Who is the fairest of them all? The independent effect of attractive features and self-perceived attractiveness on cooperation among women

The present paper analyzes the extent to which attractiveness-related variables affect cooperative behavior in women. Cooperativeness is evaluated through a Prisoner's Dilemma Game (PDG). We consider several morphometric variables related to attractiveness: Fluctuating Asymmetry (FA), Waist-Hip Ratio (WHR, Body Mass Index (BMI) and Facial Femininity (FF). These variables have been shown to predict human behavior. We also include as a control variable a score for Self-Perceived Attractiveness (SPA). We test differences in these variables according to behavior in the PDG. Our results reveal that low FA women cooperate less frequently in the PDG. We also find that women with lower WHR are more cooperative. This result contradicts the expected relation between WHR and behavior in the PDG. We show that this effect of WHR on cooperation operates through its influence on the expectation that participants hold on the cooperative intent of their counterpart. In addition, we show that the effect of attractive features on cooperation occurs independently of the participants' perception of their own appeal. Finally, we discuss our results in the context of the evolution of cooperative behavior and under the hypothesis that attractiveness is a reliable indicator of phenotypic quality.

Agenda for the fifty-third annual meeting of the National Council of Women of Canada, 1946

The National Council of Women of Canada was founded in 1893 in Toronto to address the need for societal reform, such as better education for women and women���s suffrage. The first president was Lady Ishbel Aberdeen, the wife of the Governor General. The group���s early efforts focused on improving conditions for women prisoners, women working in factories, and women immigrants. The efforts of the Council also helped to achieve the passing of the Act to Confer the Electoral Franchise Upon Women in 1918. Members of the Council have advocated for the welfare of children, the family, the community, the environment and equal pay for work of equal value. The Council continues to be concerned with these issues, and presents an annual brief to the Prime Minister and Members of the Cabinet, as well as occasionally serving on special advisory committees.

Working of Women���s Industrial Co-operative Societies in Kerala

This study deals with the working of Women���s Industrial Co-operative Societies (WICS) in Kerala. The formation of women���s co-operatives was identified as a lucrative enterprise and a feasible proposition for empowerment of women through encouraging and ensuring their active participation in the process of social and economic development. The problem of unemployment of Women and poverty in India can be tackled effectively only through suitable and appropriate self-employment schemes. WICS help to supplement the income of families and thus raise the standard of living. WICS in Kerala have a significant role in the elimination of industrial backwardness and mounting employment. This study focuses its attention on the performance aspects of WICS. It also gives an introduction to the co-operative movement and review of literature on industrial co-operatives in general and women���s industrial co-operatives in particular.

Regional study on Women's unrecognized contribution to the economy

The findings and analysis of this study are based on desk review and secondary data to substantiate this growing phenomenon, especially among the female population. Further the recommendations that will be put forward in this study will be added to the literature and serve as a baseline for further study in the Caribbean region. The study is sectionalized as follows. Chapter one discusses in brief the demographics, social and economic profiles of Barbados, Dominica, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago. This chapter also examines the employment rate, gender and poverty, and the achievements and progress of member states as it relates to the MDGs especially goal number 3. Men are more likely to be employed in the formal sector than women, and earn higher wages and salaries in the labour market despite the fact women may have obtained tertiary level education. The literature showed that women are at home spending more time on child care and other household related responsibilities but this can still be considered employment. This chapter also addresses the achievements and progress of member states as it relates to the MDGs especially Goal 3. Chapter 2 identifies the literature review of related subjects for this study. Chapter 3 discusses the categories and type of labour activities in the informal economies in the Caribbean Region, for example, paid and unpaid work, time use, women working and their caring, responsibilities for their relatives, domestic workers being undervalued and under paid, street and market vendors, micro-enterprises the services sector and commercial sex workers. Chapter 4 examines the importance of social protection for those employed in the informal labour market and the self employed. Chapter 5 provides a preliminary analysis of the findings from this study. Chapter 6 details the preliminary conclusions and recommendations.

Women and Performance in Corporate America

Women and Performance in Corporate America The glass ceiling has been shattered. Women like Indra Nooyi, the CEO of PepsiCo.; Angela Braly, the CEO of Wellpoint; and Patricia Woertz, the CEO of Archer Daniels Midland, are proof that women can achieve top leadership positions in corporate America. However, the scarcity of female leaders occupying the top ranks of corporate America, and the significant wage gap between men and women, suggest that there are significant complications along the path toward success for women in the corporate world.The data show that a disproportionately small number of women are making it to top leadership positions in corporate America. According to the US Department of Labor, in 2007 women accounted for 46% of the total work force, and 51 % of all workers in management, professional, and related occupations. Women outnumbered men in occupations including financial managers, human resource managers, education administrators, medical and health service managers, accountants and auditors, budget analysts, and property, real estate, and social and community association managers (US Department of Labor, 2007). However, women hold only 15.2% of board director positions, 15.7% of corporate officer positions, and 6.2% of top earner positions (Catalyst, 2009b). Additionally, according to a 2008 Corporate Library survey, only 2.6% of Fortune 500 companies currently have female CEOs (as cited in Jones, 2009).The data also show that women earn less than men in the work force. The US Department of Labor found that women working full time in 2007 made only 80% of the salaries of men (US Department of Labor, 2008). Studies designed to control for factors other than gender have not been able to account for the wage gap between men and women (Eagly & Carli, 2007, US Government Accountability Office, 2003). Even among CEO's of fortune 500 companies, female CEO's make only 85% of the salaries of male CEO's (Jones, 2009).

An exploration of female leadership language:case studies of senior women in Bahrain

This is a multiple case study of the leadership language of three senior women working in a large corporation in Bahrain. The study���s main aim is to explore the linguistic practices the women leaders use with their colleagues and subordinates in corporate meetings. Adopting a Foucauldian (1972) notion of ���discourses��� as social practices and a view of gender as socially constructed and discursively performed (Butler 1990), this research aims to unveil the competing discourses which may shape the leadership language of senior women in their communities of practice. The research is situated within the broader field of Sociolinguistics and the specific field of Language and Gender. To address the research aim, a case study approach incorporating multiple methods of qualitative data collection (observation, interviews, and shadowing) was utilised to gather information about the three women leaders and produce a rich description of their use of language in and out of meeting contexts. For analysis, principles of Qualitative Data Analysis (QDA) were used to organise and sort the large amount of data. Also, Feminist Post- Structuralist Discourse Analysis (FPDA) was adopted to produce a multi-faceted analysis of the subjects, their language leadership, power relations, and competing discourses in the context. It was found that the three senior women enact leadership differently making variable use of a repertoire of conventionally masculine and feminine linguistic practices. However, they all appear to have limited language resources and even more limiting subject positions; and they all have to exercise considerable linguistic expertise to police and modify their language in order to avoid the ���double bind���. Yet, the extent of this limitation and constraints depends on the community of practice with its prevailing discourses, which appear to have their roots in Islamic and cultural practices as well as some Western influences acquired throughout the company���s history. It is concluded that it may be particularly challenging for Middle Eastern women to achieve any degree of equality with men in the workplace because discourses of Gender difference lie at the core of Islamic teaching and ideology.

Housework, paid work and psychiatric symptoms

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the hypothesis that work burden, the simultaneous engagement in paid work and unpaid family housework, is a potential risk factor for psychiatric symptoms among women. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out with 460 women randomly selected from a poor area of the city of Salvador, Brazil. Women between 18 to 70 years old, who reported having a paid occupation or were involved in unpaid domestic activities for their families, were eligible. Work burden-related variables were defined as: a) double work shift, i.e., simultaneous engagement in a paid job plus unpaid housework; and b) daily working time. Psychiatric symptoms were collected through a validated questionnaire, the QMPA. RESULTS: Positive, statistically significant associations between high (>7 symptoms) QMPA scores and either double work shift (prevalence ratio -- PR=2.04, 95% confidence interval -- CI: 1.16, 2.29) or more than 10 hours of daily work time (PR=2.29, 95% CI: 1.96, 3.43) were found after adjustment for age, marital status and number of pre-school children. CONCLUSIONS: Major correlates of high QMPA scores are work burden variables. Being married or having pre-school children are also associated with high QMPA scores only when associated with work burden.

Health, sleep and lack of time: relations to domestic and paid work in nurses

OBJECTIVE: To assess whether reported morbidity and complaints of lack of time and sleep are associated with the burden of professional work and housework among nurses. METHODS: A cross-sectional exploratory study was carried out among female nurses and nurse assistants (N=206) of a public hospital in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Data were collected by means of a questionnaire. The prevalence ratio and 95% confidence intervals were estimated. RESULTS: Mean duration of professional work and housework time was 40.4 and 31.6 hours/week, respectively. Long professional working time (over 44 hours/week) were associated with mild emotional disorders (PR=1.37; 95% CI: 1.05-1.80), complaints of lack of time for resting/leisure (PR=1.61; 95% CI: 1.31-1.97), housework (PR=1.48; 95% CI: 1.12-1.97), and childcare (PR=1.99; 95% CI: 1.51-2.63). Long housework time (over 28 hours/week) was associated with lower prevalence of lack of time for childcare (PR=0.62; 95% CI: 0.46-0.84). High housework load was associated with lack of personal time and complaints of varicose veins (PR=1.31; 95% CI: 1.14-1.50 and PR=1.31; 95% CI: 1.08-1.58, respectively). Complaints of varicose veins were also frequent among female nurses with a total work load above 84 hours (PR=1.30; 95% CI: 1.05-1.61), though this group has shown a lower prevalence of arterial hypertension and recurrent headaches (PR=0.35; 95% CI: 0.15-0.83 and PR=0.53; 95% CI: 0.32-0.89, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that both professional and home environments are relevant in the evaluation of work overload on nurses' health and their family and social life. It is stressed the need for instruments for analyzing total workload among female populations.

A passagem �� reforma : um estudo explorat��rio sobre mulheres profissionalizadas na sociedade portuguesa

RESUMO: Devido ��s mudan��as pol��ticas e sociais que ocorreram no passado, a propor����o de mulheres activas no mercado de trabalho tem vindo a aumentar, e neste sentido, cada vez mais mulheres t��m vindo a entrar na reforma. As recentes evolu����es demogr��ficas mostram um crescente envelhecimento populacional caracterizado por um aumento da propor����o de pessoas idosas e pela sua maior longevidade. As mulheres s��o em n��mero superior, no entanto, a realidade da mulher portuguesa reformada tem sido pouco avaliada sob o ponto de vista em que decorre esta transi����o. A passagem �� reforma �� um momento fulcral para conhecer como se adaptam os indiv��duos a uma nova etapa da sua vida que �� actualmente vivida por mais tempo, e que representa tamb��m a passagem para outra categoria social, a categoria de reformado. Condicionantes sociais, culturais e individuais, contribuem para modelar esta transi����o e o ajustamento �� mesma. A reforma para as mulheres dever�� corresponder a uma etapa com caracter��sticas ��nicas, devido ��s particularidades em termos profissionais e sociais que as distinguem dos homens. Pretende-se neste trabalho ���dar voz��� ��s mulheres portuguesas que tiveram uma carreira profissional e conhecer as suas experi��ncias de transi����o para a reforma e a forma como vivem esta condi����o. Foram realizadas entrevistas em profundidade com mulheres portuguesas profissionais reformadas, cujos conte��dos foram analisados em torno das seguintes categorias: sentimentos vividos; planeamento e motiva����es para a passagem �� reforma; rela����o com o trabalho; no����o de si pr��pria; gest��o de tempo e organiza����o quotidiana e interac����es familiares e sociais.-------- ABSTRACT: Due to past political and social changes the number of women working actively in the labor market is growing. This implies that, more women are also entering in the retirement period. Recent demographic trends show an increasing ageing population, characterized by a higher proportion of elderly people, and a higher longevity. Women���s proportion outnumbers older men, yet the reality of Portuguese retired women has been poorly evaluated in regard to this transition process. Retirement transition is a crucial period to understand how individuals adapt to a new stage in their life, that is actually being enjoyed for a longer period and that also represents the transition to retiree���s social role. Social, cultural and individual conditions help to shape this transition and adjustment to it. Retirement for women should be an event with unique features, mostly because of the peculiarities in professional and social relationships, distinct from men. Through in-depth interviews, we explored how Portuguese women, who had a professional career, experience the retirement transition and how they live this new condition. The women���s narratives were analyzed within the following categories: experienced feelings, planning and motivation for retirement; notion of self; time management and daily organization; family and social interactions.

Die Arbeit: eine Re-Vision = Le travail: une re-vision

Was ist Arbeit? Ein notwendiges ��bel, eine den Menschen erst zum Menschen machende Notwendigkeit, ein Mittel sich selbst zu verwirklichen, eine notwendige Struktur, die den Menschen gesund h��lt, ja sogar therapiert oder bloss eine unter vielen M��glichkeiten, mit dem Leben etwas anzufangen? Arbeit wurde schon immer mehrdeutig gefasst. Zw��lf Autoren aus dem franz��sischen und deutschen Kulturkreis diskutieren, was Arbeit ist und war. Die Beitr��ge aus Philosophie, Recht, Sozialwissenschaften, aber auch Kunstwissenschaften kreisen um vier wesentliche Spannungen des Begriffs Arbeit: die Arbeit der Frau, die Sichtbarkeit oder Sichtbarmachung der Arbeit, das Verh��ltnis von Arbeit zu anderen menschlichen T��tigkeiten, der Sinn und das Erleben der Arbeit mit dem allgegenw��rtigen Stress, mit dem die heutige Arbeit verkn��pft wird. Qu'est-ce que le travail? Un mal n��cessaire, une n��cessit�� pour faire des hommes des ��tres humains, un moyen de se r��aliser, une structure n��cessaire qui maintient les ��tres humains en sant��, voire m��me les soigne, ou simplement une possibilit�� parmi d'autres de faire quelque chose de sa vie? Le terme de travail comprend un large ��ventail de significations. Douze auteurs de culture fran��aise et allemande discutent de ce qu'est le travail et de ce qu'il ��tait. Les contributions issues de la philosophie, du droit, des sciences sociales, mais aussi des arts s'articulent autour de quatre dimensions essentielles du concept de travail: le travail des femmes, la visibilit�� ou la mise en ��vidence du travail, le lien entre le travail et les autres activit��s humaines, la recherche de sens et le v��cu du travail avec le stress quotidien qui est aujourd'hui ��troitement li�� au travail.

Finding the right interactional temperature: do colder patients need more warmth in physician communication style?

Being aware of which communication style should be adopted when facing more difficult patients is important for physicians; it can help prevent patient reactions of dissatisfaction, mistrust, or non-adherence that can be detrimental to the process of care. Past research suggests that less agreeable patients are especially critical towards, and reactive to, their physician's communication style, compared to more agreeable patients. On the basis of the literature, we hypothesized that less agreeable patients would react more negatively than agreeable patients to lower levels of affiliativeness (i.e., warmth, friendliness) in the physicians, in terms of satisfaction with the physician, trust in the physician, and determination to adhere to the treatment. Thirty-six general practitioners (20 men/16 women) working in their own practice in Switzerland were filmed while interacting with 69 patients (36 men/33 women) of different ages (M = 50.7; SD = 18.19; range: 18-84) and presenting different medical problems (e.g., back pain, asthma, hypertension, diabetes). After the medical interview, patients filled in questionnaires measuring their satisfaction with the physician, their trust in the physician, their determination to adhere to the treatment, and their trait of agreeableness. Physician affiliativeness was coded on the basis of the video recordings. Physician gender and dominance, patient gender and age, as well as the gravity of the patient's medical condition were introduced as control variables in the analysis. Results confirmed our hypothesis for satisfaction and trust, but not for adherence; less agreeable patients reacted more negatively (in terms of satisfaction and trust) than agreeable patients to lower levels of affiliativeness in their physicians. This study suggests that physicians should be especially attentive to stay warm and friendly with people low in agreeableness because those patients' satisfaction and trust might be more easily lowered by a cold or distant physician communication style.

Protection des travailleuses enceintes et des enfants �� na��tre: ce que doit savoir le m��decin

Quarante-cinq pour cent de la population active suisse est constitu��e de femmes. Parmi celles-ci beaucoup auront �� concilier vie professionnelle et grossesse. La grossesse n'est certes pas une maladie mais elle engendre des changements dans l'organisme de la femme qui rendent certains travaux plus p��nibles, voire dangereux pour leur sant�� et celle de l'enfant �� na��tre. Employeurs et m��decins se doivent donc d'assurer �� la travailleuse enceinte une grossesse sans danger. Pour ce faire, il existe des directives l��gales relatives �� la loi sur le travail et portant sur la protection de la femme enceinte qui doivent ��tre connues et appliqu��es. L'article r��sume ainsi cette probl��matique et propose aux m��decins des sources d'informations pratiques tout en leur faisant part de l'utilit�� de faire appel au m��decin du travail. 45% of workers in Switzerland are women who will sooner or later have to accomodate work and pregnancy. Pregnancy is not a disease but some occupational activities become more difficult and may cause health problems for the pregnant woman or the child to be born. Employers and medical doctors have to assure to the working pregnant women a pregnancy without work risks. Consequently they have to know the legal recommandations for the pregnancy protection which are noticed in the Swiss law. This article summarizes this topic in giving to medical doctors the necessary informations and advices, and explains the role of the occupational physician