Integrating the gender dimension in teaching,research content & knowledge and technology transfer: Validating the EFFORTI evaluation framework through three case studies in Europe

Gender equality and gender mainstreaming in research is one of the six European Research Area (ERA) priorities. Integrating the gender dimension in research content and teaching is one of its three objectives. It is arguably the objective where least progress has been made. In this article we contribute to the evidence base by applying the EFFORTI evaluation framework to three empirical case study interventions that aim to integrate the gender dimension in tertiary education and research content. Comparison is based on an evaluation of the design of the intervention, those factors that have enabled/ hindered its implementation as well as an assessment of outcomes and impacts. The findings of the case studies highlight the importance of design, specifically regarding resources, legal status and the definition and operationalisation of the gender concept. Implementation hinges on top-level institutional commitment and mainstreaming gender studies with support of a central unit and crucially gender competence. A lack of recognition and status of gender studies and subsequent innovations was seen to hamper implementation. Outcomes and impacts included an increased awareness and interest in gender, increased gender competence, a push towards gender equality regarding representation and organisational change as well as an improved accreditation process and more and better research.     

Social class background and gender‐(a)typical choices of fields of study in higher education

By employing a Bourdieu‐inspired class scheme that differentiates between classes’ volume and composition of capital, and by analysing Norwegian administrative register data for birth cohorts between 1987 and 1992, this paper examines the relationship between social class background and gender‐(a)typical choices of higher education. Fields of study in higher education in much of the Western world remain segregated by gender despite the gender gap in educational attainment having been reversed. However, some changes have taken place due to the influx of women into male‐dominated, high‐status fields. Few recent studies have examined the relationship between social class background and gendered educational choices in light of these changes; furthermore, the focus of previous research has been limited to the vertical dimension of class. The results presented in this article suggest that men and women are more likely to make gender‐atypical choices when this leads to social mobility and that focusing solely on the vertical dimension of class may mask horizontal differences.     

Can gender differences in distributional preferences explain gender gaps in competition?

We design a lab experiment to specifically examine whether a preference for favorable inequality and behindness aversion, as well as egalitarian preferences, affect competitive choices differently among males and females. Using data on approximately 2,000 subjects, we find that selection into competitive environments is negatively related to egalitarian preferences, with smaller negative impacts of being egalitarian on females’ choice to compete. Further, behindness aversion and preference for favorable inequality affect willingness to compete in opposite ways. The willingness to compete is negatively affected by behindness aversion, while a preference for favorable inequality positively influences willingness to compete. Interestingly, when we disaggregate behavior along gender lines, we find that compared to behindness averse males, behindness averse females are more likely to enter the competitive environment. In contrast, there is no significant gender difference in the impact of preference for favorable inequality on competition. Our results suggest that the observed gender difference in competitiveness can stem from male-female differences in distributional preferences and selected personality traits developed during one’s lifetime.     

Intersectionality and Black Women’s Health: Making Room for Rurality

Black women have poorer health compared to their White counterparts in a range of health outcomes, including breast cancer, diabetes, HIV/AIDS, and heart disease. The health disparities literature has largely treated women as a monolithic group, assuming that health practices and treatments are equally applicable and effective for all women. This approach, which places too much emphasis on gender, risks masking the unique experiences of various women based on other social categories. This article argues that in order to advance Black women’s health, an intersectionality approach should be incorporated into health research and practice. This approach, however, should go beyond the usual intersection of race and gender to include rurality. The article builds this argument on the fact that Black women living in rural areas have unique experiences that intersect with their gender, race, and class status. Benefits for embracing the intersectionality approach are discussed.     

Networking for women’s rights: academic centers,regional information networks,and feminist advocacy in southern Africa

Women’s rights advocates, in southern Africa as elsewhere, have challenged gender inequality to advance the status of women in society and as a means to also address related, cumulative issues of disadvantage. As communication technologies and neoliberal globalization alter forms of communication, the potential for organizing, coalitions, and advocacy work across time and space, such as through transnational feminist networks (TFNs), has grown. Understanding the rise of TFNs has largely relied on historical narratives and case studies, and the literature has tended to emphasize transnational over regional dimensions. Our approach, however, finds that regional connections not only play an important role in linking TFNs to local women’s rights initiatives in southern Africa, but that information-rich academic institutes focusing on gender studies bring structure to local and regional information networks in the region and act as bridges between the local, regional and global. Methodologically, we employ an innovative approach to visibly capture the work of regional and local activists by taking a meso-level snapshot of website links among 70 women’s rights organizations operating in southern Africa. We pair the network visualization with a case study of our central academic center, the African Gender Institute, to demonstrate the work of this critical hub in the local and regional communication network.     

Attitude towards career progression in Spanish dual-earner couples: A dyadic approach

This study addresses the relevance of gender roles and perceived gender discrimination against women in attitude towards career progression in heterosexual dual-earner couples. One hundred and thirty-nine wives and their husbands completed the questionnaires independently. From a dyadic data analysis, using the actor-partner interdependence model (APIM), we examined the actor and partner effect. The following findings were made: (a) an actor and partner effect of gender roles in husbands, (b) an actor effect of perceived gender discrimination in wives, and (c) an interaction effect between partner gender roles by actor professional status in wives. Overall, results showed that gender roles and perceived gender discrimination are useful factors in understanding couples’ interdependence in their attitudes towards career progression. Results are discussed in terms of the influence of traditional gender roles in perpetuating inequality between men and women and the relevance of perceived gender discrimination against women in attitude towards career progression.     

Gender composition and share of management: Tipping points in US workplaces, 1980–2005

This paper examines how concepts of gendered organizations, tokenism and the glass escalator affect women’s share of management. Specifically, we examine how the gender composition of workplaces affects women’s share of management in 195,534 workplaces using EEO-1 report data collected from the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission from 1980 until 2005. The EEO-1 data allow us to explore the effects of gender composition on women’s share of management net of labor market change, industrial change, organizational determinants, and changes in workplace segregation using workplace-level data. We draw on past research to identify potential composition levels—tipping points—in which women have more or less share of management. Our findings suggest that across all compositions, ranging from women comprising less than 15% to over 85% of the workplace, larger percentages of the non-management women are associated with greater shares of women in management. Findings offer little support for the glass escalators hypothesis extended to workplaces, but once further contextualized, the findings do suggest that workplaces are gendered in such a way that tokenism works differently for men and women. Thus, our paper adds to the body of research on gender composition and further illustrates the need to determine under which conditions these social processes operate.     

Public investment in care services in Turkey: Promoting employment & gender inclusive growth

Recent policy debates on macroeconomic tools to counteract the prolonged global economic recession point to the potential of fiscal policies with appropriate sectoral targets for simultaneously boosting effective demand while alleviating inequalities through employment generation. This paper contributes to the debate by pointing to the social care services sector –in particular early childhood education and care (ECEC) — as an effective target of fiscal spending for robust employment generation and gender inclusive growth. We use a macro-micro simulation model to examine the aggregate and gender employment impact of increasing public expenditures on ECEC services, an underdeveloped sector in Turkey versus physical infrastructure and construction, a common target of stimulatory spending. Our methodological approach combines input-output analysis on aggregate employment effects with a statistical microsimulation approach to assess distributional outcomes. We find that an expansion of ECEC services creates not only significantly more jobs but also does so in a more gender-equitable and fiscally sustainable way than the a construction boom.     

Process evaluation of a diversity training program: the value of a mixed method strategy

Patients’ health and health needs are influenced by categories of difference like sex, gender, ethnic origin and socioeconomic status (SES). To enhance awareness of this diversity among patients and to provide holistic care for them, health professionals should first be aware of the relation between dimensions of diversity and patients’ health and health demands. This paper presents a formative process evaluation of a diversity sensitivity training programme for healthcare professionals. The training was implemented in three healthcare settings (mental healthcare, nursing home and hospital care). Mixed methods were used to monitor the implementation of the training and its effects after three years. Findings demonstrate that the training stimulated participants’ awareness, knowledge and critical attitudes towards diversity. Their motivation and willingness to take action regarding diversity was also enhanced. Yet these developments were less apparent among nursing home participants who felt less satisfied and did not develop a critical perspective on this issue. Qualitative data were helpful to explain differences between the settings. By means of the combination of quantitative and qualitative data, we can conclude that individual learning was not enough to guarantee a sensitive approach to diversity at the organizational level.     

Depressive Symptoms Among Native and Immigrant Adolescents in Norway: The Role of Gender and Urbanization

The study investigates depressive symptoms among 3,431 adolescents aged 13–15 years. The sample comprises both native Norwegian and immigrant adolescents living in Norway. The main finding of the study is that the level of depressive symptoms is significantly higher among the immigrant adolescents than their Norwegian counterparts. When analysed separately for boys and girls, the difference is still significant for boys. Generally depressive symptoms are significantly higher among girls than among boys. Depressive symptoms, especially in boys, may also be related to the degree of urbanization of the area they live in. In cities, there is a significant difference between native Norwegian and immigrant boys, with immigrant boys having a higher level of depressive symptoms than native Norwegians. The implications for future research about immigrant adolescents and their psychosocial adjustment are discussed.