of Canberra
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/222486
2024-02-19T13:42:23Z
2024-02-19T13:42:23Z
‘Benevolent sexism’ in startups widens the gender gap by advantaging men over women
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575448/original/file-20240213-16-zum5sf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=16%2C16%2C3578%2C2376&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">It is not enough to remove the unfair barriers holding women back; we also need to confront the unfair privileges propelling men forward.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Women continue to face barriers in entrepreneurship, with <a href="https://ised-isde.canada.ca/site/women-entrepreneurship-strategy/en">only 17 per cent of small and medium-sized businesses being owned by women in Canada</a>. </p>
<p>To address this issue, the Canadian government has introduced the <a href="https://ised-isde.canada.ca/site/women-entrepreneurship-strategy/en/women-entrepreneurship-strategy-progress-report-2022">Women Entrepreneurship Strategy</a>. This strategy seeks to address the gender gap and biases in the Canadian venture capital system. </p>
<p>However, our understanding of the challenges women face in the startup ecosystem is limited. Past research has focused on overt <a href="https://journals.aom.org/doi/10.5465/amj.2016.1215">negative sexist attitudes that question women’s competence and suitability for entrepreneurship</a>.</p>
<p>This view overlooks the existence of more subtle, yet pervasive and socially acceptable, sexist attitudes that often go unnoticed. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusvent.2016.10.005">Given the sheer number of people interested or working in startups today</a>, from investors to suppliers to job applicants, the effects of these subtle forms of sexism can accumulate across a large and diverse group of decision-makers.</p>
<p>For initiatives tackling gender inequality in entrepreneurship to be effective, we must gain a deeper understanding of the effects of these subtle biases faced by women entrepreneurs.</p>
<h2>Benevolent sexism in entrepreneurship</h2>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.70.3.491">Benevolent sexism</a> is a form of bias that, on the surface, appears to be positive toward women, but ultimately reinforces gender roles and entrenches inequality.</p>
<p>Unlike overtly hostile forms of discrimination, benevolent sexism manifests in seemingly harmless beliefs. This type of sexism often portrays women as delicate or in need of protection, while men are positioned as the providers and protectors. </p>
<p>Because benevolent sexism is often expressed in ways that seem positive, it is rarely challenged by either men or women. It can serve to maintain traditional gender dynamics by creating the illusion of support for women while still restricting their autonomy. </p>
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<img alt="A figure of a woman standing on a stack of coins with a plastic cup placed over it. Beside it is a figure of a man standing on a taller stack of coins." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575439/original/file-20240213-16-l8bgb9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575439/original/file-20240213-16-l8bgb9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575439/original/file-20240213-16-l8bgb9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575439/original/file-20240213-16-l8bgb9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575439/original/file-20240213-16-l8bgb9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575439/original/file-20240213-16-l8bgb9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575439/original/file-20240213-16-l8bgb9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Benevolent sexism often portrays women as delicate or in need of protection, while men are positioned as the providers and protectors.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
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<p>In particular, research shows that benevolent sexism <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206310365902">undermines women at work and results in them holding fewer positions of power in organizations</a>. The startup ecosystem is particularly fertile ground for this kind of sexism to manifest and worsen over time.</p>
<p>Since <a href="https://ised-isde.canada.ca/site/women-entrepreneurship-strategy/en">women are more underrepresented in entrepreneurship than in traditional organizations</a>, startup evaluators are careful not to act on overt sexist attitudes. This, in turn, gives room for more subtle forms of bias to emerge.</p>
<h2>Benevolent sexism advantages men</h2>
<p>Our <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/10422587231178865">recent research paper</a> examined how benevolent sexism affects how evaluators judge woman- and man-led startups.</p>
<p>Initially, we theorized that startup evaluators with benevolent sexist views would more likely to rate women-led startups as less viable (i.e., more likely to fail). We did not expect their evaluation of men’s startups to be affected at all. </p>
<p>To test this hypothesis, we conducted three studies where participants were tasked with evaluating a hypothetical early-stage startup founded by either a man or a woman. Both entrepreneurs in our scenarios had identical qualifications and startup ideas.</p>
<p>The results from all three studies found that the more evaluators endorsed benevolent sexist beliefs, the more positively they judged men-led startups. There was no impact on the evaluation of women-led startups. This finding was the same, regardless of whether the evaluators themselves were men or women, in two out of the three studies.</p>
<h2>Addressing unwarranted advantages</h2>
<p>Our findings call for a fundamental rethinking of what attaining true equity entails. It is not enough to remove the unfair barriers holding women back; we also need to confront the unfair privileges propelling men forward. </p>
<p>This suggests that common solutions for addressing gender inequities are not sufficient. They mostly focus on barriers that women face, while ignoring the unwarranted advantages afforded to men. Such common solutions include focus on <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/43822387">women’s education, mentoring and networking</a>.</p>
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<img alt="Two sets of hands giving a thumbs down gesture and two sets of hands giving a thumbs up gesture" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575438/original/file-20240213-30-fhc5u2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575438/original/file-20240213-30-fhc5u2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575438/original/file-20240213-30-fhc5u2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575438/original/file-20240213-30-fhc5u2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575438/original/file-20240213-30-fhc5u2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575438/original/file-20240213-30-fhc5u2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575438/original/file-20240213-30-fhc5u2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">The study results found that benevolent sexism unfairly favours men-led startups.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>To effectively address the gender gap in entrepreneurship, we need to raise awareness about the hidden effects of benevolent sexism. This could be done through education and training of entrepreneurs, mentors and investors. Such interventions could communicate to these stakeholders that while benevolent sexism seems positive it is actually harmful.</p>
<p>Further, we need to redesign the startup evaluation process. The current ambiguous and unstructured conditions of startups allow subtle biases to emerge. </p>
<p>To address this issue, we need clearly defined and transparent criteria for evaluating startups. Indeed, past research shows that creating <a href="https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.2014.0950">clear structure, transparency and accountability in evaluation processes</a> are critical for reducing biased decision-making.</p>
<h2>Fix the system, not women</h2>
<p>Our research challenges traditional interventions that solely address overt sexist attitudes towards women. Many interventions suggest that women need to change. </p>
<p>For example, women are advised to <a href="https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2016.1215">change their communication and negotiation styles</a>. They are also advised to venture into more <a href="https://doi.org/10.1287/stsc.2022.0170">masculine and higher profile industries</a>.</p>
<p>Such advice overlooks the advantages men receive. As our research demonstrates, even when women have identical qualifications and ideas, men-led startups are seen as more promising. Moreover, well-intended initiatives designed to address gender gaps in entrepreneurship may <a href="https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2017.0087">backfire since they signal women need help, which propagates a benevolent sexist tone</a>.</p>
<p>This calls <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6520.2006.00138.x">for fixing the system rather than fixing women</a>. We need to address gender inequity by examining and changing evaluators’ attitudes and behaviours, as opposed to encouraging women to change.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222486/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nhu Nguyen received funding from the Ontario Graduate Scholarship (OGS). </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ivona Hideg's research has received funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Yuval Engel received funding from The Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Frederic Godart does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
For Canada’s new Women Entrepreneurship Strategy to be effective, we must gain a deeper understanding of sexism in startup spaces.
Nhu Nguyen, PhD Ccandidate in Management, McGill University
Frederic Godart, Associate Professor, Organizational Behavior, INSEAD
Ivona Hideg, Associate Professor and Ann Brown Chair in Organization Studies, York University, Canada
Yuval Engel, Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship, University of Amsterdam
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/219089
2024-01-25T16:08:07Z
2024-01-25T16:08:07Z
Women still face gender inequalities at work post-pandemic
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/570242/original/file-20240118-17-dxb1tf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=1535%2C26%2C4419%2C3961&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Women are still feeling the effects of COVID-19 , which resulted in job losses and reduced opportunities for women in the workforce.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/women-still-face-gender-inequalities-at-work-post-pandemic" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>The COVID-19 pandemic brought the longstanding economic inequalities between women and men into sharp focus. From the onset of the pandemic, up until the summer of 2022, <a href="https://theconversation.com/women-are-struggling-to-regain-lost-ground-in-the-workforce-after-covid-19-192313">economic gender gaps continued to widen</a>. </p>
<p>Lockdowns and economic uncertainties created a perfect storm, leading to job losses and reduced opportunities for women in the workforce. The increased burden of caregiving responsibilities placed an additional strain on women, often forcing them to make difficult choices between their careers and family obligations. </p>
<p>The situation peaked in 2020 when <a href="https://thoughtleadership.rbc.com/pandemic-threatens-decades-of-womens-labour-force-gains/">women’s workforce participation plummeted to levels not seen since the 1980s</a>. This decline marked a concerning setback in the progress women had collectively made in the workplace over the past few decades.</p>
<p>Now, looking back at how these gender inequalities have evolved since 2022, the overall picture is a bit more complex. The most recent data from <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=1410001701">Statistics Canada</a> shows that, while gender inequalities remain fairly large between women and men, there are also some exceptions.</p>
<h2>Inequality in the labour force</h2>
<p>Economists refer to people who look for paid work as being “in the labour force.” In terms of men and women who were looking for paid work in 2023, gender inequalities have not changed since the previous year.</p>
<p>Like in 2022, men are still more likely than women to be in the labour force in 2023. By November 2023, 71 per cent of men were looking for paid work, compared to only 61 per cent of women.</p>
<p>What accounts for this gender gap? Women’s absence in the labour force is often referred to as a personal choice for taking care of children. Many couples, <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/231205/dq231205a-eng.htm">faced with high childcare costs</a>, decide that one parent should stay home. Given that <a href="https://canadianwomen.org/the-facts/the-gender-pay-gap/">men’s take-home pay exceeds women’s</a>, this parent usually ends up being the mother in heterosexual relationships.</p>
<p>However, what is sidestepped in framing this as a choice are the broader societal conditions that contribute to this choice. Women’s absence from the labour force is often not a choice, but the result of factors outside their control. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="The silhouette of a woman sitting with her head resting against her hand while a toddler plays in the background" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/570233/original/file-20240118-27-mqijkh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/570233/original/file-20240118-27-mqijkh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=405&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570233/original/file-20240118-27-mqijkh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=405&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570233/original/file-20240118-27-mqijkh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=405&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570233/original/file-20240118-27-mqijkh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=509&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570233/original/file-20240118-27-mqijkh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=509&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570233/original/file-20240118-27-mqijkh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=509&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">While women leaving the workforce to take care of children is often framed as a personal choice, there are usually other factors at play.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>A good example is the high cost of childcare, which the federal government is trying to address with its <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/campaigns/child-care.html">$10-a-day childcare plan</a>. While some cities have seen childcare fees drop as a result, <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/10048549/canada-child-care-fees-report/">others are still falling short</a> of the federal government’s target.</p>
<p>Another contributing factor is the <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/220125/dq220125a-eng.htm">undervaluation of professions that tend to consist primarily of women</a>, like nursing and care work, even though they provide services crucial for society, as anyone who has been to the emergency department knows. </p>
<h2>Gender and unemployment</h2>
<p>When it comes to unemployment, the gender gap has dramatically changed: fewer women were unemployed in 2023 than men. In November 2023, five per cent of women in the labour force were unemployed, compared to six per cent of men. </p>
<p>This is a reversal from 2022, when <em>more</em> women were unemployed than men. While a gender gap in unemployment still exists, it now favours women slightly.</p>
<p>Shifting focus to employed individuals and the gender gaps in both part-time and full-time employment, the data shows that men in the labour force are more likely to have full-time jobs than women. In November 2023, 82 per cent of men in the labour force worked full time, compared to slightly less than 72 per cent of women. </p>
<p>Men, like women, worked less full-time in 2023 than in 2022; however, the decrease in full-time work has been most pronounced for men. In August 2022, 84 per cent of men in the labour force held full-time jobs, compared to slightly more than 72 per cent of women. The gender gap in full-time work continues to favour men, although it is narrowing.</p>
<p>The opposite is true for part-time work — women continue to work part-time more than men, with 23 per cent of women working part-time, compared to 13 per cent of men. This is an increase from 2022, when 21 per cent of women and 10 per cent of men worked part-time.</p>
<p>Overall, the gender gap in part-time work continues to favour women: women are still more likely to work part-time than men. </p>
<h2>Burden of childcare</h2>
<p>Statistics Canada’s data on why people work part-time sheds light on the gender gap in part-time work. In November 2023, slightly less than 27 per cent of women aged 25 to 54 worked part-time because they cared for children, compared to only 4.5 per cent of men. </p>
<p>This gender gap has widened since August 2022, when nearly seven per cent of men worked part-time because of caregiving, compared to a bit more than 27 per cent of women. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A middle-aged man washing dishes at a kitchen sink while holding a toddler in one arm" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/570219/original/file-20240118-23-ebhqc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/570219/original/file-20240118-23-ebhqc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570219/original/file-20240118-23-ebhqc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570219/original/file-20240118-23-ebhqc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570219/original/file-20240118-23-ebhqc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570219/original/file-20240118-23-ebhqc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570219/original/file-20240118-23-ebhqc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Only four per cent of men worked part-time because they care for children in 2023.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The slight drop in women working part-time due to caregiving could be explained by the <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/department-finance/news/2021/12/a-canada-wide-early-learning-and-child-care-plan.html">Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care Plan</a>, which made childcare more affordable.</p>
<p>Traditionally, <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-elections-matter-national-child-care-plan-could-create-workplace-gender-equality-169307">social norms hold women, not men, as the primary caregivers</a>. These norms could explain why fathers, more than mothers, stop working part-time because of caregiving when affordable childcare becomes available. However, research is necessary to provide a definitive answer.</p>
<p>Policy interventions, workplace reforms and community support are pivotal in creating an environment that empowers women to participate in the workforce and men to participate in carework at home. </p>
<p>Initiatives that address the root causes of gender disparities, such as affordable childcare, can contribute to levelling the playing field. Moreover, workplaces can help level the playing field by <a href="https://www.concordia.ca/news/stories/2023/12/05/workplace-culture-is-preventing-men-from-taking-paternity-leave-writes-claudine-mangen.html">enabling and encouraging fathers to take paternity leaves</a>. By understanding the factors at play and actively working towards solutions, we can work towards addressing and rectifying gender inequalities.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/219089/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Claudine Mangen receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. </span></em></p>
The most recent data from Statistics Canada shows that, while gender inequalities in the workplace remain fairly large between women and men, there are some notable exceptions.
Claudine Mangen, RBC Professor in Responsible Organizations and Full Professor, Concordia University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/213050
2023-11-29T13:40:27Z
2023-11-29T13:40:27Z
There’s a financial literacy gender gap − and older women are eager for education that meets their needs
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/557150/original/file-20231101-21-xv252p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=18%2C9%2C6211%2C4128&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Knowledge is power − especially where money is concerned.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/senior-woman-using-calculator-while-going-through-royalty-free-image/1672859584">Rockaa/E+/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Every day, families across the U.S. have to make difficult decisions about budgeting, spending, insurance, investments, savings, retirement and on and on. When faced with these choices, financial literacy – that is, knowing how to make informed decisions about money – is key.</p>
<p>Yet, Americans in general <a href="https://gflec.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/TIAA-Institute_GFLEC_P-Fin-Index-Finacial-literacy-and-wellbeing-in-a-five-generation-America_TI_Yakoboski_October-2021.pdf">aren’t very financially literate</a>. And recent research suggests <a href="https://helpageusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Report-V3-updated.pdf">women are less financially literate than men</a>, regardless of their schooling, income or marital status.</p>
<p>As a <a href="https://cesr.usc.edu/people/staff/lilarabi">social scientist</a> who studies aging and the social safety net, I recently took part in a large analysis of older women’s financial literacy. My team and I found that men’s financial literacy scores were 25% higher than women’s on average, even though the two groups showed no difference in math skills or overall cognitive ability. </p>
<p>Black and Hispanic women saw an even greater financial literacy gender gap, with scores that were, on average, 40% to 45% lower than those of white, non-Hispanic men.</p>
<h2>Why financial literacy matters later in life</h2>
<p>This gap is a big problem, especially as women approach older age. Because they tend to live longer – almost <a href="https://doi.org/10.1001/jamainternmed.2023.6041">six years</a> more than men, according to the latest figures – and <a href="https://www.nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w24429/w24429.pdf">leave the workforce earlier</a>, women face longer retirements. </p>
<p>And when they reach retirement age, women often have <a href="https://www.gao.gov/blog/growing-disparities-retirement-account-savings">inadequate savings</a>, in part because they face more <a href="https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1232354">family-related career interruptions</a> and are concentrated in <a href="https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2000/09/art3full.pdf">lower-paying jobs</a>.</p>
<p>Consider that in 2020, women who worked full time earned a median of <a href="https://www.bls.gov/opub/reports/womens-earnings/2020/home.htm">US$891 a week</a>, versus men’s $1,082. Their career interruptions, lower earnings and earlier retirements mean that female Social Security recipients get <a href="https://www.ssa.gov/news/press/factsheets/women-alt.pdf">only 80%</a> of the benefits that men do.</p>
<p>Financial education can’t erase the effects of decades of structural inequality, of course. But the evidence shows that it can <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2753510">make a difference</a> by helping women make more informed decisions for their future.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/swXHv0khiWY?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">A brief introduction to financial literacy concepts from New York University.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Demand for financial education is high</h2>
<p>Only 16% of women ages 40 to 65 have ever received any financial education, according to <a href="https://helpageusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Report-V3-updated.pdf">a survey of women my colleagues and I fielded in 2022</a>. Among African American, Native American and Asian American women, this figure falls to 8% to 10%.</p>
<p>Our survey also showed that behaviors that can help with financial security are patchy among respondents. Close to 30% never put money into an emergency fund or savings account, nearly 40% never put money into an investment or retirement account, and 60% have never talked to a financial professional. Tellingly, only 20% said they felt relaxed about their financial future.</p>
<p>But not all is doom and gloom: More than 70% of women in our survey said they were interested in receiving financial education. Demand was especially high among Hispanic/Latina (93%), Black (85%) and Asian American (80%) women.</p>
<p>Our survey respondents said they wanted to learn about long-term planning and other issues specific to their life stage, not just general money management principles. They also said they would prefer flexible programs that make it easy for busy people to participate, as well as those delivered by trusted agents in their communities, such as schools or community centers.</p>
<p>Right now, there aren’t many financial literacy programs specifically designed to address the needs of older women. But this research gives us a blueprint for future programs. Employers, financial service providers, community groups and national organizations all have an important role to play in empowering older women with the financial literacy skills they want and need.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/213050/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lila Rabinovich has received funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Michigan Retirement and Disability Research Center, and other foundations and agencies.</span></em></p>
Only a small fraction of women have received any financial education at all.
Lila Rabinovich, Social scientist, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/218454
2023-11-23T15:10:48Z
2023-11-23T15:10:48Z
What the autumn statement means for women – three economists explain
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/561312/original/file-20231123-27-eurfpd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=67%2C16%2C5540%2C3715&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/woman-reading-174190115">Image Point Fr/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>This year’s <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/autumn-statement-2023">autumn statement</a> was announced by the chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, on <a href="https://www.fawcettsociety.org.uk/equal-pay-day-2023">Equal Pay Day</a> – the day that UK women stop being paid when compared with men’s wages, due to the gender pay gap. It’s fitting then that the statement included some measures that could help working women – but in other areas, the government still isn’t going far enough.</p>
<p>It’s important to view economic announcements through a gender lens. We are three economists based at the <a href="https://www.aru.ac.uk/research/safe-and-inclusive-communities/research-institutes-centres-and-groups">Centre for Inclusive Societies and Economies</a>, a research centre focused on developing inclusive economic models.</p>
<p>Traditional models of the economy were developed before mass female engagement in the labour market. Newer, <a href="https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/IJSE-10-2020-0718/full/html?skipTracking=true">more inclusive models</a> better represent women’s experiences in the economy. It’s essential that women’s experiences are considered when setting economic policy to ensure it is fit for purpose.</p>
<p>There are three main areas in which major announcements were made by Hunt that could affect UK women. Among some positive developments, there is still much to do on issues such as equal pay, the gender gap in pensions savings, and equality in industries such as science and technology.</p>
<h2>1. Investing in industry and skills</h2>
<p>As part of Hunt’s plan to “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/nov/21/autumn-statement-jeremy-hunt-looks-to-cut-uk-taxes-and-turbo-charge-growth">turbo-charge</a>” the UK economy, the autumn statement focused on growth. Investments in NHS, social care and education workforce skills will help productivity.</p>
<p>The statement also promised <a href="https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/news-blog-and-events/press-and-media/funding-boost-to-degree-apprenticeships-skills-healthcare-and-science-courses/">£50 million for apprenticeship schemes</a> in engineering and other key areas of labour shortage. And there will be a <a href="https://www.theengineer.co.uk/content/news/government-announces-45bn-funding-for-uk-manufacturers/">£4.5 billion fund</a> available for manufacturing over the five years to 2030, covering important UK industries such as aerospace firms, life sciences (medical research), and the green industry. </p>
<p>The chancellor also repeated the government’s aspiration for the UK to become an “<a href="https://www.politico.eu/article/rishi-sunak-ai-technology-wants-to-lead-the-world-on-ai-the-world-aint-listening/">AI powerhouse</a>”, and is pumping £500 million into “innovation centres” over the next two years to achieve this. A plan to <a href="https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-8534/">reverse the downward trend</a> of foreign direct investment in the UK will involve establishing a “concierge service” for large international investors, to encourage more spending by non-UK firms and, hopefully, an increase in jobs.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/spring-budget-2023-free-early-years-places-extended-but-needs-of-children-and-staff-must-not-be-forgotten-201309">Spring budget 2023: free early years places extended – but needs of children and staff must not be forgotten</a>
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<hr>
<p>The significant investment awarded to building skills and innovation in the autumn statement also built on the childcare funding <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/spring-budget-2023-speech">announced in the spring budget</a>, which aims to support working parents. But if these financial plans are to help women too, the real challenge will be in enabling the social change needed to ensure women have fair access to roles in these male-dominated industries. </p>
<p>Women make up only <a href="https://www.stemwomen.com/women-in-stem-statistics-progress-and-challenges#:%7E:text=How%20many%20women%20and%20non,are%20women%20or%20non%2Dbinary.%20%22%22">31% of all core STEM</a> university students in the UK, and this drops to 21% in engineering and 23% in computer science. Any plan to boost UK productivity and growth through these industries must ensure enough women have access to these new engineering apprenticeships and benefit from the investment in innovation centres. This will help ensure gender diversity when UK companies are creating solutions to important global issues such as the effective use of AI.</p>
<h2>2. Pensions boost</h2>
<p>To “<a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/autumn-statement-2023-speech#:%7E:text=%E2%80%93%20showing%20this%20government%20will%20always%20back%20our%20pensioners.">back our pensioners</a>”, the chancellor announced that he would remain committed to the pensions “triple lock” in the autumn statement. This is a commitment to raise state pension payments annually every April by the highest out of average annual earnings growth (from May to July the previous year), inflation (using the previous September figure), or 2.5%. Earnings growth was the highest this year, so from April 2024 <a href="https://www.cspa.co.uk/news/chancellors-autumn-budget-statement-confirms-triple-lock/#:%7E:text=This%20means%20that%20from%20April,more%20a%20year%20for%20pensioners.">the full state pension</a> will rise by 8.5% to £221.20 a week, worth up to £900 more a year. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/inflation-may-be-coming-down-but-its-unequal-effects-can-still-have-a-big-impact-on-wellbeing-208854">Inflation may be coming down but its unequal effects can still have a big impact on wellbeing</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>This will help pensions keep pace with inflation, which has been at record levels for much of the past year. But the focus on the triple lock obscures the real pension reform needed to address <a href="https://ifs.org.uk/publications/gender-gap-pension-saving">the gender gap in pension saving</a>. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.nowpensions.com/app/uploads/2022/10/gender-pensions-gap-report-2022-080622.pdf">More women are pensioners than men</a> and yet, often due to complex National Insurance contribution rules, they are less likely to receive a full pension. The <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/gender-pensions-gap-report">pension gap</a> is also evident in work-based pensions, where pay inequality means pension contributions are lower for women.</p>
<p>Fair and inclusive pension reform will ensure a full state pension for all and make a significant contribution to addressing pensioner poverty.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Jeremy Hunt holding autumn statement document, talking to two female colleagues." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/561315/original/file-20231123-27-ip858v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/561315/original/file-20231123-27-ip858v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/561315/original/file-20231123-27-ip858v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/561315/original/file-20231123-27-ip858v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/561315/original/file-20231123-27-ip858v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/561315/original/file-20231123-27-ip858v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/561315/original/file-20231123-27-ip858v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Chancellor Jeremy Hunt at the Treasury before announcing the autumn statement in parliament on November 22 2023.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/hmtreasury/53348907165/">Kirsty O'Connor, Treasury/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>3. Cutting taxes for the self-employed</h2>
<p>National Insurance (NI) rules are not just complex for pensioners; they often cause headaches for the self-employed too. The removal of the Class 2 contributions in the autumn statement, and <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/autumn-statement-2023-national-insurance-factsheet/autumn-statement-2023-national-insurance-factsheet#:%7E:text=0.3%20Cutting%20National%20Insurance%20for%20the%20self%2Demployed">the reduction of Class 4 NI</a> by 1p, means more money for the self-employed. “These reforms will save around 2 million self-employed people an average of £350 a year from April,” Hunt said in his speech to parliament. </p>
<p>And it could help revive a part of the economy that was hit hard by COVID. Self-employment was growing steadily in the UK, hitting <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/318234/united-kingdom-self-employed/#:%7E:text=As%20of%20July%202023%2C%20there,at%20the%20start%20of%202020.">a peak of 5 million</a> at the start of 2020. But since then, the number of self-employed has fallen back to mid-2015 levels. </p>
<p>With women making up <a href="https://www.ipse.co.uk/policy/research/women-in-self-employment/women-in-self-employment-2022.html">almost half</a> of the freelance workforce – and 15% of freelancers are working mums – these reforms will help support a growing number of self-employed women to make their businesses work.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/218454/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Pension changes, industry investment and national insurance cuts announced in the autumn statement could all help women.
Sarvin Hassani, Senior Lecturer in International Business, Anglia Ruskin University
Denise Hawkes, Professor, Anglia Ruskin University
Laura Muncey, Senior Lecturer in Economics, Anglia Ruskin University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/213717
2023-11-13T13:29:12Z
2023-11-13T13:29:12Z
Mexico will soon elect its first female president – but that landmark masks an uneven march toward women’s rights
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/558364/original/file-20231108-15-sy1yyd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=38%2C38%2C8588%2C5703&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Claudia Sheinbaum, the favorite to become Mexico's first female president.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/MexicoElections/72c870d1426245e9b5acff64d1d0eef5/photo?Query=Sheinbaum&mediaType=photo&sortBy=creationdatetime:desc&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=211&currentItemNo=3">AP Photo/Marco Ugarte</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://theconversation.com/mexico-elegira-pronto-a-su-primera-presidenta-pero-este-hito-oculta-una-marcha-desigual-hacia-los-derechos-de-la-mujer-217642"><em>Leer en español.</em></a> </p>
<p>Mexico will <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/07/americas/mexico-female-candidates-presidential-election-intl/index.html">elect its first female president</a> in 2024, barring any surprises between now and the June vote. </p>
<p>The looming landmark moment was all but guaranteed in September after the country’s leading parties each nominated a woman as its candidate – the ruling Morena party <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/mexicos-ruling-party-name-presidential-candidate-with-sheinbaum-favorite-2023-09-06/#:%7E:text=%22Today%20the%20Mexican%20people%20decided,purple%20color%20of%20her%20party.">named former Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum</a> as its nominee days after the main opposition coalition, Broad Front for Mexico, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/mexico-politics-elections-2024-xochitl-galvez-nominee-8df70cef1f5e9ee242d495570578d5ed">announced Xóchitl Gálvez</a>, a senator for the center-right National Action Party, as its own.</p>
<p>But as <a href="https://www.uta.edu/academics/faculty/profile?username=vidalxm">scholars who study politics</a> <a href="https://cchambersju-research.uta.edu/">and gender in Mexico</a>, we know that optics are one thing, actual power another. Seventy years after <a href="https://doi.org/10.1215/00182168-45.1.164">women won the right to vote</a> in Mexico, is the country moving any closer to making changes that would give women real equality?</p>
<h2>Uneven fight for gender equality</h2>
<p>Women now <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/09/07/mexico-women-gender-parity/">represent half of Congress</a>, after electoral reforms nearly a decade ago mandated gender parity in nominations to Mexico’s legislatures. And two women, Ana Lilia Rivera and Marcela Guerra Castillo, occupy the top posts in both chambers of Congress. Meanwhile, Norma Lucía Piña is the <a href="https://www.voanews.com/a/mexico-s-supreme-court-elects-first-female-chief-justice-/6901488.html">first woman to serve as chief justice</a> of Mexico’s Supreme Court. </p>
<p>But electing women to high office doesn’t necessarily shift power in meaningful ways. It’s what experts on women in politics call “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190228637.013.1978">descriptive representation</a>” – when political leaders resemble a group of voters but fail to set policies designed to protect them. In contrast, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/14789299231154864">substantive representation</a>” occurs when officials enact laws that truly benefit the groups that they claim to represent.</p>
<p>Scholars who study the difference between the two, including <a href="https://polsci.umass.edu/people/sonia-e-alvarez">Sonia Alvarez</a>, <a href="https://polisci.unm.edu/people/faculty/profile/mala-htun.html">Mala Htun</a> and <a href="https://www.oxy.edu/academics/faculty/jennifer-piscopo">Jennifer Piscopo</a>, have found that wins in public spheres, such as the right to vote or hold office, have rarely led to progress for women in private spaces – such as the right to reproductive freedom or protections against domestic violence.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A woman holds a green flare during a street protest." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/558365/original/file-20231108-25-j6vxc6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/558365/original/file-20231108-25-j6vxc6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/558365/original/file-20231108-25-j6vxc6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/558365/original/file-20231108-25-j6vxc6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/558365/original/file-20231108-25-j6vxc6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/558365/original/file-20231108-25-j6vxc6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/558365/original/file-20231108-25-j6vxc6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Members of feminist organizations demonstrate in favor of the decriminalization of abortion in Mexico City on Sept. 28, 2023.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/members-of-feminist-organizations-demonstrate-in-favour-of-news-photo/1696063220?adppopup=true">Photo by Silvana Flores/AFP via Getty Images)</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In other words, Mexico may have surpassed many countries – including the U.S. – in promoting women to political leadership positions, but it still hasn’t shed its <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-36324570">stigma of machismo</a> and its <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/articles/mexico-takes-another-step-toward-its-authoritarian-past/">history of authoritarianism</a>.</p>
<p>In the 1990s, a <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/politics-and-gender/article/abs/regionalizing-womens-human-rights-in-latin-america/8469F364E098DD1D8CF3088CC58BC86B">resurgent feminist movement</a> throughout Latin America led to major breakthroughs in women’s rights. By the end of the decade, many countries had passed legislation against gender-based violence and reforms requiring gender quotas in party nomination lists. In the past 17 years, seven women have been elected president across Central and South America. </p>
<p>Yet the fight for gender equality has advanced unevenly. Mexico is a country still rattled by <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/en/stories/2023/07/were-here-tell-it-mexican-women-break-silence-over-femicides">high rates of femicide</a>. Government data shows that, on average, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/mexico-caribbean-gender-6594c9b2c9ea39a52dc3204e16be704c"> 10 women and girls are killed every day</a> by partners or family members.</p>
<h2>Government accused of harassment</h2>
<p>During his term, the current president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, and his party, Morena, have been accused of downplaying the extent of the femicide crisis, with at least one critic claiming he’s “<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/31/world/americas/violence-women-mexico-president.html">the first president to outright deny</a>” the violence. </p>
<p>Rather, López Obrador has used his daily “mañanera” news conference to issue <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/7/14/mexico-president-continues-attacks-on-opposition-despite-order">verbal assaults against women</a> in office, including 2024 nominee Gálvez. In July 2023, the independent <a href="https://www.wilsoncenter.org/article/mexicos-national-electoral-institute-explainer">National Electoral Institute</a> found López Obrador guilty of targeting Gálvez in derogatory statements related to her gender. </p>
<p>López Obrador has also denounced Supreme Court chief justice Piña in what Mexico’s National Association of Judges <a href="https://www.facebook.com/jufed.org/photos/a.119395656264809/742860923918276/?type=3">has described as hate speech</a> and the federal judiciary condemned as “<a href="https://twitter.com/SCJN/status/1637968261143986176?s=20">gender-based violence</a>” and hatred against her. His statements at <a href="https://apnews.com/article/mexico-lopez-obrador-politics-rally-elections-5160cbaf5ccd453f7333d651e41b79dd">a rally in March</a> incited his followers to burn <a href="https://cdn.jwplayer.com/previews/JNtltrZs">Piña in effigy</a>, prompting critics to suggest that such attacks don’t simply reflect López Obrador’s distaste for checks and balances, but <a href="https://www.nycbar.org/member-and-career-services/committees/reports-listing/reports/detail/second-statement-condemning-the-mexican-presidents-attacks-on-judicial-independence#_ftn14">aim to undermine women</a> in positions of power.</p>
<h2>Mexico’s patronage politics</h2>
<p>Observers view <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/mexicos-sheinbaum-favorite-win-presidential-nomination-poll-shows-2023-09-05/">current 2024 front-runner</a> Sheinbaum as López Obrador’s handpicked successor: He has publicly endorsed her, and she has vowed to continue his “fourth transformation,” a campaign promise to end government corruption and reduce poverty that’s had <a href="https://elpais.com/mexico/2022-02-22/la-fiscalia-abre-una-investigacion-por-el-caso-del-hijo-de-lopez-obrador-y-un-contratista-de-pemex.html">mixed results</a>. </p>
<p>Sheinbaum’s record as mayor of Mexico City has been equally mixed. She has publicly described herself as a <a href="https://www.capital21.cdmx.gob.mx/noticias/?p=3084">feminist</a> and has <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/mexican-mayor-doubles-down-accusation-alleged-femicide-cover-up-2023-01-17/">criticized</a> state prosecutors for covering up the killing of Ariadna Lopez, a 27-year-old woman. At the same time, Sheinbaum <a href="https://mexiconewsdaily.com/news/mayor-apologizes-to-protesters/">attempted to criminalize participants</a> of a mass protest against the thousands of women who’ve disappeared in recent years, claiming that these demonstrations were violent.</p>
<p>Political scientists have shown that even when the faces of politics change, the operatives behind the scenes can stay the same – especially in Mexico, where political parties are <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/voting-for-autocracy/F6671D230EC7C458A30035ADB20F9289">mired in patronage politics</a> – when party leaders reward loyalty by deciding who gets to run for office and who gets to keep their jobs when the government is handed over to a new administration.</p>
<p>If Sheinbaum is elected, she’ll likely still be beholden to the Morena coalition and will rely to a large degree on López Obrador to help push through her policies. </p>
<h2>A feminist future?</h2>
<p>Both Sheinbaum and Gálvez have <a href="https://gatopardo.com/noticias-actuales/claudia-sheinbaum/">championed women</a> and shared their <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/08/20/mexico-presidential-elections-galvez-interview/">experiences as women</a> on the campaign trail. But, so far, neither has signaled that her legislative agendas would advance the interests of women through policies, such as expanding access to health care or fighting for family leave and equal pay in the workplace. </p>
<p>As criticism of López Obrador has overshadowed Sheinbaum’s campaign, we believe she faces a greater challenge in convincing voters of her commitment to women’s rights. </p>
<p>While Gálvez’s path to the presidency is narrow, her ability to advocate for a pro-women agenda seems more plausible. She has publicly supported <a href="https://www.newindianexpress.com/world/2023/jul/08/although-she-is-now-aligned-with-the-conservative-opposition-galvezs-record-is-one-of-a-liberal-an-2592712.html">LGBTQ+ rights in Mexico</a> even as a member of the conservative National Action Party, suggesting she’s capable of speaking and acting independently of party leadership when it matters. </p>
<p>Aside from front-line politics, women’s rights in Mexico have moved forward when leaders have committed to substantive change.</p>
<p>Notably, Mexico’s Supreme Court under Pinã has declared all federal and state laws <a href="https://elpais.com/mexico/2023-01-05/el-empuje-de-la-nueva-presidenta-norma-pina-a-la-agenda-feminista-de-criticar-la-violencia-obstetrica-a-defender-el-aborto.html">prohibiting abortion unconstitutional</a>. When Piña took office, she <a href="https://elpais.com/mexico/2023-01-05/el-empuje-de-la-nueva-presidenta-norma-pina-a-la-agenda-feminista-de-criticar-la-violencia-obstetrica-a-defender-el-aborto.html?event=go&event_log=go&prod=REGCRARTMEX&o=cerrmex">promised to take on women’s rights</a> in her agenda. So far, she’s delivered.</p>
<p>If either presidential candidate hopes to have similar success, they’ll need to follow Pinã’s lead by centering their platforms around the issues that most affect women in their day-to-day lives, beginning with rising femicide rates. Women may be gaining political power in Mexico, but the question now is whether they’ll use it to fight for the women they represent.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/213717/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Women represent half of Mexico’s Congress and hold key positions in politics and the judiciary. But the country is still dogged by high rates of femicide.
Xavier Medina Vidal, Associate Professor of Political Science and Director of the Center for Mexican American Studies, University of Texas at Arlington
Christopher Chambers-Ju, Assistant Professor of Political Science, University of Texas at Arlington
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/214896
2023-10-20T12:33:30Z
2023-10-20T12:33:30Z
New research helps explain why Indian girls appear to be less engaged in politics than Indian boys
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/553725/original/file-20231013-29-jh6y9x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A recent survey found that just over half of boys in India consider themselves politically engaged compared with less than a third of girls. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/school-children-protest-at-a-global-climate-strike-2023-news-photo/1668666010">Sayantan Chakraborty/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/research-brief-83231">Research Brief</a> is a short take about interesting academic work.</em> </p>
<h2>The big idea</h2>
<p>Girls in India report being less interested and engaged in politics than boys and cite fewer opportunities to participate in politics, <a href="https://www.kuviraa.org/_files/ugd/4457e5_dbf1d4b8dde54864ab517d0334954c45.pdf">we found in a recent survey of youth across India</a>. </p>
<p>Further, although political interest and engagement was higher for older boys (ages 18-22) than younger boys (ages 14-17), girls’ political interest and engagement stagnated across age groups.</p>
<p>I study <a href="http://doi.org/10.1111/jora.12889">young people’s political development</a>, and in the fall of 2022 I collaborated on a study with Indian nonprofit <a href="https://www.kuviraa.org">Kuviraa</a>. I am on the advisory board at Kuviraa, which aims to increase girls’ engagement in politics. We used an Instagram ad to survey over 600 youth ages 14-22 who lived in nearly 30 cities across India. </p>
<p>We found that just over half (51%) of boys considered themselves politically engaged compared with less than a third (29%) of girls. We also measured the survey participants’ level of political engagement based on five behaviors, including sharing political posts online, attending rallies and contacting government officials. We found that boys and girls age 17 and under had similar levels of political engagement. However, boys’ engagement became much higher than girls once they were 18 and older. </p>
<p>Further, boys had lower awareness than girls of the structural barriers women face in Indian politics. For example, 74% of the girls surveyed agreed that “it is more difficult in our society for women to become elected officials” compared with 54% of the boys. We found that girls’ awareness was higher with age, whereas boys followed the opposite trajectory, with lower awareness in the older age group. </p>
<p>We also explored possible predictors of youths’ political engagement such as public speaking skills or having a sense that they are able to affect politics. We found that the two significant factors that shaped youths’ political engagement were having parents who discuss politics with their children and parents who encourage their children to engage in politics. The effect was less for girls but still significant.</p>
<p>Finally, we analyzed over 430 open-ended responses to explore how participants explained gender disparities in Indian politics. In these responses, we noticed a pattern: Boys tended to attribute gender disparities in politics to individual women’s choices. “Women don’t take the initiative to stand as a candidate,” one 18-year-old boy explained. Meanwhile, girl respondents tended to emphasize structural forces at play. “It is a common mindset that women should work at home even today,” a 17-year-old girl wrote. “It’s clearly seen even in my family despite their modern mindset.”</p>
<h2>Why it matters</h2>
<p>Women’s political representation is important to democracy and societal progress. Studies of India’s local councils have shown that having more women political leaders leads to <a href="https://gap.hks.harvard.edu/political-reservation-and-substantive-representation-evidence-indian-village-councils">more policies catered to women</a>. More women representatives also improves <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/43189382">child health</a> and <a href="https://www.ncaer.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/13978049682_1247121758_Schooling.pdf">education</a> indicators and can lead to more <a href="https://www.peacewomen.org/sites/default/files/Making%20Women%20Count%20Not%20Just%20Counting%20Women.pdf">lasting peace</a> negotiations.</p>
<p>With India’s general elections coming up in 2024, a conversation about the importance of increasing women’s political representation is particularly timely. India’s Parliament <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/lok-sabha-women-reservation-bill-women-quota-bill-new-parliament-amit-shah/articleshow/103813919.cms?from=mdr">recently passed</a> one of the most progressive bills in any democracy to reserve a third of seats for women. Currently, Indian women <a href="https://carnegieendowment.org/2018/11/08/indian-women-are-voting-more-than-ever.-will-they-change-indian-society-pub-77677">vote in high numbers</a> but make up just 14% of Parliament. </p>
<h2>What’s next</h2>
<p>Our findings suggest that parents simply talking to their children about politics, and encouraging them to engage, can have substantial effects on girls’ political interest and engagement. Yet more resources are needed to teach parents how to have these conversations, particularly with younger children.</p>
<p>It is also critical that boys understand the structural causes of gender inequities in Indian politics. That way they can be enlisted as allies in overcoming obstacles to women’s political engagement.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/214896/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sara Wilf is an Advisory Board Member at Kuviraa.</span></em></p>
A survey of over 600 teens and young adults across India found boys are more politically engaged than girls and also less aware of the barriers women face to becoming active in politics.
Sara Wilf, Ph.D. Candidate in Social Welfare, University of California, Los Angeles
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/215302
2023-10-10T06:12:47Z
2023-10-10T06:12:47Z
Nobel prize in economics: Claudia Goldin’s work is a goldmine for understanding the gender pay gap and women’s empowerment
<p>Women stirred up a “quiet revolution” in the labour market, according to Claudia Goldin, the Henry Lee Professor of Economics at Harvard University. She is the <a href="https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/economic-sciences/2023/press-release/">2023 winner of the Nobel prize in economics</a> for her analysis of gender differences in the labour market, particularly the persistent problem of the gender pay gap. </p>
<p>“Most of her research interprets the present through the lens of the past and explores the origins of current issues of concern,” according to <a href="https://scholar.harvard.edu/goldin/biocv#:%7E:text=Most%20of%20her%20research%20interprets%20the%20present%20through%20the%20lens%20of%20the%20past%20and%20explores%20the%20origins%20of%20current%20issues%20of%20concern.">Goldin’s Harvard bio</a>. And this really does capture the essence of her work and how influential it has been. </p>
<p>As an economic historian, Goldin studies, documents and illuminates the <a href="https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/000282806777212350">changes</a> in female economic empowerment over time in labour markets, as well as the <a href="https://scholar.harvard.edu/goldin/publications/power-pill-oral-contraceptives-and-womens-career-and-marriage-decisions">causes</a> and <a href="https://scholar.harvard.edu/goldin/publications/grand-gender-convergence-its-last-chapter">challenges</a> ahead for all of us who want to make the world a more equal place in which to live and work.</p>
<p>Despite some progress, gender inequality remains a global concern. It varies across countries of course, but women’s participation in the labour market falls short of men’s <a href="https://genderdata.worldbank.org/data-stories/flfp-data-story/">everywhere in the world</a>. </p>
<p>And when women work, their wages fall short of men’s. If you want to understand what’s driving the dynamics of these gender gaps – and dig into their many facets – Goldin’s work is a goldmine. </p>
<p>The role of education, family and organisation of work are some of the themes explored in her research that explain the historical evolution of gender gaps in labour participation and wages.</p>
<h2>A quiet revolution</h2>
<p>Goldin coined the term “quiet revolution” to describe the dynamics of the gender gap in the labour market and the increase in labour force participation of married women in the US in the 1970s. She showed that there are two key ingredients to this quiet revolution: investment in education, and postponement of age at first marriage – the latter was helped along by the launch of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2007/sep/12/health.medicineandhealth#:%7E:text=It%20was%20approved%20for%20release,ages%20of%2016%20and%2049.">the contraceptive pill in the 1960s</a>. </p>
<p>As the average age at which women married increased over this time, going to college became a critical investment for them. They could plan for an independent future and form their identities before marriage and family. </p>
<p>This triggered a strong upswing in women’s participation in the labour market. And education is still critical for women’s participation to the labour market today. <a href="https://gpseducation.oecd.org/revieweducationpolicies/#!node=41763&filter=all:%7E:text=On%20average%20across%20OECD%20countries%2C%20higher%20educational%20attainment%20is%20associated%20with%20higher%20employment%20rates%20for%20each%20age%20group.">In most countries</a>, women with higher levels of education are more likely to be employed. </p>
<p>Family also strongly influences female labour force participation, with childbirth typically setting mothers and fathers on different paths – <a href="https://www.nber.org/papers/w31649">children contribute</a> to gender gaps. Goldin’s work shows that the size of these “child penalties” (that is, the lower labour force participation of women compared to men) have shrunk over time. </p>
<p>But the penalty hasn’t vanished. Goldin and her coauthors’ research also shows the motherhood penalty declines over a woman’s lifetime, but the earnings gap between two heterosexual parents persists due to <a href="https://www.nber.org/papers/w30323">a fatherhood premium</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="Line drawing of Claudia Goldin" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/552809/original/file-20231009-29-a0j810.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/552809/original/file-20231009-29-a0j810.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552809/original/file-20231009-29-a0j810.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552809/original/file-20231009-29-a0j810.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552809/original/file-20231009-29-a0j810.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552809/original/file-20231009-29-a0j810.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552809/original/file-20231009-29-a0j810.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Harvard professor Claudia Goldin was awarded the 2023 Nobel for economics ‘for having advanced our understanding of women’s labor market outcomes’.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://nobelprize.qbank.se/mb/?h=f142eee16bc09dd5247dd753fd9ef889">Ill. Niklas Elmehed © Nobel Prize Outreach</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Flexible working patterns</h2>
<p>Examining how workplaces are organised and how that influences the gender gap is another key insight of Goldin’s work. According to her research, the gender pay gap would be <a href="https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/aer.104.4.1091">considerably smaller</a> if firms did not disproportionately reward individuals who work long and particular hours. </p>
<p>Industries such as technology have seen changes in how work is organised that have enhanced employee flexibility, but this is not yet as common in the financial and legal worlds, for example. There is more work to do to promote gender equality and Goldin’s will help with this.</p>
<p>Goldin’s research mainly focuses on the US, but her approach and insights have influenced and inspired researchers across the world. Her work has helped to make gender an essential ingredient in understanding how labour markets work, as well as how the <a href="https://www.nber.org/programs-projects/projects-and-centers/gender-economy?page=1&perPage=50">economy</a> works more generally. </p>
<p>There is now a field of research called “gender economics” and we should certainly thank Claudia Goldin for that.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/215302/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alessandra Casarico receives funding from the Italian Ministry of University.
</span></em></p>
The Harvard professor was awarded the Nobel prize for economics for her work on women in the workforce.
Alessandra Casarico, Associate Professor of Public Economics, Bocconi University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/214425
2023-10-02T11:17:00Z
2023-10-02T11:17:00Z
How often do you think about the Roman empire? TikTok trend exposed the way we gender history
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/550388/original/file-20230926-15-138yj2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5853%2C3926&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/flying-brain-head-human-statue-creativity-2017730141">Andrej Maculskij/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>How often do you think about the Roman empire? This question, posed to men by their partners on social media app TikTok, has led to a storm of viral videos. Women are amused to discover the answer is often “every day”, or at least “several times a week”. </p>
<p>The Roman empire, like other periods of human history, had approximately the same numbers of men and women. But its power structures were notably patriarchal and military. </p>
<p>This may be why it is of great interest to men. As Mary Beard, the British classical historian, <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/bdbbcee8-07cd-40ee-980b-067d61f388d5">suggested</a> when she was asked about the trend, mens’ interest in the Roman empire might represent “a safe way of allowing yourself to be a bit macho – after all it was 2,000 years ago”, in our more feminist contemporary society. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/TuNReqvYuQg?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">A compilation of the viral Roman mpire trend videos.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Cynthia Boaz, a political science professor, offers <a href="https://www.glamourmagazine.co.uk/article/roman-empire-trend">a more critical slant</a>: “I’m guessing most of the men who say they think about it all of the time are probably white, cis men. And it’s no coincidence, because the Roman Empire is one of the most patriarchal and hierarchical societies that has ever existed. It is the epitome, the pinnacle of white cis gender masculinity.”</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="Quarter life, a series by The Conversation" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption"></span>
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<p><strong><a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/quarter-life-117947?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022&utm_content=InArticleTop">This article is part of Quarter Life</a></strong>, a series about issues affecting those of us in our twenties and thirties. From the challenges of beginning a career and taking care of our mental health, to the excitement of starting a family, adopting a pet or just making friends as an adult. The articles in this series explore the questions and bring answers as we navigate this turbulent period of life.</p>
<p><em>You may be interested in:</em></p>
<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/how-booktok-trends-are-influencing-what-you-read-whether-you-use-tiktok-or-not-213311utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022&utm_content=InArticleTop">How BookTok trends are influencing what you read – whether you use TikTok or not</a></em></p>
<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/seven-tips-for-using-the-back-to-school-mindset-to-help-you-stick-to-your-goals-213591utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022&utm_content=InArticleTop">Seven tips for using the back-to-school mindset to help you stick to your goals</a></em></p>
<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/friends-with-benefits-what-a-sex-and-relationship-therapist-wants-you-to-know-210854utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022&utm_content=InArticleTop">Friends with benefits – what a sex and relationship therapist wants you to know</a></em></p>
<hr>
<p>All this puts a distinct spin on the skit from the film <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079470/">Monty Python’s Life of Brian</a> (1979) which parodied a group of Jewish freedom fighters <a href="http://montypython.50webs.com/scripts/Life_of_Brian/10.htm">who had to ask</a>: “All right, but apart from the sanitation, the medicine, education, wine, public order, irrigation, roads, a fresh water system and public health, what have the Romans ever done for us?”</p>
<p>Boaz’s underlying question is, perhaps, what did the western empires do for anyone other than white cis men? From this perspective, it is hardly surprising that women are not spending as much time thinking about the Roman empire.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Qc7HmhrgTuQ?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">The Life of Brian sketch.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Is the teaching of history gendered?</h2>
<p>In my experience of university teaching, the title of the course seems to strongly influence the gender balance of the class. </p>
<p>I have taught in art history departments where the courses were mostly attended by women (art appreciation being often seen as <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/41035595">feminine</a> and in history departments where there was, by contrast, a rough gender balance. Indeed, <a href="https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2018/nov/new-report-gender-equality-uk-history">women are an overall minority</a> in university history teaching.</p>
<p>I never tried to run a class called “War and Rule from Rome to Washington DC”, but I know from experience that I just have to put the word “gender” in a course title to see the men evaporate. I once gave a seminar on this subject to a survey methods course at master’s level and was faced by a stony-faced group of men sitting at the back with their arms crossed defensively. </p>
<p>It turned out, on talking to them, that they were deeply uncomfortable about being there because they thought gender history was all about attacking men. And this challenge extends beyond my classroom. <a href="https://www.irex.org/insight/overcoming-resistance-role-men-power-and-gender-inclusion">Researchers at the global education organisation IREX</a> have found that men and boys devalue spaces and activities they associate with feminine gender roles, leading to a loss of economic and educational opportunities. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A man giving a lecture to a packed hall of students." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/550392/original/file-20230926-27-he7bob.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/550392/original/file-20230926-27-he7bob.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=304&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550392/original/file-20230926-27-he7bob.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=304&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550392/original/file-20230926-27-he7bob.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=304&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550392/original/file-20230926-27-he7bob.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=382&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550392/original/file-20230926-27-he7bob.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=382&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550392/original/file-20230926-27-he7bob.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=382&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A course’s title can greatly impact the gender split of attendees.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/speaker-giving-talk-on-corporate-business-481869205">Matej Kastelic/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>From my perspective, the gendering of subjects is so rampant in our society that is crucial that people learn about it, whether in school or university. I explore this during an introductory class by getting my undergraduates to draw images they associate with the period they are to study. </p>
<p>In my Georgian Britain class, despite that being the height of the male-run slave trade, images of ladies drinking cups of tea hugely outnumber men in uniform. That is certainly not the case when the topic is, say, Nazi Germany or the Battle of Britain. </p>
<p>The success of the Netflix TV series <a href="https://www.salon.com/2020/12/27/bridgerton-ending-season-2-lady-whistledown-racism-incels/">Bridgerton</a> shows the public’s appetite for a sanitised vision of the 18th century, for example. The society it depicts includes an upper class that is female empowered and race-inclusive in ways that speak to contemporary cultural politics more than to strict historical accuracy.</p>
<p>It is not just historical periods, but also countries and even languages that are powerfully gendered in popular culture. How else to explain the fact that women consistently outnumber men in French and Italian classes, but <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/03/05/the-worlds-most-male-and-female-languages-according-to-learners/">not in German</a> ones?</p>
<p>In the past this was often put down to supposed differences between Latin languages being intuitive and Germanic ones analytical. Today we are more likely to say that the key factor is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/bjep.12446">gender stereotyping</a>.</p>
<p>The underlying point about the TikTok Romans trend is that it illustrates what popular images of the past can do for us. They may serve as a safe space for the displacement of fantasies of unfettered masculinity, or as an incubator of toxic thought.</p>
<p>Either way, the popularity of the meme is a testament to the power of the classical tradition in its broadest sense to shape contemporary western culture. And to influence who precisely chooses my history classes.</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
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<p><em>Looking for something good? Cut through the noise with a carefully curated selection of the latest releases, live events and exhibitions, straight to your inbox every fortnight, on Fridays. <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/newsletters/something-good-156">Sign up here</a>.</em></p>
<hr><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/214425/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dominic Janes teaches at Keele University and the University for the Creative Arts. He is a member of the Liberal Democrats.</span></em></p>
In my experience of university teaching, the title of the course seems to strongly influence the gender balance of the class.
Dominic Janes, Professor of Modern History, Keele University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/211740
2023-08-17T10:03:11Z
2023-08-17T10:03:11Z
Grattan on Friday: Albanese is determined to keep Labor’s eyes firmly focused on a second term
<p>Labor is less than halfway into its first term, but Anthony Albanese is focused, laser-like, on its second one. Securing it, that is.</p>
<p>His message to delegates at the party’s national conference on Thursday was, in essence: be patient, don’t rock the boat, you shouldn’t expect the government to do all you want all at once. </p>
<p>And, above all, realise that if this is just a short-term government, what it achieves can be quickly negated by the other side.</p>
<p>“Each of us understands that winning and holding government is not only true to our principles, it is essential to fulfilling them”, Albanese said in his keynote address. “Equally we know what we have begun can be undone, unless we are there to protect it.”</p>
<p>Underlining his point, Albanese spelled out the differences between a short-term and a long-term Labor government. </p>
<blockquote>
<p>The difference between a moment of progress – or a lifetime of opportunity.</p>
<p>The difference between laying the foundation – and finishing the build.</p>
<p>The difference between taking the gender pay gap to an historic low. And making the gender pay gap history.</p>
<p>The difference between writing an emissions reduction target into law. And seeing it achieved in new jobs and clean energy and a healthier environment.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>It all amounted to whether Labor shaped the future - “or the future shapes us”. To be there for the long term depended on “bringing people with us” and “earning and repaying people’s trust.”</p>
<p>Albanese acknowledged that “this approach mightn’t suit those who prefer protest to progress, who imagine grand gestures and bold declarations are better than the patient work of ensuring lasting change.”</p>
<p>The prime minister’s pragmatic sentiments were a million miles from those the youthful Albanese would have expressed. Then again, this Labor conference is a far cry from those of decades ago when then prime minister Bob Hawke and treasurer Paul Keating had to fight for their policies against critics on what was a tough and vocal left. They won but the fights could be hard. </p>
<p>So far, this conference has been docile, compliant, and highly managed with approved speaking lists. Even though the left has the numbers (for the first time in decades) the government is firmly in the driving seat.</p>
<p>Remarkably – or perhaps not – when the party’s economic platform was discussed on Thursday morning, issues such as the need for comprehensive tax reform were not front of mind. </p>
<p>Stage 3 tax cuts actually didn’t even get a mention, despite being hotly contested in the public discussion.</p>
<p>The CFMEU had earlier floated a push for a super profits tax to provide money for housing, but the air was taken out of that balloon in negotiations. </p>
<p>The wording of the final motion said blandly: “Labor will increase government investment in social and affordable housing with funding from a progressive and sustainable tax system, including corporate tax reform”.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/view-from-the-hill-albanese-unveils-boosted-housing-target-and-incentive-payments-ahead-of-labor-national-conference-211673">View from The Hill: Albanese unveils boosted housing target and incentive payments ahead of Labor national conference</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>CFMEU National Secretary Zach Smith said “a permanent solution on social and affordable housing requires us to be more bold” while admitting the amendment was “not everything that the union is demanding”.</p>
<p>On the eve of the conference the government had unveiled initiatives to try to speed up the construction of housing, including increasing the target build from one million new homes to 1.2 million over five years from mid next year. It also announced ongoing work to strengthen renters’ rights. </p>
<p>The Grattan Institute has strongly praised Labor’s plan, saying every extra home will increase supply and so ease rental pressure. Its calculations suggest the extra 200,000 homes could reduce rents by about 4%. But it also notes that while it’s a good plan, “the devil will be in the detail”, to ensure the incentives work properly and there is adequate skilled labour for construction. </p>
<p>It’s not clear whether the housing crisis will do serious damage to Labor as it looks to the next election. The Greens, seeking to seize the mantle of the party of renters, have been predictably critical of the government’s measures. And there is still no resolution of the standoff over the government’s proposed housing fund.</p>
<p>The government is right to resist the demands by the Greens for a rent freeze or caps, but there is little doubt it is vulnerable in the battle for votes among many of the now large renter constituency, especially younger voters.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/politics-with-michelle-grattan-labor-president-wayne-swan-on-the-partys-coming-national-conference-211342">Politics with Michelle Grattan: Labor president Wayne Swan on the party's coming national conference</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The Labor conference’s economic debate saw delegates from unions given an extensive speaking role.</p>
<p>Basically, they were happy with the Albanese government, not looking to cause any trouble or stir the pot. The economic debate neither reflected discontent nor was a forum for forward thinking. </p>
<p>Treasurer Jim Chalmers, who kicked off that part of the conference, would be happy with the smooth run the party gave him. However, he often proclaims he is anxious to have “conversations” about important issues for the future. </p>
<p>Next Thursday at the National Press Club, Chalmers will launch the government’s Intergenerational Report, which examines what will happen to Australia over the next four decades.</p>
<p>This one will be the first to attempt to properly incorporate the effects of climate change, and the first of a more regular series of such reports. Chalmers has promised they will be prepared every three years (in the middle of each electoral cycle) rather than every five years as they have been since 2002.</p>
<p>It remains to be seen how willing he will be to grapple with the really tough questions the report is likely to point to. </p>
<p>More immediately, back at the Labor conference, the arm-twisting continued to finalise wording on the AUKUS section of the platform, to be considered on Friday, that is acceptable to the government.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/211740/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michelle Grattan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
The Prime Minister’s message to delegates at the Labor national conference was, in essence: be patient, don’t rock the boat, you shouldn’t expect the government to do all you want all at once.
Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/208503
2023-07-04T14:07:07Z
2023-07-04T14:07:07Z
Couples in which the woman is the only earner report lower life satisfaction – new research
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/535371/original/file-20230703-274838-e2we55.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=155%2C95%2C5507%2C3692&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/tired-business-woman-sleepy-bored-sitting-2142729487">CrizzyStudio/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Many women will, at least temporarily, be the breadwinner <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/23780231211055246">at some point in their relationship</a>. Changing employment trends and gender roles will affect many households. But <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/esr/jcad034">our new peer-reviewed study</a> shows that for heterosexual couples, wellbeing is lower when the woman is the sole earner, versus if the man is the breadwinner or if both partners are employed. </p>
<p>Over 14 years of European social survey data, men and women reported lower life satisfaction when the female wife or partner was the breadwinner, with men suffering the most. This is true even after controlling for income, attitudes toward gender and other characteristics. </p>
<p>We analysed the <a href="https://www.europeansocialsurvey.org/">survey responses</a> of over 42,000 working-age people spanning nine countries. The data measures wellbeing by asking people to score how satisfied they are with their lives as a whole nowadays, from zero (extremely dissatisfied) to ten (extremely satisfied). Most people give a score <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/happiness-and-life-satisfaction#:%7E:text=The%20distribution%20of%20life%20satisfaction,-More%20than%20averages&text=Life%20satisfaction%20is%20often%20reported,-called%20%27Cantril%20Ladder%27">between five and eight</a>. </p>
<p>These “life satisfaction points” give us a sense of how different groups’ wellbeing compares. Before any controls, men’s life satisfaction is 5.86 when the woman is the sole earner, versus 7.16 when the man is the only earner. For women, the corresponding figures are 6.33 and 7.10 respectively.</p>
<p>Couples in Germany seem to struggle the most with female-breadwinner situations, followed by the UK, Ireland and Spain. However, the issue is fairly universal across Europe, even in more gender equal countries like Finland.</p>
<h2>Men struggle more</h2>
<p>In female-breadwinner households, men appear to struggle mentally more than women. We found that women’s breadwinning carries such a heavy psychological burden for men that they would prefer she was not employed at all. After accounting for basic characteristics, incomes and gender attitudes, out-of-work men report significantly higher life satisfaction when both partners are jobless. </p>
<p>Watching their partners go to the office (or work from home) every day might lead out-of-work men to feel worse about themselves. But when their partner is in the same boat as them, jobless men may instead feel like their lack of employment is less “deviant”.</p>
<p>Men in female-breadwinner couples report the lowest wellbeing when they are unemployed rather than “inactive” (not actively looking for work and/or doing housework or other care responsibilities). Unemployment is associated with the greatest <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/00036840903373295">psychological costs</a>, such as self-doubt, uncertainty, loneliness and stigma. In this study, we do not include people who are inactive for health or disability reasons.</p>
<p>In fact, unemployed men would rather swap places with their breadwinner wives. Men’s wellbeing is significantly higher when the woman is unemployed instead of the man, whereas women report equally low wellbeing when either partner is unemployed.</p>
<h2>Characteristics of female-breadwinner households</h2>
<p>Certain factors may contribute to female-breadwinner couples’ low wellbeing. For example, these couples <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0958928720971094">have lower average household incomes</a> than two-earner and male-breadwinner households, and are more likely to find it “difficult” or “very difficult” to cope on their current income. Additionally, more men in female-breadwinner couples report “fair”, “bad” or “very bad” health and are less educated.</p>
<p>When we controlled for these and other basic characteristics (like age and children) as well as gender-role attitudes and each partner’s share of household income, women’s wellbeing is only marginally lower (-0.048 life satisfaction points) when the woman is the sole earner instead of the man. </p>
<p>Yet, even after accounting for these factors, men’s wellbeing is still over half a life satisfaction point lower (-0.585) when the woman is the only earner. In Germany, this difference is over one full life satisfaction point (-1.112).</p>
<p>So, while our study suggests the characteristics of female-breadwinner couples mostly explain women’s lower wellbeing, they do not account for the discrepancy with men’s wellbeing.</p>
<h2>Masculinity, (un)employment and wellbeing</h2>
<p>In many countries, being the breadwinner remains central to men’s sense of self. Providing financially for the family is <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/189945">key to masculinity</a> and tantamount to being a <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt14bt2mz">“good” dad</a>. When these roles are reversed, couples can experience <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/00031224211012442">social “sanctions”</a> like gossiping, ridicule and judgement from family, friends, and other people they know, as well as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/00016993211066261">mental health difficulties</a>.</p>
<p>Unemployed men may be particularly vulnerable to isolation and loneliness, since they are less likely than women to have community or care-based social networks <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/23747850">to draw on</a>, like friendships developed at the school gates. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/mono/10.4324/9780203781906/sex-differences-social-behavior-alice-eagly">gendered expectations of selflessness</a> may lead women to go further than men in shielding a partner from the true extent of their distress. This could work the other way, too: when the man is unemployed, the woman may be more perceptive of and negatively affected by his struggles than he would be if these roles were reversed.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A young, heterosexual couple with dark hair, sitting side by side, both covering their faces with their hands" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/535319/original/file-20230703-258594-j88myj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/535319/original/file-20230703-258594-j88myj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535319/original/file-20230703-258594-j88myj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535319/original/file-20230703-258594-j88myj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535319/original/file-20230703-258594-j88myj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535319/original/file-20230703-258594-j88myj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535319/original/file-20230703-258594-j88myj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Unemployment can take a toll on relationships.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/sad-young-couple-sitting-table-on-756447463">Tiko Aramyan/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Yet, unemployment has become a normal part of working life, including for middle-class professionals who were traditionally more <a href="https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520298613/crunch-time">protected from this risk</a>. Our findings suggest that gender norms affect how couples cope with unemployment, with men placing more value on their own employment status than their female partner’s.</p>
<p>Additionally, men’s distress under the female-breadwinner arrangement may trigger women to hold themselves back from taking jobs or seeking higher-paying roles, further reinforcing gender inequalities in employment rates, career progression and incomes. </p>
<p>Clearly, there is still a long way to go to sever the link between breadwinning and masculinity. Challenging this idealisation of male breadwinning is critical so that men no longer feel like failures when they fall short of this expectation.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/208503/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Helen Kowalewska receives funding from the Economic and Social Research Council, grant number ES/S016058/1, <a href="https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=ES%2FS016058%2F1">https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=ES%2FS016058%2F1</a>. </span></em></p>
And men struggle more than women with female breadwinning arrangements.
Helen Kowalewska, Lecturer in Social Policy, University of Bath
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/208131
2023-06-27T14:46:18Z
2023-06-27T14:46:18Z
African women lawyers: numbers are up but report sheds light on obstacles to leadership in the profession
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/533408/original/file-20230622-17-pbx68s.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Increases in the number of women lawyers does not equate institutional change in the legal profession. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wikimedia Commons</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The African continent currently leads the world in the number of women chief justices and presidents of constitutional courts. Several countries across the continent have almost <a href="https://chambers.com/topics/gender-diversity-statistics-in-africa">equal numbers</a> of women and men at the bar. </p>
<p>Some countries, such as Cape Verde, Zambia, South Africa, Namibia and Sierra Leone, have had women as presidents of the bar association or law society. In the legal academy, some countries have recorded success with women as deans of law faculties and heads of departments. And across the continent, the <a href="https://www.africanwomeninlaw.com/_files/ugd/229dcd_04c074c8235b40138829028406fbef98.pdf#page=48">number of women</a> called to the bar is increasing each year. </p>
<p>Still, challenges remain, narrowing the opportunity structures for women to lead in some countries. As a <a href="https://profiles.howard.edu/josephine-jarpa-dawuni">lawyer and professor</a> I have <a href="https://www.routledge.com/International-Courts-and-the-African-Woman-Judge-Unveiled-Narratives/Dawuni-Kuenyehia-Kirk-McDonald/p/book/9781138215146">authored several books</a> on women in the legal profession in Africa. I am also the founder of the <a href="https://www.africanwomeninlaw.com/">Institute for African Women in Law</a>, an organisation committed to supporting women in law across Africa and the diaspora. </p>
<p>As part of my work, I coordinated <a href="https://www.africanwomeninlaw.com/_files/ugd/229dcd_04c074c8235b40138829028406fbef98.pdf">a project</a> examining the barriers to women’s leadership in the legal profession in Kenya, Senegal, Nigeria and South Africa. </p>
<p>Findings from the Women in Law and Leadership <a href="https://www.africanwomeninlaw.com/womeninleadership">study</a> show that progress is uneven across the judiciary, bar and academia. The reports show that increases in the number of women will not automatically lead to institutional change. The masculine foundations on which the legal traditions and legal profession were built and continue to operate must be acknowledged and called out. </p>
<p>Raychelle Awuor Omamo, the first (and so far only) woman to chair the Law Society of Kenya, commented on these findings:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>This report makes evidence-based rather than anecdotal recommendations … I believe if taken seriously, this report’s recommendations can catapult more women advocates in Kenya to the highest levels possible in the legal profession, both nationally and internationally. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>The findings from all four nations show that accelerating women’s equitable leadership in law requires targeted initiatives at the individual, structural, institutional and philanthropic levels. Systems change slowly, but women cannot wait for slow systems. Advancing women in leadership should be a priority for all advocates for human rights, the rule of law, and justice. </p>
<h2>Barriers to leadership</h2>
<p>The research combined qualitative and quantitative data sources to analyse the research questions. To centre women’s voices in law, we used in‑depth interviews, focus groups and key informant discussions.</p>
<p>We found that 60% of respondents at the bar in Kenya attributed their career stagnation to gender stereotypes. There is a view that women’s caregiving roles as wives and mothers reduce their productivity. </p>
<p>In Nigeria, similar sentiments were expressed. Over 70% of respondents
pointed to sexual harassment and unequal pay as factors affecting their professional advancement. </p>
<p>In South Africa, lingering racialised perceptions of black women as “incompetent” continue to restrict their upward mobility at the bar. </p>
<p>In Senegal, historical, cultural and religious expectations of women’s societal roles have kept women out of the legal professions or held them back. The high levels of attrition from the legal pipeline occur at the university level with girls choosing marriage over career.</p>
<p>These challenges are real and dotted along the entire career journey. In endorsing the reports, the first woman deputy chief justice of South Africa, <a href="https://theconversation.com/south-africa-has-its-first-woman-deputy-chief-justice-heres-who-she-is-176896">Mandisa Maya</a>, shared her experience:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>As a woman on the bench, I encountered my own barriers in rising to where I am today. But those barriers play out differently for different women and change over time. Therefore, the barriers this report identifies shed light on the old, new and emerging obstacles to women’s retention and promotion.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Overall, data from the reports shows a gradual increase in the number of women in the legal professions in<a href="https://www.africanwomeninlaw.com/_files/ugd/229dcd_cefe201bff954472b45a04da6a8c036f.pdf#page=16"> Kenya</a>, Nigeria and South Africa. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/533655/original/file-20230623-15-ylf6i4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/533655/original/file-20230623-15-ylf6i4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=291&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533655/original/file-20230623-15-ylf6i4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=291&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533655/original/file-20230623-15-ylf6i4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=291&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533655/original/file-20230623-15-ylf6i4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=366&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533655/original/file-20230623-15-ylf6i4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=366&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533655/original/file-20230623-15-ylf6i4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=366&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In Senegal, men continue to dominate the bar, bench and academia. As of June 2022, of the <a href="https://www.africanwomeninlaw.com/_files/ugd/229dcd_a625575fee9f42e0889172151858da84.pdf#page=32">418 lawyers registered</a>, only 67 (16%) were women. These numbers may not reflect all lawyers called to the Senegalese bar. Some are trained in France, and most often work in France and other jurisdictions outside Senegal. </p>
<h2>Moving forward</h2>
<p>The numerical representation of women is not the biggest challenge in most countries. The focus must shift from the numbers to the representation in leadership. </p>
<p>Some <a href="https://blogs.thomsonreuters.com/legal-uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2019/06/Current-approaches-to-improving-gender-diversity-at-senior-levels-in-law-firms-and-correlated-success.pdf">analysts</a> make a “business case” for more women in leadership. They argue that gender-diverse companies will bring more clients and increase the bottom line.</p>
<p>I offer a simple counter-argument: women lawyers and women’s rights advocates should not have to make “a case” for women’s representation in leadership positions. There is no shortage of qualified women in the legal professions. What is needed is a shift in systems, institutional practices, norms and perceptions to accommodate more women in leadership positions. </p>
<p>The legal institutional gatekeepers such as bar associations, law societies and law schools must acknowledge women as equal peers and acknowledge their contributions as essential to the survival of the workplace. </p>
<p>At the structural level, the legal sector must change its gender-biased perceptions and stereotypes about women’s work ethic and invest in professional training opportunities to support women’s leadership skills. </p>
<p>At the institutional and organisational levels, the legal sector must create equitable working opportunities. It must provide equal pay for equal work, eradicate gender stereotypes, provide professional training opportunities to support women’s leadership skills as individuals and support women of childbearing age.</p>
<p>Despite the low numbers in leadership, women are acquiring higher education, developing niches in legal practice, branching out to international positions and bringing back the knowledge and experience acquired to support and mentor other women. Systems change is possible if financial investments are directed at supporting women and women‑led organisations across Africa and the African diaspora.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/208131/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Josephine Jarpa Dawuni works for/consults to Institute for African Women in Law.
National Science Foundation grant</span></em></p>
Philanthropic investments must support the capacity of women in law and leadership.
Josephine Jarpa Dawuni, Associate Professor, Howard University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/205273
2023-06-23T12:27:31Z
2023-06-23T12:27:31Z
Less sleep, less exercise and less relaxation – here’s the data on just how much busier moms are during the school year
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/529187/original/file-20230530-25-aog7gq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Moms get about 25 minutes less sleep each weeknight when their kids' school is in session. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/son-waking-up-sleeping-mother-royalty-free-image/142740298">Jose Luis Pelaez Inc/DigitalVision Collection/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/research-brief-83231">Research Brief</a> is a short take about interesting academic work.</em></p>
<h2>The big idea</h2>
<p>Moms of school-age children get significantly less sleep during the school year than during the summer.</p>
<p>We are <a href="https://www.toddrjones.com/">economists</a> <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=TdNR3AIAAAAJ&hl=en">who specialize</a> in <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=EaLMFY0AAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">education and health research</a>. We combined <a href="https://www.toddrjones.com/papers/School_Crime_most_recent.pdf">extensive data</a> on <a href="https://publicholidays.com/us/school-holidays/">school district schedules</a> with information derived from the <a href="https://www.bls.gov/tus/">American Time Use Survey</a> to explore the ways <a href="http://www.doi.org/10.3386/w31177">families use their time differently</a> depending on whether school is in session or out for summer.</p>
<p>We observed mothers on average tend to sleep 25 minutes less, have 28 minutes less free time and allocate seven minutes less for exercise on weekdays during the school year than during the summer. For comparison, fathers reduce sleep by 11 minutes during the school year relative to the summer, have 21 minutes less free time and five fewer exercise minutes.</p>
<p>Conversely, mothers spend about half an hour more per day during the school year taking care of others, including kids, and five additional minutes on travel – which often involves driving their kids to and from school.</p>
<p>Interestingly, even though both mothers and fathers spend more time physically present with children in their household during summer months, both spend more time actively engaged with the children – such as helping with homework or reading together – during the school year. However, the effect is almost three times greater for women than it is for men: Moms spend an extra 34 minutes per day during the school year actively engaged with the children versus an extra 12 minutes for dads. </p>
<p>Our study also observed teenagers ages 15-17, as they are the only children included in the time use survey. </p>
<p>During the school year, teenagers sleep about one hour and 20 minutes – or 13% – less than they do during the summer, and they have over two hours – or 33% – less free time each day. This reduction in free time includes nearly an hour and a half less time spent each day on television, games – including video games – and computer use. </p>
<p><iframe id="UmBRW" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/UmBRW/1/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<h2>Why it matters</h2>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jebo.2020.08.013">Prior research</a> has shown there is a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/hec.4570">gender gap</a> in mental health, with women faring worse than men on measures such as anxiety and depression. Women are also <a href="https://www.womenshealth.gov/blog/seasonal-affective-disorder-spotlight">four times as likely</a> as men to be diagnosed with seasonal affective disorder, a type of depression that typically occurs in fall and winter.</p>
<p>Our results suggest the possibility that these issues are exacerbated by the greater demands placed on mothers during the school year. </p>
<p>Regarding teenagers getting more sleep, our findings support <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/high-school-students-need-more-sleep-and-later-school-start-times/">arguments for later school start times</a> so that teens can <a href="https://www.doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aau6200">get more sleep</a>. The American Academy of Pediatrics has recommended middle and high schools start <a href="https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2014-1697">no earlier than 8:30 a.m.</a> so that adolescents can get sufficient sleep to support mental health and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econedurev.2019.05.011">academic achievement</a>. However, the average start time <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2020/2020006/index.asp">for U.S. high schools is 8 a.m.</a>. </p>
<p>Our results also suggest that when school is out, teenagers may be especially susceptible to <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2023/05/17/1176452284/teens-social-media-phone-habit">media overconsumption</a>. Teens themselves <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2018/08/22/how-teens-and-parents-navigate-screen-time-and-device-distractions/">say they spend too much time</a> on screens.</p>
<h2>What we still don’t know</h2>
<p>We do not yet know how these changes in schedules affect teen mental health. While some measures of teen mental health <a href="https://www.doi.org/10.3386/w30795">improve during summer months</a>, we found that teenagers spend the lion’s share of their extra summer free time in front of screens, and studies have linked excessive screen time to <a href="http://www.doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2019.1759">higher levels of depression</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s13679-020-00401-1">poorer mental health</a>.</p>
<p><em>This article was updated on July 31, 2023 with a new chart.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/205273/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Parents spend more time actively engaged with their kids – such as helping with homework or reading together – during the school year than during summer. But the difference is almost three times greater for moms than for dads.
Todd Jones, Assistant Professor of Economics, Mississippi State University
Benjamin Cowan, Associate Professor of Economics, Washington State University
Jeff Swigert, Assistant Professor of Economics, Southern Utah University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/200516
2023-04-19T11:22:04Z
2023-04-19T11:22:04Z
Overconfidence dictates who gets ‘top jobs’ and research shows men benefit more than women
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/521595/original/file-20230418-18-5n1164.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=89%2C71%2C5860%2C3273&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/rear-view-successful-company-ceo-celebrating-1361250626">fizkes/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>There has been a steady stream of popular literature in recent years telling women to “<a href="https://leanin.org/book">lean in</a>”, be more confident, and not worry about “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/h0086006">imposter syndrome</a>”. </p>
<p>Men, on the other hand, are often seen to be <a href="https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/441931/how-confidence-works-by-robertson-ian/9781787633728">overconfident compared to women</a>. Our <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0927537122001737">recent research</a> shows they are 19% more likely to self-assess their abilities higher than they actually are – and this difference can actually affect career outcomes for men and women. </p>
<p>We already know that women are <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0927537122001737#bib0003">less likely to make partner at law firms</a> and <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0927537122001737#bib0008">reach corporate leadership positions</a>. But roles such as chief executive, production manager, senior police officer, lawyer and doctor tend to be well paid and secure. The over-representation of men in such jobs may be an important driver of inequalities in the labour market such as the gender pay gap. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0927537122001737">Our research</a> shows that 24% of men versus 16% of women are in such “top jobs” by the age of 42. It also indicates that factors leading to this trend actually start showing up in adolescence. In fact, we believe ours is one of the first studies to link overconfidence captured in adolescence to real job market outcomes in mid-career. </p>
<p>We used data on approximately 3,600 people born in Great Britain who are taking part in the <a href="https://cls.ucl.ac.uk/cls-studies/1970-british-cohort-study/">1970 British Cohort Study</a>. This means we can follow them from birth into the labour market and have access to information about their family background, the circumstances in which they grew up, and the life choices they make.</p>
<p>We constructed a measure of overconfidence using their test scores on a range of cognitive assessments taken at ages five, ten and 16. We compared this to data they provided rating their own ability in several domains. We found that overconfident people were more likely, on average, to be in top jobs at the age of 42 compared to similar adults who didn’t overrate their talents according to our overconfidence scale. </p>
<p>When it comes to explaining the gender gap in top jobs, our measure of overconfidence represented up to 11% of the significant 8 percentage point gender gap in top jobs at age 42 (with men taking more of these top jobs). These results highlight the importance of overconfidence for predicting such achievements, but they also provide some insight into the factors that affect career-related confidence levels. </p>
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<p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/toxic-workplaces-are-feeding-the-impostor-phenomenon-heres-why-103892">Toxic workplaces are feeding the impostor phenomenon – here's why</a>
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</em>
</p>
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<h2>Confidence factors: university, industry and children</h2>
<p>Once we accounted for university attendance and subject, our measure of overconfidence explained 6% of the gender gap in top jobs. This shows the importance of success at school and <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/ecca.12437">choice of university subject</a> and institution in paving the way to a top job by mid-career.</p>
<p>In fact, university participation and subject choice matter quite a lot, according to our findings. The gender gap in top jobs is considerably larger among graduates (15 percentage points) compared to non-graduates (6.5 percentage points), while the role of overconfidence mattered more for those who had attended university. </p>
<p>For example, male graduates were 58% more likely than female graduates to be in a top job in the field of science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM), and had 34% greater odds of being in a senior role in law, economics and management (LEM). Interestingly, while overconfidence explained 12% of the gender gap in top LEM roles, it did not matter for top jobs in STEM. This may be down to the more technical nature of these jobs compared to those in LEM.</p>
<p>Apart from industry, other factors also seem to contribute to career gender gaps. Unsurprisingly, having children counts. With many adults having families with children still living at home by middle age, working mothers were 27% less likely than working fathers to be in a top job by mid-career. However, overconfidence did not explain any of this gender gap. This suggests that women are simply more likely than men to change their working patterns once they start a family.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Woman doing paperwork in modern office, co-workers in the background." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512714/original/file-20230228-16-1ncq6p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512714/original/file-20230228-16-1ncq6p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512714/original/file-20230228-16-1ncq6p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512714/original/file-20230228-16-1ncq6p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512714/original/file-20230228-16-1ncq6p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512714/original/file-20230228-16-1ncq6p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512714/original/file-20230228-16-1ncq6p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Businesses can help build employee confidence.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/concentrated-african-american-woman-doing-paperwork-1935860131">Kateryna Onyshchuk/Shutterstock</a></span>
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</figure>
<h2>How employers can help</h2>
<p><a href="https://academic.oup.com/qje/article/137/3/1345/6513425">Research</a> highlights how men are more likely to assess their abilities favourably and communicate this to others. And since overconfident people may put themselves forward more often and sooner for promotions, this exacerbates the gender gap in top jobs. </p>
<p>So, our findings suggest that employers should rethink how they recruit and promote people. Employers could give more regular performance-based feedback and encourage women to apply for promotions sooner than they might choose to on their own, for example. This is especially relevant for LEM jobs where we found that overconfidence explained the largest portion of the gender gap. </p>
<p>And since overconfidence loses its importance among those who have children, lack of childcare and flexibility in the workplace clearly remains a substantial barrier to career progression for women.</p>
<p>Requiring women to “lean in” or engage in confidence-building interventions is not the solution. Focusing on <a href="https://hbr.org/2021/02/stop-telling-women-they-have-imposter-syndrome">imposter syndrome</a> or women being underconfident puts the onus on them to change. Instead, we all need to find ways to change the system.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/200516/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span><a href="mailto:nikki.shure@ucl.ac.uk">nikki.shure@ucl.ac.uk</a> receives funding from the Economic and Social Research Council (grant number ES/T013850/1).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anna Adamecz does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Why companies should be worried about diversity in ‘top jobs’ and what they can do to make this happen.
Nikki Shure, Associate Professor in Economics, UCL
Anna Adamecz, Research Associate in Economics, UCL
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/201812
2023-03-24T09:33:06Z
2023-03-24T09:33:06Z
Water scarcity on Nigeria’s coast is hardest on women: 6 steps to ease the burden
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516332/original/file-20230320-550-a9q1oa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Luis Tato/AFP via Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Imagine waking up before dawn every day to fetch water for your family. You trek to the nearest water source, miles away, with only a jerrycan to carry the precious liquid. You brave scorching heat or heavy rain, while trying to avoid dangerous animals and strangers along the way.</p>
<p>This is the reality of many women in Nigeria’s coastal areas, particularly in the Ilaje region, Ondo State, south-western Nigeria. Water scarcity is a persistent problem in the region and climate change is making it <a href="https://www.icirnigeria.org/double-woes-oil-spillage-sea-surge-threaten-ilaje-communities/">worse</a>. Women bear the brunt of this crisis, as they are responsible for fetching water, cooking and other household chores. This leaves them little time for other activities, such as education or income-generating work. </p>
<p>The effects of climate change are <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666683920300420">evident</a> in the region. They lead to crop failures, erosion and loss of livelihoods due to extreme weather events such as droughts and floods. The coastal region of Nigeria is particularly at <a href="https://climateknowledgeportal.worldbank.org/country/nigeria/vulnerability">risk</a>, with a projected one-metre rise in sea level potentially resulting in the loss of 75% of the land in the region. Women in the region are especially vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Many rely on farming and fishing for their livelihoods and are responsible for collecting and using water. </p>
<p>We conducted a <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0959652619338855">study</a> of vulnerability of women to climate change in the region. This involved focus group discussions with women and men in the community and key informant interviews with local leaders and officials. Our findings showed that women face water scarcity and climate change challenges. They are vulnerable to water-borne diseases and gender-based violence. We also found that women’s participation in water management and decision-making was limited, which affected their ability to influence policies and strategies related to water governance. </p>
<p>To further investigate the vulnerability of women to climate change in Ilaje coastal region, we collected data from 10 coastal communities. Our study found that extreme weather events have been occurring in the region for the past 44 years. The communities were vulnerable to flooding and erosion. Women were particularly vulnerable to climate change impacts because of factors like their economic status, poor education, cultural norms and political marginalisation.</p>
<p>The intersection of gender, climate change and water scarcity creates a complex challenge that demands a <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0959652619338855">comprehensive and inclusive approach</a>. There are six steps that would improve the situation. They include governments, civil society organisations and local communities tackling the underlying causes of water scarcity. And involving women in water management and decision-making.</p>
<h2>Nigeria’s water crisis</h2>
<p>Nigeria’s water scarcity crisis is not limited to this region alone. In 2019, <a href="https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2021/05/25/improving-water-supply-sanitation-and-hygiene-services-in-nigeria">approximately 60 million Nigerians</a> didn’t have basic drinking water services. Globally, <a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/drinking-water">122 million people</a> have to collect unsafe water from streams or ponds. <a href="https://www.unicef.org/philippines/press-releases/two-billion-people-lack-safe-drinking-water-more-twice-lack-safe-sanitation">Two billion</a> people lack safe drinking water. Similarly, two out of every five people defecate in the streets or bushes. </p>
<p>According to the <a href="https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/blog/2023/01/ancient-tale-of-hummingbird-inspires-un-world-water-day-campaign/">United Nations</a>, poor water, sanitation and hygiene cause 1.4 million deaths annually and shorten the lives of 74 million people. Nearly <a href="https://factsanddetails.com/world/cat57/sub379/item2168.html">half</a> of all wastewater from households globally, which contains toxic substances from toilets, sinks, drains and gutters, flows back into nature without proper treatment. </p>
<p>The implications of this discharge of toxic substances are especially dire for people who live on coasts, such as those in the Ilaje region in Nigeria. Women and girls are at increased risk of waterborne illnesses because they are often the primary collectors and users of water resources in these communities. </p>
<h2>What can be done</h2>
<p>Governments, civil society organisations and local communities can take the following steps to ensure that their efforts to address water scarcity are gender-sensitive and inclusive:</p>
<p>• Educate and empower women: Education is critical in empowering women to participate in water management and decision-making. <a href="https://www.un.org/waterforlifedecade/pdf/un_water_policy_brief_2_gender.pdf">Building women’s skills and knowledge</a> enables them to take a more active role in addressing the water crisis. </p>
<p>• Involve women in water management and decision-making: Women are often disproportionately affected by water scarcity, as they are responsible for water-fetching, cooking and other household chores. Involving them in decisions can help ensure that their needs and concerns are considered.</p>
<p>• Support women-led start-ups and businesses: Women are often under-represented in entrepreneurship but have unique perspectives and insights that can be used to develop innovative solutions to the water crisis. Supporting women-led startups and businesses can help create a more equitable and sustainable future.</p>
<p>• Provide access to sanitation facilities for women and girls: Lack of access to sanitation facilities can have a <a href="https://blogs.worldbank.org/endpovertyinsouthasia/enhancing-womens-access-water-sanitation-and-hygiene-bangladesh">significant impact</a> on women’s and girl’s <a href="https://www.unicef.org/nigeria/stories/wash-facilities-influence-school-attendance-among-adolescent-girls">education</a>, health, safety and dignity. </p>
<p>• Support women’s groups and initiatives: This can help to ensure that <a href="https://asiapacific.unwomen.org/en/stories/experts-take/2022/06/womens-voice-and-influence">women’s voices</a> are heard and their needs are addressed.</p>
<p>• Address gender-based violence: Violence can <a href="https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/socialsustainability/brief/violence-against-women-and-girls">hinder</a> women’s access to safe and reliable water resources. Addressing gender-based violence is crucial to ensuring that women and girls can safely access and use water resources.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/201812/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Adenike Akinsemolu does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Gender, climate change and water scarcity together create a difficult challenge.
Adenike Akinsemolu, Vanguard Fellow, University of Birmingham
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/199562
2023-03-07T21:17:25Z
2023-03-07T21:17:25Z
Is International Women’s Day a catalyst for change or just a symbolic gesture?
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/513048/original/file-20230301-29-r18zqv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=503%2C11%2C6731%2C4601&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">This year, the Canadian government’s theme for International Women’s Day is 'Every Woman Counts.' But how does this message translate into action?</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/is-international-women-s-day-a-catalyst-for-change-or-just-a-symbolic-gesture" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p><a href="https://www.internationalwomensday.com/">International Women’s Day</a> occurs yearly on March 8. The United Nations <a href="https://www.un.org/en/observances/">argues that international days are powerful tools</a> for advocacy, awareness and action. On women’s rights and equality issues, action and awareness are badly needed, at home in Canada and around the world. </p>
<p>But does International Women’s Day actually accomplish anything? Are these types of public recognition events helpful? What can governments do better on this front?</p>
<p>One danger of international observances is they can become window dressing where the symbolic action of one single day covers for unsubstantive efforts on the other 364 days of the year.</p>
<p>This year’s celebrations may seem exaggerated, or even performative, when juxtaposed against governments’ political records on gender issues. In 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court removed constitutional guarantees of reproductive freedom with the <a href="https://theconversation.com/could-a-roe-v-wade-style-reversal-of-abortion-rights-happen-in-canada-185988">repeal of <em>Roe v. Wade</em></a>. </p>
<p>In Canada, <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-covid-19-pandemic-has-made-the-impacts-of-gender-based-violence-worse-193197">rates of domestic violence</a> and femicide have increased over the past few years, with some calling it the <a href="https://digitalcommons.osgoode.yorku.ca/ohlj/vol57/iss3/8/">shadow pandemic alongside COVID-19</a>. Little has been done on the national action plan to <a href="https://mmiwg2splus-nationalactionplan.ca">end violence against Indigenous women in Canada</a>. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/canadas-shadow-pandemic-femicide-187661">Canada's shadow pandemic: Femicide</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Most countries still have gender pay equity gaps. The World Economic Forum’s <a href="https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GGGR_2022.pdf">2022 Global Gender Gap Report</a> estimates there has been a generational loss in women’s equality worldwide as a result of the pandemic, and this is being compounded by the <a href="https://theconversation.com/better-income-assistance-programs-are-needed-to-help-people-with-rising-cost-of-living-190216">current cost-of-living crisis</a>.</p>
<p>These alarms are being sounded by other international organizations too, including <a href="https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/gender-equality/">the UN</a>.</p>
<h2>Canadians support gender equality</h2>
<p>The dire need to address problems facing women is reflected in Canadians’ attitudes too — especially women’s attitudes. There is clear dissatisfaction with current conditions and an appetite for the government to do more to advance gender equality. </p>
<p>Data from the <a href="https://search1.odesi.ca/#/details?uri=%2Fodesi%2Fcora-cdem-ces-E-2021.xml">2021 Canadian Election Study</a> revealed that 31 per cent of women and 17 per cent of men believe women face a lot, or a great deal of, discrimination in Canada. </p>
<p>Consistent with this, 64 per cent of women and 49 per cent of men believe more, or much more, should be done for women to eradicate discrimination. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A women holds two stacks of coins between thumb and forefinger. The stack on the left is shorter than the stack on the right." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/513039/original/file-20230301-28-tmqvb2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/513039/original/file-20230301-28-tmqvb2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513039/original/file-20230301-28-tmqvb2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513039/original/file-20230301-28-tmqvb2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513039/original/file-20230301-28-tmqvb2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513039/original/file-20230301-28-tmqvb2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513039/original/file-20230301-28-tmqvb2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Most countries still have gender pay equity gaps.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
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<p>Seventy per cent of women and 60 per cent of men believed the federal government should spend more on affordable housing. Fifty-one per cent of women and 44 per cent of men said the federal government should spend more on the <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/campaigns/child-care.html">national child care plan</a>.</p>
<p>Not only do Canadians generally support greater government action, but women’s personal experiences of inequality or group-based solidarity with other women who have faced these experiences sensitize them to the need for greater action. </p>
<h2>‘Every Woman Counts’</h2>
<p>This year, the Canadian government’s theme for International Women’s Day is “<a href="https://women-gender-equality.canada.ca/en/commemorations-celebrations/international-womens-day/2023-theme.html">Every Woman Counts</a>.”</p>
<p>The digital toolkit designed for the campaign features women from different racialized communities against a backdrop of different coloured squares, together with a variety of links to resources such as the <a href="https://women-gender-equality.canada.ca/en/commemorations-celebrations/women-impact.html">Women of Impact Gallery</a> and <a href="https://www.historicacanada.ca/heritageminutes"><em>Heritage Minutes</em></a> on “inspiring Canadian women.” </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1630991452950917120"}"></div></p>
<p>These are all interesting and useful resources, but do they speak to the everyday challenges women face? Issues including economic well-being, health care access and reproductive care, sexism, sexual assault and other forms of gender-based violence, and gendered forms of racism and anti-Indigenous prejudice? </p>
<p>In other words, in celebrating the impressive heights that select women — albeit from many different backgrounds — have achieved, how does the campaign speak to the millions of women across the country and their daily policy needs?</p>
<p>How is the message translatable into action? What does it even mean to say that every woman “counts”? Counts for what? For whom? And what obligations or entitlements does this imply?</p>
<h2>Symbolic value</h2>
<p>On its own, International Women’s Day does not directly seek to produce substantive action toward the goal of greater gender equality, just as <a href="https://www.earthhour.org/our-mission">Earth Hour on the last Sunday night of March</a> does not and is not meant to directly halt environmental degradation. </p>
<p>International Women’s Day, Earth Hour and other days of acknowledgement have symbolic value. These international observances recognize challenges facing marginalized groups or society as a whole, draw attention to them and create unity and mobilization around those problems.</p>
<p>This is consistent with the origins of International Women’s Day in leftist movements, parties and governments, for whom secular communal holidays were important, especially for “<a href="https://daily.jstor.org/the-socialist-origins-of-international-womens-day/">the solidification of a sense of community</a>.”</p>
<p>International Women’s Day provides a focus point, a rallying call and important recognition. How these get translated into direct action is a difficult task, but one that a symbolic day cannot be expected to surmount.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/199562/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Elizabeth Goodyear-Grant receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council</span></em></p>
Days of international observance recognize challenges facing marginalized groups or society as a whole, draw attention to them and create unity and mobilization around those problems.
Elizabeth Goodyear-Grant, Professor, Political Studies; Director, Canadian Opinion Research Archive, Queen's University, Ontario
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/200625
2023-03-03T13:24:55Z
2023-03-03T13:24:55Z
The retention problem: Women are going into tech but are also being driven out
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/513069/original/file-20230302-98-hr8cj6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5700%2C3797&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A sense of community and mutual support help women respond to toxic tech culture.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/high-angle-view-of-male-and-female-programmers-royalty-free-image/1387362037">Maskot/DigitalVision via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>By 2029, there will be 3.6 million computing jobs in the U.S., but there will only be enough college graduates with computing degrees to fill <a href="https://wpassets.ncwit.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/13163828/1209_2021_BTN_FullSize.pdf">24% of these jobs</a>. For decades, the U.S. has <a href="https://carnegieendowment.org/2022/03/22/how-u.s.-gender-equality-funding-increase-can-actually-be-effective-pub-86686">poured resources into improving gender representation</a> in the tech industry. However, the numbers are not improving proportionately. Instead, they <a href="https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2021/01/women-making-gains-in-stem-occupations-but-still-underrepresented.html">have remained stagnant</a>, and initiatives are failing. </p>
<p>Women make up 57% of the overall workforce. Comparatively, women make up only <a href="https://wpassets.ncwit.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/13163828/1209_2021_BTN_FullSize.pdf">27% of the workforce in the technology industry</a>. Of the 27% that join the technology industry, more than <a href="https://www.accenture.com/_acnmedia/PDF-134/Accenture-A4-GWC-Report-Final1.pdf">50% are likely to quit</a> before the age of 35, and <a href="https://www.spencerstuart.com/-/media/images/inline-images/womenintech-062116-graphic-large.jpg">56% are likely to quit by midcareer</a>.</p>
<p>So, questions arise: Why does the technology industry have a retention problem? Why are women who are employed by the technology industry quitting in such high volumes? What factors contribute to this low retention of women in the technology industry, and what kind of support do women need to stay and succeed in it? </p>
<p>I’m an <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=xdJqYcsAAAAJ&hl=en">information science researcher</a> who studies gender and information technology, women in STEM – science, technology, engineering and math – online communities and open source software. My team at the University of Tennessee conducted research to address these questions. We found that retention plays a large role in the gender disparity in the tech field and that online and physical spaces that support women can boost retention.</p>
<h2>Women quitting the tech industry</h2>
<p>Research shows that women face many challenges in the tech industry. The <a href="https://www.codecademy.com/resources/blog/gender-pay-gap-in-tech/">gender pay gap</a> is severe. Women do not get the <a href="https://www.accenture.com/_acnmedia/PDF-134/Accenture-A4-GWC-Report-Final1.pdf">same opportunities as men</a>; for example, only 18% of the chief information officers/chief technology officers are women. And women receive unfair treatment. </p>
<p>My research team focused on the experiences of women in the tech industry with a particular focus on the treatment they receive in the workplace and the nature of support systems for women who succeed. We studied open-source software communities because open-source software communities are an extreme example of gender inequity. Seventy percent of all the software that supports technology infrastructure is open source, which makes open-source software integral to the future of the tech workforce. Yet women <a href="https://doi.org/10.1145/3510460">make up only 9.8%</a> of the people who contribute to open-source software projects.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/513278/original/file-20230302-28-u0k3ha.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="a woman seated at a desk in front of a computer with her eyes closed and her left hand on her forehead" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/513278/original/file-20230302-28-u0k3ha.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/513278/original/file-20230302-28-u0k3ha.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513278/original/file-20230302-28-u0k3ha.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513278/original/file-20230302-28-u0k3ha.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513278/original/file-20230302-28-u0k3ha.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513278/original/file-20230302-28-u0k3ha.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513278/original/file-20230302-28-u0k3ha.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Women often have to deal with sexism, harassment and outright misogyny in tech workplaces.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/tired-businesswoman-with-head-in-hand-sitting-at-royalty-free-image/1073867488">Maskot via Getty Images</a></span>
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<p>In seeking answers to this retention problem of the tech industry, our research found that women’s negative experiences range from <a href="https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3524501.3527602">minor to severe harassment, sexism, discrimination and misogyny to explicit death threats</a>. Their expertise is challenged, <a href="https://doi.org/10.33137/ijidi.v5i3.36197">their contributions are not well-received</a> and their roles are diminished. They face <a href="https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3524501.3527602">constant harassment and deal with normalized abuse</a>, often hearing that “guys will be guys,” and they deal with isolation because they are often severely outnumbered by men.</p>
<p>The impact of these negative experiences shows evidence of multiple levels of harm. For example, the individual harm that a woman faces leads to incidental harm of other women being discouraged from participation, resulting in further collective harm for the open-source software community in the form of fewer women participating. Overall, these negative experiences are detrimental to the retention of women in open-source software and the tech industry in general.</p>
<h2>The culture problem</h2>
<p>Mainstream media often reports on open-source software’s <a href="https://diginomica.com/ada-lovelace-day-tackling-toxic-tech-bro-culture">toxic “tech bro” culture</a>. In recent years, high-profile leaders in open-source software have been exposed for their abusive behavior. </p>
<p>Open-source software icon Linus Torvalds stepped aside from the Linux kernel after his toxic, abusive emails to other developers were highlighted in the media. His decision to step down came as a result of questions about his <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/science/elements/after-years-of-abusive-e-mails-the-creator-of-linux-steps-aside">abusive behavior in discouraging women</a> from working as Linux kernel programmers.</p>
<p>Another towering figure in this field, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2019/09/17/computer-scientist-richard-stallman-resigns-mit-after-comments-about-epstein-scandal/">Richard Stallman</a>, was pushed into resigning from the Free Software Foundation and MIT after a very successful career in open-source software because of his views on pedophilia, as well as a multitude of <a href="https://thenewstack.io/why-almost-everyone-wants-richard-stallman-cancelled/">sexual harassment cases from students and faculty at MIT over the course of 30 years</a>. These types of public incidents of unprofessional behavior from tech industry leaders have a chilling effect on the participation of women and perpetuate toxic behavior.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Stark statistics about women in the tech field.</span></figcaption>
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<h2>Support systems for women</h2>
<p>In our research about the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-20883-7_7">support systems</a> for women in tech, we observed and documented the value of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1109/GE.2019.00010">online spaces that focus on women</a> in the form of <a href="http://hdl.handle.net/10125/64033">social, emotional, technical and networking support</a>. Based on our results, key to supporting women in open-source software are online spaces that are focused on female participants and are readily accessible through the websites of open-source software organizations. The spaces help because they provide a sense of community for women working in open-source software. </p>
<p>These spaces are mainly but not exclusively for women. Examples include <a href="https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Women">Fedora Women</a> and <a href="https://www.debian.org/women/">Debian Women</a>. When women face discrimination and misogyny, these spaces allow them to reach out to other women and seek social and emotional support. Women guide and mentor each other to navigate the toxicity of the tech industry and find avenues to advocate for gender equality.</p>
<p>Additionally, we found that women flourish when supported by community guidelines, such as the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11219-020-09543-w">codes of conduct for online spaces</a>, in-person events and professional organizations. We found that codes of conduct often become advocacy tools for women’s equal treatment in open-source software online communities. They serve as tools for women and allies alike. </p>
<p>When women are supported by mentors and allies and can network in their communities, and when they see role models who look like them succeeding in tech communities, they are <a href="https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3524501.3527602">less likely to quit</a>. The retention problem can be addressed by tackling the gender disparities of the technology industry with online and physical spaces that focus on women, policies and practices to ensure equal treatment of women, and female mentors and role models.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/200625/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Vandana Singh has received funding for her research from NSF, IMLS, USGS, Google, and the University of Tennessee.</span></em></p>
Women are severely underrepresented in tech. Strength in numbers – communities for women and women mentoring women – can counter tech’s sexist culture and help retain women in the field.
Vandana Singh, Professor of Information Science, University of Tennessee
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/196276
2022-12-22T22:13:09Z
2022-12-22T22:13:09Z
Will Australia receive a red card for gender equity at the 2023 Women’s World Cup?
<p>This year’s FIFA men’s World Cup has cast a media spotlight on Qatar’s human rights record. The tournament also offered an opportunity to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2022/nov/29/protests-around-iran-at-world-cup-continue-but-security-take-a-step-back">draw attention</a> to the current protests in Iran surrounding the mistreatment of women.</p>
<p>Qatar’s <a href="https://www.amnesty.org/en/location/middle-east-and-north-africa/qatar/report-qatar/">imbalance in rights</a> and treatment of women in particular has been called out. Discrimination against women has long been enshrined in Qatari law, including <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2021/mar/29/were-treated-as-children-qatari-women-tell-rights-group">unclear rules</a> on male guardianship. This means Qatari women face inequities and lack of access to basic freedoms.</p>
<p>Although Iran was not a host country, the World Cup has been an opportunity for people to protest the treatment of women in Iran following the <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-09-23/what-happened-to-mahsa-mini-iran-protests-death-iranian-women/101467612">death in custody</a> of Kurdish-Iranian woman Mahsa Amini. Iranian footballer Amir Reza Nasr Azadani was this month <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-12-15/iranian-footballer-handed-death-sentence-for-backing-women/101774262">sentenced to death</a> for joining in protests against the country’s clerical establishment.</p>
<p>Host nations of large sports events are often called out by the international public for their track record on human rights. If they fall short of human rights expectations they are increasingly accused of “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/nov/16/sportswashing-qatar-west-world-cup-regime">sportswashing</a>” – enhancing their reputation by leveraging the <a href="https://theconversation.com/liv-golf-sportwashing-vs-the-commercial-value-of-public-attention-185478">goodwill associated with sport</a>. </p>
<p>While Australia is unlikely to be accused of sportswashing to the same extent as nations like Qatar, should we be? As we prepare to co-host (with New Zealand) the 2023 FIFA women’s World Cup, will the world bring focus to Australia’s treatment of women?</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/fifas-mirage-of-unity-why-the-world-cup-is-a-vessel-for-political-protest-195432">FIFA's mirage of unity: why the World Cup is a vessel for political protest</a>
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<h2>Sport events revealing human rights injustices</h2>
<p>In 2017, amid mounting criticism of its decision to award the 2022 tournament to Qatar, FIFA, the international governing body of football, adopted a <a href="https://digitalhub.fifa.com/m/1a876c66a3f0498d/original/kr05dqyhwr1uhqy2lh6r-pdf.pdf">Human Rights Policy</a> with the aim of encouraging member countries to respect and protect all human rights. However, FIFA stands accused of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2022/dec/12/fifa-accused-of-failing-to-adhere-to-its-own-human-rights-commitments">failing to adhere</a> to its own human rights commitments.</p>
<p>This includes FIFA <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-soccer-worldcup-fifa-infantino-idUSKBN1K31IG">praising Russia</a> for hosting a successful tournament in 2018, despite the country doing little to hold that nation to account for abuses of foreign workers, repression of LGBTQIA+ people and its persecution of Ukraine.</p>
<h2>Is Australia levelling the playing field for women?</h2>
<p>It’s important to note that unlike Qatar and Iran, Australia doesn’t have constitutional or legally formalised repression of women or sexual minorities. However, women (especially First Nations women) in Australia still navigate deeply entrenched inequities and disadvantage for a range of reasons.</p>
<p>This is why in the lead-up to Australia co-hosting the Women’s World Cup, the nation needs to look at its own gender inequities. For example, Australia is currently ranked <a href="https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GGGR_2022.pdf">43rd in the world</a> by the World Economic Forum for gender equality. In contrast, our 2023 Women’s World Cup hosting partners New Zealand ranks fourth. </p>
<p>One woman a week <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/mar/01/a-woman-is-still-being-killed-each-week-in-australia-we-need-federal-leadership">dies in Australia</a> as a consequence of intimate partner violence. <a href="https://www.ourwatch.org.au/quick-facts/">One in two</a> Australian women have experienced sexual harassment in their lifetime. It’s been <a href="https://www.pwc.com.au/pdf/a-high-price-to-pay.pdf">estimated</a> violence against women costs the Australian economy $21.7 billion a year. <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/the-dark-underbelly-of-australian-workplaces-was-exposed-now-migrants-are-being-asked-for-their-stories/mhyk2p0pc">Migrant, refugee</a> and First Nations women are at <a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/domestic-violence/family-domestic-sexual-violence-in-australia-2018/report-editions">greater risk</a>. </p>
<p>Australia’s lack of progress is also reflected in Australian men having been <a href="https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/australian-men-rank-among-most-misogynistic/">found</a> to hold some of the most sexist and misogynistic views in the world. This research found more men in Australia believe “it’s a woman’s obligation to have sex with her boyfriend or husband even if she doesn’t feel like it” than men in any of the 30 countries surveyed.</p>
<p>Inequity against women is also present in workplaces. Despite legislative and other apparent protections, inequities against women are weaved into the very fabric of our nation. From the private domain, workplaces to the law and public office, masculine (typically white) privilege is retained.</p>
<p>At the current rate of progress, it will take more than 200 years for Australian women to achieve <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/dec/05/australian-women-will-need-more-than-200-years-to-reach-income-equity-with-men">pay equity with men</a>. </p>
<h2>First Nations women disproportionately affected by inequity in Australia</h2>
<p>Through <a href="https://www.footballaustralia.com.au/legacy23">Australia’s Legacy ‘23 plan</a> to increase diversity in professional sport, there is an <a href="https://www.fifa.com/tournaments/womens/womensworldcup/australia-new-zealand2023/news/australia-building-strong-platform-for-indigenous-legacy">opportunity</a> for First Nations women and gender-diverse people to participate in football. While a great sporting opportunity, how will this materially or culturally benefit these First Nations people in the long term? </p>
<p>First Nations peoples’ public participation in sport is not enough, as academics Toni Bruce and Emma Wensing have found in <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1057/9780230367463_31">their research</a>. They analysed the reception to Cathy Freeman’s success at the Sydney Olympics, and found that widepsread media coverage of Freeman’s achievements did nothing to change the country’s racial attitudes towards Aboriginal people. </p>
<p>While widespread media coverage of participation in sport is certainly a great opportunity for some First Nations people in Australia, it could be considered a form of sportswashing, where media use sport and sporting achievements to distract from bigger issues. For example, in 2016–17, Indigenous women in Australia reported three times as many incidents of sexual violence and accounted for one in three family violence <a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/getmedia/b180312b-27de-4cd9-b43e-16109e52f3d4/aihw-fdv4-FDSV-in-Australia-2019_in-brief.pdf.aspx?inline=true">hospitalisations</a>, and were more likely to be killed due to assault.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-closing-the-gap-may-close-doors-for-first-nations-women-in-new-plan-to-end-violence-192620">How 'closing the gap' may close doors for First Nations women in new plan to end violence</a>
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<h2>Moving the goalposts</h2>
<p>Australia has voluntarily entered into <a href="https://www.ag.gov.au/rights-and-protections/human-rights-and-anti-discrimination/international-human-rights-system#:%7E:text=Australia%20is%20a%20party%20to,Forms%20of%20Racial%20Discrimination%20(CERD)">human rights treaty commitments</a> including the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). </p>
<p>As it stands, we aren’t doing enough to honour this commitment. Uplifting women will have positive cultural and economic effects that benefit all Australians, we’re on the same team after all. To build women’s strengths Australia could start by investing in meaningful amounts of <a href="https://theconversation.com/paid-parental-leave-needs-an-overhaul-if-governments-want-us-to-have-one-for-the-country-145627">paid parental leave</a>. First Nations people must also be valued and <a href="https://theconversation.com/albanese-insists-voice-will-help-close-the-gap-as-divisions-flare-in-nationals-195564">empowered</a> to address inequities affecting them.</p>
<p>Perhaps some rules of the game need changing? Or maybe the goalposts need to be shifted altogether. Calling foul on workplace harassment, eliminating the gender pay gap, reducing violence against Indigenous women and enabling women to progress are rights Australia has sworn to practice and protect. </p>
<p>This would be a win for everyone.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/196276/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sonya Pearce works with Homelessness NSW and is Consultant for DVSM RAP PLAN, and received grants from PAUL RAMSAY FOUNDATION and UTSB.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alison Pullen, Hazel Maxwell, Michelle O'Shea, and Sarah Duffy do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
The Qatar World Cup has attracted criticism of the country’s human rights. With Australia set to host the women’s world cup next year, there’s some work we need to do in this area, too.
Michelle O'Shea, Senior Lecturer, School of Business, Western Sydney University
Alison Pullen, Professor of Gender, Work and Organization, Macquarie University
Hazel Maxwell, Senior Lecturer, Western Sydney University
Sarah Duffy, Senior Lecturer, School of Business, Western Sydney University
Sonya Joy Pearce, Casual academic, University of Sydney, University of Technology Sydney
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/195539
2022-12-15T20:34:12Z
2022-12-15T20:34:12Z
Well, actually: Mansplaining is a problem in the workplace
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/500811/original/file-20221213-22773-u7oobq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=8%2C8%2C5742%2C3819&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Mansplaining isn't just a social media phenomenon — it permeates beyond the virtual realm to affect people in their working lives.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Since the term “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dcm.2017.09.010">mansplaining</a>” has entered the cultural zeitgeist as a social media phenomenon and hashtag, its popularity and usage has only skyrocketed. In just six months between November 2016 and April 2017, for example, it was mentioned at least <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/2056305119861807">10,000 unique times</a> on Twitter.</p>
<p>Mansplaining is a portmanteau combining “man” and “explain” that refers to a man providing an unrequested explanation to a woman. It is characterized by the confidence of the speaker, a condescending tone, an interjection or interruption and the underlying assumption that the target has no prior knowledge of the subject.</p>
<p>The term mansplaining was first popularized by Rebecca Solnit in her 2008 essay, <a href="http://rebeccasolnit.net/book/men-explain-things-to-me/"><em>Men Explain Things to Me</em></a>. In it, Solnit described an interaction with a man where he explained to her the premise and importance of a book he assumed she had no knowledge of — a book that Solnit wrote herself. He continued doggedly despite her friend’s repeated insistence of “that’s her book.”</p>
<p>In other <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/womens-blog/2016/sep/13/mansplaining-how-not-talk-female-nasa-astronauts">notable examples</a>, an astrophysicist <a href="https://www.good.is/articles/deny-global-warming-you-get-burned">tweeting about climate change</a> was told to “learn actual science” and a NASA astronaut <a href="https://twitter.com/Astro_Jessica/status/774051144012148736">was challenged on her own tweet</a> about an experiment that she conducted in a space-equivalent zone. </p>
<p>The ongoing social media discourse around mansplaining and its connection to the professional experiences of women questions whether this form of behaviour can be found in the workplace and, if so, what effect it is having. </p>
<h2>Covert workplace mistreatment</h2>
<p>Research suggests that covert forms of workplace mistreatment have <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/people-and-organizational-performance/our-insights/the-hidden-toll-of-workplace-incivility">increased over the last 20 years</a>. This is sometimes attributed to the increased condemnation of overt discrimination. </p>
<p>Most incidents of mistreatment in today’s workplace are due to a <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/ocp0000089">lack of civility or violations of social norms</a>, rather than openly discriminatory, hostile or violent behaviours. Covert mistreatment such as disrespect, condescension and degradation are <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/1076-8998.6.1.64">particularly harmful</a> because of the ambiguous nature of intent.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A woman sits with her head in her hands as two men speak animatedly at her" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/500819/original/file-20221213-21589-5xo06z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/500819/original/file-20221213-21589-5xo06z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500819/original/file-20221213-21589-5xo06z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500819/original/file-20221213-21589-5xo06z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500819/original/file-20221213-21589-5xo06z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500819/original/file-20221213-21589-5xo06z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500819/original/file-20221213-21589-5xo06z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">What effect, if any, does mansplaining have in the workplace?</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We set out to explore how the term “mansplaining” is being used in popular discourse surrounding the workplace. We also wanted to know if mansplaining exists outside of social media, or whether it is just another example of online <a href="https://medium.com/@kristanannbuck/how-the-death-of-expertise-has-poisoned-conversation-on-social-media-87e77b354d0b">backlash against experts</a>. To do so, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/jmo.2022.81">we investigated the prevalence of mansplaining</a> in the workplace. </p>
<p>Finally, we wanted to establish who is experiencing mansplaining, who is perpetrating mansplaining and its potential impact on the target.</p>
<h2>A working definition</h2>
<p>To define mansplaining in the workplace context, we scraped Twitter for tweets that mentioned mansplaining and included work-related terms. Our analysis expanded the definition of mansplaining: someone (usually a man) providing an unsolicited — or unwelcome — condescending or persistent explanation to someone (usually not a man) that questions their knowledge or assumes a lack of knowledge — regardless of the veracity of the explanation. </p>
<p>We then surveyed working North Americans to ask them if they had experienced mansplaining, how frequently it occurred if they did and the perceived gender of the perpetrator.</p>
<p>We were particularly interested in knowing whether the “man” part of mansplaining was appropriate. As such, we asked people of all genders to report on the behaviours we associated with mansplaining and didn’t specifically ask respondents about mansplaining itself.</p>
<h2>Beyond social media</h2>
<p>Our research indicates that mansplaining is much more than a social media phenomenon and permeates beyond the virtual realm to affect people in their working lives.</p>
<p>Nearly every individual in our study, regardless of gender, experienced at least one of the mansplaining behaviours. However, women and gender minority employees experienced a wider range of the characteristic behaviours and experienced them much more often. </p>
<p>This suggests that mansplaining may represent a type of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1559-1816.2011.00891.x">gendered incivility</a> in the workplace — a form of rudeness most often experienced by women and gender minority employees and most likely to be perpetrated by men. The term “mansplaining” may be an overgeneralization, but it does seem to accurately reflect the experiences of women and gender minority employees.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="An older man in a business suit points and talks sternly to a younger woman who is also in business attire" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/500823/original/file-20221213-24246-clx9a3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/500823/original/file-20221213-24246-clx9a3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500823/original/file-20221213-24246-clx9a3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500823/original/file-20221213-24246-clx9a3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500823/original/file-20221213-24246-clx9a3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500823/original/file-20221213-24246-clx9a3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500823/original/file-20221213-24246-clx9a3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Gendered incivility is a form of rudeness most often experienced by women and gender minority employees and most likely to be perpetrated by men.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Our results also suggest that mansplaining has significant detrimental effects on the targets — much like workplace incivility does. Each of the mansplaining experiences were associated with lower organizational commitment and job satisfaction and higher turnover intentions, emotional exhaustion and psychological distress.</p>
<h2>Mansplaining is not a fad</h2>
<p>Organizations should not dismiss mansplaining as a product of social media rudeness or as a passing fad. Instead, mansplaining should be understood as an issue related to selective incivility where individuals are targeted based on their identity and made to feel like they do not belong.</p>
<p>Once identified as a form of incivility, mansplaining can and should be addressed in the workplace. Interventions that are effective at counteracting incivility might also be effective at mitigating mansplaining.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.va.gov/ncod/crew.asp">Civility, Respect and Engagement in the Workplace intervention</a> is one such training that mitigates incivility and encourages civility in the workplace. A <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/a0024442">Canadian hospital system that used the intervention saw improvements</a> in respectful behaviour, job satisfaction and trust in management, while employee burnout and absenteeism dropped.</p>
<p>The book, <a href="https://subtleactsofexclusion.com/"><em>Subtle Acts of Exclusion</em></a>, might also be a handy resource for leaders and employees aiming to address this covert form of gendered mistreatment. This handbook helps organizations prevent microaggressions so that employees feel a sense of belonging and inclusion in their workplaces. </p>
<p>It’s up to workplaces to mitigate the harms caused by mansplaining and prevent it from becoming a recurring issue in the workplace. The productivity and well-being of employees depends on it.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/195539/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>This research was partially funded by a Mitacs Research Training Award.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Chelsie J. Smith received received funding for this study through a Mitacs Research Training Award. She also receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) through a Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Katarina Lauch has received funding through the Ontario Graduate Scholarship. </span></em></p>
People who experience mansplaining suffer lower organizational commitment and job satisfaction, and higher turnover intention, emotional exhaustion and psychological distress.
Linda Schweitzer, Professor, Management and Strategy, Carleton University
Chelsie J. Smith, PhD Candidate in Management and Strategy, Carleton University
Katarina Lauch, PhD Candidate, Sprott School of Business, Carleton University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/193607
2022-12-05T19:03:58Z
2022-12-05T19:03:58Z
Supporting feminine leadership can help create a just and kinder future
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/496832/original/file-20221122-22-e46hd0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=38%2C91%2C5045%2C3292&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">For women to reach leadership positions, they need to be valued and recognized for their contributions, which may look different than those of their male colleagues.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/supporting-feminine-leadership-can-help-create-a-just-and-kinder-future" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>Women are still struggling to reach leadership positions. Though there are <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/36-28-0001/2021011/article/00004-eng.htm">more women earning college degrees</a> and a <a href="https://www.catalyst.org/research/women-in-the-workforce-canada/">comparable number entering the workplace</a>, women are still <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/89-28-0001/2022001/article/00002-eng.htm">not reaching mid-level and top-level leadership positions at the same rate as men</a>. </p>
<p>In Canada, <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/220518/dq220518c-eng.htm">women hold only 19 per cent of corporate board positions</a>. Less than one per cent of senior leadership and pipeline positions <a href="https://canadianwomen.org/the-facts/women-and-leadership-in-canada/">are held by Black and Indigenous women, women with disabilities and LGBTQ2S+ women.</a> </p>
<p>A model of leadership that encompasses the feminine traits within each of us can help move us towards a more just and sustaining world.</p>
<p>As a social innovation designer, I study complex challenges with the aim of finding common approaches needed to solve them. My goal is to frame the principles that can help us <a href="https://www.trickleupdesign.com/podcast">design a more humane future</a> — where all voices are heard and valued. To understand how to get there, <a href="https://www.trickleupdesign.com/podcast/episode6-we-need-feminine-leadership">I listened to stakeholders and emerging leaders engaged in the work of championing more inclusive and equitable leadership.</a></p>
<h2>The enduring glass ceiling</h2>
<p>Terms like <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/diversity-and-inclusion/women-in-the-workplace">“broken rung”</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1108/GM-02-2015-0007">“sticky floor”</a> describe the difficulty women encounter moving up from entry-level roles. Metaphors like the <a href="https://journalistsresource.org/economics/workplace-discrimination-glass-ceiling-glass-escalator/">“glass ceiling”, “glass escalator”</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01751">“glass cliff”</a> illustrate the struggles women face in attaining managerial and executive roles. </p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1108/GM-02-2015-0007">Scholars argue that the metaphor of a labyrinth</a> better describes the complex maze of barriers that make it difficult for women to rise to the top.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/496836/original/file-20221122-26-fmumv3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A woman in an office working on a laptop." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/496836/original/file-20221122-26-fmumv3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/496836/original/file-20221122-26-fmumv3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/496836/original/file-20221122-26-fmumv3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/496836/original/file-20221122-26-fmumv3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/496836/original/file-20221122-26-fmumv3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/496836/original/file-20221122-26-fmumv3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/496836/original/file-20221122-26-fmumv3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Critics of ‘leaning in’ say that it puts the onus on women to change their behaviours and ignores the systemic barriers at play.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>During the pandemic, women have carried the brunt of the caretaking responsibilities <a href="https://www.oecd.org/coronavirus/policy-responses/caregiving-in-crisis-gender-inequality-in-paid-and-unpaid-work-during-covid-19-3555d164/">at home and at work</a>. They are doing <a href="https://hbr.org/2021/10/research-women-took-on-even-more-invisible-work-during-the-pandemic">more to support their teams’ well-being and engage in diversity and inclusion initiatives</a>. </p>
<p>Yet, these efforts are <a href="https://leanin.org/women-in-the-workplace/2022/the-importance-of-managers">rarely captured in performance evaluations that determine raises and promotions</a>. By narrowly defining leadership, using <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01400">metrics that skew towards a masculine style of management</a>, barriers remain for women and gender-diverse people to break through the glass ceiling. </p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-018-0969-6">Deep-seeded bias</a> and ideas around <a href="https://doi.org/10.1108/GM-03-2015-0012">“respectable femininity”</a> still impact how women are perceived and evaluated.</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/peps.12266">Analysis shows</a> that though the gender leadership gap is slowly narrowing, traits like being competitive and aggressive associated with men are still highly valued. While traits like being kind and understanding connected with women are still seen as detrimental in leadership roles. </p>
<h2>The problem with leaning in</h2>
<p>For women to reach better leadership positions, they need to be valued and recognized for their contributions, <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/GM-09-2013-0114">which may look different than those of their male colleagues</a>. </p>
<p>Instead of being told to <a href="https://www.vox.com/first-person/2018/12/6/18128838/michelle-obama-lean-in-sheryl-sandberg">“lean in”</a>, <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/diversity-and-inclusion/women-in-the-workplace">research</a> and <a href="https://www.trickleupdesign.com/podcast">women’s experiences</a> underscore the need for their contributions to be recognized and for workplaces, and society, to <a href="https://www.uhn.ca/Research/Research_Institutes/The_Institute_for_Education_Research/Events/Documents/Care-Manifesto-Readings.pdf">value collective care</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/the-end-of-lean-in-how-sheryl-sandbergs-message-of-empowerment-fully-unraveled/2018/12/19/9561eb06-fe2e-11e8-862a-b6a6f3ce8199_story.html">Critics of ‘leaning in’</a> state that it puts the onus on women to change their behaviours and ignores the systemic barriers at play. </p>
<p>Research on women who reach senior positions in male-dominated organizations and exhibit more masculine management styles has often <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797611417258">focused on personality traits</a>. Yet studies <a href="https://doi.org/10.1348/014466610x525280">show how women are shaped by sexist workplaces</a>, causing them to disengage from their gender identity, and from other women, to prevent experiencing discrimination.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/09/sexism-corporate-culture/407260/">Workplaces are shaped by the broader culture</a>. A society where women are devalued not only produces <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/19/business/sexism-women-birthplace-workplace.html">men who devalue women but also permeates how women value women</a>. </p>
<h2>Feminine leadership is not just for women</h2>
<p>Research on effective leadership underscores the need for approaches that align with <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/abc.21274">feminine characteristics of empathy, support and community-building</a>. These traits do not belong solely to women; <a href="https://doi.org/10.1108/MRR-04-2017-0131">they are inherent in all of us</a>. </p>
<p>Employees feel seen and heard <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/abc.21274">where they can learn and make mistakes</a> without fear of blame. Other values include the prioritization of care, respect and co-operation above competition and an emphasis on honesty and accountability. </p>
<p>Feminine leadership encompasses the aspects of ourselves that have been <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2003.09.004">pushed aside and devalued within conventionally male-dominant spaces</a>. Recentring them can define a model of leadership embraced and practiced by all genders.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/498053/original/file-20221129-9456-pbsdrl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A woman wearing glasses and a white shirt speaking to other people around a table." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/498053/original/file-20221129-9456-pbsdrl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/498053/original/file-20221129-9456-pbsdrl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498053/original/file-20221129-9456-pbsdrl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498053/original/file-20221129-9456-pbsdrl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498053/original/file-20221129-9456-pbsdrl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498053/original/file-20221129-9456-pbsdrl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498053/original/file-20221129-9456-pbsdrl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Mentorship and networking opportunities are vital to getting more women into leadership positions.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Leaders of the future</h2>
<p>So how do we get there? </p>
<p>Helping <a href="https://www.innovatingcanada.ca/diversity/working-together-to-help-canadian-women-find-their-voices/">girls find their own unique voices and ways of leading</a>, without conforming to narrowly defined leadership traits often modelled by men, <a href="https://medium.com/communityworksjournal/voice-and-vision-how-girls-learn-to-lead-and-resist-leading-907f24a7fe86">can shape the next generation of leaders</a>. Organizations like <a href="https://girlsincyork.org/">Girls Inc. of York Region</a> and <a href="https://plancanada.ca/get-involved/youth-opportunities">Plan International Canada</a> are providing girls and young women with opportunities to explore what being a leader means for them.</p>
<p>It is also critical for boys to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/12/learning/lesson-plans/boys-to-men-teaching-and-learning-about-masculinity-in-an-age-of-change.html">appreciate their own inherent feminine qualities of empathy and care, helping them grow into men who value feminine qualities</a> and who embrace following women and gender diverse leaders. </p>
<p>For organizations, it is not just about recruiting more women and gender diverse employees. It also means creating a workplace culture that truly embraces diversity and provides opportunities for growth.</p>
<p>Women are at a huge disadvantage when it comes to <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/07/gender-pay-gap-women-networks-work/">accessing networking</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1108/GM-08-2015-0074">mentorship opportunities</a>. Being an ally means going beyond speaking up if you see something unfair. It is advocating for more advancement opportunities and getting directly involved in mentorship for women, especially for women of colour, women with disabilities and LGBTQ2S+ women. </p>
<p>Organizations must recognize the <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.849566">emotional work and leadership already being modelled by women</a>. Evaluations and performance reviews should capture the full spectrum of what employees, especially women, bring to work and <a href="https://leanin.org/women-in-the-workplace/2021">be tied to increased pay and leadership opportunities</a>. </p>
<p>Without a shift to fully valuing the contributions of women, workplaces will continue to be labyrinths full of barriers, and the leadership gap will never close. Without understanding and embracing the importance of feminine qualities of care, empathy and collaboration in how we live, work and lead, the status quo will continue. </p>
<p>The current paradigm — a patriarchal leadership model that continues to value self-interest and competition over collective benefit and co-operation — <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/jun/12/capitalism-isnt-broken-its-working-all-too-well-and-were-the-worse-for-it">just isn’t working for most people</a>. </p>
<p>As we face the challenges of political division, social injustice, economic uncertainty and climate change, now is the time to recentre the feminine within and champion a different, kinder way to lead.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/193607/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sarah Tranum does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Feminine leadership encompasses aspects of ourselves that have been pushed aside within conventionally male-dominant spaces. Recentring them can foster leadership that is more inclusive.
Sarah Tranum, Associate Professor, Social Innovation Design, Faculty of Design, OCAD University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/192313
2022-11-20T15:22:45Z
2022-11-20T15:22:45Z
Women are struggling to regain lost ground in the workforce after COVID-19
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/493962/original/file-20221107-25-j8w5ov.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C3771%2C2502&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Women have been slow to recover their lost ground in the workforce compared to men.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated social and economic inequalities <a href="https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2021/parl/xc71-1/XC71-1-1-432-6-eng.pdf">between men and women</a> in Canada. </p>
<p>At the start of the pandemic, many women stopped looking for work. Data from Statistics Canada shows that by April 2020, <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=1410001701">55 per cent of women remained in the workforce</a>, down from 61 per cent in January 2020. As an RBC report pointed out, women’s workforce participation <a href="https://thoughtleadership.rbc.com/pandemic-threatens-decades-of-womens-labour-force-gains/">hadn’t been that low since the 1980s</a>.</p>
<p>In 2020, the <a href="https://www.chrc-ccdp.gc.ca/en/resources/canadas-social-and-economic-recovery-efforts-must-take-a-feminist-approach">Canadian Human Rights Commission warned</a> that the pandemic could “erase the gains that have been made towards gender equality in Canada.” Over two and a half years after the start of the pandemic, the situation is still dire. Women have been slow to recover their lost ground in the workforce compared to men.</p>
<h2>Growing gender inequality</h2>
<p>To shed light on the recovery process, I use data from Statistics Canada to analyze the gender gap in workforce participation during the pandemic. This gender gap reflects the difference in workforce participation between women and men.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=1410001701">Statistics Canada data</a> shows that while many women entered the workforce during the pandemic, even more men joined. Women’s participation rose to 62 per cent in August 2022 from 61 per cent in January 2020. Men’s workforce participation increased by more, from 69 per cent in January 2020 to 71 per cent in August 2022. </p>
<p>This means that women are now trying to close a gender gap in workforce participation that is wider than before the pandemic. And this gender gap was large to begin with: in January 2020, 965,800 fewer women than men looked for work. By August, the gender gap surpassed the one million mark, as 1,168,000 fewer women than men looked for work.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A business woman stands outside an office building holding a carboard box full of belongings" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/493963/original/file-20221107-16-1fal0a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/493963/original/file-20221107-16-1fal0a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=316&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493963/original/file-20221107-16-1fal0a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=316&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493963/original/file-20221107-16-1fal0a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=316&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493963/original/file-20221107-16-1fal0a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493963/original/file-20221107-16-1fal0a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493963/original/file-20221107-16-1fal0a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The unemployment rate of women rose from January 2020 to August 2022.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>Similarly, the gender gap in unemployment shifted substantially during the pandemic. By August 2022, 6.8 per cent of women were unemployed, up from 5.3 in January 2020. In contrast, the unemployment rate for men dropped to 5.3 per cent in August 2022, down from 6.5 per cent in January 2020.</p>
<p>This shows that the women face a very new gender gap in unemployment. This gender gap is not small either: In August 2022, 82,100 more women than men were unemployed. Before the pandemic, women were substantially less unemployed than men: 182,000 more women than men were employed in January 2020. </p>
<p>The data on these gender gaps support other findings that show how women face more hurdles in the workplace than men, and many of these hurdles have become steeper during the pandemic. Women <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/women-employment-canada-covid-19-1.5652788">experienced severe job losses from COVID-19</a> — especially in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCHM-05-2022-0551">hospitality sectors</a> — <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/8795661/burnout-rates-women-workplace-resignation-study-deloitte/">because of burnout</a> and <a href="https://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/features/a38941844/what-the-conversation-around-the-great-resignation-leaves-out/">unpaid caregiving and domestic labour duties</a>.</p>
<h2>The burden of caregiving</h2>
<p>When men and women do hold jobs, they don’t do the same type of work. </p>
<p>In August 2022, fewer women than men worked full-time, even though more women were working full-time <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=1410002801">before the pandemic</a>. For part-time work, the reverse is true: more women than men worked part-time in August 2022, even though less women were working part-time in January 2020.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A woman sits at a kitchen table behind a laptop with a young girl on her lap. A young boy is seen picking fruit out of a bowl in the background." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/493965/original/file-20221107-22-475t19.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/493965/original/file-20221107-22-475t19.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493965/original/file-20221107-22-475t19.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493965/original/file-20221107-22-475t19.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493965/original/file-20221107-22-475t19.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493965/original/file-20221107-22-475t19.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493965/original/file-20221107-22-475t19.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Women remain substantially more involved in child care than men do.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
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<p>Historically, women have <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/71-222-x/71-222-x2018002-eng.htm">done more part-time work</a> because of unpaid caregiving, which they are <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-elections-matter-national-child-care-plan-could-create-workplace-gender-equality-169307">expected to do</a>. Canadian women <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/89-503-x/2015001/article/54931-eng.htm">spend an average of 3.9 hours per day on housework</a>, including child care, compared to 2.4 hours per day for men. The early stages of the pandemic <a href="https://theconversation.com/employers-should-help-workers-struggling-with-child-care-during-covid-19-143664">illustrated this gender gap in caregiving</a>.</p>
<p>Full-time work has traditionally not accommodated caregiving. A woman leader I interviewed for <a href="https://tidsskrift.dk/KKF/article/view/128517">research on gender inequalities in organizations</a> had a woman employee who considered quitting because handling full-time work and caregiving for her kids had become overwhelming. </p>
<p>Together, they reviewed the employee’s work routine so that she could work from home on Fridays, which was a game changer for her. The employee avoided two hours of commute, which enabled her to pack carework into her full work day. </p>
<p>The pandemic has underlined the importance of flexibility, showing <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/stress-test-returning-to-the-office-will-cost-you-and/id1565410296?i=1000577419812">how remote working removes many costs of in-person work</a>, including lengthy commutes, and allows time for other activities. Many employees now are <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/stress-test-returning-to-the-office-will-cost-you-and/id1565410296?i=1000577419812">ready to change jobs</a> unless they can work remotely.</p>
<h2>Evolution on the care front</h2>
<p>When asked why they took on part-time work, <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=1410002801">the most common answer given by women aged 25 to 54 was caregiving</a>. Caregiving as a reason for part-time work rose faster for men than women. In August 2022, 28 per cent of women aged 25 to 54 worked part-time because they cared for children, up from 25 per cent in January 2020.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A man bottle-feeding a baby on a couch" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/493966/original/file-20221107-16-lsk1rh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/493966/original/file-20221107-16-lsk1rh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493966/original/file-20221107-16-lsk1rh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493966/original/file-20221107-16-lsk1rh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493966/original/file-20221107-16-lsk1rh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493966/original/file-20221107-16-lsk1rh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493966/original/file-20221107-16-lsk1rh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">The increase in men becoming involved in caregiving bodes well for shifting rigid gender norms surrounding child care.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In comparison, seven per cent of men aged 25 to 54 worked part-time because of child care, up from four per cent in January 2020. Women thus still remain substantially more involved in child care: As of August 2022, 248,300 women worked part-time because of child care, more than 10 times the 22,400 men. </p>
<p>Nevertheless, the increase in men becoming involved in caregiving bodes well for shifting rigid gender norms surrounding child care. Doing so <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0003122414564008">benefits women and men</a> by freeing women to do full-time paid work, while enabling men to also do care work for their children.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/192313/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Claudine Mangen receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. </span></em></p>
The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated social and economic inequality for women. Women have lost ground in the workforce and have been slower to return to work than men.
Claudine Mangen, RBC Professor in Responsible Organizations and Associate Professor, Concordia University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/171344
2022-08-30T12:17:29Z
2022-08-30T12:17:29Z
How Mary Kay contributed to feminism – even though she loathed feminists
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/480473/original/file-20220822-54947-jktayt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C8%2C2789%2C1996&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Mary Kay Ash's legendary love for the color pink symbolized her determination to be a business success by "thinking like a woman."</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/beautys-big-business-mary-kay-ash-the-originator-and-news-photo/502259765?adppopup=true">Colin McConnell /Toronto Star via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In 1963, the same year American businesswoman Mary Kay Ash started her cosmetics company, publisher W.W. Norton <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/powerful-complicated-legacy-betty-friedans-feminine-mystique-180976931/">released “The Feminine Mystique</a> – the book that has since been widely credited with launching the contemporary women’s liberation movement.</p>
<p>Ash loathed the term "feminist” and disliked the movement. In a 1983 Dallas Morning News interview, she dismissed “that foolishness feminists started in the ‘60s” of “trying to act just like a man” by cutting their hair short or lowering their voices.</p>
<p>Yet Ash, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2001/11/23/business/mary-kay-ash-who-built-a-cosmetics-empire-and-adored-pink-is-dead-at-83.html">who died in 2001</a>, successfully defied her era’s female gender norms. She turned a few thousand dollars into a multibillion-dollar cosmetics empire and led it for decades. Her sales force grew from fewer than 10 women to tens of thousands.</p>
<p>While researching a book on Ash’s life and work, I’ve learned that many of the Mary Kay saleswomen were comfortable with their era’s vision of femininity and motherhood. Ash’s <a href="https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/the-hot-pink-empire-of-mary-kay-ash/">company motto of “God First, Family Second, Career Third”</a> put them at ease. </p>
<p>American women today owe gratitude to the women’s movement of the 1960s for making issues like equal pay for equal work and sharing household responsibilities part of the national conversation – but also to a Dallas entrepreneur who reveled in the feminine mystique.</p>
<h2>From underpaid saleswoman to CEO</h2>
<p>In 1963, the year Ash founded “Beauty by Mary Kay” in a small Dallas storefront, barely <a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/LNS11300002">a third of American women were in the workforce</a>. Ash was one of them. She had peddled children’s encyclopedias door to door, and conducted “house parties” - home demonstrations of products that catered to housewives – <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2001/11/23/business/mary-kay-ash-who-built-a-cosmetics-empire-and-adored-pink-is-dead-at-83.html">with Stanley Home Goods</a> and other companies. </p>
<p>Ash consistently earned lower wages than her male counterparts, who also passed her by for promotions. When she protested, one common response was to deride her for “thinking like a woman.” Another was that men needed more money because they had families to support. </p>
<p>“I had a family to support too!” <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Mary-Kay-Ash-1981-10-01/dp/B01K175DX0">recalled Ash, a single mother, in</a> her 1981 memoir. So she quit to build a company where there would be no wage gap or male bosses, and women would be rewarded for thinking like women – all while embracing the vision of traditional gender roles that the feminist movement was trying to overturn. </p>
<p>By 1969, the company was earning US$6.3 million in net sales, according to The New York Times. And an article in the Irving Daily News, a Texas newspaper, put the sales force at around 4,000 women from 15 different states.</p>
<p>In 1976, Mary Kay Inc. became the <a href="https://npg.si.edu/exh/journal/ash.htm">first woman-founded and -led company listed</a> on the New York Stock Exchange. </p>
<p>In 1979, glowing coverage on “<a href="https://youtu.be/nrWz_MzKAMk">60 Minutes</a>” prompted nearly 100,000 more women to sign up. The company was grossing over <a href="https://youtu.be/nrWz_MzKAMk">$100 million annually</a> and had a <a href="http://www.marykaymuseum.com/highlight_1970.aspx">global reach</a>, and Ash was named one of the year’s top corporate women in America by <a href="http://3vcm07307bnr2jg8679q77x8-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Mary_KayCosmeticsInc_Corp_PlanningInAnEraofUncertainty.pdf">Business Week</a> magazine.</p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/nrWz_MzKAMk?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">The CBS news show “60 Minutes” aired a glowing profile of Mary Kay Ash’s cosmetic company in 1979.</span></figcaption>
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<p>In 1985 Ash and her son <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2001/11/23/business/mary-kay-ash-who-built-a-cosmetics-empire-and-adored-pink-is-dead-at-83.html">led a $450 millon deal</a> to buy the company back into private family hands. As of 2021, the company <a href="https://nypost.com/2021/10/02/how-mary-kays-founder-went-from-single-mom-to-billion-dollar-beauty-queen/">reportedly has $3.5 billion in annual revenues</a>. </p>
<h2>The Mary Kay mystique</h2>
<p>Ash rejected feminism but sought to build women’s confidence – something absent in the average housewife’s life, according to “The Feminine Mystique” – as well as their income.</p>
<p>“Here’s a woman who’s never had any praise at all for anything she’s ever done,” Ash <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Mary-Kay-Ash-1981-10-01/dp/B01K175DX0">said in her best-selling memoir</a>. “Maybe the only applause she’s ever had was when she graduated from high school. So we praise her for everything good that she does.”</p>
<p>Based on the interviews I’m doing for my research, this approach worked. </p>
<p>Esther Andrews, a housewife, told me that before she became a Mary Kay saleswoman in 1967, “nobody had ever said that I could be great at anything.” Andrews, who raised three children with her Mary Kay earnings after her husband died, was among the first winners of a pink Cadillac – a company prize for top sellers. The car was both a symbol of her success and a means of mobility few housewives enjoyed at the time. </p>
<p>Andrews’ story reflects that of many I’ve uncovered. From a former waitress and single mom in New Jersey who was able to raise her daughter and purchase her own home to a former housewife in Ohio who has more diamond rings than fingers and funds her family’s European vacations, Mary Kay has changed women’s lives. </p>
<p>Both of these women fought back tears as they shared their career accomplishments with me. Both have been in the company for more than 30 years. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Salespersons from Anhui Province, China, pose for pictures in front of a pink sedan, an award for the best sales team, during the Mary Kay China Leadership Conference on February 20, 2011, in Xiamen, Fujian Province, China." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/481609/original/file-20220829-27-801kvu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/481609/original/file-20220829-27-801kvu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481609/original/file-20220829-27-801kvu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481609/original/file-20220829-27-801kvu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481609/original/file-20220829-27-801kvu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481609/original/file-20220829-27-801kvu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481609/original/file-20220829-27-801kvu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">The Mary Kay company continues to award top saleswomen with new cars in its founder’s favorite color.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/salespersons-from-anhui-province-of-china-pose-for-pictures-news-photo/109325814?adppopup=true">China Photos/GettyImages AsiaPac via Getty Images</a></span>
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<p>In her book “In Pink: The Personal Story of a Mary Kay Pioneer Who Made History Shaping a New Path to Success for Women,” homemaker and early Mary Kay recruit <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Pink-Personal-Pioneer-History-Shaping/dp/0985372516">Doretha Dingler remarked that</a> “much more than raising our family income, that kind of earning raised my consciousness” – language echoing that of the era’s feminists.</p>
<h2>Opportunities for women of color</h2>
<p>It wasn’t just middle-class white women who found success in Mary Kay. </p>
<p>In 1975, <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=9lwEAAAAMBAJ&lpg=PA183&dq=ruell%20cone%20mary%20kay&pg=PA183#v=onepage&q=ruell%20cone%20mary%20kay&f=false">Ruell Cone</a>, a Black woman from Atlanta, was the company’s highest-earning saleswoman. She was honored in person by Ash herself before tens of thousands of saleswomen at the company’s annual seminar. </p>
<p>In 1979, Gerri Nicholson told The Record newspaper of Hackensack, N.J., that while she had “a lot of hang-ups” from growing up as an African American in the South, working for Mary Kay “substantially increased my family income” and gave her “a feeling of self-worth.” At that point Nicholson had worked her way up from saleswoman to sales manager, and would go on to become Mary Kay’s <a href="https://www.warrenrecord.com/article_a63211f2-30fa-11ec-9c07-cb0095c02517.html">first Black national sales director</a>.</p>
<p>By 1985, Savvy magazine reported that Mary Kay Inc. could claim more Latina and Black women earning annual commissions of over $50,000 – the equivalent of $137,000 in 2022 – than any other corporation worldwide. </p>
<p>Ash’s elevation of “thinking like a woman” and the company’s acceptance of Black and Latina saleswomen are also forerunners of feminism’s “third wave” in the 1990s. In this era, younger feminists shifted the movement’s focus from equal rights to diversity, embracing gender differences and celebrating femininity in its various forms.</p>
<h2>A ‘pink pyramid scheme’?</h2>
<p>Along with these success stories, the company has faced accusations of exploiting more women than it enriches. A 2012 article in Harper’s Magazine, “The Pink Pyramid Scheme,” <a href="https://harpers.org/archive/2012/08/the-pink-pyramid-scheme/">pointed at unrealized promises of success</a>, saleswomen going into debt to purchase product inventory, and high turnover rates.</p>
<p>I believe these stories are a part of any accurate telling of Mary Kay history. </p>
<p>However, based on my research, a substantial number of the company’s “beauty consultants” say they found camaraderie, <a href="https://hbr.org/2018/08/why-women-stay-out-of-the-spotlight-at-work">recognition</a> and <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/after-two-years-job-womens-confidence-plummets-180955373/">confidence</a> working for Mary Kay, and a female role model in Mary Kay Ash.</p>
<p>These are things working women today <a href="https://doi.org/10.5465/ambpp.2006.22898277">still find elusive</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/171344/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Cassandra L. Yacovazzi does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Ash derided women’s liberation as “that foolishness” – but her success story is very feminist.
Cassandra L. Yacovazzi, Assistant Professor of History, University of South Florida
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/183462
2022-08-04T14:28:32Z
2022-08-04T14:28:32Z
Patriarchy persists in Nigeria – and men aren’t the only ones who keep it that way
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/475430/original/file-20220721-10402-upzwfc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Some women in Nigeria knowingly or unknowingly contribute to patriarchy. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/elderly-women-sit-holding-their-voters-cards-at-a-polling-news-photo/1241931512?adppopup=true">Pius Utomi Ekpei/AFP via Getty Images </a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Chrisland Schools on Victoria Island in Lagos was recently in the news for the wrong reasons. Nigerian newspapers – and some further afield – <a href="https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2022/04/19/lagos-govt-shuts-chrisland-schools-over-sex-scandal-of-10-year-old-pupil/">carried the story</a> of an incident in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, during the World School Games in March 2022. There were allegations of drug use, pornography and sex by under-aged children – four boys and a girl – representing their school in the games. The students allegedly had sex and it was recorded. The recording later went viral. </p>
<p>Four teachers, three male and one female, <a href="https://tribuneonlineng.com/four-teachers-arraigned-over-chrisland-school-dubai-sex-tape/">have been charged in court</a> over the incident. The teachers were charged for allegedly concealing the sex tape. They were the supervisors of the Dubai trip. </p>
<p>The incident raises some important issues around the issue of patriarchy because of the way in which blame was apportioned. Some media reports <a href="https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2022/05/02/chrisland-sex-scandal-abdication-of-duty-by-parents-and-schools/">blamed</a> the mother of the ten-year-old girl. The father was never mentioned. Nor was the conduct of the parents of the four boys involved ever mentioned. The boys were not strongly reprimanded, the girl was. </p>
<p>As a gender <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=B3UPKgcAAAAJ&view_op=list_works&sortby=pubdate">scholar</a> who has studied women’s history and masculinities, I see this as another case of <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Negotiating-Patriarchy-Gender-Africa-Discourses/dp/1793642044">patriarchy</a> promoting the differential enjoyment of privileges between males and females. The manner in which the incident was reported by the press and the style of apportioning blame seem to suggest that males can get away with certain actions, but females cannot. Males don’t have to uphold society’s moral codes like females do. </p>
<p>This raises the question of whether women in Nigeria abet patriarchy – and, if they do, why.</p>
<h2>Patriarchy in Nigeria</h2>
<p>Patriarchy is a socio-cultural system that privileges maleness over femaleness and enthrones masculine domination of women.</p>
<p>This system is evident where authority is vested in men as a category, and especially in senior men or old men, who, as custodians of their cultures, ensure general <a href="https://www.academia.edu/5006008/Towards_an_Understanding_of_Changing_Masculinities_for_Gender_Research_in_Africa">compliance with social and cultural norms</a>. Patriarchal dominance evolved into a formidable institution with clear political undertones. </p>
<p>It operates in many societies across the globe, and is <a href="https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781793642042/Negotiating-Patriarchy-and-Gender-in-Africa-Discourses-Practices-and-Policies">pervasive and resilient</a> in African cultures. </p>
<p>In Nigeria, specifically, patriarchy is evident in a variety of ways. In more than two decades of research into women’s history, I have seen patriarchy presenting itself in these forms: <a href="https://www.dbpia.co.kr/journal/articleDetail?nodeId=NODE01144681">denigration</a> of the female gender; <a href="https://www.dbpia.co.kr/journal/articleDetail?nodeId=NODE01107593">social, cultural and political subjugation</a> of females; exclusion of the female gender from <a href="https://www.dbpia.co.kr/journal/articleDetail?nodeId=NODE01094131">public office</a>; <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0021909619863085">sexual exploitation</a> of, and aggression against, females; and <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/305209840_Labeling_female_academics_in_a_University">denial of female rights and agency</a>. These forms of patriarchy (and more) create inequality between the gender groups and <a href="https://www.dbpia.co.kr/journal/articleDetail?nodeId=NODE01107329">result</a> in unequal access to rights and privileges.</p>
<h2>Scrutiny falls on women and girls</h2>
<p>In the Chrisland Schools incident, patriarchy is central in the social demands made on females. These differ significantly <a href="https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781793642042/Negotiating-Patriarchy-and-Gender-in-Africa-Discourses-Practices-and-Policies">from expectations of males</a>, especially in similar circumstances. </p>
<p>The incident did not trigger as much of media outcry against the four male students involved as against the girl. </p>
<p>Public scrutiny in the media of the behaviour of the boys and of their family histories was less than public scrutiny of the girl’s behaviour and of her family. </p>
<p>This reaffirms the patriarchal moral perception that excuses, and sometimes encourages, the sexual adventures of boy children, but strongly disapproves of similar action by <a href="https://www-kci-go-kr.translate.goog/kciportal/ci/sereArticleSearch/ciSereArtiView.kci?sereArticleSearchBean.artiId=ART001140853&_x_tr_sl=ko&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc">girl children</a>.</p>
<p>Such <a href="https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781793642042/Negotiating-Patriarchy-and-Gender-in-Africa-Discourses-Practices-and-Policies">differential enjoyment of rights and dignity</a> is fundamental in patriarchy. </p>
<h2>Women contribute to patriarchy</h2>
<p>Just as Nigerian men collectively protect the patriarchal institution and the privileges they enjoy, I have found in <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Women-Conflict-Nigerian-Civil-War/dp/1592214738">my research</a> that Nigerian women also contribute – with or without knowing it – to reinforcing the institutions that oppress them and undermine gender equality. </p>
<p>Nigerian women, like men, perpetuate patriarchy in various ways. One is by consenting to institutionalised patriarchy by philosophically reasoning: “<a href="http://e-asianwomen.org/_common/do.php?a=full&b=12&bidx=1009&aidx=13306">it has always been so … why should we raise any objections?</a>”.</p>
<p>This timid acceptance of male domination pervades the psyche of many Nigerian women and determines how they see their world and their experiences. Thus conditioned, it becomes difficult for most to fight patriarchal bondage or to assert themselves. </p>
<p>Women also ingrain this thinking, outlook and behaviour into their female children. Girls are brought up in line with the social norms approved by men for the female gender.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/272094986_Towards_an_Understanding_of_Changing_Masculinities_for_Gender_Research_in_Africa">Research</a> that I published in 2005 found that women also reinforced patriarchal ideas, values and ways of behaviour in the way they socialised boy children. They laid the foundation for specific models of what it meant to be masculine. </p>
<p>Another way that women encourage patriarchy is by <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Women-Conflict-Nigerian-Civil-War/dp/1592214738">deliberate inaction</a>. Sometimes they have the opportunity to change oppressive and violent cultures, but they do nothing because they want other women to experience the same mistreatment that they themselves experienced. My 2002 study on burial rites showed ex-widows’ <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/281741737_The_Last_Passage_Rite_and_Women_in_Anioma">resistance</a> to the abrogation of oppressive widowhood practices. In like manner, a 2008 study revealed the reluctance of women to support fellow women <a href="https://www.dbpia.co.kr/journal/articleDetail?nodeId=NODE01094131">vying for political office in the country</a>. </p>
<p>My view is that Nigerian men as a group seem to act together to maintain their privileges, while women don’t act together to challenge patriarchy.</p>
<p>Thus, women encourage patriarchy; and when issues like the Chrisland Schools affair occur, women unnecessarily suffer the backlash.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/183462/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Egodi Uchendu receives funding from The Fulbright Commission and The A. G. Leventis Foundation. </span></em></p>
The Chrisland Schools incident shows how the media allows males to get away with actions that females cannot.
Egodi Uchendu, Professor (of History and International Studies), University of Nigeria
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/186269
2022-07-21T11:35:35Z
2022-07-21T11:35:35Z
Being in a couple can leave women with less savings – here’s how to make nest eggs more equal
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/472383/original/file-20220704-20-yratsk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=43%2C34%2C5733%2C3793&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">New research shows the negative impact gender norms can have on UK savings goals.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/senior-mature-business-woman-holding-paper-1824965774">insta_photos/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Growing <a href="https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/employment/oecd-employment-outlook-2015_empl_outlook-2015-en">job insecurity</a>, <a href="https://news.sky.com/story/signs-of-worst-year-for-stock-market-investors-in-a-decade-after-wall-street-slips-into-bear-market-and-bitcoin-crashes-12633745">financial market volatility</a> and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/may/18/uk-pensioners-cost-of-living-crisis">rising prices</a> have created an extremely uncertain environment for UK savers. The country’s welfare provisions are <a href="https://www.oecd.org/unitedkingdom/PAG2017-GBR.pdf">among the lowest</a> of all OECD countries and a growing number of pensioners are finding it difficult to gain <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/mar/17/number-of-pensioners-in-relative-poverty-in-uk-up-200000-in-a-year">financial security</a> in later life. Even well-known <a href="https://metro.co.uk/2022/03/20/money-saving-expert-martin-lewis-runs-out-of-advice-on-cost-of-living-crisis-16309470/">money-saving experts</a> have run out of ideas to help those struggling with their finances.</p>
<p>In such tough times, people planning for old age must be even more canny about their money to ensure there is enough for a comfortable retirement. Pension planning typically starts with a long-term savings goal to ensure an adequate income during retirement. Then savers usually make regular contributions to suitable investment products in line with this goal over the course of their working lives.</p>
<p>Our recent research shows, however, that there are differences in the way people decide on and work towards those goals. We believe these differences may contribute to a wealth gap between men and women in the UK, with more women in danger of being left financially vulnerable than men.</p>
<p>The commitment you make when you set a goal essentially motivates you to achieve that goal, according to certain <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022053113000033?casa_token=0_ot9tQqosQAAAAA:Br_9n9OaTKs25D1plcAHmBefoy5suGqafNYG3Ab0FZXhlLd4sLnumW6JHa80ArKHx5zfDGNT">behavioural science</a> theories. In other words, people with ambitious savings goals can be expected to end up with more money in their retirement accounts, compared with those with modest savings goals. </p>
<p>Less ambitious savers may not strive to put away more than planned because they believe they will fail. Based on our <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/kykl.12294">recent research</a> into long-term savings goals, we believe such differences in attitudes may contribute to the <a href="https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/other/gender-wealth-gap-women-investing">£15 billion wealth gap</a> between men and women.</p>
<h2>Growing gender wealth gap</h2>
<p>Our study <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/kykl.12294">explores long-term savings goals</a> among 1,760 clients at a well-established UK investment firm, combined with insights from 56 interviews with another group of UK-based men and women savers. It uncovers a third possible explanation for a rising gender wealth gap in the UK, besides income differentials (based on the <a href="https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257%2Fjel.20160995&source=post_page---------------------------">gender pay gap</a>, the <a href="https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/app.20180010">child penalty</a>, <a href="https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/full/10.1086/511799?casa_token=icrT0aW2dYUAAAAA%3A7k6cPuNg15qaB6ICZbBe7OO8tffw6404qf-kN-1e5lIVWjNyTlC2MOUD7We4CMNUOVWz8krjIQ">the motherhood penalty</a>) and investment differentials that generally show men earning higher financial returns because they tend to <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1465-7295.2008.00201.x?casa_token=Bf3MjE7ar9UAAAAA%3A3lEvIUQjvDM4OaPUTW5tnUkbMAnn8-EZtknAR9Mx98_BNwNttlxF6i7jEYYCGHxr_3b9BLM_UxCr">take more risk</a>. </p>
<p>This third reason, our analysis suggests, is that gender norms influence attitudes towards saving. This tends to negatively affect women in couples most of all.</p>
<p>We found that men and women who are married or cohabiting tend to strongly diverge when it comes to their chosen savings goals, compared with those who live on their own. More specifically, married or co-habiting men are more likely to be in charge of long-term saving for the household and they typically choose more ambitious personal savings goals.</p>
<p>Those higher savings goals were not affected by expected levels of income and so could not be attributed to a gender pay gap. Similarly, we also controlled for varying attitudes toward risk-taking in investment portfolios.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Man and woman with paperwork and calculator" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/472386/original/file-20220704-26-dwsu4f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/472386/original/file-20220704-26-dwsu4f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/472386/original/file-20220704-26-dwsu4f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/472386/original/file-20220704-26-dwsu4f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/472386/original/file-20220704-26-dwsu4f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/472386/original/file-20220704-26-dwsu4f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/472386/original/file-20220704-26-dwsu4f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Research suggests traditional gender norms influence attitudes towards saving, producing particularly negative outcomes for women in couples.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/portrait-young-happy-couple-calculating-budget-185620769">Andrey_Popov/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The role of gender norms</h2>
<p>So why do men and women in couples save so differently? Our research shows that these differences are linked to the traditional gender roles often assigned to particular members of households. When women are in charge of caring and domestic work such as childcare, grocery shopping and short-term budgeting, there is a tendency to focus on short-term financial security. Perhaps in anticipation of adverse events affecting their daily budget management, these women tend to choose modest savings goals and accessible financial products such as <a href="https://www.gov.uk/individual-savings-accounts">individual savings accounts</a> (ISAs).</p>
<p>On the other hand, we found that men in couples tend to choose more ambitious goals and use investment products that are designed for longer-term savings habits and have the potential for <a href="https://www.vanguardinvestor.co.uk/articles/latest-thoughts/retirement/sipp-or-isa-how-do-you-decide#:%7E:text=SIPP%20or%20ISA%3A%20how%20your%20hypothetical%20savings%20might%20grow">better returns</a>. For example, <a href="https://www.moneyhelper.org.uk/en/pensions-and-retirement/pensions-basics/self-invested-personal-pensions?source=mas#">self-invested personal pensions</a> provide more options and control over what you can invest in and when, compared with a standard personal pension or an ISA. </p>
<p>Men are also more often assigned to the role of managing long-term investing tasks, according to our research. This encourages a focus on long-term wealth growth and reinforces their willingness to set challenging goals. These findings are intensified within couples with a more “traditional” division of roles - that is, when the man is the breadwinner.</p>
<p>For single people, however, men and women perform both the short- and long-term financial tasks and we found no gender differences in savings goals among this type of study participant. This absence of any gender-based effect among the people in our study who are not part of a couple shows a clear need to move beyond simply accepting that all men and women <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1465-7295.2009.00251.x?casa_token=DjyY7QO3AbYAAAAA%3Alqjh1kacbeO6WWPm8a778_QyzCAEYEQ4L5DISL4yRPjIMBh_Vne1e1UkFSyXeIlWpKbDBS9wMJ_V">think differently</a> about saving and investing when discussing retirement planning and financial risk-taking. </p>
<p>Exploring the context in which people make financial decisions is much more important. Highlighting when goals are unambitious compared to people with similar wealth and incomes, for example, could reduce the effect of gender norms on financial decisions. </p>
<p>In particular, it should be emphasised that, by leaving their male partner to accumulate money for the household, women may increase their financial dependency. In that context, late divorce or separation could have a dramatic effect on financial security for those <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/mar/19/divorce-women-risk-poverty-children-relationship">without legal protection</a>.</p>
<p>Given the continued uncertainty around the economic outlook, addressing the gender wealth gap in this way will help to create a more secure future for all UK savers.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/186269/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Research shows differences in how people set savings goals that could contribute to a wealth gap between men and women in the UK.
Jerome Monne, Assistant Professor of Finance, ESSCA School of Management
Ariane Agunsoye, Lecturer in Economics, Goldsmiths, University of London
Dimitris Sotiropoulos, Senior Lecturer in Finance, The Open University
Janette Rutterford, Emeritus Professor of Finance and Financial History, The Open University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.