Women's Studies in Poland

Athena: Advanced Thematic Network in Activities in Women's Studies in Europe. Report from ATHENA panel of experts 1.a.: A Cross-European, Comparative Study of Degrees, Qualifications and Professional Outlets of Women's/Gender/Feminist Studies. Panel coordinator: Nina Lykke, University of Southern Denmark, Denmark, and Linkoeping University, SwedenThis report will briefly address the changes in higher education that occurred in Poland over the last ten years in terms of university structures and degree structures, the research policies and equal opportunity policies, and will subsequently focus on the history of women’s movement after 1989. It will finally present a case study of the institutionalization of Women’s Studies Center at the University of Lódz, one of the five major universities in Poland. The specific focus of this analysis will be a demonstration how conservative approaches to education in terms of the overall structure of the universities as well as the degree structure hinder the development of Women’s/Gender Studies in Poland.ATHENA is the Advanced Thematic Network in Activities in Women's Studies in Europe, funded by EU's Socrates programme, Thematic Networks, 1998-2001

Understanding gendered influences on women's reproductive health in Pakistan: Moving beyond the autonomy paradigm

Recent research and policy discourse commonly view the limited autonomy of women in developing countries as a key barrier to improvements in their reproductive health. Rarely, however, is the notion of women's autonomy interrogated for its conceptual adequacy or usefulness for understanding the determinants of women's reproductive health, effective policy formulation or program design. Using ethnographic data from 2001, including social mapping exercises, observation of daily life, interviews, case studies and focus group discussions, this paper draws attention to the incongruities between the concept of women's autonomy and the gendered social, cultural, economic and political realities of women's lives in rural Punjab, Pakistan. These inadequacies include: the concept's undue emphasis on women's independent, autonomous action; a lack of attention to men and masculinities; a disregard for the multi-sited constitution of gender relations and gender inequality; an erroneous assumption that uptake of reproductive health services is an indicator of autonomy; and a failure to explore the interplay of other axes of disadvantage such as caste, class or socio-economic position. This paper calls for alternative, more nuanced, theoretical approaches for conceptualizing gender inequalities in order to enhance our understanding of women's reproductive wellbeing in Pakistan. The extent to which our arguments may be relevant to the wider South Asian context, and women's lives in other parts of the world, is also discussed

Women's Political Participation and Economic Empowerment in Post-conflict Countries: Lessons From the Great Lakes Region in Africa

This report represents a synthesis of the key findings and recommendations of a regional research project on women's political participation and economic empowerment in countries emerging from conflicts in the Great Lakes region of Africa. The research focuses on four case studies and examines the nature and quality of women's political participation in the four countries to establish whether women's increased representation in decision making at the national and local governance level has translated into the adoption of gender equality policies and enhancement of women's socio-economic status at all levels of society. The research further analyses the economic dimension of women's political participation by linking women's economic empowerment and their representation in the political arena

Does gender matter when using cheap talk in contingent valuation studies?

Cheap talk is frequently used in contingent valuation surveys in an attempt to mitigate hypothetical bias. This paper aims at investigating in two case studies whether the effects of cheap talk on willingness-to-pay depend on the gender of the participants. Results of the two studies point in different directions. In one study, cheap talk influences both men's and women's willingness-to-pay while in the other one, it only influences women's willingness-to-pay. A possible explanation is discussed.cheap talk; contingent valuation; hypothetical bias; gender

Gender Identity and Perceptions of Sexism: A Liberation Psychology Perspective

Three studies sought to assess cultural influences in gender identification, gender identity content, and perceptions of sexism. Study 1 examined the impact of taking an introductory women's studies course relative to a personality psychology course, while Studies 2 and 3 took place in the lab and manipulated factors thought to differ between the two courses in Study 1. For Study 1, cultural context influenced constructions of gender identity such that women's studies students were more likely to internalize women's struggles and recognize sexism than personality psychology students. Results indicate that identity content mediated the relationship between course and sexism perception. In Study 2, participants read about gender as a biological or a social construct. Contrary to hypotheses, reading about gender as a biological construct promoted sexism perception. In addition an interaction between level of identification and identity content emerged such that increased gender identification promoted sexism perception only for participants who construct their gender in terms of women's struggle. In Study 3, women exposed to Women's history facts perceived less racism and reported decreased internalization of struggle. Consistent with other studies, women who thought of gender in terms of struggle saw greater sexism in gendered traditions. These studies provide evidence of the need for content-based analyses of identity along with consideration of multiple forms of gender oppression

Pathways from women's group-based programs to nutrition change in South Asia: a conceptual framework and literature review

Improving the nutritional status of women and children in South Asia remains a high public health and development priority. Women's groups are emerging as platforms for delivering health- and nutrition-oriented programs and addressing gender and livelihoods challenges. We propose a framework outlining pathways through which women's group participation may facilitate improvements in nutrition. Evidence is summarized from 36 studies reporting on 24 nutritional indicators across infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practices, intake/diet, and anthropometry. Our findings suggest that women's group-based programs explicitly triggering behavior change pathways are most successful in improving nutrition outcomes, with strongest evidence for IYCF practices. Future investigators should link process and impact evaluations to better understand the pathways from women's group participation to nutritional impact

Women Give 2012: New Research about Women and Giving

Women Give 2012 focuses on the effect of age and gender on charitable giving, with a spotlight on giving by Baby Boomers (born between 1946 and 1964) and older Americans. The new report is the third in a series of research reports by the Women's Philanthropy Institute at the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University that offers deeper insights as to how gender differences affect philanthropy.The Women Give studies complement a growing body of research that affirms women's growing importance as donors in the nonprofit sector. They also benefit decision-makers and fundraisers seeking to expand their donor base and attract more volunteers by providing key insights to inform their strategic efforts to more deeply engage women

Economic Issues for Women in Texas 2014

A comprehensive study of the economics of being female in TX: Economic Issues for Women in Texas. Texas Women's Foundation, established in 2013 as the research and advocacy arm of Dallas Women's Foundation, continues its long-standing focus on the issues that impact women statewide, which included the biennial studies of the Texas state budget through a gender lens. Through this new study, conducted by the Center for Public Policy Priorities, a sharply defined look at the policies and practices at the state level is provided, and at the community level in nine metro areas across Texas, that affect a woman's ability to be economically stable and secure

Profile of female students of engineering universities in Mexico and Spain

Gender studies in higher education have emerged in parallel to reflections and rising feminist movement. The main objectives of academic feminism are related to women's visibility improvement as well as soft skills developers’ roles. But a gap in TECH studies can be detected. Women studies in higher education are mostly related to life and social sciences, behavioral, journalism and information, business and management and law, in contrast to engineering, architecture, manufacturing, construction, ICT or any kind of TECH studies. Thus, the main objective of this work is related to survey design in order to develop a qualitative research to inquire about TECH higher education, female population profile, both at UdG-CUALTOS (Guadalajara, Mexico) and UPC (Barcelona, Spain).This profile can provide some influent identity elements, related to perceptions and expectations of women-TECH, deemed appropriate from their professions as engineers. From these results, it should be possible to draw gender alternatives for future generations in TECH environmentsPostprint (published version