Search

Begin New Search Topic Equality Publication Year within 25 Years

71. National Policy Change in Honduras: Supporting Networking and Coalition-building

Author:
Juan-Carlos Arita, Sarah Barakat, and Maritza Gallardo
Publication Date:
07-2017
Content Type:
Case Study
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
IGUALES builds on Oxfam’s work on women’s rights in Honduras since 2008. It adopts a holistic approach to gender justice and women’s rights and integrates women´s economic empowerment, prevention of violence against women and women’s active citizenship. The programme aims to strengthen women’s agency and transformational leadership – primarily in rural areas, although there is also a pilot in urban areas – to improve their access to, and control over, productive assets, income and their own time, and to reduce the violence perpetrated against them and the levels of impunity in these cases. This document focuses on how the programme supported networking and coalition building to achieve national policy change.
Topic:
Women, Citizenship, Feminism, Equality, and Empowerment
Political Geography:
Central America, North America, and Honduras

72. Equality as a Global Goal

Author:
Edward Anderson
Publication Date:
06-2016
Content Type:
Journal Article
Abstract:
The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were established following the UN Millennium Declaration, which was approved by the UN General Assembly in September 2000. Described by some as the “world's biggest promise," they set out a series of time-bound targets to be achieved by the international community by 2015, including a halving of extreme poverty, a two-third reduction in child mortality, a three-quarter reduction in maternal mortality, and universal primary education. The MDGs were, however, often criticized for having a "blind spot" with regard to inequality and social injustice. Worse, they may even have contributed to entrenched inequalities through perverse incentives. As some have argued, in order to achieve progress toward the MDG targets at the national level, governments focused their attention on the "easy to reach" populations and ignored more marginalized, vulnerable groups. The aim of this essay is to examine the extent to which this widespread criticism has been successfully addressed in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), approved by the UN General Assembly in September 2015.
Topic:
United Nations, Millennium Development Goals, Sustainable Development Goals, and Equality
Political Geography:
Global Focus

73. How and Why Government, Universities, and Industry Create Domestic Labor Shortages of Scientists and High-Tech Workers

Author:
William Lazonick, Philip Moss, and Joshua Weitz
Publication Date:
12-2016
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Institute for New Economic Thinking (INET)
Abstract:
On June 2, 1965, under a mandate established by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the U.S. Congress created the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to enforce federal anti-discrimination laws related to employment. The expectation was that African Americans would be prime beneficiaries of the EEOC. There was no assumption that the EEOC, on its own, could reverse deep-rooted employment discrimination against blacks. But in the late 1960s there was optimism that, in combination with equal educational opportunity and the strong demand for unionized workers in the well-paid manufacturing jobs that marked the post-World War II decades, the EEOC could help to ensure that an ever-increasing number of blacks would ascend to the American middle class. African Americans as a group are better educated than they were in the 1960s, and, as discriminatory norms and practices have lessened, large numbers of college-educated blacks have experienced upward employment mobility into professional, technical, and administrative occupations. But the promise of a large-scale ascendancy of blacks to middle-class status, characterized by secure and well-paid employment, has not been fulfilled. Our basic thesis is that, in combination with the institutions of racism which remain widespread in American society, the erosion of secure and well-paid employment opportunities is a major reason for the persistence since the 1980s of African Americans as disproportionately disadvantaged. Our contribution to the larger debate on the economics of race is to focus on the role of corporate resource allocation as the prime determinant of the quantity and quality of employment opportunities in the economy. The decline of middle-class employment opportunities has adversely affected the majority of the U.S. labor force of all races, ethnicities, and genders. African Americans, however, have been more vulnerable than other demographic groups to this decline. U.S. institutions of corporate governance vest power over major resource-allocation decisions in the hands of senior executives, supported by their hand-picked corporate boards. Given the enormous size of the major business corporations and their centrality to economic activity, the resource-allocation decisions made by senior executives of major U.S. corporations profoundly influence the operation and performance of the economy as a whole—including the availability, or not, of secure and well-paid employment opportunities. The failure to include an analysis of corporate resource allocation and how it has changed over the past half century in the policy debate on income inequality is what we call the “equal employment opportunity omission.”
Topic:
Race, Employment, Inequality, Civil Rights, Legislation, and Equality
Political Geography:
North America and United States of America

74. Morocco’s Dilemma: Rights and Reform or Closure and Conservatism?

Publication Date:
03-2015
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
International Civil Society Action Network (ICAN)
Abstract:
Morocco embodies numerous contradictions and challenges for the national and international human rights community. Since the Moroccan Spring in 2011, women’s rights and civil society activists have been key indicators of the well-being of the State and of society. This brief outlines the current political tensions in Morocco and priority issues among women in civil society. It offers a brief overview of progress on Moroccan women’s rights and points to promising new initiatives by civil society to sustain progress towards greater equality and reform.
Topic:
Civil Society, Gender Issues, Human Rights, Women, Equality, WPS, and Civil Society Organizations
Political Geography:
Morocco

75. Gender equality in Burundi: Why does support not extend to women's right to inherit land?

Author:
Alain Ndikumana
Publication Date:
07-2015
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Afrobarometer
Abstract:
With 27,834 km² of surface area and a population of 10.5 million, Burundi’s population density is seven times that of Tanzania and second only to Rwanda’s on the African mainland (World Bank, 2014). Its population grows at an annual rate of 2.4%, and more than 90% of the population lives primarily on agriculture. These factors make land a vital and scarce resource in Burundi, leading to frequent conflicts and particular complications in questions of inheritance (Kazoviyo & Gahungu, 2011). The situation is even more problematic for women and girls, who traditionally inherit nothing from their fathers. In Burundi, women’s right to inherit land faces the triple barriers of demography, tradition, and the law. Promoting gender equality and especially women’s right to inherit land is a major focus of women’s-rights activists. Although Burundi has signed and incorporated in its constitution most international instruments promoting gender equality, women’s succession rights do not yet have full legal protection. Since 2004, government legislation on women’s inheritance laws awaits consideration by the National Assembly. “But problems related to the scarcity of land and overpopulation seem to veil the face of leaders who end up believing that a law on female succession would be a problem rather than a solution” (Kazoviyo & Gahungu, 2011, p. 1). Even if the proposed law is passed, evidence suggests that gender inequality in access to and control over land will remain a problem. Burundi’s legislation is based on international agreements and laws enacted by the government. However, there are shortcomings in the regulation of natural resources and the management of land because Burundi has no national land code. In the absence of national texts, local customary rules based on a patriarchal system govern family land and women‘s access to and inheritance of land. This system recognizes women as usufructuaries (i.e. entitled to use land that belongs to another) but not as heirs. Such social norms are so entrenched among the local population that most women in rural communities view ownership of material assets, such as land, as being exclusive to men (Carpano, 2011). Without a concerted education effort and diligent implementation of new land laws, many women may not know their legal rights, implementation may be gender-biased, and law enforcement may be grossly inadequate or prejudiced against women. In Kenya, for example, laws allow women to own land, yet nearly all land is registered in the names of male elders (Odeny, 2013). A project in Rwanda, implemented by the Rwanda Initiative for Sustainable Development, showed the effectiveness of awareness-raising activities at public and government levels regarding land rights and land registration. Rwanda’s Organic Land Law, which governs land management and administration, states that “women, married or not, should not be excluded from the process of land access, land acquisition and land control, and female descendants should not be excluded from the process of family land inheritance” (Republic of Rwanda, 2004). Both men and women were informed about their rights under the law and about the benefits of registration in terms of security of rights and livelihoods (Carpano, 2011). The National Land Centre estimates that between 2008 and June 2010, 1 million out of 8 million parcels of land in the country had been registered. Afrobarometer’s first survey in Burundi, in 2012, provides insights regarding public attitudes toward gender equality. Findings show that majorities of Burundians support women’s rights in general but reject land inheritance by women. This paper examines factors that might contribute to these apparently contradictory views and offers recommendations on how to promote dialogue, sensitization, partnerships, and capacity development in support of women’s land rights in Burundi.
Topic:
Gender Issues, Feminism, Land, Property, and Equality
Political Geography:
Africa and Burundi

76. A Tripartite Analysis of Sustainable Development: Environmental, Social, and Political Forms of Sustainability

Author:
Erik Martinez Kuhonta, Amy R. Poteete, and David Rothwell
Publication Date:
01-2013
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Institute for the Study of International Development, McGill University (ISID)
Abstract:
This policy paper examines the question of sustainable development from three distinct angles: environmental, social, and political. Its ambit is broad in order to provide a wide-angle lens on the question of sustainability. The three forms of sustainability are linked through three common themes. These include: the importance of equality, the necessity of institutionalization, and the relationship between states and markets. All three forms of sustainability stress equality as a crucial outcome, pinpoint the need for institutionalization as a structure through which policies can become more effective, and address the relationship between states and markets in engaging with sustainable development.
Topic:
Environment, Politics, Sustainable Development Goals, and Equality
Political Geography:
Global Focus

77. The Race Equality Directive: A Shadow Report

Author:
Eefje de Kroon
Publication Date:
07-2013
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Open Society Foundations
Abstract:
The Race Equality Directive: A Shadow Report collects lessons learned from the implementation of the Race Equality Directive in nine European Union member states. The Race Equality Directive is a piece of legislation adopted in 2000 by the Council of Ministers of the European Union implementing the principle of equality for all irrespective of racial or ethnic origin. The directive comes under review at the end of 2013, 10 years after its entry into force. The report includes data on Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, and Spain. Annex I contains summaries of developments in each of these member states. The report identifies trends in the challenges facing the countries examined, examples of successful or problematic implementation, and includes recommendations for improving effective implementation. Challenges to the implementation of the Race Equality Directive include: lack of disaggregated data needed to implement parts of this legislation and evaluate its effectiveness; unclear identification of proxy categories that can be used to detect discrimination on the ground of racial and ethnic origin; problems that impede effective access to and use of judicial (individual or collective) redress against discrimination; hindrances to alternative forms of individual (or collective) redress, through the equality bodies. Analysis is based on two sources of data: country reports by specialized international monitoring bodies (excerpts of these are contained in Annex II) and data generated through a short questionnaire (in Annex III) completed by independent experts and subject matter experts within the Open Society Foundations.
Topic:
Race, Law, Ethnicity, Discrimination, and Equality
Political Geography:
Greece, France, Germany, Bulgaria, Hungary, Spain, Italy, Netherlands, and Czech Republic

78. Le salaire dépend-il du sexe du supérieur ?

Author:
Olivier Godechot
Publication Date:
12-2013
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Max Planck Sciences Po Center on Coping with Instability in Market Societies (MaxPo)
Abstract:
Do female supervisors promote greater wage equality between men and women? Although female supervisors might want to promote greater equality, might they also lack power, not only to implement this policy, but also to improve the wages of both male and female subordinates? Based on the SalSa and COI surveys, we show that female supervisors do seem to reduce the wage gap between men and women. However, the subordinates of female supervisors also receive lower wages. This phenomenon could be related to selection bias : women become supervisors more easily in sectors, jobs, and departments that are less valued and where wages are lower. Even when adding controls for measurable selection effects, employees with a female supervisor earn 2.5% to 4% less than those with a male supervisor. Although the phenomenon still needs additional confirmation, the wage gap between women and men does seem wider when employees are men (–5% to –10%) than when they are women (0% to –3%). When the supervisor is a woman, the gender gap significantly reduces: from 30% to 85%. Interpreting this phenomenon is still in its infancy. We put forward four lines of interpretation: the unobserved differences between male and female managerial positions; the effect of individual characteristics correlated with the supervisor’s gender; differences between male and female dispositions to negotiation and competition; and, finally, discriminatory corporate behavior towards female demands.
Topic:
Women, Discrimination, Equality, Workforce, and Gender
Political Geography:
Global Focus

79. Tools for Change: Applying United Nations standards to secure women’s housing, land, and property rights in the context of HIV

Publication Date:
10-2012
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Open Society Foundations
Abstract:
Developed by the United Nations Development Programme and Open Society Foundations, Tools for Change is an easy-to-use resource for advocates working on women’s housing, land, and property rights in the context of HIV. It brings together relevant international human rights documents and highlights core concepts, rights, and means of enforcement, providing examples of successful advocacy from around the world. Moreover, it draws on the voices of women worldwide to explain these rights and their uses in practical terms. This manual was originally conceived during a strategic meeting on property and inheritance rights as they relate to HIV, held during the 2009 United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, where organizations gathered from around the world. It emerged from the realization that through hard work, advocates have managed to get a number of UN instruments to include protection for women’s housing, land, and property rights, and member states have pledged to abide by them. However, many advocates at the national level do not even know of these international instruments, even though they might be helpful in their work, particularly as governments may not be meeting their international human rights obligations. Advocates need a better understanding of international human rights and government obligations in order to ensure government accountability and advance women’s housing, land, and property rights. This manual seeks to empower advocates working in the context of HIV by making the relevant United Nations standards and interpretations clear and accessible—to make them "tools for change."
Topic:
HIV/AIDS, United Nations, Women, Land, Housing, and Equality
Political Geography:
Global Focus

80. Parity—Expanding Equitable Insurance Coverage for Addiction and Mental Health Treatment

Publication Date:
06-2010
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Open Society Foundations
Abstract:
On January 1, 2010, the Wellstone-Domenici Parity Act went into effect, expanding access to mental health and addiction treatment coverage in many employer-sponsored group health plans. The new federal law applies to group health plans covering 50 or more employees that provide any level of coverage for treatment of mental health and substance use disorders. Those plans are now required to cover mental health and substance use disorders benefits at “parity,” or in the same way as they cover other medical and surgical services. Simply put, “parity” is the treatment of addiction and mental illness in insurance benefits in the same way as other medical conditions. When the law is fully implemented, it is estimated that 140 million Americans could have improved access to addiction and mental health treatment services should they need it.
Topic:
Health, Health Care Policy, Mental Health, Drugs, and Equality
Political Geography:
United States