“Work of Kinship” done by Families in Santiago de Chile

This paper reports the progress achieved in an anthropological investigation based on which there is now a more in depth understanding of some dimensions of the “kinship work” carried out by families in Chile. The main objective is to analyze the work of maintaining family links performed primarily by women within families and show how this work reproduces gender inequalities within them. On the basis of a longitudinal methodology based on semi-structured interviews, it is concluded that the work of maintaining family links performed by women is crucial but goes unnoticed because kinship obligations are seen as a naturally being part of women’s role in the family.

An Incomplete Narrative: Prosecuting Sexual Violence Crimes at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia

This article explores the feminist critique that progress in the classification of sexual violence crimes within international criminal law has not been matched by sufficient legal enforcement. It takes the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) as a case study, exploring the various myths, investigative failures and procedural developments that have hindered the ECCC’s effective investigation of sexual violence. The article argues that while there is a need to adopt a nuanced perspective of the many gender inequalities facing women, it remains crucial that sexual violence is adequately investigated and prosecuted, due to the normative value of such prosecutions. It concludes with some suggestions as to how the ECCC can improve accountability for such crimes, but also highlights lessons that future courts can learn from the ECCC’s failures.

(Des)igualdades de Género nas Organizações de Trabalho: o caso de uma autarquia local

Em Portugal, cerca de duas centenas de organizações estão empenhadas a criar e implementar Planos para a igualdade de homens e mulheres. Entre elas estão empresas públicas e privadas, autarquias, associações empresariais, organizações do setor terciário, associações de desenvolvimento, universidades, ministérios e outros departamentos governativos. A pesquisa que aqui se expõe inscreveu-se num projeto mais amplo de diagnóstico em realização na Câmara Municipal da Lousã, que se encontra a promover um Plano Municipal para a Igualdade. Nesse âmbito mostrou-se necessário fazer um diagnóstico interno à organização com uma perspetiva de género, quer em termos de desigualdades de género na composição e situação dos seus efetivos quer de forma a conhecer as representações das pessoas que trabalham na autarquia, em torno do fenómeno da (des)igualdade de mulheres e homens. Para a sua realização foi feita análise estatística a dados fornecidos pela organização, e aplicou-se um inquérito por questionário ao pessoal ao serviço da autarquia. Concluiu-se que estamos na presença do fenómeno da desigualdade em função do sexo na estrutura da organização traduzida pela segregação ocupacional e segregação vertical, sendo os homens que apresentam os maiores níveis de antiguidade, que justificarão, de certa forma, as disparidades salariais existentes. Confirmamos uma dualidade entre o ideal de mulher como mãe e dona-de-casa e o de mulher como pessoa independente, especialmente quando são evocadas as consequências da sua atividade profissional sobre os/as filhos/as e a vida familiar. O papel de cuidar surge assim como o obstáculo a conceções menos tradicionalistas e individualizadoras da identidade feminina que nos remete para uma mudança na atribuição do lugar social de homens e mulheres dentro e fora da família. Sobressai a valorização e enfatização da maternidade e do cuidado das crianças na identidade feminina; ao passo que aos homens se atribui uma maior valorização da atividade profissional. Esta constatação comprova a ambivalência e dicotomia de valores e atitudes entre uma fuga à convencional polarização entre papéis “masculinos” e “femininos” rígida e estereotipadamente definidos. / In Portugal, about two hundred organizations are committed to create and implement plans for men and women’s equality. These include public and private companies, local authorities, business associations, third sector organizations, development associations, universities, ministries and other governmental departments. The research exposed here is part of a broader diagnostic project taking placa in the City Hall, of Lousã which is promoting a Municipal Plan for Equality. In this context it was necessary to make an internal diagnosis to the organization from a perspective of gender, either in terms of gender inequalities in the composition and status of their workers or in order to know the workers representations around the phenomenon of women and men’s equality. To make it passible the organization provided statistical data which was analysed and subsequentaly a questionnaire was applied to the municipality staff. We concluded that there is the phenomenon of gender inequality in the structure of the organization namely occupational/professional segregation and vertical segregation, - men having the highest levels of seniority, which may justify in some way the existing wage gap. The study confirms a duality between the ideal of woman as a mother and housewife and the woman as an independent person, especially when the consequences suggested are related to their professional activity on their children and life family. The role of caring emerges as the obstacle to less traditionalist conceptions of female identity and individualization, which leads us to talk about a change of the social position of men and women within and outside the family. It points out the valuation and emphasizing of motherhood and care in female identity, whereas men are given a greater appreciation of the professional activity. This conclusion confirms the ambivalence and dichotomy of values and attitudes between escape from the conventional polarization between rigid and stereotypically defined roles of "male" and "female".

A interseccionalidade de gênero, raça e classe no Programa Ciência sem Fronteiras : um estudo sobre estudantes brasileiros com destino aos EUA

Dissertação (mestrado)—Universidade de Brasília, Faculdade de Educação, Departamento de Pós-Graduação, Mestrado Profissional em Educação, 2015.

Qualitative inequality: experiences of women in Ethiopian higher education

This article examines the lived experiences of women in Ethiopian higher education (HE) as a counterpoint to understandings of gender equity informed only by data on admission, progression and completions rates. Drawing on a critical qualitative inquiry approach, we analyse and interpret data drawn from focus group discussions with female students and academic women in two public universities in Ethiopia. Individual accounts and shared experiences of women in HE revealed that despite affirmative action policies that slightly benefit females at entry point, gender inequality persists in qualitative forms. Prejudice against women and sexual violence are highlighted as key expressions of qualitative gender inequalities in the two universities. It is argued that HE institutions in Ethiopia are male-dominated, hierarchical and hostile to women. Furthermore, taken-for-granted gender assumptions and beliefs at institutional, social relational and individual levels operate to make women conform to structures of disadvantage and in effect sustain the repressive gender relations.

Capabilities and gender: a sum or system of inequalities? The case of Chile

Includes bibliography

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.

Gender differences and inequalities in the habits of physical activity of the adult population in Spain

Proyecto I+D+i DEP19801: Gender differences and inequalities in the habits of physical activity of the adult population in Spain

Gender differences and inequalities in the habits of physical activity of the adult population in Spain

Proyecto I+D+i DEP19801: Gender differences and inequalities in the habits of physical activity of the adult population in Spain

Gender and health inequalities: intersections with other relevant axes of oppression

The risk of disease, disability, and mortality as well as access to health services are unfairly distributed among the population, with certain groups bearing an unequally larger burden of ill health and poorer access to care due to gender, sexual identity/orientation, ethnic background, or class. According to the WHO Commission on Social Determinants of Health (CSDH), these health inequalities emanate from socioeconomic and political factors (governance, cultural values, macroeconomic policies), which generate a set of socioeconomic positions in society according to which populations are stratified based on gender, ethnicity, education, income, or other factors. These societal inequalities influence people’s material and psychosocial circumstances as well as behavioral and biological factors, which in turn impact on health inequalities. Tackling gender, race/ethnic, and socioeconomic inequalities in society is thus recognized as the most powerful action to cope with unequal health risks distribution, and social innovations focusing on these ‘root causes’ are needed in order to prevent and stop endemic social inequalities and social exclusion in health within low-income as well as high-income countries. Increasing existing knowledge and making visible the health status of the most vulnerable and invisible groups are critical in order to contribute to this imperative challenge.

Inequalities in cardiovascular disease mortality : the role of behavioural, physiological and social risk factors

Background: While the relationship between socioeconomic disadvantage and cardiovascular disease (CVD) is well established, the role that traditional cardiovascular risk factors play in this association remains unclear. We examined the association between education attainment and CVD mortality and the extent to which behavioural, social and physiological factors explained this relationship. Methods: Adults (n=38 355) aged 40-69 years living in Melbourne, Australia were recruited in 1990-1994. Subjects with baseline CVD risk factor data ascertained through questionnaire and physical measurement were followed for an average of 9.4 years with CVD deaths verified by review of medical records and autopsy reports. Results: CVD mortality was higher for those with primary education only compared to those who had completed tertiary education, with a hazard ratio (HR) of 1.66 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.11-2.49) after adjustment for age, country of birth and gender. Those from the lowest educated group had a more adverse cardiovascular risk factor profile compared to the highest educated group, and adjustment for these risk factors reduced the HR to 1.18 (95% CI 0.78-1.77). In analysis of individual risk factors, smoking and waist circumference explained most of the difference in CVD mortality between the highest and lowest education groups. Conclusions: Most of the excess CVD mortality in lower socioeconomic groups can be explained by known risk factors, particularly smoking and overweight. While targeting cardiovascular risk factors should not divert efforts from addressing the underlying determinants of health inequalities, it is essential that known risk factors are addressed effectively among lower socioeconomic groups.

A systematic review of studies on socioeconomic inequalities in dietary intakes associated with weight gain and overweight/obesity conducted among European adults

This Review examined socioeconomic inequalities in intakes of dietary factors associated with weight gain, overweight/obesity among adults in Europe. Literature searches of studies published between 1990 and 2007 examining socioeconomic position (SEP) and the consumption of energy, fat, fibre, fruit, vegetables, energy-rich drinks and meal patterns were conducted. Forty-seven articles met the inclusion criteria. The direction of associations between SEP and energy intakes were inconsistent. Approximately half the associations examined between SEP and fat intakes showed higher total fat intakes among socioeconomically disadvantaged groups. There was some evidence that these groups consume a diet lower in fibre. The most consistent evidence of dietary inequalities was for fruit and vegetable consumption; lower socioeconomic groups were less likely to consume fruit and vegetables. Differences in energy, fat and fibre intakes (when found) were small-to-moderate in magnitude; however, differences were moderate-to-large for fruit and vegetable intakes. Socioeconomic inequalities in the consumption of energy-rich drinks and meal patterns were relatively under-studied compared with other dietary factors. There were no regional or gender differences in the direction and magnitude of the inequalities in the dietary factors examined. The findings suggest that dietary behaviours may contribute to socioeconomic inequalities in overweight/obesity in Europe. However, there is only consistent evidence that fruit and vegetables may make an important contribution to inequalities in weight status across European regions.

Does food insecurity contribute to socioeconomic inequalities in BMI?

Introduction: Food insecurity is a social determinant of health and is defined as limited ability to access sufficient amounts of nutritionally adequate or safe food for a healthy and active life. Food insecurity is associated with poor health status and the exacerbation of other health inequalities. This study examined whether an association existed between 1) socioeconomic position (SEP) and food insecurity and 2) food insecurity and weight status. Methods: Data from the 1995 National Nutrition Survey was analysed. A random sample of households (n = 13 858) were asked about dietary habits and food choices. Information about gender, age, BMI, waist circumference, household income and whether the household had run out of money to purchase food in the previous 12 months was obtained and analysed using chi-square and logistic regression. Results: Income was significantly associated with food insecurity; households with lower income were at higher risk of food insecurity. Lower income males were nine times more likely to experience food insecurity and lower income females were three times more likely to experience food insecurity than their higher income counterparts. Food insecurity was significantly associated with body mass index (BMI) among women but not men. Women experiencing food insecurity were at higher risk of overweight/obesity according to BMI and waist circumference measures. Conclusion: Evidence suggests that low income households are at higher risk of food insecurity and women who are food insecure are at higher risk of being overweight or obese. Food insecurity may mediate the association between SEP and BMI.