Equality For Women

A groundbreaking book about the direct relationship between a woman's rights and freedoms and the economic prosperity of her country. "The authors speak to hearts as well as minds." —Maud de Boer Buquicchio, UN Special Rapporteur “Not only timely but profoundly important—a must-read." Jackie Jones, Professor of Feminist Legal studies Gender discrimination is often seen from a human rights perspective; it is a violation of women’s basic human rights, as embedded in the Universal Declaration, the UN Charter and other such founding documents. Moreover, there is overwhelming evidence that restrictions and various forms of discrimination against women are also bad economics. They undermine the talent pool available to the private sector, they distort power relationships within the family and lead to inefficiencies in the use of resources. They contribute to create an environment in which women, de facto, are second class citizens, with fewer options than men, lower quality jobs, lower pay, often the victims of various forms of violence, literally from the cradle to the grave. They are also not fully politically empowered and have scant presence in the corridors of power, whether as finance ministers, central bank governors, prime ministers or on the boards of leading corporations. Why is gender inequality so pervasive? Where does it come from? Does it have cultural and religious roots? And what are the sorts of policies and values that will deliver a world in which being born a boy or a girl is no longer a measure of the likelihood of developing one’s human potential?

Trade can dramatically improve women’s lives, creating new jobs, enhancing consumer choices, and increasing women’s bargaining power in society. It can also lead to job losses and a concentration of work in low-skilled employment. Given the complexity and specificity of the relationship between trade and gender, it is essential to assess the potential impact of trade policy on both women and men and to develop appropriate, evidence-based policies to ensure that trade helps to enhance opportunities for all. Research on gender equality and trade has been constrained by limited data and a lack of understanding of the connections among the economic roles that women play as workers, consumers, and decision makers. Building on new analyses and new sex-disaggregated data, Women and Trade: The Role of Trade in Promoting Gender Equality aims to advance the understanding of the relationship between trade and gender equality and to identify a series of opportunities through which trade can improve the lives of women.

Kristin A. Goss examines how women’s civic place has changed over the span of more than 120 years, how public policy has driven these changes, and why these changes matter for women and American democracy. As measured by women’s groups’ appearances before the U.S. Congress, women’s collective political engagement continued to grow between 1920 and 1960—when many conventional accounts claim it declined—and declined after 1980, when it might have been expected to grow. Goss asks what women have gained, and perhaps lost, through expanded incorporation, as well as whether single-sex organizations continue to matter in 21st-century America.

Gender equality is a moral and a business imperative. But unconscious bias holds us back and de-biasing minds has proven to be difficult and expensive. Behavioral design offers a new solution. Iris Bohnet shows that by de-biasing organizations instead of individuals, we can make smart changes that have big impacts—often at low cost and high speed.

An expert guide to women's quest for fairness in the workplace, marking the great legal and social advances as well as continuing inequalities. Women and Equality in the Workplace: A Reference Handbook is an expert overview of the issues of gender equity in the workplace as they have evolved from World War II to the present. Focusing primarily on the United States, while drawing broad contrasts with nations around the world, the book describes the practical impact of laws and social policies developed to combat the many forms of sex discrimination, as well as the legal remedies of equal pay law, affirmative action, and comparable worth. Women and Equality in the Workplace also reviews current sociological and economic theories as to why, despite the notable progress, men continue to have better pay and benefits, higher status, and more opportunities, while working women are still all too often harassed, stigmatized, and overlooked.

The law is a well-known tool in fighting gender inequality, but which laws actually advance women’s rights? This book unpacks the complex nuances behind gender-responsive domestic legislation, from several of the world’s leading experts on gender equality. Drawing on domestic examples and international law, it provides a primer of theory alongside tangible and practical solutions to fulfil the promise of the law to deliver equality between men and women. Part I outlines what progress has been made to date on eradicating gender inequality, and insights into the law’s potential as one lever in the global struggle for equality. Parts II and III go on to explore concrete areas of law, with case studies from multiple jurisdictions that examine how well domestic legislation is working for women. The authors bring their critical lens to areas of law often considered from a gender perspective – gender-based violence, women’s reproductive health, labour and gender equality quotas – while bringing much-needed analysis to issues often ignored in gender debates, such as taxation, environmental justice and good governance. Part IV seeks to move from a theoretical goal of greater accountability to a practical one. It explores both accountability for international women’s rights norms at the domestic level and the potential of feminist approaches to legislation to deliver laws that work for women. Written for students, academics, legislators and policymakers engaged in international women’s rights law, gender equality, government accountability and feminist legal theory, this book has tremendous transformative potential to drive forward legal change towards the eradication of gender inequality.

What range of possibilities might appear on the horizon to a young woman today as she contemplates her future compared to those envisioned by a young woman 150 years ago? And how would her daily life be different? The degree of change in women's lives in Canada over the last 150 years is staggering, and much is the result of the fight for greater equality. How did this change take place? Establishing equality as a fact of daily life has been a protracted struggle, and one that remains far from finished. Over the last century and a half since Confederation, this struggle has taken on a unique character in Canada, given our country's peculiar circumstances. Lorna R. Marsden, sociologist and activist-who has herself been involved in the action-chronicles the circumstances, the people, and the social changes that have characterized women's journey down the long road toward equality. Her account considers changes brought about by such forces as war, immigration, and public health, as well as other complex historical changes, such as legal evolution and employment opportunities. This fascinating book is full of insight, little known facts (for example, many women could vote as early as 1791 in some parts of Canada), and an understanding of the complex ways that a society like Canada can and does change. It also reminds us that there is still a distance to go in the journey toward equality.

This book reframes gender and education issues from a feminist and capabilities perspective through a multi-generational study of women as teachers. It explores how different understandings of gender, equality and education generate a variety of approaches with which to pursue gender equality in education. Through employing the capabilities approach in a critical and innovative way to question justice, agency and well-being and also to evaluate valued functionings and capabilities, freedoms and lack of opportunities in women’s lives in Turkey it highlights the need for constructing a gender-just society. The book takes a closer look at these women’s memories, in order to understand how gender roles were created, negotiated and contested, and how the transition to modern ways of socialising and existing was shaped and women’s emancipation was guided by women teachers as social actors, rather than as passive onlookers or oppressed individuals. It provides important insights and critical evidence to be used in the planning and implementation of education and social/gender policies.