Browsing by Subject "Gender inequality"
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Item An Examination of Perceptual Challenges Faced by Female Police Officers(2016-07-26) Brinser, Kadee Lynn; Hoover, Larry T; Zhang, Yan; Gerber, JurgThis study examined the culture of female police officers by evaluating perceptual challenges associated with their role. The purpose of this study was to provide a better understanding of the dynamics of female police officers in a traditional male-dominated occupation. Primary data analyses was obtained through telephone questionnaires (n=15) conducted between March and April 2016 and online surveys (n=110) completed between November 2015 and January 2016 with a sample of female police officers who are employed in the state of Texas. Findings show that current organizational challenges are physical limitations, family, policing is a “man’s job”, approval from male police officers, society, intra-gender relationships, promotion process, and administration. Personal challenges, such as family life, are also current challenges for female police officers. The results establish that gender inequality not only exists in policing, but challenges have remained relatively stable overtime. However, sexual harassment and tokenism is not as prevalent as found to be in previous literature.Item Behind the Sony scandal : the role of talent agencies in perpetuating inequality(2016-05) Simon, Samantha Jones; Williams, Christine L.; Glass, JenniferHollywood talent agencies are powerful organizations that act as gatekeepers to the industry and structure the labor market for actors, directors, and writers. This thesis applies Rosabeth Moss Kanter’s work on tokenization, Joan Acker’s theory of gendered organizations, and R.W. Connell’s concept of hegemonic masculinity to understand the organizational structures and narratives of success that privilege white men in talent agencies. Through interviews conducted with talent agents, I found that these organizations are defined by men’s monopoly of powerful positions, professional networks exclusive to men, a patrimonial system of mentorship, and discourses that prize certain masculine performances and disparage femininity. This thesis illuminates the exclusionary organizational structures and discourses operating within talent agencies that may help explain the white male domination of these spaces.Item A boom for whom? : gender, labor, and community in a modern day oil boomtown(2015-08) Kilanski, Kristine Michelle; Williams, Christine L., 1959-; Auyero, Javier; Hartigan, John; Muller, Chandra; Rudrappa, SharmilaThis dissertation examines women’s job opportunities in a 21st century boomtown. Between 2009 and 2014, "Boomville" experienced rapid economic and population growth in response to increased hydraulic fracturing activity in the region. Throughout this period, women were far less likely than men to move to Boomville, join the paid labor force, and enter the fastest growing sectors of Boomville's economy. Drawing on six months of ethnographic fieldwork, interviews with 49 women, and interviews with community "experts," my dissertation seeks to explain women's underrepresentation in the oil & gas industry and other manual labor sectors, Boomville's regional labor market, and the community at-large --and in doing so, to reveal the complex role of gender in shaping the distribution of job opportunities in a rapidly expanding economy centered on oil and gas extraction. I document variation in women’s perceptions of job opportunities and barriers in Boomville, workforce experiences, and discourses. My dissertation contributes to an understanding of women's experiences in natural resource communities as well as the mechanisms and factors that contribute to gender segregation and gender inequality in the formal paid labor force.Item The Chilean pension system : gender inequalities in contribution densities(2015-05) Cumsille Rojas, Belén de la Paz; Stolp, Chandler; King, Christopher TIn 1981, Chile established a defined contribution pension system, replacing the traditional pay-as-you-go system with defined benefits. The new model based on individual capitalization accounts, has generated different patterns of contributions to the individual accounts, mostly associated to labor market trajectories or unemployment. This report focuses on gender disparities in the Chilean pension system by analyzing the determinants of contribution densities for women and men. It explores how labor market trajectories, indicators of employment stability, and socioeconomic characteristics of the household of origin, affect contribution densities in the pension system. The main results confirm the existence of indirect gender inequalities that originate in the labor market and are then transmitted to the pension system. Furthermore, the results clearly support the existence of traditional gender roles with respect to work and family, which ultimately also have an effect on the pension system, through labor market trajectories. Finally, the report finds that mothers' education has an effect on the next generation's contribution densities, the relationship being a transmission of advantages.Item The global gender gap and female homicide victimization at the global level(2010-12) Harville, Katheryne E.; Smithey, Martha; Ramirez, Ignacio L.Utilizing a theoretical framework of gender equality, this paper analyzes the relationship between gender inequality and violence against women cross-nationally. Though there are numerous studies conducted in an effort to gain more knowledge about what affects violence against women, very few are conducted at the multinational level. Through the use of secondary data sources, the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2007 and the World Health Organization (WHO), fifty countries were determined to be applicable for this study based on the availability of data from both reputable sources. From the World Economic Forum, the variables educational attainment, political empowerment, economic participation and opportunity, and the existence of legislature punishing acts of violence against women were selected for analysis as independent variables to determine their impact on female homicide victimization. Homicide rates on females ages fifteen and older were collected from the WHO data from 2005. Ordinary least squares regression was used to test these hypotheses. This study found that only political empowerment of females is a significant predictor of female homicide victimization at the global level. The results gave a generalizable model that explains 11% of the variance in female homicide victimization globally.Item Using narratives to explore the role of gender-based violence and inequality on the reproductive health and disease status of HIV+ African immigrant women(2013-08) Learman, Joy Allison; Busch-Armendariz, Noël Bridget; Davis, King E.The United Nations Population Fund has identified gender inequality and gender-based violence as two of the main threats to women's reproductive health. In fact, researchers have estimated that between one quarter and one half of all women with sexually transmitted infections, including HIV, have abusive partners. Given the pervasiveness and far-reaching effects of these phenomena, it is essential to take steps to mitigate the possible negative consequences on women's reproductive health, including HIV status. This exploratory qualitative research study was designed to gain further insight into the contextual factors and personal experiences of HIV positive African immigrant women, with the goal of informing the development of contextually-tailored HIV risk reduction strategies. This study, guided by a theoretical framework based on Feminist Theory, Critical Race Theory and the Theory of Gender and Power, utilized in-depth interviews with six HIV positive African immigrant women. Narrative analysis was used to explore the women's narratives on the role of gender-based violence and inequality on their disease status. The main overarching theme revealed in the women's narratives was that marriage is a vulnerable status that can actually put women at risk for contracting HIV. This vulnerability is based on social norms that state once women are married, they: 1) should not say "No" to sex with their husbands, 2) should not ask their husbands to use a condom, and 3) should not divorce husbands for having concurrent sexual partners. The women's narratives showed how the gender norms and decision-making process they observed in their families of origin, and in the larger community, affect their sexual decision making in their intimate relationships. Their narratives also introduced us to their experiences of sexual, physical and emotional abuse, as well as physical and emotional neglect. Finally, listening to the narratives of HIV positive African immigrant women educated us on the stigma and silence around HIV in their community, in addition to paving the way for recommendations on preventing the spread of HIV in their communities in the United States, as well as abroad. Implications for social work practice and policy, as well as future research are discussed.Item Working mothers and gender inequality in Germany(2012-05) Collins, Caitlyn McKenzie; Williams, Christine L., 1959-; Glass, JenniferI investigate how women in Germany balance their professional and familial commitments given the generous welfare state support for work-family reconciliation. Drawing on interviews with 21 German mothers in white-collar occupations, I examine the cultural perceptions of working mothers, the impact of “family-friendly” policies, and women’s workplace experiences with their supervisors and colleagues. I argue that working mothers struggle to balance their work and home lives because gender inequality is still widespread in Germany, despite – and in some cases because of – this welfare state support. Women are frequently denigrated and stigmatized for being employed outside the home while raising children, and for their family status at work. Their identities as both mother and worker violate traditional understandings of femininity in Germany. Consequently, the women I interviewed feel like inadequate mothers and incompetent workers as a result of the gendered messages they receive from the state, businesses, and dominant culture. Until the responsibility for raising children and earning a living are shared equally between women and men, and the government and society support them in this endeavor, gender inequality will continue to be a central feature of our social world.