an answer to crisis Claudia Padovani Lorenza Perini SPGI University of Padova Table of content Gender equality concept construction Gender and crisis challenges or opportunities ID: 575403
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Slide1
Gender equality:an answer to crisis?
Claudia Padovani
Lorenza
Perini
SPGI,
University
of PadovaSlide2
Table of content
Gender
equality
: concept construction
Gender and
crisis: challenges or opportunities?
Case study 1: Gender
and science
Case study 2: Gender
and media
Concluding remarks
Glossary
Further
resources
ContactsSlide3
Gender equality:concept constructionSlide4
Gender equality:concept construction
Gender equality is the measurable equal representation of women and men.
Gender equality does not imply that women and men are the same, but that they have equal value and should be accorded equal treatment.
The United Nations regards gender equality as a human right. It points out that empowering women is also an indispensable tool for advancing development and reducing poverty
.
The importance of gender equality is highlighted by its inclusion as one of the 8
Millennium Development Goals
that serve as a framework for halving poverty and improving
lives as agreed upon by the international community.Slide5
Persisting cultural and social barriers?
Diversity in practice (with a smile...)Slide6
Gender and the crisis:challenges or opportunities?
‘Despite
the growing debate over the causes of the crisis, less attention is paid to its material impacts, and very little to gender considerations
’
(
Vertova
2012: 123) Slide7
Gender and
the crisisSlide8
Since 2008 the European industrial output has diminished of 10.8%, the construction sector has shrank of 20%, private investments have gone down of 14.5% between 2007 ad 2011Impact on the labour
market: unemployment
rate of
12.2% (
ranging from 4.3% in Austria to 26.1% in Spain)
T
he
efforts made by MS to restore public finance have led to austerity measures and cuts in crucial sectors like health, care and
welfareSlide9
Impact on women and men
there has been a
levelling down of gender gaps
in employment, unemployment, wages and poverty over the
crisis; but…
the
labour market behaviour
of women over the crisis has been
similar
to that of
men; buffer are now young people
threat that
fiscal consolidation may ultimately reduce
welfare
provisions
and related
employment with associated gender equality impacts
The
European Economic Recovery Plan made no mention of ‘
gender
’, ‘women’ or ‘equality’
…Slide10
Recommendations #1Gender mainstreaming
and
reconsidering the formulation of gender equality
indicators
Integrating gender mainstreaming in anti-crisis packages
M
onitor
the risk that fiscal consolidation may significantly erode welfare provisions
Boosting
female
entrepreneurship
Increase
surveillance and heighten public awareness of cases of violations of maternity and
women’s rights
. Slide11
Addressing sectorial segregation and stimulate women’s vocation in sectors like ICTs, transportation, science > case study 1Enhancing
women’s participation in decision making
in policy design of anti-crisis measures AND on company
boards > case study 2
Recommendations
#2Slide12
Case study 1:gender and scienceSlide13
Case study:
gender and science
The underrepresentation of women in science and technology
Under 30% of the
physcists
, engineers and computer scientists in the world's knowledge based economies are women. Only about 12% of science-decision-making positions in universities and the private sector in the world's knowledge-based economies are held by women
Why Europe needs more women in Science and Technology?
Women remain a minority in scientific research, accounting for 33% of researchers in the EU in 2009 (2006: 30%). Although the proportion of female researchers varies considerably between countries, there is a clear pattern of female under- representation everywhere.Slide14
Case study:gender and science
Legislation and documents
From
the treaty of Rome to the EU strategy 2010-2015 a lot of projects and researches have been made in order to highlight the underrepresentation of women in almost every field of science and technology
…
Numbers
…Now we know a lot of things on this issue and most of all we have numbers, we have data and we can compare situations, countries and almost everything….Slide15
Case study:gender and scienceThe importance
of
statistics
and
numbers
With statistics disaggregated by gender we can build indicators and indexes, i.e. instrument of knowledge. Thanks to numbers we have discovered gender pay gap, a lot of gender discrimination in labor market, the phenomenon of gender violence, especially domestic violence.
So numbers count! But
… problems
still persist!Slide16
Case study:gender and scienceDespite growing recognition, problems still persist, discrimination and underrepresentation of women in science and research is a salient problem, not only in EU but all over the world.Slide17
Case study:gender and science
There is a general problem of wasting talent in global recession: Europe cannot afford this anymore.
Europe in crisis needs to get the best out of its research and innovation system
Promoting
gender equality in research
increases
the international competitiveness and the research workforce in general.Slide18
Case study:gender and scienceThree steps of the European Union strategy
Fixing the women: strategies to increase the number of women choosing science as a field of study and in decision making. Stressing on non neutrality of
science can
play a big role in finding new strategies, new ideas, new interesting solutions.
Fixing the institutions: make institutions aware of the importance of considering gender a resource. Changing the structure of the institutions in order to become women’s friendly (best practices)
Fixing the knowledge: making people aware that gender is a positive and
useful
social construction
and
doesn’t mean “for women” but is “for all” because it enables every body to see things differently, from another point of view. Slide19
Case study:gender and scienceBut
knowing
things
is
not
enough
!
Is just 50% of the piece, the rest is communicating what you have known!
Even when YOU KNOW, communicate can be the hardest part of the work
And even the EU sometimes fails in indicating a clear strategy…. Slide20
Case study:gender and scienceA wrong way of saying things: lets watch this EU video promoting women in science:
The
European Commission's video
Science
It's a Girl Thing
!
was an unfortunate, although well meaning, marketing blunder which takes away from the commission's excellent website to attract women to
science.
Taken
down almost as soon as it was put up, the response to this video shows that topic of women in science is still attracting a high level of interest (good) although in this case for all the wrong reasons. Selling science with sex only feeds into the continuing media focused
hyper-
sexualization
of our society - and especially of our young women - something we really don't need any more.Slide21
Case study:gender and scienceA good way of conveying the message
:
L’Oreal
in collaboration with
Unesco:
video promoting women’s careers in ScienceSlide22
Case study:gender and scienceThe Grand Challenges of the EU 2020 Strategy (i.e. energy, climate change, aging, health) have a strong gender dimension, which, if ignored, can result in missed opportunities for innovation in research and in development of markets.
Not including gender perspectives in addressing the core EU2020 themes means that chances for increasing the broad acceptance of new technologies within Europe will be lost.
Without strengthening the inclusion of women and integrating the gender dimension within the Innovation Union, its aims to deliver higher levels of employment, productivity and social cohesion, and to strengthen Europe’s knowledge base, are simply not achievable. Slide23
Case study:gender and scienceThere is a strong research evidence that shows how the integration of gender analysis in research processes can lead to Innovation.
Ignoring how sex and gender bias limit creativity and diminish excellence in research will create barriers to the full realization of the benefits that society expects from its investment in science and engineering.
Thirty years of research have revealed that sex and gender bias can be socially harmful and
expensive …Slide24
Case study:gender and scienceCrisis as an opportunity: The example of
Gendered Innovation Project
Innovation
, education and research are key components of the Europe 2020 strategy which aims to boost the EU economy over the next decade. In a changing world, the EU aims to become a smart, sustainable and inclusive. Among the milestones set out in the meta European Research Area ERA, shows the following:
“We Will Know That ERA is a shared responsibility [between science, policy and society] When We see in 2030 [...] half of all scientists and research policy makers, across all Disciplines and Science at all levels of the system, are women (Preparing Europe for a new Renaissance” [ERAB 2009], pg.18).Slide25
Case study:gender and scienceAmong the innovations in the field of gender, the project mention for example the case of the pregnant mannequin, computer-simulated for testing of motor vehicle accidents, which provides the information needed to create a model for the effects of impact at high speed on the fetus and design adequate safety belts. An example of application of a technology that introduces the
gender dimension in a scientific prototype
. Slide26
Case study 2:gender and mediaSlide27
Case study:gender
and Media
In relation to all forms of inequality and sex-based discrimination in employment in the media sector, media enterprises should, as any other employer, participate actively in positive action programs on gender equality at work as well as adopt various strategies and implement best practice…within the scope of such a positive action plan, women should be actively promoted into senior positions in media companies….
European
Commission Advisory Committee on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men (2010), Opinion on “Breaking gender stereotypes in the media”, Brussels.Slide28
gender and Media in europe
EIGE
(EIGE/2012/OPER/07)
Study
on Area J of the Beijing Platform for Action: Women and the Media in European Union
and
Final
Report
:
Advancing gender equality in decision-making in media organizations
28
countries
, 99 media
organizations
, focus on:
women
in leadership positions
mediapolicies
and
mechanisms
in
place
at
national
level
examples
of
good
practicesSlide29
Women in media industriesSlide30
Gender equality policies(99 media organizations in 28
European
countries
)
Policy/Provision
Public/Mixed
Private
Total
Equality opportunities/diversity policy
9
10
19
Gender Equality policy/code of conduct
10
4
14
Code Of conduct (mentions gender)
6
5
11
External code of conduct (general)
3
2
5
Implementation and monitoring
mechanisms
Committee responsible for (monitoring) equality policy
9
6
15
Equality/Diversity Officer
9
4
13
Equality/Diversity Department
6
3
9Slide31
Gender equality measures(99 media organizations in 28
European
countries
)
Practical measures
Public/Mixed
Private
Total
Policy on sexual harassment
12
11
23
Dignity at work policy
10
9
19
Policy on maternity leave
10
7
17
Policy on paternity leave
9
6
15
Harassment Advisors
3
2
5
Policy on parental leave
1
0
1
Equality awareness training for staff
6
3
9
Leadership/management training for women
4
2
6
Trainee positions for women
3
0
3Slide32
To sum uphorizontal and vertical segregation, glass ceiling effects, constrains to carrier improvement
male culture and domination and lack of family friendly environment
structural inequalities still persist and cultural norms continue to exert considerable influence on recruitment and promotion practices
rarely the normative standards formalized by the international community and the EU are translated into national and organizational provisions
there are variations within the region, so that the situation for some women in some countries is more positive (Eastern European and Nordic countries) and still problematic in other countries (Malta, Italy, Ireland)
the use of different languages remains a problem, particularly to networking and sharing of good practices
in spite of existing connections, there is still not enough dialogue amongst the different stakeholders: media professional organizations, media outlets and federations, academics and institutionsSlide33
Concluding remarks:
what
happens
if
we
do
nothing
?Slide34
Danger of flawed research or diminished relevance of results as well as less diversity in media and communicationMissing
innovation and market opportunities
Unfulfilled
use of human capital (women
scientists and women communicators) in
a competitive global R&I economy
Increased
societal distrust of, and reduced support for
,
science
and its
institutions as well as media systems Slide35
The crisis may well
be an
opportunity
but
clear
gendered
visions
must emerge and
policies
and
programmes
must be
designed
and
implemented
based
on
existing
evidence
and
informed
by the voices and
perspectives
of the
many
stakeholders
involved
in gender-
aware
social
transformationsSlide36
GlossaryGender: Gender refers to the social construction of women and men, of femininity and masculinity, which varies in time and place, and between cultures. The notion of gender appeared in the seventies and was put forward by feminist theorists who challenged the secondary position of women in society. It departs from the notion of sex to signal that biology or anatomy is not a destiny. It is important to distinguish clearly between gender and sex. These terms are often used interchangeably while they are conceptually distinctive.Slide37
GlossaryEqual opportunity indicates the absence of barriers to economic, political and social participation on the grounds of sex. Such barriers are often indirect, difficult to discern and caused by structural phenomena and social representations that have proved particularly resistant to change.
G
ender
mainstreaming
is the systematic integration of the respective situations, priorities and needs of women and men in all mainstream policies with a view to promoting equality between women and men.Slide38
Further Resources
Gender
and
the economic crisis
: challenges or
opportunities?
European Parliament Library briefing Feb 2013
European
Commission Synthesis Report Dec
2012
EWL and Oxfam An Invisible Crisis? March 2010
Case study: Gender and Science
http://ec.europa.eu/research/science-society/document_library/pdf_06/structural-changes-final-
report_en.pdf
www.gendertime.org
http://www.the-twist-project.eu/media/dyn/
TWIST.GuidelinesReport.pdf
[
Erab
2009]
Preparing
europe
for a new
renaissance
. A Strategic
View
of the
European
Research
Area. First Report of the
European
Research
Area Board – 2009.
[Fox Keller, 1985] E. Fox Keller.
Reflections
on gender and science. Yale
University
Press, New
Haven
and
London
, 1985.
[
She
Figures
2012]
She
Figures.Statistics
and
indicators
on Gender
Equality
in Science, EU2012.
[
Schiebinger
, 1999] L .
Scienbinger
Has
feminism
changed
science? Harvard
University
Press. Cambridge, 1999.
[
Schiebinger
, 2008] Londa
Schiebinger
(Ed).
Gendered
Innovations
in Science and
Engineering
. Stanford
University
Press, 2008.
http://ec.europa.eu/research/science-society/document_library/pdf_06/2012.4808_Gendered%20Innovations_web2.pdf
Case study
Gender and
media
Final
EIGE Report on Advancing gender equality in the
media
European
Council
Council conclusions - "Advancing Women’s Roles as Decision-makers in the
Media”
EIGE
summary
fact
sheet
and
indicatorsSlide39
Claudia Padovani – claudia.padovani@unipd.it
Lorenza
Perini
–
lorenza.perini@unipd.it
CIRSG
Women
and Media in Europe
Next
Generation Global
Studies
Department
of Law,
Politics
and International
Studies
University
of Padova