the WomanStats Blog

Welcome to the WomanStats Blog!

The WomanStats Blog is an offshoot of the WomanStats Project. This project, begun in 2001, has both a research and a database component. Our research explores the linkage between the security of women and the security of states and the international system. To that end, we have constructed the largest compilation of information on women in the world: over 315 variables for 175 countries. The WomanStats Database is freely accessible online; click on our homepage link above. The purpose of creating a WomanStats blog was to allow project personnel to bring to the attention of readers interesting (and sometimes appalling) facts concerning women, and also to allow them to reflect upon their experiences extracting data for the project. Use the links to the right to access our RSS feed, sign up for email updates, and add our feed to your site. Other functions on site include search, comments, and ShareThis. The posts below are for 2011 and are listed newest to oldest, and we have archives and categories links to the right to assist you in finding particular posts. Enjoy!

WomanStats Goes Abroad Part Two: Adventures in Uganda

I had been told and prepared in our prep course before we left for Uganda that this country was unlike any other in Africa. However, nothing could prepare me for the absolute beauty I encountered as I stepped off the plane and onto the runway in Kampala. Uganda has been named “the pearl of Africa” and this is no overstatement. Unlike the pictures from National Geographic and the images on TV I had seen of vast deserts and prairies in many parts of Africa, Uganda is completely green with bright red/orange dirt. It rains almost daily and because of this, the landscape continues to stay green.

About half of my time was spent in Gulu, the northern part of the country, where most of the destruction from the war with the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) occurred. Here I spent a lot of time travelling to remote little villages in some of the poorest districts in Uganda to interview women about their lives. It was always a little scary hopping onto the back of a boda boda, a taxi motorcycle, with a man who barely spoke any English and being whisked away on little dirt roads leading to what appeared to me as the middle of nowhere.

But the experiences I had in those little villages interviewing the women and getting to know them and their lives are probably some of the most impactful moments I have had. I always travelled with an interpreter because although the national language is English, most people in these villages never had the opportunity to go to school or learn English. Whenever I had a few spare moments to talk with women who weren’t being interviewed for the research I had come to do, I would always ask them to tell me about their lives and their views of the world. The next few paragraphs are some of the interactions I had with various women during my time in the villages and elsewhere in Uganda.

An overwhelmingly majority of the women I talked to in the remote villages discussed the hardships they faced. It was difficult for them to spend their entire day farming, cooking, and tending to children while many of the men went into the larger towns to drink or talk with friends instead of helping with these tasks. Many of these same women earned the vast majority, if not all, of their family’s income through selling the crops they had grown. These families lived on less than $0.50 a day and it was often very difficult to get all the necessities the family needed and frequently they would go hungry in order to feed their children.

Although their lives were very difficult, these were happy people. Everyone would sit around and laugh and exchange stories as they went about doing their work. I remember once I was sitting with a group of women, one of which knew a few words of English, and she tried to teach me a few words in Luo. I would try very hard to concentrate on how she was pronouncing the words and then of course, I would repeat them back. But once I did that, all the assembled women would break out into a chorus of laughter at my very poor Luo. I had a great time and I spent the majority of the time laughing right along with them. I probably sounded pretty ridiculous. They ended up nicknaming me the “jolly woman” and every time I returned, my interpreter would tell me that’s what they were calling me. 

I spent a few days travelling around the Amuru district in northern Uganda interviewing different NGOs (Non-Governmental Organization), learning about the work they do with a woman from that district. As with everyone else I met, I was eager to learn about her life and what she thought of the world around her. She began to tell me her story and told me that her husband had been killed during the war leaving her and her two daughters to fend for themselves. As is common in Uganda, the land she lived on was snatched up right from under her feet by her in-laws. Because property rights for women are sticky, with the Constitution guaranteeing women property rights but also allowing customary laws to supersede the Constitution, many women do not have rights to property; instead, they are only able to use the land their husband owns and once he has passed away, the land traditionally goes to his family in order to preserve the estate leaving his wife and children with nothing. Because this woman had no male children, the family strongly believed she should no longer have access to the land to farm. I was assured that this was not an isolated incident in Uganda. Instead, this was the way life worked for the women in Uganda.

I asked this same woman about the practice of dowry, which in Uganda is the equivalent of bride price where the groom buys cows for the bride’s family as a condition of marriage, and how this made her feel. Without hesitating she answered that this solidified a woman’s position in her family as a piece of property, to be used at her husband’s will and pleasure. I asked her if she thought getting rid of this practice would help women to become equal to their husbands. She agreed with this but also told me a little about the practice of polygyny and the mitigating effects dowry had on this. Polygyny is still legal in Uganda, which leads many men to marry multiple women. However, as my new friend pointed out to me, a man must pay dowry for each woman he wishes to marry. Therefore, men that could not afford the additional dowry expenses generally only married one woman. To my friend, it seemed that dowry helped keep men in check and only once polygyny was outlawed should the practice of dowry be done away with.

On one of my many, many bus rides to and from Gulu, I ended up sitting next to a woman who worked for an NGO that specialized in property rights for women but also held classes about HIV/AIDS, domestic violence, and husband/wife relationships. I asked her about what her organization did to promote land rights for women and whether or not they had been successful. Very excitedly she told me it was her job to raise awareness in surrounding villages about the importance of land rights for women and teaching them what the Constitution had to say on the subject in order to instigate change in customary law. She said at first they hadn’t been too successful because the beliefs about women and property are very entrenched in the society. Secondly, because there are many organizations which focus on women’s issues in Uganda, men began to feel left out and would react by trying to retain their privileged standing in society.

Once this property rights organization began integrating men and their needs into their development strategy, it became much easier to convince them of the importance of property rights for women. However, the organization took this one step further and began to offer classes about how men and women needed to work together, as equal partners, in order to solve the problems they faced, mainly issues dealing with property rights. I, of course, was elated to hear that this organization had the foresight to see that men and women are two halves of society that need to work together, equally, to make a better world.

Travelling around the “pearl of Africa” has taught me a lot about life and especially about the lives women around the world lead. Although the situation in Uganda has room for improvement, I know that there is a bright future ahead as men and women learn to see each other as equals and work for a better future.
 

Posted by JH on 11 November 2011; Women (General)

WomanStats Goes Abroad: Costa Rica

After glossing over the syllabus for my Modern Latin American History class during our first lecture, I couldn’t help but notice one glaring exemption – Costa Rica was not mentioned anywhere; not in the quiz schedule, not in the lecture material, not in any of the readings or the study guides.  When I asked the Professor why this was he shrugged and explained that when studying history we tend to focus our attention on the countries with turbulent pasts; countries with wars, revolutions, class struggles, and events we can analyze.  This was understandable, especially in a class that covered such a large area over such a large period of time.  Compared to Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico, Costa Rica had it easy.  They had been a stable functioning democracy since the short-lived “revolution” in 1948, and even before then they were a fairly established, independent, self-governing society.  I asked about its tourism industry, knowing the professor specialized in the history of tourism and that Costa Rica was renowned for its beautiful black and white sand beaches, good surfing, and laid back Rastafarian atmosphere.  He shrugged again.  As far as tourism went, Costa Rica was doing it right.  They weren’t compromising their majestic cloud or rainforests, polluting their waters, or isolating their land into privately owned resorts, but rather preserving them through ecologically friendly efforts.  Their culture, being heavily influenced by the United States and typical Western culture, was already friendly and accessible to American and European tourists alike. 

                  While we were having this conversation, I was overly aware of my wrist where my favorite souvenirs from my time in the land of “Pura Vida” were tied: two simple bracelets – one bought from a street side artisan vendor in the city of San Jose and another given to me by the Nicaraguan refugee children I taught in the slum of Carpio, just east of the capital.  While I couldn’t help but agreeing with a lot of what he was saying, I also knew from the six weeks I had just spent in that country that Costa Rica had its own demons it was still fighting.

                  The largest of these was the Latin idea of machismo.  Prevalent in many Latin American countries, Costa Rica was no exception.   For the most part, women are expected to stay in the home and raise the children, especially in the more rural areas away from San Jose. In that way, staying at home as a woman became a social symbol.  If you had a husband with a good enough job that allowed you to stay home, you would.  During our six week stay, we lived with a Tico family of four in the suburb of San Pedro.  The mother, Duerin, stayed at home while the father, Oscar, worked two jobs to support the family.  He was gone before we left the house at 7 each morning and returned well after we had retired to our bedrooms around 9 that evening.  She did all of the cooking, cleaning, and chores around the house – except on the weekend.  On the weekends the social order seemed to be turned on its head.  Oscar seemed to get home from work early and would  not only take those two days to play and take of their two children, Pamela and Samuel, but after every meal he would do the dishes and help clean up after the meals.  A few houses down the road, where my friend Stanley was staying with Oscar’s parents, every weekend signaled the Papa Tico that it was his turn to wake up early and make breakfast to give his wife a break from cooking every morning.  According to Stanley, his gallo pinto (a traditional breakfast dish made from rice, onion, black beans and other spices) was even better than his wife’s. 

                  However, in the urban center it was not unusual to see women – especially younger women - walking to and from the banks where they were tellers, or from the many hospitals downtown where they were performing their residencies to become nurses.  Teaching seemed to be an occupation dominated by women.  In the school where I volunteered, there were only four males on the staff of 50– one of which was the principal. Very rarely were these women married, meaning a majority of the women I interacted with had either never been married or had been divorced.   Take for instance, Ruth, one of the English teachers we volunteered with.  When I was there, she was putting herself through school at the local university and teaching during the day, while raising three children as a single mother because her husband had an affair and left her a few years before.  This kind of family dynamic is becoming the norm.  With single-mother- headed households on the rise in Costa Rica, it is hard to see where women - who are traditionally kept out of the work force because of familial obligation - will fit into the economic system.  Because of this 24% of mother-only families are below the poverty line, especially those in the rural area, outside of San Jose.   They tend to take jobs at maids, cleaners and other forms of work with subservient pay and unstable job retention.  And, due to its legal practice in the country, some women become prostitutes. 

                  Luckily, I only had one run-in with this practice in the six weeks I lived in the country.  A group of friends and I were walking a few blocks north of the central avenue, in a more posh area of the city.  There were European style hotels that obviously catered to a higher tourist clientele, and on the corner by a Swill style chateau there were two women clearly dressed to signal their profession.   We were a little shocked, especially because a cop car was parked a few blocks away and our American sensibilities were telling us that the cop car should be arresting them, or at least telling them to scatter.   It wasn’t until later when I did a little research that I realized where they were located was no accident.  While Tico men frequent prostitutes, sex tourism is a large source of the industry.  Men from other countries come to Costa Rica for the explicit purpose of having sex with a Tica (while women come from other countries as well, a significant majority of sexual tourists to Costa Rica are men).  Unfortunately, it has also created an off-shoot of illegal child prostitution.  Thankfully the Costa Rican government has cracked down on this practice in the last few years, but there were signs throughout the community that showed it was still an issue.  Driving to my project everyday on the bus there was a billboard with a pair of sad, brown eyes looking out at you.  Underneath it reads “I am not a tourist attraction.”  If that wasn’t jarring enough, the first thing you see when you exit the  ‘international arrivals’ gate at the San Jose airport is a cardboard cutout of a police officer holding a sign that says “having sex with a minor (under 18 years) is illegal.”  However, this is made difficult by the legality of prostitution for those over the age of 18 as differentiated between the over 18 and under 18 line can be difficult.  The United States had aided in attempting to halt their citizens from practicing child prostitution by making it a federal crime to have sex with a minor in another country, and hopefully the Costa Rican government will  continue to reduce this occurrence of this practice. 

                  American and other western influences are seen in other areas of society.  Fashion and style trends are very similar to what is seen in the American media.  Women are never seen out in public without full-make-up and heels.  Whether going to the movie or to the market, women always wear heels.  All clothes, including women’s medical scrubs are tailored to show of female curves.  American media has also changed the perception of American women in the country.  Without fail, unless I was walking with Stanley, and even sometimes when I was with Stanley, I would get shouted or whistled at by Tico men on the street.  Female volunteers were repeatedly told never to go anywhere by ourselves or with another girl at night and were given a very strict dress code.  While Tica’s consistently wore low-cut shirts, short skirts, and no sleeves, we were told to have our knees, shoulders, and chests covered at all times.  Even with those guidelines, there were still some issues of intense sexual harassment. 

                  That being said, there were some less obvious differences, some good and some not.  While travelling in the tourist city of La Fortuna, we were waiting for the bus back to San Jose, and a woman sat there breast-feeding her baby in public with no cover.  It happened again in downtown San Jose in the Plaza del Oro.  The women didn’t receive any odd looks as if it were a completely normal occurrence.  This was starkly different from the US where a women breast-feeding in public, even with a cover, is bound to get judgmental looks.  However, in a less positive vein, the first time I saw a woman with obvious signs of having been physically abused, I was sad to realize I was the only one who seemed disturbed by the bruises on her arms, cheeks, and eyes.  The second time I saw this I noticed the same thing  - I was the only one on the bus obviously disturbed by this.  Or course, it could mean several different things.  It could be that there was a social stigma against openly staring at a woman who was abused. It could be that it happened so often that other people, including other women, did not notice it anymore.  It could also mean that, as these women were Nicaraguan immigrants (once derogatorily described to me as ‘the Mexicans of Costa Rica’ by a native Tico) that ‘their’ abuses weren’t worth caring about because they were already draining money from the system.  In any case, this indifference was incredibly disturbing and left me feeling unsettled for days afterwards. 

At the WomanStats project we have a saying: “once a coder, always a coder.”  You’re trained to see the world and its anecdotes as data points that display an overarching attitude of a country.  By experiencing Costa Rica through this lens, I realized how important this project is to humanity across the globe.  There are many, many good things about Costa Rica – in fact, the good outweigh the bad.  The people are happy, have a stable government, and a strong sense of religious community and social and ecological responsibility.  I could not begin to count the number of times I saw men and boys stand up on the bus so a woman with a small child or an elderly person could have their seat; likewise not a week would go by without me witnessing a total stranger reaching out to help take care of or comfort a child that was not their own.  However, there are some things that need fixing as well.  The goal for the country and its citizens now is to keep the good while purging itself of the bad.

Posted by JW on 8 October 2011; WomanStats

Depression Redefined: The View of Taiwanese Schoolgirls

My husband and I moved to Taiwan to teach English for the summer at a private high school/ junior high school in Taiwan.  There are around 5,000 students at this school both boys and girls. The school includes academic departments as well as a vocational training school.   I am doing my thesis research to see how education affects gender in Taiwan. This is part of what I noticed.

My first incidence of learning about the different way of viewing depression in Taiwan was when a young girl announced that she had been dealing with a great sadness during church.  She explained to the congregation how she would sleep all the time and she didn’t understand why she was unhappy. Her family didn’t know what to do. So she spent time praying and exercise her faith to solve the problem.  This was interesting to watch and see how she tried to define her issue through her culture.  Had she been in America or another more ‘westernized’ country, this problem of great sadness would have been diagnosed, as depression and she would have been given medicine and an opportunity for therapy.   But here she was left to her own devices to solve this problem.

My second encounter with depression was in one of my English as a Second Language (ESL) classes. We read a story about a girl who was experiencing chemical depression in one of their English textbooks. As an exercise, I had the class split into two according to what they believed about depression. Those that believed depression is an emotional problem on the right and those who believed it was a medical problem on the left. Out of 34 students only 6 believed that it was a medical problem and five of those people were boys. I sat and watched as the students in groups of four (most of them being consisting of all girl groups) stand up and say how depression was solely emotional and could be solved by simply changing your life-style and living healthier or talking to your friends.  Anyways, the group of 6 were the only ones to really do the assignment well by reading online then condensing what they read into their own words. The one girl did the best in articulating what the problem was medically. She explained that according to research the brain stops transmitting brain signals that make you happy and your body doesn’t produce the chemicals to make you happy.  All of this was very difficult for her to read and understand as she had to look up and translate individual words in order to present the information in English. So she did a lot of work to be able to present her information to the class.  She was very serious about her belief.  I asked the entire group why they believed that depression was a chemical imbalance and they indicated they believed the story in their textbook. I wonder if there was something more to her individual belief.

Granted that in some cases of depression a life-style change can work and be a successful way of coping with depression. But in other cases, depression can be caused by a chemical imbalance or is more than just changing your life style.  Chemical imbalances can be spurred by a change in circumstance…for women this includes menstruating, being pregnant, giving birth, or menopause. It can also be caused by getting a new job or having a change, which causes stress levels to rise. It can also be caused when dealing with traumatic issues such as domestic violence. This has been cited as one of the main causes for depression and suicide in Taiwan. [1] The majority of these depression cases remain untreated due to social stigma. [2]

Knowing this, it was so tragic to watch girl after girl stand up and say that depression was solely an emotional problem.  “The prevalence of Major Depressive Disorder in Taiwan is 1.0 percent for women and 0.7 percent for men.” [3]   On top of this these women are left on their own to solve a largely medical problem by eating healthy or exercising more.  These girls I watched claim that depression is only an emotional problem are the future of Taiwan statistics—continuation of the already horrifying reality.  These girls have been inculcated to believe that depression is the same as being sad and is never an illness.

I can just imagine these wonderful girls facing some tragic domestic violence situation and they don’t have anyway to help themselves, they sink into depression then become apart of the numbers that contribute to the suicide statistics in their country and in China.  “The suicide rate for women in China is 25 percent higher than for men, and the rural rate is three times the urban rate. In Western countries, men are at least twice as likely and sometimes four times as likely as women to commit suicide, studies show. But in China, being young, from the countryside and female is an especially lethal combination. Because the women who commit suicide are almost exclusively poor, their desperation is a reminder of the social inequalities that plague China and the difficulties hindering government efforts to raise rural standards of living.” [4]

It would be interesting to come back someday and specifically study where this idea that depression should be treated by changing of the diet is being perpetuated.  Is it in the school or in the home?  This ESL test book is the first exposure they have had to the idea that it could be a medical issue and it was almost unanimously rejected. Why? What makes them hold so strong to this cultural fallacy? It is these sort of ideas that make Chinese cultures the ones with the higher suicide rates. “The WHO estimates that 1.5 million Chinese women attempt suicide each year and 150,000 of them succeed, giving China the unfortunate distinction of being the only country in the world where more women commit suicide than men.” [5]  Perhaps, (I am not saying I have the solution to everything) if we can figure out from where this idea is stemming, then we can stop it or counter it with another truth. That depression often needs to be treated medically.

References

Posted by CK on 27 September 2011; Education, Please

Men Aren't From Mars and Women Aren't From Venus: We're All From Earth

Recently, I had a slight epiphany in regards to the issues regarding men and women as a whole.  While walking to my car from a meeting I came across a posting on a bulletin board, as shown below in the picture. As clearly demonstrated by the picture below, men seem to believe that the female gender is a puzzle of more complexity than any Rubik's cube; and whose complete manual is beyond the first volumeshown in the picture. Clearly, the concept of "men are from Mars and women are from Venus" still permeates in the American culture and likely is prevalent in most other cultures. Therefore, I wish to discuss what is the real issue that has been found out through our research at the WomanStats project; thus introducing the concept that Men aren’t from Mars, Women aren’t from Venus, but rather both genders are from Earth.

            First, I would like to start my argument by looking closely at the picture found on the bulletin board and what concepts it teaches society. The picture first shows a man who is apparently in a scientific field (I found this picture in the Chemistry building on campus). The man is searching through the huge Vol. 1 book of “How to Understand Women” believing that science can unravel the mysteries of the female gender. My argument is that men are showing that science has tackled the riddle of females and that women are so complex that one volume of such size and magnitude cannot cover the subject; therefore, such a quest of science should be considered folly and forgotten and that women altogether should be considered alien and foreign. Thus, women are from Venus concepts stay prevalent in society. However, instead of consulting books and scientists on the subject of the female gender, one can communicate directly with the female gender! (I mean what a novel concept!)

However, one would be shocked at how often communication does not take place between the genders.  In Afghanistan, for example, this problem of lack of communication between genders seems very prevalent. In the Woma Stats Database, a UN news source reported this fact about Afghan society:

"Niland also singled out the growing trend of violence against women in public life, saying it was an indicator that women's roles in decision-making processes are not valued or fully acknowledged in Afghan society. 'Democracy and peace in Afghanistan is dependent on the elimination of violence and the full participation of women, as well as men of course, in decision-making processes that affect their lives and the future of the nation,' Niland said (Rape In Afghanistan A Profound Problem, U.N. Says, Reuters, 30 November 2009, 4 December 2009,http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2009/11/30/world/international-uk-afghanistan-rape-un.html?_r=2, 12-13).

            So, if women’s voices in society and government are to be heard then the concepts and myths about the female gender need to be addressed. Women are not from another planet and if given the opportunity and environment to speak, then the society can change for the better.  Why? Because half of the population of a country is made of men andthe other half of women! Women are from Earth, they can speak and are not invisible mysteries.  The first step is addressing relational issues, in which communication between men and women is suffering. In an effort to combat divorce issues in Australia, for example, the government commissioned a committee to study the issue and submit a report. Within the report reasons for divorce were as shown,

“The majority of men and women in this study mentioned affective dimensions of their marriage relationship - encompassing communication problems, incompatibility, changed lifestyle desires and instances of infidelity - as the main reason for their divorce. The dominance of relational reasons may reflect the higher expectations of self-fulfillment in marriage and decreasing tolerance of unsatisfying relationships observed by many commentators on marriage and divorce. Differences between men and women emerged where abusive behavior was cited as a main reason.” http://www.aifs.gov.au/institute/pubs/WP20.html
Even further into detail the study showed, “Consistent with most other studies of marriage breakdown (Burns 1984; Eells and O'Flaherty 1996; Wolcott 1984; Ponzetti et al. 1992), Table 3 shows the most common reasons given by respondents for their marriage ending centered around the affective qualities of the relationship including communication problems (27 per cent) and incompatibility/drifting apart (21 per cent). Communication problems was the most commonly cited cause for both men (33 per cent) and women (23 per cent). Similar proportions of men and women felt that incompatibility/drifting apart was the major cause.” http://www.aifs.gov.au/institute/pubs/WP20.html

            What can be concluded from such a study? That men and women are treating each other as foreign aliens in relationships and not honestly communicating with each other. Many times myself I have felt, that I wish I could understand the hearts and minds of people better if I had superpowers to read other people's minds. Instead of superpowers I understood that instead through simple honest communication and listening, I can gain the knowledge that was missing. Suddenly, what was once a mystery has become a more developed subject.  Finally, it is vital for society to open its eyes and see women! Women are not invisible, but rather half the population of the planet earth! The female and male genders did not emigrate to Earth, but rather were born from a man and woman, and neither can perpetuate the human race without the other. So instead of continuing a “War of the Worlds”(the gender themed one), open and fair communication should be the medium to the two genders’ further progression.

Posted by MGH on 21 September 2011; Even in America; Coping Strategies

Freak Out for the Sake of Women!

My self-defense teacher taught us to be freaks today.  The best techniques for self-defense, I’ve learned, are utilized before the attacker is even close enough to touch you. We learn to kick and knee and slap the crap out of whoever is trying to hurt us, but we do so with the understanding that a woman is unlikely to out-strike an attacker, and much less likely to survive an attack once the confrontation gets physical. Surprisingly, the best self-defense is verbal.

The key is to be assertive, even when you’re polite. Imagine you’re in a parking garage alone. You see a man walking towards you and he creeps you out. First, trust that instinct, it’s usually right. You put physical distance between you and him by crossing to the other side of the lane, and immediately he crosses too. This sends up flashing red flags in your alert defensive brain, so you might say something like “Hey! Stop! What are you doing?” You back up and say it assertively, loud enough and strong enough to let him know you’re freaked out, but you’re still acting like a normal human being at this point. It’s possible that he just realized his car was on the other side, and if that’s the case he will try to make you understand that he’s not a creep, maybe he’ll slow down and say something like, “Oh, I was just going to my car.” Then you can say, “Sorry, these places freak me out a bit.” You cross to the other side again and keep moving to your car.

If he doesn’t act normally, maybe he keeps walking towards you, get more assertive. Clarify: don’t repeat. If you just keep repeating what you’ve said before you’re not sending the right message. You want to make it clear that you’re really freaked out now. Get louder, shout - get attention. “STOP! STOP! STOP!” Make him afraid that people will hear. If he’s an attacker, he will be less likely to attack if he thinks people notice. If he’s just a strange person who doesn’t understand social cues, he will understand now.

If he keeps moving forward you’re in trouble. Stand your ground. This doesn’t mean you should stand in the same place, however. That’s dumb. But don’t keep backing away, either. That makes you look vulnerable. Instead, move around. Keep distance between you and him. Try to move enough to where you can make a break for it and run as fast as your little TOMS will carry you.

Now if you can’t get away, move to level three. First you were polite but assertive, then you were assertive and loud, now you are loud and strange. A freak. Do something he isn’t expecting. Attract even more attention by acting like a weirdo. Scream, yell, flail your arms wildly. Make strange noises—anything that will freak him out for a split second, giving you a chance to run. We practiced this in class, so I’m kinda a pro at being weird. But I trust you to embrace your inner freak and let loose when it matters most.

I’m completely serious here. If someone puts a gun to your side on a crowded bus, trying to make you get off with him, fall on the floor and pretend you’re having a seizure. What would you do if you were the attacker? It’s completely unexpected, completely brilliant. It attracts attention, freaks out your attacker and makes for a really good story you can tell at cocktail parties for the rest of your life.

I think this concept applies well to life, especially to a life lived as women in a still frustratingly patriarchal society. Despite the leaps and bounds achieved by our feminist foremothers, we still live in a society where women are expected to be hot 24/7, where being called a “girl” is derogatory, where our daughters are complimented on their cuteness and curls instead of their bravery and brains, where princesses and fairy tales tell them that they should want to be the “fairest of them all”, and later magazines and billboards tell them how to achieve it through clothing, hair and surgically mutilating their own bodies. Female Olympic athletes, women who have worked and sacrificed to achieve the highest level of athletic excellence in their field, pose nude in Playboy. Breast procedures increased from 32,607 to 264,041 per year from 1992 to 2004. Pole dancing exercise classes have become all the rage in America’s major cities.

As Susan Faludi writes in her Harper’s essay, American Electra: Feminism’s ritual matricide: “The women’s movement cycled through a long first ‘wave’, and, in increasingly shorter oscillations, a second and third wave, and some say we are now witnessing a fourth. With each go-round, women make gains, but the movement never seems able to establish an enduring birthright, a secure line of descent—to reproduce itself as a strong and sturdy force. At the core of America’s most fruitful political movement resides a perpetual barrenness.” Sure, our foremothers of the 1960s and 70s didn’t agree on every issue, but for a long time there was a general feeling of unity among women’s rights activists. And that unity was powerful. The FDA approved the birth control pill in 1960. In 1963 Congress passed the Equal Pay Act, making it illegal to give different pay to a man and a woman for the same job. That same year, Betty Freidan published The Feminine Mystique. The National Organization for Women was founded in 1966 and the National Association for the Repeal of Abortion Laws in 1969. In 1972, the Supreme Court extended birth control rights to married couples and both houses of Congress passed the Equal Rights Amendment. In 1973, Roe v. Wade established a woman’s right to abortion, and in 1976 Nebraska became the first state to criminalize marital rape.

What happened? What does feminism mean anymore? Hugh Hefner calls himself a feminist. Hugh Hefner! Faludi reported women’s rights activists of my generation using the term “Lady Gaga feminism.” It seems we’ve forgotten that the feminist movement was once revolutionary, “something … momentous and unwieldy: nothing less than the overthrow of patriarchy, which had to start in the minds and bedrooms of Americans as well as the workplace—change from the inside out” (Levy, p.50). Instead, many women of my generation, perhaps in response to the bureaucracy, stubbornness and red tape associated with activism and legislative change, have decided that if we can’t beat them, join them. We’ve accepted porn stars and strippers as models of sexual liberation, praised pornography as free expression of a woman’s sexuality. We’ve given in, backed down, rolled over and let patriarchy continue to define not only our work relationships, but our most intimate personal relationships as well. It’s time for us to fight again. I think it’s time for women to get freaky, to be loud and crazy, radical and assertive. To call attention to a society that has attacked, continues to attack women, to objectify and subjugate them. In a society where you can’t be feminine and powerful, we need to redefine power, to take back our identities as women—professionally, politically, sexually. Sure, it’s an uncomfortable tactic, but I trust you. I trust you to embrace your inner freak and let loose when it matters most.

Sources:

Faludi, Susan. October 2010. American Electra: Feminism’s ritual matricide. Harper’s Magazine. http://harpers.org/archive/2010/10/0083140. (accessed September 2011)

Imbornoni, Ann-Marie. Timeline of Key Events in the American Women’s Rights Movement: 1921-1979. Infoplease. http://www.infoplease.com/spot/womenstimeline2.html. (accessed September 2011)

Levy, Ariel. 2005. Female Chauvinist Pigs: Women and The Rise of Raunch Culture. New York: Free Press.

Posted by VF on 15 September 2011; Even in America; Coping Strategies

It Takes Two to Tango? Men and Childbirth

On a recent outing with a few friends I found myself in a discussion on the various options for childbirth.  Having just watched ‘The Business of Being Born’ and having read up on different articles addressing the same issue, I felt that I had a few insights to bring to the table. However, this being a group of mostly women I found myself defending not my opinions, but my right to an opinion.  The logic was simple.  Since I do not have to suffer the physical pains and risks of child birth why should I have a say in how a child is born?  This got me thinking.  I began to consider the man’s role in the birthing process and how much influence he should have in the decision making process.  We all know the phrase ‘It takes two to tango’.  But what about after the tango?  Do the two partners separate as soon as the music ends?  Or does the duality mentioned in this common saying extend past the basic stages of this proverbial dance and continue well into birth process? 
 
First off I want to preface my post by pointing out that, in the end, it is the woman who takes the brunt of the physical and mental travails involved in the birthing process.  As such it is the woman that must give the final stamp of approval to any decision regarding the childbirth. None the less I do feel there is a balance that can and should be met in all of the decisions revolving around this amazing process. 
 
Michael Odent, A leading obstetrician, states that delivering children would be a much easier process is women were left alone in the care of their midwife and that “The ideal birth environment involves no men.”  While this may describe his experience with childbirth I do not believe it represents an answer to the argument but instead reveals a byproduct of the way modern society defines female and male roles in the birthing process.  In Jerrold Shapiro’s book ‘When Men Are Pregnant: Needs and Concerns of Expectant Fathers’ he discusses how society pressures men into abiding by a set of contradicting expectations during child birth.  ‘The modern man is to let himself be vulnerable and emotional while simultaneously being stoic and guarded.’  Dr. Shapiro states that it is common for the father in a pregnancy to feel unable to talk with his partner about his emotional world during their pregnancy. This lack of deeper communication would naturally lead to an isolation of each partner in their respective roles.  The woman then turns to her female peers as a support group and the male continues to emotionally detach himself from the process while providing verbal support at best.  With little to no emotional connection regarding the pregnancy It can be understood then how professionals would prefer separation of the man and women during labor since that is the way the pregnancy was defined from the get go.
 
Just as in all other decision making in a relationship there stands the potential for both isolation and separation or for the strengthening and solidifying of each partner.  To suggest that the male partner has no say in the birthing choices suggests a hierarchical relationship in which the male’s opinion has little to no meaning.  The man should want to take an active role in the birthing process just as much as the woman should want him too.  When facing the positives and negatives of birthing options each partner’s opinion should be held as significant and be considered when making a final decision.    

Now the purpose of this post was not to discussing the positives and negatives of a natural birth, or when a cesarean is necessary.  I think those decisions should be made case by case between the expecting parents.  Just as with anything, it is unproductive to go into a conversation with a ‘it’s my way or the highway’ mentality.  Rarely are things so black and white.  What I did want to get across was the need for clearly defined roles throughout the birthing process.  Each partner needs to feel as though their voice is needed in order to bring their child into this world.  I hope that when that time comes for me to start a family my wife and I will be able to sit down and put in the time to do the research on our different options.  But in the end, after all is said and done, if my wife prefers a different method than what I think is best,  then I will respect her decision and support her in whatever she chooses. 

Posted by NG on 2 August 2011; Maternity Matters

Totality of Perspective: Lynn Holland

Lynn Holland was at home one night, watching the news- something that most of us do, but what Holland saw and did was unique. In fact, it became a first. She saw an American police officer standing in Haiti with a woman who had been injured in a domestic violence situation. Because of the laws and state of security in Haiti, nothing could be done to help the woman. The American asked for other American officers to come to Haiti and help train the Haitian National Police.  Holland describes seeing this woman: “I jumped out of my chair and said, “I’ve got to go help that woman.”(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29P0QSVaqnc). Holland joined the executive management team for the Haitian National Police Initiative on behalf of the U.S. Department of Justice’s International Criminal Investigative Training and Assistance Program (ICITAP) She went on to serve as a peacekeeper in Bosnia and worked to develop a program for victims of rape during conflict, and has continued to be an advocate for women in peacekeeping operations and the United States’ role in PKO (http://www.usip.org/events/where-are-the-women-peacekeepers). Holland helped one woman in Haiti as well as many more around the world with her actions as a peacekeeper. But it is not only her desire to help that I admire so much. Holland did so as the first US female peacekeeper. After her time with PKO, she was the only woman on the law enforcement team in Kosovo. Before Holland’s decision as a result of watching the news that night, no American woman had ever served in a peacekeeping operation. She had to have known of the barriers (or soon found out about them) but was undeterred. 

Holland shared her opinions on women in peacekeeping operations with Better World Campaign. She told how in the countries in which peacekeepers serve, the populations are primarily women, making the role of women as peacekeepers absolutely vital. Many men have died as a result of the conflict which made the peacekeeping operation necessary. Holland also described how having women in peacekeeping operation exposes the residents of the country to different roles of women; they see that women are able to serve in positions equal to men. For example, the women in Kosovo had never seen a woman driving a car before they saw Holland taking the wheel. But here is my favorite statement of hers: “If you don’t have a woman’s perspective in peacekeeping, you are not going to have the totality of perspectives that you need” to complete a successful mission (http://www.betterworldcampaign.org/news-room/web-articles/profiles-in-peace/profile-in-peace-lynn-holland.html).  What a perfect perspective on international operations of any sort. These interventions can change lives and altar for decades the security of a nation and people. They are costly and require sacrifice by many. Why not, then, have a totality of perspective when undergoing such operations?

The United Nations does recognize this fact, as shown in resolution 1325 which was adopted in 2000. This statement encourages the implementation of greater protection of women and children in conflicts, but also reaffirms “the important role of women in the prevention and resolution of conflicts and in peace-building, and (stresses) the importance of their equal participation and full involvement in all efforts for the maintenance and promotion of peace and security” (http://www.un.org/events/res_1325e.pdf). What an incredible statement of a common sense idea- that both genders must be allowed to express ideas, implement policy, and interact and play a role in international operations. However, as is often the case, change has been slow in coming.

Lynn Holland’s story impressed me so much for two reasons. First was what she said was her initial reaction to the news story. We have all seen sad stories on the news, or petitions for help from disadvantaged countries. But Holland said she jumped out of her chair- she was willing and ready to act. According to her description, her motive for involvement was not the adventure of going to another country, but her compassion for someone she had never met.

Nothing I have said here is in any way a new or novel idea. But this is the second reason why Holland’s story was so interesting to me. Resolution 1325 was unanimously adopted in 2000- eleven years ago- and yet the Lynn Holland story still remains unique. There are very few female peacekeepers, even with resolutions and advocates and special programs and research. Therefore, we are still lacking the totality of perspective. Even after the incredible influence and might of the United States, after its billions and trillions of dollars spent to maintain that power, the United States still lacks an essential tool in achieving complete success in international involvement- the involvement of women. Qualified, capable women should and can, as shown by Lynn Holland, be equally important as qualified and capable men in carrying out national security objectives of the United States. Hopefully in a few years, stories like Lynn Holland’s will be common and both women and men will express the importance of a totality of perspective in government.  

Posted by BP on 9 July 2011; Positive Change; Police Business

Two Styles of Childbirth in the Western World

Carly and I were born 9 days apart, and since then we have done everything together. All of our childhood and adolescent milestones were taken together; even our weddings were less than a month apart. When Carly announced her pregnancy, I freaked. This immediate exposure to this mysterious process of pregnancy and childbirth became very real to me as the girl who grew up with me and shared every milestone of life is pregnant. The only experience I have with pregnancy was my little brother when I was three—mom went to the hospital with a big tummy and then came back with a baby. Since then no pregnant woman or young infant came into close contact with me. Because of this lack of experience, I had no knowledge about the miracle of life. I decided that I could no longer remain ignorant of this very real fact of life and I researched the topic thoroughly using credible, unbiased sources.

In Western nations, childbirth practices have changed dramatically since the beginning of the industrialized revolution (Berk 2009: 109). Since the turn of the 20th century, childbirth moved to be in hospitals and doctors largely assumed responsibility for childbirth. In effect, women’s knowledge of it declined and extended relatives and friends no longer participated (Berk 2009: 109). A recent study conducted by the Child and Family Research Institute and University of British Columbia surveyed almost 1500 pregnant women and found that fewer than 30% attended prenatal childbirth classes and a high number of them did not know the pros or cons or safety issues regarding epidurals, episiotomies, cesareans and other childbirth options (Roan 2011). In contrast, women in non-industrialized cultures have very different childbirth experiences. Women are more knowledgeable about the childbirth process and there is a larger support group for the woman during delivery (Berk 2009: 108). Additionally in many of these countries the majority of births are not in hospitals.

In comparison, in North America only 1% of mothers choose to have their babies at home and this percentage has increased since 2005 (Rubin 2010; Berk 2009: 108). These numbers are comparable with the majority of other developed nations (Rubin 2010). Additionally, more women are choosing to deliver in birthing centers rather than hospitals. At home births or in birthing clinics come with many pros and cons. This alternative form of birthing is more family focused and brings back the feeling of community in childbirth. Additionally, these births have fewer medical interventions than hospital births (ACOG 2011). However, there are risks involved as well. Even low risk births can turn into medical emergencies that lead to maternal or infant death. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists issued a report that says although the absolute risk of home births is low it does carry a three-fold increase in the risk of newborn and mother death compared with hospital births. The College does not support planned home births and emphasizes the risks to mothers and newborns that decide to do so. Of course, other sources challenge both the statistic as well as the objectivity of the College, which does have a pecuniary interest in discouraging homebirth.

Most mothers deliver their babies in hospitals in developed countries, including the United States. While there is the advantage of medical equipment and personnel ready at any moment, there are other risks involved. For example the high rate of caesareans in the U.S. Currently 32% of births in the U.S. are via caesareans (Grady 2010). There are several reasons for this increase but the scariest factor is the doctors’ quickness to do a caesarean because they feared lawsuits. According to a survey conducted by the Obstetricians’ College reported that one third of doctors said they were performing more caesareans because they feared lawsuits and 8% of doctors said they quit delivering babies mostly because of liability issues (Grady 2010). The sad truth is maternal mortality has risen in the past few decades partly because of the dramatic increase of caesarean rates (Grady 2010).

After conducting all this research I came to this conclusion on how to decide where and how to have your baby: consider the mother’s health and risk factors, consider the baby’s health and risk factors, consult with a doctor or certified midwife and ultimately make an informed decision. Ultimately every woman has a choice in how she wants to deliver her baby—it is her right. However, she needs to make an informed decision and must take a more active part in her pregnancy and labor experience. I know that I will want to do what is best for my baby and me and I will make that decision with confidence. I am no longer ignorant of the pros and cons of childbirth options, and you can bet neither is Carly!

American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. 2011. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists Issues Opinion on Planned Home Births. http://www.acog.org/from_home/publications/press_releases/nr01-20-11.cfm (accessed July 1, 2011).

Berk, Laura E. 2009.Child Development: 8th Edition. USA: Pearson Higher Education.

Grady, Denise. 2010. Caesarean births are at a high in U.S. The New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/24/health/24birth.html (accessed July 1, 2011).

O’Callaghan, Tiffany. 2010. Too many C-sections: Docs rethink induced labor. The New York Times. http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,2007754,00.html (accessed July 1, 2011).

Roan, Shari. 2011. Pregnant women show an amazing lack of knowledge about childbirth options, study shows. Las Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/print/2011/jun/14/news/la-heb-childbirth-20110614 (accessed July 1, 2011).

Rubin, Rita. 2010. Slight increase in home births reverses 15-year decline. USA Today http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2010-03-04-homebirth04_ST_N.htm# (accessed July 1, 2011).

Posted by ABN on 3 July 2011; Maternity Matters

Coding Global Acting Local

I just got home from the Rape Crisis Outreach Center. It feels good to be able to type those words, to be able to know what I know. It also reminds me that there are many, many people - many of them women - who will never know that such an institution exists, or have access to it. Perhaps there are some readers who have no idea what I’m talking about. I didn’t know what a rape crisis team was until about 2 years ago. But knowing about it has changed, forever, my life and my view of gender.

Like many WomanStats coders, I live in Provo, Utah, a community with varying and complex levels of freedom for women. One of the reasons I’ve chosen those two words is Utah’s very real, somewhat hidden, problem with sexual violence. Rape is the only violent crime for which Utah has a higher rate than the national average, and that only counts reported rapes (which are a minority). And according to the Utah Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice, 1 in 3 Utah women will experience some kind of sexual assault in her lifetime, and 1 in 8 will be raped.

Of course, Utah is not the only state in the U.S. that seems to be affected by this problem. Not by a long shot. Rape and sexual assault is reported on a regular basis in every single state in our country, and our national levels of the crime are higher than those in many other countries. As a feeble-minded woman, I’m stumped: haven’t we all evolved? What is this, the Middle Ages?  What makes sexual violence continue to be a significant issue, wherever you go: across borders, through time?

Here’s where WomanStats comes in. A cross-country look at different states’ rates of sexual violence shows that every nation in the world has a problem with rape, some more than others, and some especially as a result of political or social turmoil in those countries. (I recommend logging in to WomanStats and doing some reading on different countries and their views of sexual violence. Kind of fascinating.) This, to me, is what makes sexual violence such an important issue for women especially, and one that deserves to be looked at across national borders. Sexual violence is clearly not an issue of pure culture, pure religion, or pure biology. Although it can be related to all those things, sexual violence is first and foremost an issue of gender, of women and men everywhere, no matter their nationality, and the way they have been trained to view each other and to think about their relationships.

My friend, Taylor Jacoby, is currently with some BYU students in Uganda. What she does there will be the fruition - but not completion - of a long personal, scholarly, and ethical study and debate she began a year ago. In the fall of 2010, she and I, both students of political science, began to delve more deeply into the issues of political violence in countries where women’s lives and bodies are the stockpile and the booty. We learned, for the first time, the extent and horror of the mass rapes in Bosnia, Guatemala, Rwanda, Liberia, and other countries. We learned about “war rape,” the systemic sexual assault of women - and sometimes men - that opposing forces use deliberately to destroy their enemy’s communities, social cohesion, and lives. We were depressed. It was about this time, however, that we happened to decide to volunteer for the Center for Women and Children in Crisis, which houses Utah County’s Rape Crisis Team. Like most cities, Provo maintains a team of 40 or so volunteers - of which Taylor and I are two - who are trained to be with victims of sexual assault, whenever they may call and decide to report their attack. We counsel them over the phone, or meet them at Provo’s Gappmeyer Family Clinic to complete Code-R exams and explain to them the free therapy, victim reparation costs, and resources that are available to them. We also have blankets, extra clothes, and granola bars. We also have hands, unjudging eyes, and open ears. Taylor wants to look at the way that these responses to sexual assault - those in its aftermath, those that comfort, that allow trauma and victimization to be voiced and healed - may actually contribute to peace in war torn communities as much as the announcement of free elections might.

There seems to me an important connection here. Although anyone, male or female, can be raped, and male rapes are reported pretty frequently to the CWCIC team, sexual violence mostly seems to affect women. This is universal. This is why we need to examine sexual violence as a crime - not of sex, but of power.

But what is also universal are the things that change the lives of those who go through sexual violence: acknowledgment, a sense of power and control, and the ability to voice one’s traumatic feelings. There may not be extensive counseling services available to women in Uganda, Guatemala, or in many other places around the world, but there is rape. And so those services should be there, demanded, put on national budgets just like health care or education. And while we fight for these services in every nation of the world, I, in Provo, Utah, can be proud to know that there are services available to rape victims here. I can tell people about them, and they can tell other people about them. (Seriously, tell someone about them. Chances are they don’t know they exist.)

Having been able to counsel victims of sexual violence in Provo, Utah has given me perspective and awareness I never thought I could have regarding sexual violence in other places of the world - rape that may happen because of war, prejudice, unrest or despair. And so I encourage anyone who is interested in global women’s issues to, if you can, do something for the women of your own community. Do not neglect the good we can do in our own part of this globe, to become involved in the lives and issues of women all around us.

The monthly training meeting I just returned from featured a lesson on counseling rape victims who have deep shame. After a long discussion, our leader asked us a difficult question: “So, how can we fight shame?” There was a moment of silence, of thought. Finally, a team member in the front of the room said quietly, “Connection.” Ultimately, I think this answer is the relationship I see between WomanStats and the Utah County Rape Crisis Team. We can connect with the issues of those whose lives are far away by building compassionate connections with people around us.

For more information on the Center for Women and Children or the Rape Crisis Team, visit http://www.cwcic.org or call 801-227-5038.

Posted by EC on 10 June 2011; Even in America; WomanStats

Sex Ratios in India and the Consequences for Women

While reading The Economist a couple of weeks ago, an article on sex ratios in India practically jumped off the page. The article noted that with rising levels of literacy and education in states where sex ratios have remained relatively normal (mainly in southern states), sex ratios have actually started to decline, meaning fewer baby girls are being born relative to baby boys. In other states which have historically had a strong son preference, the situation has been improving. Although this problem has persisted for decades, what stood out most was how this affected the status of women.

Individuals unfamiliar with this pressing issue may assume that with declining numbers of women, dowry prices would decrease which would ultimately lead to a higher valuation of women. This argument seems logical because from an economist’s standpoint theory dictates that when supply falls, and demand rises, the value of the good increases. In the example of dowries, potential brides should be able to “shop around” for a husband and because he wants to be married, he will be willing to settle for a lower dowry. However, this is exactly the opposite of what is actually happening and seems very perplexing. Instead of falling dowries, they are increasing and consequently the value of women is eroding.

Even though Indian families acknowledge the need for more women because their sons are unable to find marriage partners, attitudes towards the importance of son preference have remained unchanged. Although sex selective abortions are illegal, families can find doctors who are willing to determine the sex of their baby. Instead of having more girls, some families have now resorted to paying a dalal, a broker, to find unwanted girls and bring them to paying families so that their sons have a guaranteed marriage partner. These trafficked girls come from India or even from Bangladesh and Myanmar.

The aforementioned article tells the story of a 12 year old orphan who was taken to a family in Kolta, south of Delhi, where she was mistreated and married to one of the family’s sons. When the girl began having children, she too realized the need for more girls and feared for her sons marriage prospects. Although a victim herself of human trafficking, she too has conceded that she will probably contract with a dalal in order to secure a future for her sons and for herself.

What strikes me the most is that this woman will do to other girls what has already happened to her. The fact that she is willing to essentially buy an unwanted girl for her sons to marry indicates to me that women do not value themselves. Education and rising income levels have often been cited as a silver bullet to change cultural attitudes towards women. However, this may not actually be the case. In order to change these current trends toward son preference, men and women need to see and understand the value of daughters and not view them as burdens or as only a means to secure a future for their sons.

Reference:
The Economist. 2011. India's skewed sex ratio: Seven brothers – An aversion to having daughters is leading to millions of missing girls. The Economist, April 7, http://www.economist.com/node/18530371?story_id=18530371. (Accessed: June 2, 2011).

Posted by JH on 7 June 2011; Numbers; Women (General)

The Duality of the Situation of Women in Taiwan

            Taiwan is an example of a nation simultaneously progressing and digressing on the policies and practices surrounding gender equality. In Taiwan there are more numbers of women working in government and civil work, high life expectancy, and good educational opportunities, and yet at the same time more numbers of brothels and prostitution are being allowed, female infanticide and sex selective abortions are rampant, and there is a plummeting birthrate. What is the current situation and what has led to this dichotomy that is also prevalent in other modern states such as the U.S. and Japan?

Good Opportunities
            Of the Cabinet, 8 are women or 20 percent and there are 34 female legislators, or 30 percent as of 2008. [1] Last year, the number of females in Taiwan’s civil service hit a record high of 131,846 or 38.77%. Parity, or at least 1/3 of government seats filled by women is also being sought at the senior positions of civil service with women holding 25.4%. More women are running for important mayoral offices and seeking higher positions in the government. Although from different political parties all of these women have one thing in common: they are all single. Mothers are a small minority amongst the legislature and even smaller amongst senior positions.
            In 2010 35.8 percent of women held a bachelor’s degree or above. This year there will be over 50% women in Taiwan employment. In general women make only 80% of the pay in the same position of a fellow male coworker, starting salaries for men are 18% higher than for women, and with seven to nine years of experience the gap is as large as 30%. [2] The women of Taiwan have greater opportunities to be educated and work, but still suffer from maternal disadvantages and a wide wage gap between the sexes.

Destructive Practices
            Although many claim equality between the sexes has been achieved there are still important areas where the women of Taiwan lag far behind. Activists estimate that there are at least 600,000 people involved in sex-related work in Taiwan. [3] In 2010 the government reversed many of its policies and allowed sex workers to set up small businesses, considering brothels of three to five staff legal. [3] The government explained that regulation instead of criminalizing sex work was more effective.

           Despite the absence of the One Child Policy that is enforced in the PRC, Taiwan’s skewed sex ratio is increasing rapidly and the birth rate is plummeting. In 2011 (spanning the first six months of the year) the imbalance was 110 boys to 100 girls between the sexes at birth. Over the same period in 2010 the figure was 108:100. [4] Indeed Taiwan is ranked as one of the most imbalanced in the world on the multivariate Sex Ratio scale, produced by our WomanStats project.
            Along with Germany, Taiwan has the lowest birth rate in the world. In 2010 Taiwan’s total fertility rate was .91, meaning that less than one child is born to each woman in Taiwan. [5] The World Health Organization defined Taiwan as an “ageing” society, with above 7-percent of the population 65 years of age or older. [6] The Cabinet-level Council for Economic Planning and Development of Taiwan is predicting that by 2011 there will be a population growth of zero. [7]
            Another determining factor is the decision many Taiwanese women have made to marry later or not at all. In 2010, 31 percent of women above the age of 15 were single, an all-time low for marriage, and the average age of marriage was 30.5. [7]

Analysis of Contradicting Trends
            Most critics cite women’s rights and feminism as the basis for the true problems that face women, arguing that because women now have equal rights to employment and education they are not choosing to marry or have children. To the contrary, research has pointed to another direction which shows the necessity of gender equality but also parity in the home. In my analysis, to achieve the hopes of genuine gender equality, the women of Taiwan face three large obstacles: 1). Government policies have not caught up to women’s progress, 2). Gender stereotypes are still widespread, and 3. Parity has not been achieved in the home.
            Firstly, the government is playing catch-up in areas of maternity and childcare policies. Only in the wake of the sex ratio imbalance crisis has the government instituted laws that provide childcare services and maternity leave. [8] These policies will inevitably take years to come into effect or make a reasonable difference. Another more frightening challenge is the widespread phenomena of gender stereotypes. Women in Taiwan are largely still seen as sex objects (as testified by the prostitution rate), only housewives, and disadvantaged mothers. A survey conducted for Women’s Day in 2011 showed that 62% of the women thought that the “traditional culture of gender discrimination” ought to be eliminated in Taiwan. [9]
            The third challenge, perhaps the most difficult and yet most important, is the lack of parity within the home. In 2004, the female domestic work participation rate was well over 75%, while the male rate was only 31%. This rate includes the burden of domestic work, childcare, and care for the elderly. [10] Aside from obvious inequalities on the domestic workload, men in Taiwan are more prone to “technology addiction,” spending hundreds of hours playing video games or watching pornography. [11] It may be difficult for women to choose to have a large family or even be married while men are not willing to help in the home or commit to men who have heavy addictions that affect healthy relationships.
            Because of these challenges, women are forced to choose one role over the other – that of wife and mother or employee. The government and husbands and fathers are not sufficiently providing for the modern opportunities that women in Taiwan are happily taking part in. As women move into the workplace, take part in education opportunities and fill important government positions, the family and the equal partnership found between men and women therein is being left behind. In order for Taiwanese women to fully achieve gender equality and strengthen the family, stereotypes must be quelled, the government must provide a more balanced policy package for families, and men and women must seek for more parity in the home.

The author with friends in Taiwan

Works Cited

1 Idiazabal, George. Taiwan Today, “State of play: Women’s political representation in Taiwan,” Taiwan Today, (Published 24 September, 2010),      <http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=119269&ctNode=449>.

2 "Value of College and Graduate Degrees Declines." Taiwan Today. Taiwan Today, 9 Feb. 2010. Web. <http://www.taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xitem=94040&ctnode=436&mp=9>.

3 Standing, Jonathan. Reuters, “Taiwan to allow small brothels in law change,” Reuters, (Published 14 Oct, 2010)        <http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE69D4SH20101014?loomia_ow=t0%3As0%3A            a49%3Ag43%3Ar1%3Ac0.139344%3Ab38330434%3Az0>.

4 Wang, Audrey. Taiwan Today, “Gap widens between male, female births,” Government Information Office, Republic of China (Taiwan), (Published 30 Aug, 2010),           http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=115858&ctNode=454&mp=9)

5 Wang, Audrey. "Gap Widens between Male, Female Births." Taiwan Today. 30 Aug. 2010.   Web. <http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=115858&CtNode=454>.

6 HZW, Taiwan Today, “Taiwan’s marriage, birth rates continue to fall,” Government Information Office, Republic of China (Taiwan), (Published 14 May, 2010),          <http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=103114&CtNode=419>.

7 "Late Marriage, Low Birthrate, and More Elderly to Care for - The China Post." China Post Online - Taiwan, News, Breaking News, World News, and News from Taiwan. The China Post, 28 Mar. 2011. Web. 27 Apr. 2011. <http://www.chinapost.com.tw/editorial/taiwan-issues/2011/03/28/296357/Late-marriage.htm>.

8 KP-THN, Taiwan Today, “Taipei City to subsidize births, childcare,” Government Information Office, Republic of China (Taiwan), 2010. (Accessed 7 May, 2010),           <http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=102101&ctNode=413>.

9 "Survey: Gender Discrimination for Women in Taiwan Are Not Happy - Thoughts.com Conversation Engine." Thoughts.com. Thoughts.com, 7 Mar. 2011. Web. 27 Apr. 2011.    <http://www.thoughts.com/ssx817/survey-gender-discrimination-for-women-in-taiwan-are-not-happy>.

10 The WomanStats Project, 2001. <http://womanstats.org>. 

11 "FEATURE: Technology Addiction Takes Its Toll on Asian Youth." Taipei Times. AFP  SINGAPORE, 20 Apr. 2011. Web. 27 Apr. 2011.    <http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2011/04/20/2003501236>.

Posted by JFB on 19 May 2011; Women (General)

Thirty Years and Counting

Consider the CEDAW (Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination of All Forms Against Women), adopted in 1979 by the UN General Assembly, which includes an article encouraging nations to ensure that women are participating in policy-making and are holding government office. Most nations have since ratified the CEDAW (excluding the United States), yet the world average for women participating in parliament is 20%. Why is it that, while women are half of the world’s population, only one out of every five representatives is a woman? 

I know Margaret Thatcher was a pioneer in the political arena, as seen in this picture of a G7 summit, (wn.com )

but why, three decades letter, at a G8 summit, is Angela Merkel also the only woman? (BBC News),

Next, consider these facts presented in The New York Times Magazine Special Issue: Saving the World’s Women:

• 130 million women around the world have been subject to genital cutting

• 1% of the world’s landowners are women

• 21% of young women interviewed in Ghana said their sexual initiation was rape

• The U.N. has estimated that there are 5,000 honor killings a year, the majority in the Muslim world

Reading these statistics makes me wonder why we are so worried about women in government representation when it would be a feat for millions of women just to be able to live decent lives. Why are women treated this way? 

As coders at the WomanStats Project, we ask ourselves these questions every day. For me, the answer to the lack of female political representation and the reason for the deep, horrible plight of women in the developing world (not discounting that of men) boils down to each society's cultural attitude toward women. In a given country, is a female considered to be property or is she treated as a citizen? 

There's a movie I watched in the International Political Economy of Women (a class at BYU taught by Professors Bowen and Hudson) in which a man explained to the camera operator that it would be easier to lose his wife than his goat because he could always get another wife but it was not so easy to obtain a new goat. We scoff, but does not our own culture, in a place even as close as Nevada, foster a business which considers the value of a woman as breasts and a vagina? 

Until we take a serious look at the cultural basis attitudes concerning women, we will not be able to afford millions their basic human rights, let alone achieve such "lofty" goals as equal representation.

Posted by MLW on 30 April 2011; Numbers, Women (General)

"Let's All Dance for One Goal . . . This Time for Africa!"
WomanStats Waka Waka

            In 2000 countries of the world united and produced the Millennium Development Goals wherein two foundational goals for education were adopted: to ensure that all boys and girls complete primary schooling by 2015 and to ensure that girls have the opportunity for education at all levels by 2015. Sadly, the world is far from meeting these goals. Today almost 70 million children do not have access to education and if the progress remains the same, by 2015 there will still be 50 million children without access to basic education. In order to draw the world’s attention to this dire situation and to encourage stronger action, the Global Campaign for Education created 1GOAL in preparation for the FIFA World Cup in South Africa in summer 2010 (http://www.join1goal.org/home.php). The FIFA World Cup is one of the most watched and most popular sporting events in the world. Consequently, 1GOAL gained international attention through its association to this worldwide event. 1GOAL’s objective is to use the power and passion of football to unite the world in the pursuit of education for every child. Its hope is that this World Cup hosted in an African country would have a lasting legacy and call the world’s attention to the right for every child to an education. 1GOAL received overwhelming support during the World Cup. Much of this fame was derived from Columbian singer, Shakira’s song “Waka Waka: This time for Africa” which was the official song of the FIFA World Cup 2010. This song was the theme song for 1GOAL as well.
            Shakira’s “Waka Waka” dance from her music video was utilized to unite people from all over the world with “1 Dance, 1GOAL.” There is a series of simple steps that accompany the chorus of the song and 1GOAL challenged viewers to join 1GOAL by recording themselves performing this dance and posting it onto its Youtube channel. For every video that was posted, leading contributors to 1GOAL would donate a certain amount. So the more movies posted, the more money donated. I am a dancer and choreographer and when I saw the 1GOAL’s campaign during the World Cup, I instantly knew that I had to take this challenge. I felt an obligation to utilize my talents in dance and my passion for promoting the status of women and education to be a part of this campaign. I didn’t want to dance alone so I thought I would ask some of my coworkers from the WomanStats Project to join me. I thought that a few girls would volunteer but much to my surprise and joy, all the coders and even Dr Hudson wanted to dance.
            I wanted to do this project because I knew that if we supported this campaign for education, we would be elevating the status of women worldwide. We had just finished reading parts of Dr Hudson’s upcoming book about our work. Recently the UN has adopted a resolution, “Responsibility to Protect” meaning that all member states had a responsibility to protect its citizens. In her book Dr Hudson proposes that the UN should adopt a R2PW, “Responsibility to Protect Women”. As a group we decided that this was WomanStats personal message to add to 1GOAL—R2PW, protect women by giving them an education. What I thought would be a small-scale project turned into an entire company production. You can see the WomanStats R2PW Waka Waka Video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MPRl71nfYQ, or here is an embed of it from YouTube:

            This project means so much to me. I felt so inspired watching the hundreds of dancers from all over the world dancing the same steps to the same song working for the same goal. It is such a powerful thing to see so many people unite together in this way. I truly believe that education for women, can be the solution to solving so many problems worldwide. Sometimes I feel helpless in alleviating the ills of this world. I always want to do so much but feel like it is never enough. However I know that this dance is something that I can do and will have a huge impact towards achieving this 1GOAL of education for all. I personally have a R2PW and so I dance the “Waka Waka"!

Instructions for the dance are here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bk8k-Fv1ZiQ&feature=player_embedded

Posted by ABN on 10 April 2011; Positive Change

Increasing Mobile Phone Ownership for Women in Developing Countries

In an age of increasing technological advancement, cell phones have become staple products in developed countries. But throughout the developing world, cell phone ownership is low and in many countries, women are much less likely to own a cell phone than men. According to a GSMA report, the gender gap in cell phone ownership is 25% which indicates that women are much less likely to own a cell phone. In order to combat this disparity as well as to empower women, the mWomen Program, which was launched at the State Department, seeks to “(a) increase access to mobile phones for 150 million women who live at the base of the pyramid over the next three years and (b) leverage the mobile channel to improve the socio-economic status of women across the developing world” (www.gsmworld.com).

To increase cell phone ownership among women, the mWomen program carries out and supports three different types of activities. First, the program seeks to provide technical assistance with activities centered on trying to eliminate the gender gap and charting the progress toward completing this goal. Second, value-added services are rendered in which Multi National Organizations (MNOs) showcase the benefits of mobile phone technology such as improvements in health, education, and financial opportunities for women. Lastly, the challenge fund exists to provide funding for MNOs which are finding ways to reduce the gender gap through programs such as creating products which target low income women. By carrying out each of these activities, mWomen hopes to provide more women with cell phones.

The mWomen Program seeks to increase cell phone ownership, but the question that needs to first be asked is whether or not this is actually in the best interest of women and if this will truly enable and empower them. To answer this question, Dayoung Lee studied the uptake of cell phones by women in India. India is one of leading nations in cell phone ownership with the number cell phones surpassing landline phones by 2004 and there are roughly 6 million new subscriptions per month. Therefore, India serves as a great case study in determining the linkage between cell phone ownership and women’s empowerment. In order to identify if women’s empowerment increases with cell phone ownership, Lee uses survey data from India’s National Family Health Survey which addresses the following areas: fertility, family planning, mortality, maternal and child health, and cell phone ownership. The following are used as women’s empowerment indicators: reported domestic violence, reported autonomy, reported son and total children preferences, and reported economic independence. 

Lee finds that as cell phone ownership increases, women are less tolerable towards domestic violence and husband’s control issues. Even more interesting is the fact that as cell phone ownership among men increase, tolerance for domestic violence decrease as well. Although views toward domestic violence are changing, this is not strong evidence that cell phone ownership encourages female empowerment. However, this question is answered when looking at the autonomy levels of women. As cell phone ownership increased in the Indian population, women’s decision making power increased in regards to spending family money and they were more likely to travel without permission from their husband. However, there were no significant effects on son preference or the desired number of children women wanted to have. The results from this study indicate that increasing cell phone ownership will lead to women’s empowerment.

Not only does cell phone ownership contribute to women’s empowerment in the home through money decisions and travel, it can also increase literacy rates among women. In Pakistan, a group of 250 girls who had recently completed a basic literacy course, were provided cell phones. The girls received up to 6 messages per day in their native language of Urdu on various subjects including religion, nutrition, and health. After reading the message and practicing writing the message out, the girls were then expected to respond to the text their teacher sent. Results from this program indicate that retention of basic literacy skills dramatically increased. Initially 56% of the families were against the idea of cell phones for their daughters. But by the end, 87% of families were satisfied with the results of the program. This dramatic increase in approval indicates that families can be persuaded to see the benefits of cell phones which can in turn promote literacy.

These two studies indicate that increasing cell phone ownership empowers women through extending greater decision making power and influencing literacy rates. Therefore, trying to increase cell phone ownership and decrease the gender gap in developing nations, through programs like mWomen, is important and should be regarded as essential toward increasing female empowerment. 

References:
GSMA. 2010. Women and Mobile: A Global Opportunity A study on mobile phone gender gap in low and middle-income countries. http://www.mwomen.org/Research/women-mobile-a-global-opportunity_1 (accessed March 23, 2011).

Lee, Dayoung. 2009. The Impact of Mobile Phones on the Status of Women in India. Stanford University. May. http://www.mwomen.org/Research/the-impact-of-mobile-phones-on-the-status-of-women-in-india (accessed March 23, 2011).

mWomen Program: http://www.mwomen.org and http://www.gsmworld.com

Posted by JH on 25 March 2011; Positive Change

The Ugliness of Sexual Harassment in Egypt

Scared to walk the streets at night in America? A 2008 survey showed that 83% of Egyptian women and 98% of foreign women have been sexually harassed in Egypt (Zaffar 2011; Rogers 2011). This astonishingly high number shows a disturbing and prevailing culture within the state, where women are constantly abused day and night—in alleys and in broad streets. Male drivers pretend to run a woman over to ‘flirt’ with her, stopping at the last second. Men approach a strange woman in the street and grope her breast. Sexual harassment is an accepted and common social practice. Fighting back, however, is almost unheard of, and typically shocks the aggressor.  For instance, when a man came up to Mary Rogers, an international reporter for CNN, and touched her breast, she immediately punched and swore at him. Surprisingly her behavior did not incite more violence. Instead, her confident response incited this broken repetition from her attacker: ‘“I’m sorry, I’m sorry”’ (Rogers 2011).

How has this culture of public abuse and disrespect to women evolved to the point where men are shocked to realize that their harassment is unacceptable? Some blame it on the spread of conservative Islam over the past few decades (Rogers 2011). Strict, traditional interpretations of a woman’s role have created an environment where it is dangerous for women to walk in public. Yet, studies show that over two-thirds of the women who reported that they had been sexually harassed wore traditional Muslim headscarves or robes (Drogin 2011). Women in full burkas are seemingly as likely to be harassed as women who wear Western clothes (Drogin 2011). So while Islamic roles for women may be a contributing factor, it does not seem to be the women’s actions or rejection of those fundamental teaching which ‘provoke’ the abuse. Others blame it on Mubarak’s dictatorship and the political unrest that ‘diverts’ attention away from social issues, such as gender equality, to political stability (Rogers 2011). Or the degree of sexual harassment may be a by-product of Egypt’s recent reliance on oil and its wealth, which has fundamentally changed Egyptian culture, and its former views of women. 

Whatever the root cause of high harassment levels on the streets of Egypt may be, the culture of public abuse is threatening the physical security of Egyptian women and foreign women traveling to the country. As Nehad Abul Komsan, the leader of Egyptian Center for Women’s Rights stated, ‘“There is increasing violence against women in our society’” (Drogin 2011). The US State Department agrees with this assessment, warning travelers that women, particularly women unaccompanied by males, are "vulnerable to sexual harassment and verbal abuse,” due to the "…increasing reports over the last several months of foreigners being sexually groped in taxis and in public places" (Drogin 2011). Women face a real and present danger every time they go out in Egypt’s streets.

Yet culture is not immutable. Recent circumstances indicate that women’s security might improve in the upcoming regime. Overall, there were low levels of reported harassment during the recent revolution. Women and men came out in almost equal numbers during the beginning of the protests, working together towards one common goal. Many felt empowered by the recent events. One woman, when verbally harassed by a police officer, got out of her car and slapped him. She said that she would “never have been able to do that before the revolution,” but the revolution gave her the courage to stand up for herself (Davies 2011).  Some who work with women’s rights organizations in Egypt have stated that they believe the formation of a free society will encourage open discussion about gender oppression. A new, democratic regime would therefore reduce the violence against women in the public streets (Davies 2011).

Unfortunately a revolution, as Nehad Abul Komsoan said, “doesn’t end all our problems” (Drogin 2011). She believes the decrease in sexual harassment in Egypt was a temporary respite, at best. She may be right. Instances of violence against women may have been severely underreported during the revolution. There is at least one account of a young woman who was groped violently by several men during a protest. The crowd’s response to her screams was to tell her to be silent, shushing her with the command ‘“[d]on’t tarnish the revolution. Don't make a scene… We are men. We're sorry. Just go now'" (Drogin 2011).
There are other signs that indicate that the revolution will not improve women’s physical securities or rights in Egypt. Despite women’s almost equal participation in the revolution (some say 50% of the protesters were women), no women were picked by the military to sit on the ten-member Constitutional Reform Committed. Few women were selected to participate in other high-ranking cabinets reorganizing the government (Zaffar 2011). Despite women’s attempts to assist in developing the new political system, they have been systematically cut off at every turn.

To change Egypt’s cultural practices, women will have to continue to scream, to protest, to speak up. Otherwise, they will be ordered to be silent, to give up their rights for political stability, just as they were in the previous regime, and just as the young woman was during the protest. Egyptian women have been told to sacrifice their rights repeatedly throughout the last decades—both in the legislature and on the streets. Yet in this revolution it is not only Egyptian women’s liberty at stake, but their physical security and voice as well.

Sources:

Davies, Catriona. 2011. Revolution signals new dawn for Egypt’s women. CNN. February 24. http://articles.cnn.com/2011-02-24/world/egypt.women.optimism.harassment_1_sexual-harassment-lara-logan-egyptian-women?_s=PM:WORLD (accessed March 2, 2011).

Drogin, Bob. 2011. Egypt’s women face growing sexual harassment. Los Angeles Times. February 23. http://articles.latimes.com/2011/feb/23/world/la-fg-egypt-women-abuse-20110223 (accessed February 26, 2011).

Owen, Margaret. 2011. Egypt: From equality of purpose to equality on the ground. openDemocracy. March 1. http://www.opendemocracy.net/5050/margaret-owen/egypt-from-equality-of-purpose-to-equality-on-ground (accessed March 3, 2011).

Rogers, Mary. 2011. Egypt’s harassed women need their own revolution. CNN. February 17. http://www.cnn.com/2011/OPINION/02/16/rogers.egypt.sexual.harrassment/index.html?hpt=T2 (accessed February 23, 2011).

Zaffar, Ehsan. 2011. The revolution isn't over for the women of Tahrir Square. Huffington Post. February 28. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ehsan-zaffar/the-revolution-isnt-over-_b_828651.html (accessed March 1, 2011).

Posted by MLT on 11 March 2011; Thinking About Men

What's a Smart Girl to Do? When Getting the Grade Could Mean Losing the Guy

                   A few days ago, my fellow coders and I had a discussion about why girls play dumb to get the guy, and I’ve been thinking about it ever since.  Let’s face it, the idea that a woman can snag a man by pretending to need his help is widespread in movies and other media and is not an uncommon tactic in real life.  Take the movie Mean Girls as a classic example.  The math-savvy protagonist decides that a good way to break the ice with a guy in her advanced calculus class is to pretend that she doesn’t understand and to solicit his inferior skills for help.  When he comments about her high test scores, she goes so far as to fail her tests on purpose so that he will believe that she really does not get it and consent to tutor her.  To the film’s credit, the couple does not actually get together until she gives up her façade and wins a math tournament for her school; however, the point still remains that her first instinct was to dumb herself down in order to capture the attention of the guy.  Now, step back into real life and you’ll hear similar anecdotes about women successfully using this tactic to meet, get to know, and even get into a relationship with the men they’re interested in.  Before I universally condemn this behavior, let me clarify that I understand that social situations can be awkward and one of the easiest ways to initiate casual conversation is to ask for someone’s help.  After all, is it really so wrong to ask the cute guy sitting next to you for the time (even though you could easily check your cell phone) in the hopes that it might spark a conversation and you could get to know him a little better?  My answer is no.  However, the epidemic of women pretending to be less than their true potential in order to land a man (and I’m talking here about things of much greater consequence than the ability to check the time for yourself) is based on much more sinister cultural and social ideas about the proper relationship between men and women.
                  What I am concerned about is the idea that men do not want to date smart women.  Or to be more precise, men do not want to date women who are smarter than they are.  One of our coders related that she has often assumed that her classmates would not be interested in her because of her intelligence and willingness to contribute to conversations.  My own mother admitted to me that she assumes that I’ll probably get married later than most girls who are otherwise similar to me because it will take me awhile to find a guy who’s okay with the fact that I excel in school.  “A lot of men have really sensitive egos,” she said, “and it might take a while to find a guy with the maturity to realize that your intelligence doesn’t diminish him and is actually an attractive quality.” Fortunately, I have a mother who encourages me to pursue my ambitions, but the fact that she doesn’t view any success I may have as being without social consequences illustrates the point that maybe there’s more than passing humor to the saying that ‘boys don’t make passes at girls who wear glasses.’  In fact, one of our mentors shared a story with us about a professor who gave a girl a lower grade in his class than he gave to her boyfriend because he didn’t want to create any problems in their relationship.  But my question is, why should it?  Men congratulate themselves and glorify other men when they manage to date women who are “out of their league,” so to speak, in terms of physical attractiveness, yet there is an assumption somewhere within our social consciousness that if a woman outshines (or even equals) a man in terms of intelligence their relationship will not work.  Is it a relic from the days when we believed that only men could be legitimate providers for a family?  After all, it does seem a little odd to be the breadwinner for someone who could provide equally well, if not better, for herself. 
                  Regardless of the source of this social assumption, it tends to leave smart women who want a relationship in a sticky situation.  Thus arises the strategy of dumbing oneself down in order to become more appealing.  During our conversation, several of the coders shared stories about how they knew of girls who had pretended to be less than brilliant in order to get a guy, or at least to avoid scaring one away.  And apparently, the problem is just as pervasive in the upper echelons of academia.  Women who attended Harvard for business school reported that they regularly hid the fact that they attended Harvard from the men they were seeing because it was the “kiss of death” with men who were intimidated by successful women.  In fact, mentioning that they went to Harvard was so effective in destroying a potential relationship that they actually nicknamed it “dropping the H-Bomb.”  Additionally, smart women, being smart, have figured out how to harness this power in reverse to repel unwanted interest.  At first I was confused when my roommate delved into a deep analysis of the political ramifications of an obscure piece of artwork with a guy who was clearly not keeping up, until I remembered a comment she had made about how she’ll sometimes use intimidation to drive men away because it gets the job done the fastest.  Whether women acts a little slow to keep a guy around or kicks it into intellectual high gear to drive one away, the fact remains that the idea that the man should be the smarter one in a relationship is clearly accepted enough that these tactics are effective.  And that’s what worries me. 
                  The last time that I checked, relationships weren’t about hierarchy, but about partnership and teamwork.  What we collectively need to be asking ourselves when we consider the friendships and other relationships we enter into is what really matters at the end of the day.  After all, do we really want to be around people who make us feel more comfortable because we think we’re somehow superior?  Or do we want to be around people who make us feel secure because we know we can rely on them to solve tough problems, be a competent partner in the relationship, and even create stimulating conversation when we would otherwise be bored?  Life is a crazy enough ride when both partners in a relationship are up to the task.  So let’s all stop hiding our good qualities and aim to connect ourselves with someone who can share the load equally across all different facets of life.

To read the article mentioning the women from Harvard:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/19/opinion/19dowd.html

Posted by AK on 1 March 2011; Even in America, Thinking About Men

Women's Structural Exclusion from American Politics: The Case of Utah

As Barbara Burrell stated in her book A Woman’s Place Is in the House: Campaigning for Congress in the Feminist Era, “women were first socialized and then stereotyped into gender roles, particularly that there place is in the home, [which] offered few opportunities to exert political influence” (1997, 8). To prove her point, Burrell points out that it took fifty years of campaigning to gain women’s suffrage and then nearly another fifty years for women to vote in equal percentages as men (1997, 4). Research has come to show, especially in advocating policy, the contribution of a woman is quite different than that of a man. Hence, the absence of women from the political arena isn’t just a matter of bias – it leads to different outcomes than would be achieved if gender were balanced. The feminist approach is quick to note, then, that such a condition is not a model, representative government, since there is a significant portion of the population (women) that is entirely underrepresented.

Yet, another portion of the feminist argument for women’s representation in politics is that women are structurally excluded. Burrell remarks that if half the population sees their exclusion as “not random or irrelevant, but rather the consequence of discrimination and larger societal processes,” then the overall structure is undermined (1997, 6). The structural limitation of access to politics is an important part of the puzzle. For example, when women are shut out of politics because they lack the skills, resume, or capital to compete with male candidates because of their gender, they are hurt by the system. The either/or dilemma that arises from having to choose between raising children and pursuing a career, especially in politics, is a structural limitation.

As I have been pondering the idea of structural exclusion, I have been trying to piece together how this fits in to the fact that the Democratic Party has so much more female support, voters, and candidates than the Republican Party. While this trend has long been accepted on the national scale, I find it curious that it holds true in Utah politics where the vast majority of the population is Republican. Not only is Utah known for being Republican, it is also known for having Republican leanings because of religious beliefs. Yet even with this foundation, the Democratic Party still has considerably more female presence in Utah. For example, currently in the Utah State Congress there are 17 females – 12 Democrats and 5 Republicans. On a more local scale, in the last Republican State Convention (2010), 75% of the delegates were male and only 25% were female.

While there are a number of cultural, historical, and religious reasons why this could be- I’d like to suggest that it has to do with the idea of accepting or rejecting the idea of structural exclusion. The Democratic Party has made it part of their platform to advocate for more diversity and acceptance, as well as greater political involvement in evening out the structural barriers. But on the other hand, I would be interested in analyzing the attitudes of Utah Republicans regarding structural inclusion/exclusion. In an article written by Quin Monson and Scott Riding from the Center for the Study of Election and Democracy at BYU, they noted that while “female representativeness in political institutions was still proportionately low…some political scientists ascribed the failure to socialization factors instead of glass ceilings.” Apparently the way a woman is socialized to view herself is, for some, separate from any institutional limitations that manifest themselves in terms of glass ceilings!

This poblematic interpretation, if widely accepted among the Republican Party – whether consciously or not – would be a plausible theory as to why women have a more difficult time entering their political ranks. If the structure remains flawed, but those flaws are overlooked by attributing women's lower participation to childhood socialization for which political parties bear no responsibility, then the Party can feel it is off the hook. There is little a woman can do but play into the either/or dilemma and conform to the system, which contradicts the conservative nature of the traditional Utah Republican in the first place. However, besides the rhetoric, I do not know what the Democratic Party has done to change the structure in a way that would benefit female candidates. If they didn't do much, then maybe my point is off-base. Regardless, I do believe for the Republican Party in Utah to gain more female participants, something structurally will need to be done. Is it possible that a woman’s place could be in the House and in the home?

Posted by RFZ on 25 February 2011; Even in America

Gender Equality Begins in the Home

This last week a good friend of mine, and a graduate student in psychology, sent me a copy of some of the gender research he is investigating. The philosophical nature of such research has led me to ponder: What is gender? What is sex? and Is gender biological or cultural? I think the information my dear friend shared is certainly fascinating and mentionable. So I will share with you some heavy philosophical perspectives on gender in hopes to inspire your own pondering on such critical topics.
            This friend of mine presents the historic debate of Biological Essentialism versus Social Constructivism.
Biological: of or relating to biology or living organisms
Essentialism: the belief that things have a set of characteristics that make them the way they are, and that the task of science and philosophy is their discovery and expression
Social: of or relating to society or its organization; society-created
Constructivism: a style or movement in which assorted mechanical objects are combined into abstract mobile structural forms
Thus…
Biological Essentialism: the belief that characteristics (of a person) are essentially biological in nature.
Social Constructivism: the belief that non-biological characteristics (of a person) are reflections of culturally-created constructs that people identify with.

            Concerning gender and sex, then, Biological Essentialists would claim that gendered characteristics (e.g. women are more kind, men are aggressive) are due to the biological essence of a woman or a man. Literally, gender norms are directly connected to the biological woman or man. Social Constructivists, on the other hand, would argue, although there are obvious biological distinctions between women and men, gender characteristics are a construct of society—malleable and independent from the being.
            It seems necessary to explore the difference between gender and sex. The contemporary trend of social scientists is to make the Social Constructivist assumption that sex is biological while gender is socially constructed. Such beliefs do avoid many dangers that Biological Essentialism presents in regards to gender; namely: attributing gender-specific characteristics (which vary across culture, time, and between-persons) can lead to sexist beliefs, abandonment of responsibility for such beliefs, and unhealthy expectations of others based on their gender. While it seems obvious the dangers of assuming Biological Essentialism, are there any potential dangers in assuming that gender is wholly a creation of one's environment, infinitely changeable and temporary? Here a deeper investigation of Social Constructivism is warranted.
            The assumption that gender traits are due solely to environment presents three issues with Social Constructivism: first, gender is infinite in flexibility, yet individual gender is denied; second, such flexibility eventually leads to gender neutrality as the ideal; and third, gender neutrality usually is masked by masculinity. When I say Social Constructivists see gender as flexible, this means that they view gender traits as characteristics or expectations that change over time and space. This, I believe, is an appropriate assumption, however, they also assume that individuals can never truly have a gender, as gender is merely an idea presented by an individuals' culture with no biological or psychological basis. In some cases I think this assumption holds true. Surely, women are not more biologically or psychologically fit to iron, vacuum, or cook. However, denial of individuals' gender has led to the Social Constructivists belief that there is nothing gender-specific about women and men—we are all just people. If theory were to stop here, I think we would find ourselves in a very gender-equal place. If we disassociate gendered-traits from the people who display them and believe that all men and women have the same psychological framework, I could still be comfortable with where this theory stands. But, as Agacinski (2001) illustrates, in our world gender neutrality equals masculinity as the norm. She states: “[T]he freedom extolled by the philosopher is paid for by an absurd denial of nature, of maternity, and of the feminine body in general.”(Agacinski, 2001, p. 42). Therefore, the freedom from gender leads to the abandonment of femininity while dually placing masculine traits on the pedestal of gender neutrality and equality. Agacinski continues:

The erasure of one sex never gives way to neutrality, but to the other sex. We only forget this because we have already situated the masculine and its models in the place of the universal…any conception or figuration of the human calls for a masculine or feminine determination… we cannot represent a human being, even schematically, without including the traits that make him or her a man or a woman. There is no asexual human archetype but only two fundamental types [with which] variable characteristics are associated. When we claim not to recognize division, we have already opted for one of the two models, and, traditionally, chosen the masculine. [This] has not overcome traditional androcentrism… it is the modern form of androcentrism” (Agacinski, 2001, pp. 65-66; italics added).

Such powerful words illustrate what has traditionally been the case: universality is usually gendered male; and while the Social Constructivists' hope is that some day gender-specific assumptions will dissolve, Agacinski hints at a more meaningful and realistic approach to gender. Specifically, she connects the female body to the gendered nature of maternity. Following this lead, I think recognizing the maternal and paternal nature of women and men is the beginning of appreciating the gender differences between men and women. In so doing, we must also encourage individual differences in personality expression that are not tied to gender stereotypes.
            It is my proposal that we view gender as more family oriented. If within our family we see mothers and fathers caring more about each other, less about themselves, and more about what goes on within the walls of their homes then on the television or at the office, gender will find its equilibrium. In this family, men and women will not find themselves gendering tasks, such as child-care and authority, but together will join in the strengthening of their family. Gender will be significant in that each partner will recognize the essential nature of the other—they need each other, as a woman and man, not just as a male and a female. As Agacinski stated, women and men are the "two fundamental types"… both different, but both essential. Here, in the home, is where the example of gender-equality must begin, as our society is merely a reflection of its families.

Posted by ALA on 16 February 2011; Positive Change

Being the Square Peg You Want to See in the World

A few Fridays ago I spent the day with four married men. Strange, you may say? Let me explain. I am currently participating in an internship program in Washington, DC. Through this program, the University provides housing and classes for the students. Besides an older woman who lives outside of the provided housing, I am the only married woman doing an internship. The program consists of about forty single students and eight married couples. As might be expected, the single students do not mingle with us married students very much. On days that we have classes or excursions, this translates into me tagging along with the other married students.

I have found myself in a tough spot. I don’t fit in with the single students because I am married. I don’t fit in with the married students because all of the interns are husbands. The office in which I am interning has about thirty interns and I am the only one who is married. For the first few weeks I felt like a square peg: I didn’t fit in. I also felt bad for my husband, who was having the same problems as the only husband on the program without an internship.

For a while I was quite frustrated. I even threw myself a pity party one day. I didn’t like being treated like I shouldn’t be doing an internship as a married woman. I didn’t like feeling out of place or like I was being looked down on as less intelligent, less capable, or less ambitious. While my surrounds haven’t changed, something more important has: my attitude. A wise woman once told me that sometimes you just have to feign obliviousness. Now, when people act as though I don’t belong, I pretend not to notice. I have decided not to let other people’s stereotypes control my life. Yes, I am doing an internship. Yes, I am smart and ambitious. And most importantly, yes, I am happily married and still pursuing my dreams.

This new-found attitude has definitely come in handy. In my last blog I wrote about the opposition I was facing for not changing my name. I am pleased to report that I have only had one run-in with the name issue since getting here. After discovering I kept my name, I was accused of being “one of those.” While I’m not quite sure what “those” are, I cheerily replied, “Looks like it!” Not only have I decided that there is nothing wrong with keeping my name, but I’ve decided not to notice when it bothers others.

I also must admit that in the short time I’ve been here, I’ve already been charged with being a feminist. While sitting at a table with fellow married students, a new acquaintance came by to meet us. She went around the table asking all of the husbands where they were interning at. When she got around to us I informed her that I was the one doing the internship. While she was surprised, she also seemed pleased; though she did use the word feminist with a little distaste. Since then I have talked with her about things ranging from natural births to how I plan on balancing a family and a career.

Being a WomanStats coder has prepared me for these moments and equipped me to stand up for what I believe. Sometimes it is hard to go against the grain, but it is always worth it. So maybe I am a square peg in today’s world. But maybe it isn’t such a bad thing . . . and if anyone tries to tell me otherwise, well, I’ll just feign obliviousness.

Posted by KTA on 8 February 2011; Coping Strategies; Even in America

WomanStats: What We're Doing and Where We're Going

For the first blog of the year, I thought it would be apropos to do a brief overview of what we’ve done so far and what our near and long-term goals are. We’ve come a long way.

• WomanStats now possesses more data than the six next largest gender-issue databases combined, including those run by the UN and the World Bank.

• We’ve published articles in International Security, International Studies Quarterly, Peace and Conflict, Journal of Peace Research, Political Psychology, Cumberland Law Review, World Political Review and had a Foreign Policy article written using our research. We have a forthcoming book—Sex and World Peace: Roots and Wings of National and International Relations—to be published soon from Columbia University Press. We’ve also presented at the Association for Politics and Life Sciences, the Brookings Institute, and the International Studies Association Conference (which had a full panel on our database), and have written several encyclopedia entries.

• Our data has now been requested by the UN, the Defense Department, the Central Intelligence Agency, and the World Bank. More specifically, our data and research were also used by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in crafting the International Violence Against Women’s Act. 

Specifically, in the year 2010 our website became more user friendly (now with live bibliographic links and the ability to add new variables on the view screen), we developed several new scales (including murder, suicide, government participation, rape, educational discrepancy, and property rights), added several new variables (including patrilocalit, prevalence of consanguineous marriage, and the average age of the onset of menarche), added Matt Stearmer and Andrea Den Boer to the WomanStats Board, and got an office! Dr. McDermott rejoined the board, and recently gave expert testimony on polygyny laws in Canada.

On the grant-front, we were awarded the Emmeline B. Wells scholarship from BYU, and are currently re-hauling our fundraising package, during the process of which we received some very helpful references for our fundraising letters. For example, Rachel Mayanja, the UN Assistant Secretary-General for Gender Issues, wrote:

We cannot tell what helps or hurts women without information on the changing situation of women over time. Both basic research and applied policymaking are hampered to the extent that information and indices are lacking. The WomanStats Project helps fill this gap. Their research agenda to investigate the linkage between the security of women and the security of the nation-state will be crucial input to debates at the United Nations and other fora that may lead to improved decision-making in the 12 critical areas of the Beijing Platform for Action.

Swanee Hunt, the founding director of Harvard’s Women and Public Policy Program wrote that “the WomanStats Database is an indispensable aid to researchers, policymakers, and advocates involved in women’s security.” Diane Kelly, the Consul-General for France and former Senior Policy Advisor to the Department of State’s Office of Global Women’s Issues, wrote “I think that anyone who takes a look at WomenStats is well worth the investment.  I have used statistics from your site in some of my own remarks, more importantly, when scholars and women’s groups write asking me for statistical information on trends in women’s issues, I refer them to your website.”

However, we still have much to do. Specifically, below is an excerpt from one of our funding requests, I think it does a good job of showing the big picture:

While the WomanStats Database is, hands down, the largest compilation of information regarding the status of women in the world today, we have not filled the 301 variables x 174 countries matrix completely.  Most of the countries have 60-70% coverage of the over 300 variables, but several have rates of less than 60%, including East Timor, Angola, Cote d’Ivoire, Guinea Bissau, Kosovo, Libya, Suriname, and several others.  Furthermore, while many of our variables have coverage for 100% of 174 countries, other variables are incomplete, especially those concerning mental health, government and subnational group exploitation of women, societal rites of passage for girls, representation of women in municipal governments, and custody of children after divorce, among others.

In addition, we strive to create innovative scales of the data we have compiled, not only for the purposes of our own research, but also for the use of the users of our database.  These scaling efforts are quite intensive, requiring a thorough survey of the data already collected, searching for additional required information, and integrating these qualitative assessments into cross-nationally comparable ordinal scales.  Our scales have been in great demand by scholars for whom the effort required would otherwise be overwhelming.  In addition to our existing scales, many of which are the first of their kind in the literature, we have several new scales we wish to develop, such as degree of access to health care for women, a rape and sexual assault scale, and a dependence on customary law scale, among others.  Whenever we perform a scaling, we also provide our users with GIS mappings thereof; see http://womanstats.org/mapEntrez.htm.

We also intend to greatly enhance our website functionality.  We have a very talented programmer, but we are hampered in our ability to “set him loose” due to a paucity of funding.  Our programmer has made several suggestions for improvements to the user interface that we would like to implement over the next two years.  These would include RSS feeds off every variable, every country, and every variable/country combination.  A user could then sign up for the feeds of their choosing, and whenever new data was uploaded to the database, they would be notified.  We would also like to instantiate a user-controlled mapping function that would create maps to the specifications of a particular scholar’s research project.  We would also like to instantiate “mouse-overs” for easier variable identification.  Last, we wish to move from a PHP to a Python environment, which will allow for easier downloads by our users, as well as the ability to create a web crawler to identify new information on the web as it becomes available.     

A lot of us on the WomanStats team will be moving on in the next couple of months; we’ll see how much of this we can get done before a new team of coders takes over!.

Posted by SC on 1 February 2011; WomanStats

 

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