The impact of a permanent Income shock on the situation of women in the household: the case of a pension reform in Argentina

Transfers to women may affect their bargaining power within the household and consequently their well-being. We analyze the effects of the 2004/2005 pension reform in Argentina, that resulted in an unexpected and substantial increase in permanent income for around 1.8 million women, on outcomes arguably related to women’s bargaining power within the household. We estimate the effects of the reform in the probability of divorce/separation, the distribution of household chores, and the probability of women being the head of the household, using a Difference-in-Differences approach. Our results show that despite the low divorce probability among seniors, transfers to senior women have substantial effects on their situation in the household. More specifically, we find that the reform had statistically significant effects on the probability of divorce/separation increasing it by 1.8 − 2.7 percentage points implying an increase of around 18 − 19% on the divorce/separation rate of 60 − 65 year old women. Moreover, the probability of being the head of the household also increased by 2.8−3.3 percentage points representing an increase of 7−19% in the probability amongst women of 60 − 65 years of age. In the case of married women, the probability of being the head of the household increased by 1.3 − 1.5 percentage points, which represents an increase of 20 − 22%. Results show that the distribution of household chores within the couples was also affected by the reform. More precisely, the probability that the wife is the only person in charge of the housework decreased by 5 percentage points, an 11% decrease. The participation of husbands in housework, however, did not change significantly.

Fracture incidence in relation to the pattern of use of hormone therapy in postmenopausal women

Context: Evidence is limited on the effects of different patterns of use of postmenopausal hormone therapy on fracture incidence and particularly on the effects of ceasing use. Objective: To investigate the effect of different patterns of hormone therapy use on fracture incidence. Design, Setting, and Participants: Prospective study of 138737 postmenopausal women aged 50 to 69 years recruited from the UK general population in 19961998 (the Million Women Study) and followed up for 1.9 to 3.9 years (average, 2.8 years) for fracture incidence. Main Outcome Measure: Adjusted relative risk (RR) for incident fracture (except fracture of the fingers, toes, and ribs) in hormone therapy users compared with never users at baseline. Results: A total of 5197 women (3.7%) reported 1 or more fractures, 79% resulting from falls. Current users of hormone therapy at baseline had a significantly reduced incidence of fracture (RR, 0.62; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.58-0.66; P<.001). This protection was evident soon after hormone therapy began, and the RR decreased with increasing duration of use (P=.001). Among current users at baseline the RR of fracture did not vary significantly according to whether estrogen-only, estrogen-progestin, or other types of hormones were used (RR [95% CI], 0.64 [0.58-0.71], 0.58 [0.53-0.64], and 0.67 [0.56-0.80], respectively; P=19), nor did it vary significantly according to estrogen dose or estrogen or progestin constituents. The RR associated with current use of hormone therapy did not vary significantly according to 11 personal characteristics of study participants, including their age at menopause, body mass index, and physical activity. Past users of hormone therapy at baseline experienced no significant protection against fractures (RR, 1.07; 95% CI, 0.99-1.15); incidence rates returned to those of never-users within about a year of ceasing use. Conclusions: All types of hormone therapy studied confer substantial protection against fracture while they are used. This protection appears rapidly after use commences and wears off rapidly after use ceases. The older women are, the greater is their absolute reduction in fracture incidence while using hormone therapy.

Soya isoflavone-enriched cereal bars affect markers of endothelial function in postmenopausal women

Soya isoflavones are thought to be cardioprotective due to their structural similarity to oestrogen. In order to investigate the effect of soya isoflavones on markers of endothelial function we conducted a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over study with thirty healthy postmenopausal women. The women consumed cereal bars, with or without soya isoflavones (50 mg/d), for 8 weeks, separated by an 8-week washout period. Systemic arterial complince (SAC), isobaric arterial compliance (IAC), flow-mediated endothelium-dependent vasodilation (FMD) and nitroglycerine-mediated endothelium-independent vasodilation (NMD) were measured at the beginning of the study and after each intervention period. Blood pressure (BP) and plasma concentrations of nitrite and nitrate (NOx) and endothelin-1 (ET-1) were measured at the beginning and end of each intervention period. NMD was 13.4 (sem 2.0) % at baseline and 15.5 (sem 1.1) % after isoflavone treatment compared with 12.4 (sem 1.0) % after placebo treatment (P=0.03). NOx increased from 27.7 (sem 2.7) to 31.1 (sem 3.2) mu m after isoflavones treatment compared with 25.4 (sem 1.5) to 20.4 (sem 1.1) mu m after placebo treatment (P=0.003) and a significant increase in the NOx:ET-1 ratio (P=0.005) was observed after the isoflavone treatment compared with placebo. A significant difference in SAC after the isoflavone and placebo treatment was observed (P=0.04). No significant difference was found in FMD, IAC, BP and ET-1. In conclusion, 8 weeks' consumption of cereals bars enriched with 50 mg soya isoflavones/d increased plasma NOx concentrations and improved endothelium-independent vasodilation in healthy postmenopausal women.

Proteomic biomarkers of peripheral blood mononuclear cells obtained from postmenopausal women undergoing an intervention with soy isoflavones

Background: The incidence of cardiovascular diseases increases after menopause, and soy consumption is suggested to inhibit disease development. Objective: The objective was to identify biomarkers of response to a dietary supplementation with an isoflavone extract in postmenopausal women by proteome analysis of peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Design: The study with healthy postmenopausal woman was performed in a placebo-controlled sequential design. Peripheral mononuclear blood cells were collected from 10 volunteers after 8 wk of receiving daily 2 placebo cereal bars and after a subsequent 8 wk of intervention with 2 cereal bars each providing 25 mg of isoflavones. The proteome of the cells was visualized after 2-dimensional gel electrophoresis, and peptide mass fingerprinting served to identify proteins that by the intervention displayed altered protein concentrations. Results: Twenty-nine proteins were identified that showed significantly altered expression in the mononuclear blood cells under the soy-isoflavone intervention, including a variety of proteins involved in an antiinflammatory response. Heat shock protein 70 or a lymphocyte-specific protein phosphatase and proteins that promote increased fibrinolysis, such as a-enolase, were found at increased intensities, whereas those that mediate adhesion, migration, and proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells, such as galectin-1, were found at reduced intensities after soy extract consumption. Conclusion: Protcome analysis identified in vivo markers that respond to a dietary intervention with isoflavone-enriched soy extract in postmenopausal women. The nature of the proteins identified suggests that soy isoflavones may increase the anti inflammatory response in blood mononuclear cells that might contribute to the atherosclerosis-preventive activities of a soy-rich diet.

Acute effects of meal fatty acid composition on insulin sensitivity in healthy post-menopausal women

Postprandial plasma insulin concentrations after a single high-fat meal may be modified by the presence of specific fatty acids although the effects of sequential meal ingestion are unknown. The aim of the present study was to examine the effects of altering the fatty acid composition in a single mixed fat-carbohydrate meal on glucose metabolism and insulin sensitivity of a second meal eaten 5 h later. Insulin sensitivity was assessed using a minimal model approach. Ten healthy post-menopausal women underwent four two-meal studies in random order. A high-fat breakfast (40 g fat) where the fatty acid composition was predominantly saturated fatty acids (SFA), n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), long-chain n-3 PUFA or monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) was followed 5 h later by a low-fat, high-carbohydrate lunch (5.7 g fat), which was identical in all four studies. The plasma insulin response was significantly higher following the SFA meal than the other meals after both breakfast and lunch (P<0.006) although there was no effect of breakfast fatty acid composition on plasma glucose concentrations. Postprandial insulin sensitivity (SI(Oral)) was assessed for 180 min after each meal. SI(Oral) was significantly lower after lunch than after breakfast for all four test meals (P=0.019) following the same rank order (SFA < n-6 PUFA < n-3 PUFA < MUFA) for each meal. The present study demonstrates that a single meal rich in SFA reduces postprandial insulin sensitivity with 'carry-over' effects for the next meal.

The effect of the daily intake of inulin on fasting lipid, insulin and glucose concentrations in middle-aged men and women

The present study was carried out to examine the effect of the daily intake of 10 g inulin on fasting blood lipid, glucose and insulin levels in healthy middle-aged men and women with moderately raised total plasma cholesterol (TC) and triacylglycerol (TAG) levels. This study was a doubleblind randomized placebo-controlled parallel study in which fifty-four middle-aged subjects received either inulin or placebo for a period of 8 weeks. Fasting blood samples were collected before the supplementation period (baseline samples 1 and 2, separated by 1 week) and at weeks 4 and 8, with a follow-up at week 12. Compared with baseline values, insulin concentrations were significantly lower at 4 weeks (P,0×01) in the inulin group. There was a trend for TAG values, compared with baseline, to be lower in the inulin group at 8 weeks (P,0×08) returning to baseline concentrations at week 12. On comparison of the inulin and placebo groups, the fasting TAG responses over the 8-week test period were shown to be significantly different (P,0×05, repeated measures ANOVA), which was largely due to lower plasma TAG levels in the inulin group at week 8. The percentage change in TAG levels in the inulin group during the 8-week study was shown to correlate with the initial TAG level of the subjects (rs -0×499, P = 0×004). We therefore conclude that the daily addition of 10 g inulin to the diet significantly reduced fasting insulin concentrations during the 8-week test period and resulted in lower plasma TAG levels, particularly in subjects in whom fasting TAG levels were greater than 1×5 mmol/l. These data support findings from animal studies that fructans influence the formation and/or degradation of TAG-rich lipoprotein particles, and the insulin data are also consistent with recent studies showing attenuation of insulin levels in fructan-treated rats.

Law and the power of feminism: how marriage lost its power to oppress women

In Feminism and the Power of Law Carol Smart argued that feminists should use non-legal strategies rather than looking to law to bring about women’s liberation. This article seeks to demonstrate that, as far as marriage is concerned, she was right. Statistics and contemporary commentary show how marriage, once the ultimate and only acceptable status for women, has declined in social significance to such an extent that today it is a mere lifestyle choice. This is due to many factors, including the ‘sexual revolution’ of the 1960s, improved education and job opportunities for women, and divorce law reform, but the catalyst for change was the feminist critique that called for the abandonment (rather than the reform) of the institution and made the unmarried state possible for women. I conclude that this loss of significance has been more beneficial to British women in terms of the possibility of ‘liberation’ than appeals for legal change and recognition, and that we should continue to be wary of looking to law to solve women’s problems.

'Between slavery and freedom': the expulsion and enslavement of free women of colour in the US South before the Civil War

For free black women in the pre-Civil War American South, the status offered by ‘freedom’ was uncertain and malleable. The conceptualization of bondage and freedom as two diametrically opposed conditions therefore fails to make sense of the complexities of life for these women. Instead, notions of enslavement and freedom are better framed as a spectrum. This article develops this idea by exploring two of the ways in which some black women negotiated their status before the law—namely though petitioning for residency or for enslavement. While these petitions are atypical numerically, and often offer tantalizingly scant evidence, when used in conjunction with evidence from the US census, it becomes clear that these women were highly pragmatic. Prioritizing their spousal and broader familial affective relationships above their legal status, they rejected the often theoretical distinction between slavery and liberation. As such, the petitions can be used to reach broader conclusions about the attitudes of women who have left little written testimony.

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.

‘Moving on’ : Violence, wellbeing and questions about violence in antenatal care encounters. A qualitative study with Somali-born refugees in Sweden

Background Somali-born women constitute one of the largest groups of childbearing refugee women in Sweden after more than two decades of political violence in Somalia. In Sweden, these women encounter antenatal care that includes routine questions about violence being asked. The aim of the study was to explore how Somali-born women understand and relate to violence and wellbeing during their migration transition and their views on being approached with questions about violence in Swedish antenatal care. Method Qualitative interviews (22) with Somali-born women (17) living in Sweden were conducted and analysed using thematic analysis. Findings A balancing actbetween keeping private life private and the new welfare system was identified, where the midwife's questions about violence were met with hesitance. The midwife was, however, considered a resource for access to support services in the new society. A focus on pragmatic strategies to move on in life, rather than dwelling on potential experiences of violence and related traumas, was prominent. Social networks, spiritual faith and motherhood were crucial for regaining coherence in the aftermath of war. Dialogue and mutual adjustments were identified as strategies used to overcome power tensions in intimate relationships undergoing transition. Conclusions If confidentiality and links between violence and health are explained and clarified during the care encounter, screening for violence can be more beneficial in relation to Somali-born women. The focus on “moving on” and rationality indicates strength and access to alternative resources, but needs to be balanced against risks for hidden needs in care encounters. A care environment with continuity of care and trustful relationships enhances possibilities for the midwife to balance these dual perspectives and identify potential needs. Collaborations between Somali communities, maternity care and social service providers can contribute with support to families in transition and bridge gaps to formal social and care services.

Whatever happened in Torres Strait?: interpreting the Anglican split of 1998

Recent movements within world Anglicanism towards a more democratic representation of the church are in contrast to Torres Strait Islanders' assertion of their own male-led conservative and hierarchical body. These characteristics have marked Torres Strait Island Anglicanism for many years. On the surface, the various strands leading to a conflict over a choice of leader in 1997 focused upon discordant relationships and faulty decision-making procedures, especially the surrender of the diocese of Carpentaria to the adjacent diocese of North Queensland and a subsequent choice of a bishop where Torres Strait clergy claimed that the terms of the surrender had been dishonoured. Yet below the surface, the cleavage between Island and European leadership was also a sign of the ideological shift which was occurring in the Anglican Church of Australia. Supported by European elements within that church opposed to the ordination of women, Islander clergy charged that the mainland body was deserting the faith and order of the 'church of the fathers'. With the Islanders newly empowered, as they perceived it, by the Mabo judgement of the High Court of Australia in 1992, their perception appears to have been that, in spirit, the mainland church denied what the High Court's decision recognised: the ultimate control by Islanders over their own affairs.

Knowledge about folate and the contribution of nutrient supplements to the intake of folic acid and vitamin B12 in Australian adults in 1995 and 1996

The present paper reports knowledge about folate and the contribution of supplements to the intake of folic acid and vitamin B12 in Australian adults during 1995 and 1996. Data were obtained from two population survey monitor surveys conducted in a sample of 5422 adults in 1995-96. The surveys were designed to complement food intake data from the 1995 National Nutrition Survey and to provide an estimate of total folate intake prior to the implementation of voluntary fortification of foods with folic acid. The proportion with knowledge about folate increased with education level and socioeconomic status and was greater in women than men. It was also greater in those who were married, and in those residing in Western Australia and the Australian Capital Territory than in other states and territories. Five per cent of men and 10% of women had taken a supplement containing folio acid on the previous day. The equivalent figures for vitamin B12 were 7.5% for men and 12.5% for women. On average, intake of folic acid from supplements was 11 micro g per day for men and 28 micro g per day for women and intake of vitamin B12 was 2.6 micro g per day for men and 4.5 micro g per day for women. For individuals who consumed a supplement containing folic acid on the day before the survey the median folic acid contribution was 200 micro g. In 1995 and 1996 only one in two adult Australians had heard of folate and only one in ten women of child-bearing age had taken a supplement containing folic acid.

A practical approach to monitoring nutrient supplement intake of Australian adults

The adoption, in mid-1995, of the revised food Standard A9, which permits the more liberal addition of nutrients to a range of food products, highlighted the need to obtain information on nutrient intake from supplements to complement the i 995 National Nutrition Survey data on nutrient intake from food. This paper describes the method used to obtain quantitative information on nutrient supplement intake and reports on the prevalence of supplement use in different subgroups of the Australian population. Information on supplement intake was obtained in two Australian Bureau of Statistics Population Survey Monitor surveys in August 1995 and February 1996 using the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) registration numbers to identify individual products. Approximately 18% of men and 29% of women aged 18 years and over reported consuming a nutrient supplement on the day before the survey and these proportions increased to 25% and 35% respectively for consumption during the two weeks before the survey. The prevalence of supplement intake increased with age, education level, socioeconomic status, employment status and with fruit and vegetable intake. The substantial proportion of Australian adults who consume nutrient supplements, and the rapidly changing composition of the Australian food supply in response to changes in food regulation, indicate that there is a need for regular monitoring of nutrient intake from supplements. The use of TGA registration numbers to identify supplements provides a practical way to address this need.

Psychological correlates of perception of sexual intent in women

In a sample of 183 men and 186 women, the authors assessed (a) the relative contributions of gender and level of nonverbal social cues to the perception of a female actor's sexual intent during a videotaped social interaction with a man and (b) the association between those variables and personality traits implicated in faulty sexual-information processing. The authors assessed those variables while the participants viewed 1 of 3 film segments depicting a female-male interaction. The authors experimentally manipulated eye contact, touch, physical proximity, and female clothing. At all levels of those nonverbal cues, the men perceived more sexual intent in the female actor than did the women. The perception of the female actor's sexual intent increased as the nonverbal cues in the film segments were magnified: Both actors displayed more eye contact, touch, and physical proximity, and the female actor wore more revealing clothing. Relative to the women, the men demonstrated greater sexual preoccupation and reduced sociosexual effectiveness, variables associated with inferring greater sexual intent in the female actor.