Reflecting on gender equality in Muslim contexts in Oxfam GB

Gender inequality, faith and development are intrinsically linked, and the impact of religious beliefs and practices on gender inequality is an issue that cannot be ignored in development work. This article summarises the key discussions and findings of two workshops, held by Oxfam GB, on the challenges of working on gender equality issues in Muslim contexts. It explores some of the strategies Oxfam staff have used in their programmes, and highlights the challenges Oxfam will need to address as it develops this area of work further.     

"Women and disability don't mix]" Double discrimination and disabled women's rights

Oxfam's experience with groups of disabled people has revealed that gender affects how disabled people are treated in various cultures. This experience runs counter to the often voiced (even by a consultant hired by Oxfam) assumption that gender analysis serves only to confuse any analysis undertaken of disability-based circumstances. This assumption is echoed in the disability movement itself where activists fear fragmentation through the introduction of gender analysis. Thus, gender is not yet understood as a factor which affects every aspect of life including race, class, ethnicity, caste, and disability. Because 75% of the 250 million disabled women in the world live in developing countries, development programs must consider the specific needs and rights of disabled women who suffer from double discrimination and are more likely than disabled men to live impoverished and isolated lives which lead to depression and despair. In many societies, disabled women, but not disabled men, lose their rights to marriage, family life, education, and health care. Mothers of disabled children are stigmatized, and fathers tend to "blame" defective genes on the mothers and to ignore their disabled offspring. These factors combine to make it difficult to improve the status and livelihoods of disabled women through development work. Disabled women activists have also voiced complaints about their lack of access to the preparatory meetings for the Fourth UN Women's Conference, but disabled women intend to use the Conference to lobby for their rights and to call for scrutiny of health policies which discriminate against the disabled.     

Editorial

This editorial introduces a volume of Oxfam's Gender and Development journal that highlights the role of education and training in promoting gender equality. While the articles do not focus entirely on gender training, all seek ways to transform gender relations by developing accessible female-friendly educational methods. Educational systems worldwide reflect their social context (with male biased, Western-style education a by-product of colonialism) and may transmit culture, reinforce the status quo, or promote change. Structural adjustment programs are also increasing the barriers to education by forcing imposition of school fees, and female education is still considered subversive and threatening in many settings. Development donors, however, view the education of girls as a modernizing influence that can promote development. However, female skills acquisition must be matched by structural changes to improve women's status. Specific articles in this journal, therefore, consider the agenda of donors who stress Western-style education, the stereotyping of gender roles in formal educational systems, participatory educational methods, "education for empowerment" versus "schooling for subordination," and gender training as a component of a project to increase female access to schools, and innovative techniques. The journal also includes a report on the Fifth International Conference on Adult Education that calls for implementation of the conference goals.     

Agents for Change and Changed Agents: The Micro‐politics of Change and Feminism in the Academy

This article explores gender politics and processes in the academy and investigates change from the perspectives of feminist academics. In particular, it explores the experiences of women academics attempting to effect change to the gendered status quo of their own institutions. Focusing on micro‐politics, the feminist movement is empirically explored in localized spaces of resistance and in the small but significant individual efforts at making changes in academic institutions. The analysis is based on interviews with female academics working in business and management schools and focuses on the challenges for change and how change attempts affect their personal and professional identities. The article explores the range of change strategies that participants use as they try to progress in their academic career while staying true to their feminist values and priorities through both resisting and incorporating dominant discourses of academic work. The analysis highlights such tensions and focuses on a contextualized, bottom‐up perspective on change that, unlike more totalizing theorization, takes into account mundane and lived experiences at the level of the individual.     

Bringing about social justice through feminist research for monitoring,evaluation, and learning? A conversation from Oxfam GB

ABSTRACT

At Oxfam, we have spent much of the last two years talking about feminist principles. In the context of the #Metoo and #Aidtoo movements, the presence (or absence) of these feminist values and principles is increasingly – and rightly – under the spotlight. In this article, we reflect on what it takes to embed these values in our research practice within the monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) function of an international non-government organisation such as Oxfam. These values shape our understanding of the purpose of carrying out MEL activities as a tool for bringing about social justice, through examining gender and power relations, why they exist and how they change. We reflect on the successes and challenges we have faced while utilising evaluation for greater gender equality. By doing so, we aim to start shedding light on the structural changes needed to bring about social changes through MEL, and research more broadly.     

Gender inequality and inter-household economic inequality in emerging economies: exploring the relationship

While most emerging economies have been characterised by persistence/growth of inter-household economic inequality in recent decades, and simultaneous poor performance on gender equality, the intersecting relationship between these two trends so far has not received much attention. This article is an initial attempt look at this relationship, showing how gender inequality has both contributed to, and been affected by, growing economic inequality. It focuses on eight emerging economies – Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Mexico, Indonesia, and Turkey (dubbed the BRICSAMIT countries). The article analyses Gini coefficient trends and Global Gender Gap Index trends, and draws in addition on insights gained from seven exploratory interviews with Oxfam colleagues and partners working on women's rights in the considered countries. It concludes with a reflection on the possible future policy agenda that would allow one to simultaneously address the issues of gender inequality and economic inequality in the analysed countries.     

Coming together. Experiences and lessons from an LGBTQI project in three countries

This article reflects on experiences and lessons from an LGBTQI project implemented by Oxfam and its partners in South Africa, Zimbabwe, and a third country in Asia where LGBTQI work is strongly criminalised. It argues that protecting and promoting the rights of LGBTQI persons, so that they can live a decent life without violence, needs a systemic shift in social norms and attitudes, even in contexts where laws and policies promise equality. Development policymakers and practitioners can usefully channel funding and other forms of support to LGBTQI leaders, groups, and movements who are best placed to lead the social change needed. The article shares a wide range of strategies used by the project and calls for development organisations and funding agencies to work with LGBTQI organisations in solidarity and sustain their vital activism, long term. It focuses in particular on the key strategies of supporting the development of safe spaces, both in ‘real life’ and online. These spaces are extremely important for psychosocial well-being, challenging social norms, fostering collective consciousness, and collective action. The article also focuses on advocacy to place LGBTQI issues in the spotlight, internationally as well as nationally.     

Women’s Agency in Gender‐Traditional Religions: A Review of Four Approaches

The concept of agency is useful for feminist research on women in gender‐traditional religions. By focusing on religious women’s agency, scholars understand these women as actors, rather than simply acted upon by male‐dominated social institutions. This article reviews the advantages and limitations of feminist scholarship on the agency of women who participate in gender‐traditional religions by bringing into dialog four approaches to understanding agency. The resistance agency approach focuses on women who attempt to challenge or change some aspect of their religion. The empowerment agency approach focuses on how women reinterpret religious doctrine or practices in ways that make them feel empowered in their everyday life. The instrumental approach focuses on the non‐religious positive outcomes of religious practice, and a compliant approach focuses on the multiple and diverse ways in which women conform to gender‐traditional religious teaching. This article concludes by discussing the future direction of scholarship.     

Strengths of farming communities in fostering resilience in children

The cultural context in which rural farm children are raised has a significant effect on their lives. Researchers have traditionally viewed rural environments from a deficit perspective. Yet many children demonstrate resilience even in the face of significant adversity. This article focuses on strengths of rural farming communities in providing a cultural context that supports healthy development in children. It also notes practice considerations for child welfare in small agricultural communities.     

Reshaping Clinical Practice for the New Millennium

In the new millennium, oppression will continue to affect social workers’ clients. This article discusses training clinical practitioners to address oppression. Drawing on poststructural, postmodern, feminist, and social constructivist theories, the article argues that to challenge oppression, clinical practice must address the dialectical relationship between private troubles and public issues while transforming professional relationships that disempower clients. The article describes a second-year MSW clinical practice sequence taught from feminist, poststructuralist, postmodern, and social constructionist perspectives, where students learn to assess the impacts of oppression, discover clients’ strengths, and respond in personal, social, and political contexts.     

Swedish welfare responses to ethnicity: the case of children and their families

This article focuses on issues of racism and ethnic discrimination in the operation of the Swedish child welfare system and the broader societal context. It draws primarily upon a qualitative study which explored discourses about ethnicity, gender and age within the Swedish child welfare system but also uses some data from several recent transnational European studies. It suggests that the Swedish welfare system may be far less benign in challenging racism and ethnic discrimination than it is when assessed along more ‘mainstream’ comparative measures associated with poverty alleviation or issues of work in the labour market and home. The article notes that very similar findings occur when gendered violence to women and children is placed in focus rather than ethnicity. Finally some tentative possible explanations for these welfare patterns are suggested as the basis for future research and elaboration.     

RUNNING OFF-TACKLE THROUGH THE LAST BASTION: WOMEN,RESISTANCE, AND PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL

This article discusses the mechanisms that must be in place in order for women to successfully resist institutionalized gender norms. This research draws on over 200 hours of observations of and 20 in-depth interviews with women playing full contact football, a sport traditionally dominated by men and firmly planted in the culture of the U.S. as synonymous with masculinity. Following the work of recent calls by gender scholars to treat gender as a social institution, this research shows that at least four components must be in place for sustained, successful resistance to a social institution. First, resistance must be a conscious activity. Second, any resistance must involve engaging in an abnormal activity. Third, any deviant or abnormal activity must take place in an otherwise legitimate social context. Finally, as the creation and maintenance of a social institution is an inherently social enterprise, so, too, is institutional resistance. This research contributes to scholarship on gender and social institutions by showing some strategies for increasing possibilities for personal expression.     

READING PIERRE BOURDIEU'S MASCULINE DOMINATION : NOTES TOWARDS AN INTERSECTIONAL ANALYSIS OF GENDER,CULTURE AND CLASS

This article analyses Bourdieu's late work on masculine domination, in the context of his wider theory of practice. It assesses the logic of his argument and focuses particularly on the wide-ranging case he makes for women's complicity with such gender domination, alongside their opposition to it. The question of whether Bourdieu's sociology is unacceptably pessimistic about the possibilities for social transformation is then considered, taking up certain key contemporary debates about his work. The final section draws on Bourdieu's rudimentary sketches from various sources for an intersectionalist study of gender and class, deriving ultimately from the uncompromising exposure of economic and social interests in Distinction. Using independent evidence, it traces some of the less-remarked consequences of women's entry into well-paid employment on the labour market: not least, the impact of their work on the class structure and the recomposition of domestic labour on a class basis.     

Gender,education and training: an international perspective

This article examines the causes and consequences of sex discrimination in education in developing countries and considers whether the available educational structures improve gender equity or reinforce the status quo. After an introduction that distinguishes between "education" and "schooling" and identifies schooling as a means of patriarchal control, the article sketches the growing awareness of gender disparities in education. The next section describes how gender inequality in education leads to low participation of women in the labor market and limits women's access to information and services, to mobility, and to decision-making. The article then reviews the international agenda on promoting female education that has resulted in donor-driven initiatives arising from such events as the 1990 World Conference on Education For All. A look at the benefits of educating women then focuses on the "family welfare" perspective and the acknowledgement of women's full socioeconomic role. After pointing to the slow progress towards gender equity in education, the article discusses barriers to this goal posed by poverty, social conventions, early marriage, violence in schools, and curricular gender stereotyping. The article then considers problems encountered by efforts to provide informal education and training and the fact that educational initiatives are donor-driven and fail to address the causes of the gender gap. It is concluded that governments and donors must transform schools as part of a larger program of socioeconomic reforms designed to improve women's status.     

Rural development in Brazil: are we practising feminism or gender?

Drawing on the experience of a state-sponsored rural development project, referred to as the Eagle River project, this article considers feminism and gender issues in rural Brazil, where agriculture is one of the livelihood strategies of poor men and women. Section 1 offers an overview of the project and the project area. Section 2 describes the lives of women in the Eagle River region where traditional values on division of labor, domestic roles of women, and gender hierarchies are still predominant. Section 3 highlights the objective of the project and activities designed to achieve its aim. Three main areas of work are being focused: community development, production development, and provision of rural credit. The project structure and decision-making powers are discussed in section 4. Sections 5 and 6 describe experiences in the project during its first 18 months and the challenges of incorporating gender into the project. Section 7 focuses on the development of the gender program. Section 8 outlines lessons learned out of the project outcome and the final section contains concluding messages.     

Rethinking gender and development practice for the twenty-first century

This article presents the personal view of the author on raising the profile of gender equality and gender transformation in development agencies. In the first section, the author describes the practical difficulties observed in the context. These include the confusion in the discourse, overemphasis on the economic aspect of women's empowerment, oversimplification of complex issues, exploration of the meaning of gender, the assumption of a distinction between male and female sexes, and the assumption of a distinction between sex and gender. The findings indicate the need to develop a social relation theory which revolves around three elements: 1) conceptualization of social relations as the mainframe of analysis; 2) the understanding of the link between experience and gender differentiation; and 3) the lack of acknowledgement of the relevance of homosexual experience. Lastly, the author emphasizes that gender must not be viewed as a politically correct ideology, but as an integral element in a wider search for a deep understanding of human behavior.     

Staying with People Who Slap Us Around: Gender,Juggling Responsibilities and Violence in Paid (and Unpaid) Care Work

Little is actually known about women's occupational health, let alone how men and women may experience similar jobs and health risks differently. Drawing on data from a larger study of social service workers, this article examines four areas where gender is pivotal to the new ways of organizing caring labour, including the expansion of unpaid work and the use of personal resources to subsidize agency resources; gender‐neutral violence; gender‐specific violence and the juggling of home and work responsibilities. Collective assumptions and expectations about how men and women should perform care work result in men's partial insulation from the more intense forms of exploitation, stress and violence. This article looks at health risks, not merely as compensable occupational health concerns, but as avoidable products of forms of work organization that draw on notions of the endlessly stretchable capacity of women to provide care work in any context, including a context of violence. Indeed, the logic of women's elastic caring appear crucial to the survival of some agencies and the gender order in these workplaces.     

The impact of conservative discourses in family policies, population politics, and gender rights in Poland and Turkey

This article uses childcare as a case study to test the impact of ideas that embody a traditional understanding of gender relations in relation to childcare. Conservative ideas regard increasing female labor market participation as a cause of decreasing fertility on the functioning of a set of general policies to increase fertility rates. It looks into the Polish and Turkish contexts for empirical evidence. The Polish context shows a highly institutionalized system of family policies in contrast to almost unessential institutions in Turkey. Formally, the labor market participation of women is much lower in Turkey than in Poland. Yet, given the size of the informal market in Turkey, women's labor participation is obviously higher than what appears in the statistics. Bearing in mind this divergence, the article suggests Poland and Turkey as two typologies for studying population politics in contexts where socially conservative ideas regarding gender remain paramount. We qualify ideas as conservative if they enforce a traditional understanding of gender relations in care-giving and underline women's role in the labor market as an element of declining fertility. In order to delineate ideational impact, this article looks into how ideas (a) supplant and (b) substitute formal institutions. Therefore, we argue that there are two mechanisms pertaining to the dominance of conservative conventions: conservative ideas may either supplant the institutional impact on family policies, or substitute them thanks to a superior reasoning which societies assign to them. Furthermore, conservative conventions prevail alongside women's customary unpaid work as care-givers regardless of the level of their formal workforce participation. We propose as our major findings for the literature of population politics that ideas, as ubiquitous belief systems, are more powerful than institutions since they provide what is perceived as legitimate, acceptable, and good for the societies under study. In the end, irrespective of the presence of institutions, socially conservative ideas prevail.     

Goodbye to the golden cage: Transformations in gender norms and family morality for working‐class women in occupations considered masculine in Mexico

This article seeks to contribute to the debate, within the feminist sociological theory and gender studies, about the possibility of ‘undoing gender’ in different social fields, mainly family relations. It is based on the premise that as women's objective dependency in the social structure decreases, the unstable character of what Bourdieu called ‘submissive dispositions’ becomes visible, and that women act reflectively, both to adapt to the challenges posed by their participation in different social fields and to gain personal liberties. The results of qualitative research, based on discussion groups and narrative interviews in which 109 women in working‐class sectors in Mexico City participated, are presented. Conflicts around breadwinning, housework distribution and personal liberties demonstrate a displacement of gender norms, parallel to efforts to maintain certain assurances regarding the traditional family model within the context of economic precariousness.