El papel de las organizaciones sociales en el proceso de reintegración de las mujeres excombatientes en la ciudad de Cali, en el marco de procesos de construcción de paz desde las comunidades, 2010-2014. Estudio de caso: Coomaco

Este trabajo pretende analizar el papel de las organizaciones sociales en los procesos de reintegración, en la configuración de escenarios dedicados al perdón y la resocialización de mujeres en proceso de reintegración en la ciudad de Cali, durante el periodo comprendido entre 2010-2014. Esta investigación puso en evidencia la falta de precisión en la ruta de reintegración de la particularidad de los procesos de reintegración de mujeres excombatientes de las Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia (AUC) han llevado a la discriminación de las mujeres durante el proceso. Dejando vacíos importantes que llenaron las organizaciones sociales con las comunidades. Para el desarrollo de este trabajo se realizaron entrevistas grupales a seis mujeres en proceso de reintegración, la líder de la Cooperativa Multiactiva de Madres Comunitarias, y ochenta y cinco sondeos de opinión realizados de manera aleatoria en las ciudades de Cali y Bogotá.

I got drunk and lost my virginity : young women's magazines and the management of sexual identity

It has often been argued that young woman’s magazine’s, like Cosmopolitan, Cleo Dolly and Seventeen, constitute a significant instrument in the patriarchal repression of young women - their hegemonic success lying in the fact that they appear to be sites wherein young women are ‘free’ from the elements of coercion so obviously in evidence within other terrains, such as the school and the family. This paper will suggest an alternative approach to these magazines. Rather than locating such texts within an overall model of repression and patriarchal domination, it will be argued here that they can be regarded as practical manuals which enrol young women to do specific kinds of work on themselves. In doing so, they form an effective link between the governmental imperatives aimed at constructing particular personas (such as, for example, ‘the sexually responsible young woman’), and the actual practices whereby these imperatives are operationalised. These manuals do not prevent young women from learning to ‘project a unique self’, they constitute a significant source of practices and techniques through which particular types of self are shaped.

Gender, sexuality and the challenge of seeing in Orlando

Orlando (Sally Potter, 1992) is a significant filmic achievement: in only ninety minutes it offers a rich, layered, and challenging account of a life lived across four hundred years, across two sexes and genders, and across multiple countries and cultures. Already established as a feminist artist, Potter aligns herself with a genealogy of feminist art by adapting Virginia Woolf’s Orlando: A Biography (1928) to tell the story of Orlando: a British subject who must negotiate their “identity” while living a strangely long time and, also somewhat strangely, changing biological sex from male to female. Both novel and film interrogate norms of gender and culture. They each take up issues of sex, gender, and sexuality as socially-constructed phenomena rather than as “essential truths”, and Orlando’s attempts to tell his/her story and make sense of his/her life mirror readers’ attempts to understand and interpret Orlando’s journey within inherited artistic traditions.

Women, environmental changes and forestry-related development : Gender-affected roles of rural people in land degradation and environmental rehabilitation in a dry region of Sudan

The purpose of the present study was to increase understanding of the interaction of rural people and, specifically, women with the environment in a dry area in Sudan. The study that included both nomadic pastoralists and farmers aimed at answering two main research questions, namely: What kinds of roles have the local people, and the women in particular, had in land degradation in the study area and what kinds of issues would a gender-sensitive, forestry-related environmental rehabilitation intervention need to consider there? The study adopted the definition of land degradation as proposed by the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), which describes land degradation as reduction or loss the biological or economic productivity and complexity of land in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas. The Convention perceives desertification as land degradation. The dry study area in Sudan, South of the Sahara, has been the subject of land degradation or desertification discussions since the 1970s, and other studies have been also conducted to assess the degradation in the area. Nevertheless, the exact occurrence, scale and local significance of land degradation in the area is still unclear. This study explored how the rural population whose livelihood depended on the area, perceived environmental changes occurring there and compared their conceptions with other sources of information of the area such as research reports. The main fieldwork methods included interviews with open-ended questions and observation of people and the environment. The theoretical framework conceptualised the rural population as land users whose choices of environmental activities are affected by multiple factors in the social and biophysical contexts in which they live. It was emphasised that these factors have their own specific characteristics in different contexts, simultaneously recognising that there are also factors that generally affect environmental practices in various areas such as the land users' environmental literacy (conceptions of the environment), gender and livelihood needs. The people studied described that environmental changes, such as reduced vegetation cover and cropland production, had complicated the maintenance of their livelihoods in the study area. Some degraded sites were also identified through observations during the fieldwork. Whether a large-scale reduction of cropland productivity had occurred in the farmers' croplands remained, however, unclear. The study found that the environmental impact of the rural women's activities varied and was normally limited. The women's most significant environmental impact resulted from their cutting of trees, which was likely to contribute, at least in some places, to land degradation, affecting the environment together with climate and livestock. However, when a wider perspective is taken, it becomes questionable whether the women have really played roles in land degradation, since gender, poverty and the need to maintain livelihood had caused them to conduct environmentally harmful activities. The women have had, however, no power to change the causes of their activities. The findings further suggested that an inadequate availability of food was the most critical problem in the study area. Therefore, an environmental programme in the area was suggested to include technical measures to increase the productivity of croplands, opportunities for income generation and readiness to co-operate with other programmes to improve the local people's abilities to maintain their livelihoods. In order to protect the environment and alleviate the women's work burden, the introduction of fuel-saving stoves was also suggested. Furthermore, it was suggested that increased planting of trees on homesteads would be supported by an easy availability of tree seedlings. Planting trees on common property land was, however, perceived as extremely demanding in the study area, due to scarcity of such land. In addition, it became apparent that the local land users, and women in particular, needed to allocate their labour to maintain the immediate livelihood of their families and were not motivated to allocate their labour solely for environmental rehabilitation. Nonetheless, from the point of view of the existing social structures, women's active participation in a community-based environmental programme would be rather natural, particularly among the farmer women who had already formed a women's group and participated in communal decision making. Forming of a women group or groups was suggested to further support both the farmer women's and pastoral women's active participation within an environmental programme and their general empowerment. An Environmental programme would need to acknowledge that improving rural people's well-being and maintaining their livelihood in the study area requires development and co-operation with various sectors in Sudan.

Sukupuoli ja organisaatiot liikkeessä? Gender and Organisations in Flux?

Viimeaikainen sukupuolta ja organisaatiota käsittelevä tutkimus ja kirjallisuus on saanut paljon (toisinaan epäsuoria) vaikutteita feminismiä ympäröivistä keskusteluista. Lisäksi naisten aseman ja kokemuksien tunnistaminen organisaatioissa ja johtamisessa on vaikuttanut tutkimukseen. Erilaisten kansainvälisesti tutkittujen aiheiden kirjo on laaja: sukupuolisuhteet organisaatioiden ja johtoryhmien kulttuureissa ja kommunikaatiossa; sukupuolittunut työnjako; sukupuolittuneet hierarkiat, valta, auktoriteetti ja johtajuus organisaatioissa ja johtamisessa; sukupuolittuneet markkinat; sukupuolittuneet kuvat, symbolit ja mainokset; sukupuoli ja IT teknologia; seksuaalisuus, häirintä, kiusaaminen ja väkivalta organisaatioissa; työn ja kodin yhteensovittaminen; ja niin edelleen. Myös akateemiset organisaatiot sekä niiden sukupuolittuneet valtasuhteet ja johtaminen kaipaavat kipeästi huomiota. Useimpia mainituista alueista on tutkittu ainakin jonkin verran mutta paljon työtä on vielä myös jäljellä. Tämä kokoelma esittelee ajankohtaista suomalaista tutkimusta seuraavista teemoista: tasa-arvo organisaatioissa, naisjohtajuus, yrittäjyyden sukupuoli, verkostot, sukupuolen representaatio sekä sukupuoli ja uusi teknologia. Kokoelma on työryhmän yhdessä koostama joten se on ennen kaikkea yhteistyön tulos. Recent research and literature on the gendering of organisations has been strongly influenced, though sometimes indirectly, by debates in and around feminism, and on recognising women and women’s situations, experiences and voices in organisations and management. The range of topics and issues that have been studied internationally is vast: gender relations in organizational and management groups, cultures and communication; gender divisions of labour; gender divisions of hierarchy, power, authority and leadership in organizations and management; gendered markets; gender imagery, symbols and advertising; gender and information technology; sexuality, harassment, bullying and violence in organisations; home-work relations; and so on. There are also key issues of gender power relations in academic organizations and management themselves, which need urgent attention. Though most of these areas have been researched to some extent, much remains to be done. This collection brings together current Finnish research on: Equality in Organisations, Women in Management, Gender and Entrepreneurship, Networks, Representation of Gender, Gender and ICTs. The book has been put together by an editorial team and is thus first and foremost a collective effort.

Does Gender Matter? Women Business Angels and the Supply of Entrepreneurial Finance

There is a substantial literature on the relationship between gender and access to finance. However, most studies have been concerned with access to debt finance. More recently, the focus of this research has broadened to examine women and venture capital. This article extends the focus further by examining the role of women in the business angel market, which is more important than the formal venture capital market in terms of both the number of ventures supported and total capital flows. Based on a detailed analysis of business angels in the U.K., the study concludes that women investors who are active in the market differ from their male counterparts in only limited respects. Future research into women business angels, and the possible existence of gender differences, needs to be based on more fully elaborated standpoint epistemologies that focus on the experience of the woman angel investor per se, and center on the examination of the role of homophily, social capital, networking, and competition in investment behavior.

Rural women in Europe: the impact of place and culture on gender mainstreaming the European Rural Development Programme

Gender relations are socially constructed. Space and culture are key factors in this process. We consider how women’s identity is constructed in rural areas of Europe. In particular, we examine the ability of gender mainstreaming to advance gender equality through the EU Rural Development Programme – the single most expensive European policy. We offer both overarching theoretical perspectives and specific case studies.

Gender and Assimilation: The Roles and Representation of Women in Modern Jewish History, pt. 1

Explores the relation between gender and the encounter of Jews with various conditions of Modernity. She makes clear that the study of the process of Jewish assimilation in contemporary times must include women and gender in its framework.

Gender and Assimilation: The Roles and Representation of Women in Modern Jewish History, pt. 3

Explores the relation between gender and the encounter of Jews with various conditions of Modernity. She makes clear that the study of the process of Jewish assimilation in contemporary times must include women and gender in its framework.

Gender and Assimilation: The Roles and Representation of Women in Modern Jewish History, pt. 2

Explores the relation between gender and the encounter of Jews with various conditions of Modernity. She makes clear that the study of the process of Jewish assimilation in contemporary times must include women and gender in its framework.

HIV disclosure and nondisclosure among migrant women from sub-Saharan Africa living in Switzerland.

No study to date has focused specifically on the reasons for and against disclosure of HIV-positive status among sub-Saharan migrant women. Thirty HIV-positive women from 11 sub-Saharan countries living in French-speaking Switzerland participated in semi-structured individual interviews. The reasons women reported for disclosure or nondisclosure of their HIV serostatus were classified into three categories: social, medical, and ethical. The women identified the stigma associated with HIV as a major social reason for nondisclosure. However, this study identifies new trends related to disclosure for medical and ethical reasons. Being undetectable played an important role in the life of sub-Saharan migrant women, and analysis revealed their medical reasons for both disclosure and nondisclosure. Disclosure to new sexual partners occurred when women had a more positive perception about HIV and when they believed themselves to be in a long-term relationship. Women reported nondisclosure to family members when they did not need help outside the support provided by the medical and social fields. The results on ethical reasons suggested that challenging stigma was a reason for disclosure. Since the women' perceptions on HIV changed when they came to see it as a chronic disease, disclosure occurred in an attempt to normalize life with HIV in their communities in migration and to challenge racism and discrimination. Our findings can help health providers better understand the communication needs of sub-Saharan migrant women with respect to HIV/AIDS and sexuality and offer them adequate disclosure advice that takes into account migration and gender issues.

Women's work choices in Kenya: the role of social institutions and household gender attitudes

This study considers the factors that influence women’s work behavior in Kenya. In particular, it examines whether gender attitudes and certain types of social institutions influence the probability of employment or type of employment for women. Using data from the Demographic and Health Survey of 2008–9, we find that religion and ethnicity are significant determinants of women’s employment in Kenya. While personal experience of female genital mutilation is insignificant, spousal age and education differences, as well as marital status (which reflect attitudes both in women’s natal and marital families), are significant determinants of women’s employment choices.

Towards a post-patriarchal gender order : Confronting the universality and the particularity of violence against women

The issues of gender equality and women’s human rights have become major spheres of academic debate, policy and activism in virtually every corner of the globe. Violence against women, a relative latecomer to the international gender agenda, has provided a particularly critical entry point in challenging long standing gender ideologies and taboos as well as the gender biased mainstream human rights framework that kept, until recently, the gender specific abuses women experience outside of public scrutiny.

Gender Equality Observatory for Latin America and the Caribbean. Annual report 2013-2014. Confronting violence against women in Latin America and the Caribbean

The efforts States in our region have made to eradicate violence against women have seen substantial headway on a number of fronts over the past 20 years. This calls for a look at how individual governments have responded and the wide variety of strategies followed. In this report, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) follows up on the Gender Equality Observatory for Latin America and the Caribbean commitment to analyse violence against women. It has been drafted by the Observatory’s participating agencies and organizations: the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women); the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the Ibero-American Secretariat (SEGIB) and the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID). The focus is on the situation across the region, progress in meeting international recommendations, national public policies, and constraints and challenges.

Gender-based violence and socioeconomic inequalities: Does living in more deprived neighbourhoods increase women's risk of intimate partner violence?

This study investigates the influence of neighbourhood socioeconomic conditions on women's likelihood of experiencing intimate partner violence (IPV) in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Data from 940 women who were interviewed as part of the WHO multi-country study on women's health and domestic violence against women, and census data for Sao Paulo City, were analyzed using multilevel regression techniques. A neighbourhood socioeconomic-level scale was created, and proxies for the socioeconomic positions of the couple were included. Other individual level variables included factors related to partner's behaviour and women's experiences and attitudes. Women's risk of IPV did not vary across neighbourhoods in Sao Paulo nor was it influenced by her individual socioeconomic characteristics. However, women in the middle range of the socioeconomic scale were significantly more likely to report having experienced violence by a partner. Partner behaviours such as excessive alcohol use, controlling behaviour and multiple sexual partnerships were important predictors of IPV. A women's likelihood of IPV also increased if either her mother had experienced IPV or if she used alcohol excessively. These findings suggest that although the characteristics of people living in deprived neighbourhoods may influence the probability that a woman will experience IPV, higher-order contextual dynamics do not seem to affect this risk. While poverty reduction will improve the lives of individuals in many ways, strategies to reduce IPV should prioritize shifting norms that reinforce certain negative male behaviours. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.