Women's income and fertility in rural Kenya

Data collected in two economically contrasting rural communities in Kenya indicate that education is not an important determinant of contraceptive use although it importantly determines the age at marriage. It is observed that women's status (as measured through women's income) is a critical factor for women's contraceptive behavior through the determination of the cost of children to mothers and the direction of flow of social and economic resources from children to mothers. Thus when women earn a high income that permits a fair degree of autonomy, their aspirations for children (especially for their education) rise and consequently they spend more on children. In absence of labour contribution by children when women's income is high, a new mother-child relationship emerges in which the child becomes a cost and not an economic asset to the mother, thus,' encouraging contraceptive use in order to lower the fertility level

Socioeconomic Indicators of Women\u27s Status in Developing Countries, 1970–1980

From 1970–1980, several conferences were held and publications produced regarding the need to improve data collection on indicators of women’s status, as well as a number of publications offering concrete proposals for such improvements. During this period, the disaggregation of statistics by sex has expanded in many countries and indicators, and such disaggregated statistics are presented with increased frequency in international data compiled by United Nations specialized organizations. In addition, two major sets of statistics on the status of women have appeared. These statistics on socioeconomic indicators of the status of women in developing countries include statistics on men as well. The data cover 45 indicators for 75 countries at the beginning and end of the 1970–1980 decade. The statistics for the end of the decade cover 76 countries, because Zimbabwe was added. This monograph differs from already published monographs because of its inclusion of different types of indicators of women’s access to education, economic participation, and social visibility; the wider coverage of national published and unpublished statistics; the time period covered by the statistics; and the extent of the analysis of the available data on different indicators

Gender and Administration

Summary Public administration in development has been a poor instrument for implementing gender policies. Rural development administration in particular has tended to be indifferently accountable to female ‘publics’ in agrarian economies. Conventionally, this particular feature of institutional failure is explained by the suggestion that public administrations reflect gender relations in society. This paper, however, argues that the role of public administration in the organization of gender provokes questions about the gender of organization. It sketches out the conceptual premises for a theory of the gender of organization, looking at the way organizational structures, cultures, and purposes institutionalize male dominance. This perspective may help illuminate the processes and relationships through which other inequalities, such as those of class, race, and the North?South divide, are reproduced in public administration. Résumé Le Genre et l'insuccès des institutions dans le développement: l'organisation du Genre et le Genre dans l'organisation Au sein du développement, les administrations publiques ont constitué un outil peu utile pour la mise en oeuvre des politiques relatives au genre. Les administrations de développement rural notamment ont eu tendance à comptabiliser de manière indifférente les ‘publics’ féminins dans les économies agraires. Classiquement, et notoirement, cette caractéristique de l'insuccès des institutions est expliquée par la suggestion que les administrations publiques reflètent les rapports entre les genres dans la société. Le présent article, par contre, revendique que le rôle des administrations publiques dans l'organisation des genres soulève certaines questions le genre dans l'organisation même. L'auteur ébauche les prémisses d'une éventuelle théorie du genre dans l'organisation, et examine comment les structures, les cultures et les objectifs mêmes de ces organisations tendent à institutionnaliser la dominance masculine. Cette perspective veut aider à mettre en lumière des procédés et des rapports par l'influence desquels d'autres inégalités, par exemples celles des classes, des races et du partage nord?sud, viennent à se reproduire dans les administrations publiques. Resumen El Género y las fallas institucionales en el desarrollo: la organización del género y el género de la organización La administración pública en el desarrollo ha sido un instrumento muy pobre para la implementación de criterios relativos al género. En las economías agrarias en particular la administración del desarrollo rural tiende a ser poco responsable para con el ‘público’ femenino. Tradicionalmente, este rasgo característico del fracaso institucional se explica sugiriendo que la administración pública refleja las relaciones entre los sexos en la sociedad. Este artículo, sin embargo, argumenta que el papel de la administración pública en la organización del género suscita interrogantes sobre el género de la organización. Se bosquejan las premisas conceptuales para una teoría del género en la organización, analizando la forma en que las culturas, estructuras organizativas y objetivos institucionalizan la dominación masculina. Esta perspectiva puede arrojar luz sobre los procesos y relaciones a través de los cuales otras desigualdades — clase, raza, la división Norte?Sur — se reproducen en la administración pública

The status of women: Conceptual and methodological issues in demographic studies

This paper explores several conceptual problems in social demographic studies of the status of women, including failure to recognize the multidimensionality of women's status and its variation across social “locations,” the confounding of gender and class stratification systems, and the confounding of access to resources with their control. Also discussed are some generic problems in the measurement of female status, such as the sensitivity of particular indicators to social context, and the need to select consistent comparisons when judging the extent of gender inequality.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/45651/1/11206_2005_Article_BF01115740.pd

Gender differences in best friendships

Prior investigations of friendship patterns have reported gender differences, with women's same-gender friendships tending to be richer and having a possible therapeutic value, as compared to those of men. Compared to same-gender best friendships, opposite-gender best friendships have been described as less fulfilling for women and more fulfilling for men. The present study explored such differences more fully in a sample of 65 female and 58 male predominantly white college students. Subjects completed four modified versions of P. H. Wright's [(1985) “The Acquaintance Description Form,” In S. F. Duck and D. Pearlman (Eds.), Understanding Personal Relationships: An Interdisciplinarian Approach, London: Sage] Acquaintance Description Form, describing their actual and ideal same-gender best friendships and their actual and ideal opposite-gender best friendships. They also responded to several measures of dysphoria. In the present study, the lowest scores for the friendship scales were reported by male subjects describing same-gender friendships, both ideal and actual. For both male and female subjects, dysphoria was positively correlated with a discrepancy between ideal and actual friendships with same-gender or opposite-gender individuals.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/45601/1/11199_2004_Article_BF00289323.pd

Paid work, child care, and housework: A national survey of high school seniors' preferences for sharing responsibilities between husband and wife

A large national sample of high school seniors rated their preferences for the allocation of work and family duties within their own prospective marriages. The results indicate that many seniors favor half-time or full-time work for wives without children. On the other hand, the majority prefer that the mother of preschool children stay home, although half-time work is acceptable to many. Respondents who are male or White or did not have a working mother themselves are somewhat more conservative on these issues. Virtually all seniors view less than full-time employment by the husband as unacceptable. With regard to child care and housework, most seniors prefer equal sharing between the spouses. A comparison of four senior classes reveals a slight trend from 1976 to 1979 toward increased sharing of duties.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/45650/1/11199_2004_Article_BF00303114.pd

The impact of women's social position on fertility in developing countries

This paper examines ideas about possible ways in which the extent of women's autonomy, women's economic dependency, and other aspects of their position vis-à-vis men influence fertility in Third World populations. Women's position or “status” seems likely to be related to the supply of children because of its links with age at marriage. Women's position may also affect the demand for children and the costs of fertility regulation, though some connections suggested in the literature are implausible. The paper ends with suggestions for future research.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/45660/1/11206_2005_Article_BF01124382.pd