Women’s empowerment and food consumption:Evidence from female-headed households in Tanzania

Despite the growing recognition of women’s increasing role in the household and corresponding empowerment programs in sub-Saharan Africa,intensive research on the relationship between women’s influence and household food consumption is minimal.Using the most recent(2017-2018)national household survey data from Tanzania,this study examined the influence of women’s empowerment on household food consumption.First,we compared the monthly consumption of eight food categories between female-headed households(FHHs)and male-headed households(MHHs)using both descriptive statistics and the propensity score matching(PSM)method.Furthermore,we adopted the two-stage Linear Expenditure System and Almost Ideal Demand System model(LES-AIDS)to estimate income and price elasticities for the two household types.The results show that FHHs consume bread and cereals,fish,oils and fats,vegetables,and confectionery(sugar,jam,honey,chocolate,etc.)more than MHHs.Moreover,FHHs have a significantly higher income elasticity of demand for all food groups than MHHs.They are also more price elastic than MHHs in meat,fish,oils,fats,sugar,jam,honey,chocolate,etc.

Are gender inclusiveness and rural transformation interlinked?The case of Bangladesh

Gender inclusiveness is important in the rural transformation process of Bangladesh as rural women play key roles in both agricultural and non-agricultural sectors.Gender inclusiveness also leads to gender equity.We empirically evaluate relationships between rural transformation and gender inclusiveness in Bangladesh.We consider three rural transformation indicators:high-value commodities’share in agricultural output values,non-farm employment’s share in rural labor employment,and non-agricultural GDP’s share in total GDP.Indicators capturing gender inclusiveness include the per capita rural income of males and females,ratio of investments into gender programs,female access to education,access to healthcare,employment participation,land ownership,and asset ownership.We test the effect of the difference in per capita rural income of males and females and the ratio of their incomes and check for the robustness of the gender variables across different model specifications.Analyzing 128 district-level observations from 32 districts of Bangladesh across four time periods(2000,2005,2010 and 2016),we use both ordinary least squares and fixed effects panel regression models.We find that female land and asset ownership and access to education and healthcare are robust determinants of various stages of rural transformation.Thus,our results suggest that improving women’s ownership of land and assets and investing in women’s education and healthcare will likely contribute to a more inclusive rural transformation.

Closing the Gap: Boosting Women’s Representation in Cybersecurity Leadership

The research consistently highlights the gender disparity in cybersecurity leadership roles, necessitating targeted interventions. Biased recruitment practices, limited STEM education opportunities for girls, and workplace culture contribute to this gap. Proposed solutions include addressing biased recruitment through gender-neutral language and blind processes, promoting STEM education for girls to increase qualified female candidates, and fostering inclusive workplace cultures with mentorship and sponsorship programs. Gender parity is crucial for the industry’s success, as embracing diversity enables the cybersecurity sector to leverage various perspectives, drive innovation, and effectively combat cyber threats. Achieving this balance is not just about fairness but also a strategic imperative. By embracing concerted efforts towards gender parity, we can create a more resilient and impactful cybersecurity landscape, benefiting industry and society.

A Historical Review of the Development of Women’s Higher Education in China (1908-2020): Stages, Explanations, and Trends

The development of women’s higher education in China can be divided into four stages:emergence(1908-1948);foundation(1949-1976);accelerating development(1977-2008);and the qualitative leap(2009-2020).This work considers the principal institutional mechanisms that contributed to this development.First,flexibly planned parenthood gradually promoted gender equality and openness in society facilitated by systematic“awards,grants,and loans”initiatives to support women’s higher education economically.Second,compulsory education ensured that left-out and migrant children had access to higher education.Third,effective connectivity across different education types bridged education gaps between those with different levels of education.Fourth,China made great efforts to invite and integrate international experiences that promoted the development of women’s higher education.Looking beyond these achievements,we also discuss the future trends of women’s higher education in China.

Structural Gender Inequality and Mental Health among Chinese Men and Women

Little is known about the association between structural gender inequality and health in patriarchal China.This study employed a sample from the Chinese Women’s Social Status,consisting of 26,139 participants aged 18 and 70 years(13,494 women and 12,645 men).Structural gender inequality was assessed at the macro-,meso-,and micro-levels.Mental health was measured by the summed scores of eight questions on depressive symptoms.Multilevel linear regression was applied for analysis.Results showed that total sex ratio at birth was associated with poorer mental health among women and men but sex ratio at birth of the second-born child predicted better mental health.Gender inequality at meso-level resulted in poorer mental health and gender inequality at micro-level was associated with poorer mental health both for men and women.Eliminating structural gender inequality promotes populations’mental health in China.

The Rise of China’s Women’s Basketball Team:An Exploration of Gender Equality in Professional Basketball

This article explores the rise of the Chinese women’s basketball team in professional basketball and its relationship to gender equality issues.In view of the gender differences in salary,market value,social status,and other aspects,the article proposes a series of strategies to promote the realization of gender equality for female basketball players in professional basketball.This article points out that the rise of the Chinese women’s basketball team will lead the process of gender equality and lay the foundation for a more equitable and inclusive future.To achieve this goal,this article highlights the importance of improving the competitive level of female athletes,improving basic education,promoting basketball culture,and promoting gender equality.

Gender and rural transformation:A systematic literature review

Rural transformation can improve poverty reduction,living standards,and health outcomes in developing countries.However,impacts associated with rural transformation vary by region,household,and individual trait(including gender).While research on rural transformation has been increasing over the last decade,there has been no comprehensive review conducted on the relationships between gender and rural transformation.Here,we conduct a systematic literature review to investigate the impacts of rural transformation on gender and the influence of gender inclusiveness on rural transformation.We reviewed 82 studies from 1960-2021 that explore the relationships between rural transformation and gender.We then developed a framework that captures incidences and flow directions between indicators.Results show that most studies examined the impacts of rural transformation on women and between gender indicators.Few investigated the role of women and the influence of gender inclusiveness on rural transformation.Overall,studies showed that rural transformation typically leads to positive outcomes for women regarding employment,income,and empowerment.However,negative impacts on women’s control over income,stability of new income sources,and access to healthy food are also common.Tailoring future development policies and programs to explicitly account for gender inclusiveness can lead to more successful rural transformation.

Women Entrepreneurship Index Prediction Model with Automated Statistical Analysis

Recently,gender equality and women’s entrepreneurship have gained considerable attention in global economic development.Prior to the design of any policy interventions to increase women’s entrepreneurship,it is significant to comprehend the factors motivating women to become entrepreneurs.The non-understanding of the factors can result in the endurance of low living stan-dards and the design of expensive and ineffectual policies.But female involve-ment in entrepreneurship becomes higher in developing economies compared to developed economies.Women Entrepreneurship Index(WEI)plays a vital role in determining the factors that enable theflourishment of high potential female entrepreneurs which enhances economic welfare and contributes to the economic and social fabric of society.Therefore,it is needed to design an automated and accurate WEI prediction model to improve women’s entrepreneurship.In this view,this article develops an automated statistical analysis enabled WEI predic-tive(ASA-WEIP)model.The proposed ASA-WEIP technique aims to effectually determine the WEI.The proposed ASA-WEIP technique encompasses a series of sub-processes such as pre-processing,WEI prediction,and parameter optimiza-tion.For the prediction of WEI,the ASA-WEIP technique makes use of the Deep Belief Network(DBN)model,and the parameter optimization process takes place using Squirrel Search Algorithm(SSA).The performance validation of the ASA-WEIP technique was executed using the benchmark dataset from the Kaggle repo-sitory.The experimental outcomes stated the better outcomes of the ASA-WEIP technique over the other existing techniques.

Identifying the Cultural Shifts and Societal Changes That Facilitated the Rise in Box Office Performance of Chinese Women’s Cinema in the 21st Century

With the gradual improvement of Chinese women’s status in the 21st century,gender studies and gender relations have become one of the hottest topics in Chinese society,which consequently prompted Chinese Women’s Cinema to attract the attention of larger audiences.With regard to the box office performance of Chinese Women’s Cinema,there seems to be a gap in research in finding an association between women’s status and the relevant films’box office performance.The purpose of this research is to outline the underlying reasons for the changes in gender roles and gender representation in the Chinese film industry over the past few decades in order to better understand this expansive social change in the 21st century.This study provides a comprehensive analysis through the use of questionnaires to better understand society’s attitude towards gender representation within the film industry.The questionnaire findings indicate that there is a direct correlation between people’s awareness of women’s changing status and gender equality and their acceptance of materials produced by Chinese Women’s Cinema.At the some time,it highlights that the Chinese government’s support and initiatives for gender equality have had a significant impact on the general popularity of Chinese Women’s Cinema.The significance of this research is to effectively popularize Chinese Women’s Cinema culture and the box office growth by understanding the social attitude towards gender representation in the Chinese film industry and to provide relevant information about the development direction and trend of Chinese Women’s Cinema.Furthermore,this research aims to provide foundational support for gender equality and help to understand the underlying factors that society needs to promote gender equality.

Do Chinese Women Face Subtle Discrimination in Job Hiring?

Gender discrimination has long been the problem that exists in the entire world,including China.However,as more and more people are focusing on the general gender discrimination,the group recognized an extension of such discrimination-pregnancy discrimination in job hiring(the discrimination that women who are pregnant or have the inclination to pregnancy receive in hiring).The possible subtle pregnancy discrimination may be one of the main causes that lead to the declining fertility rate in China.The group decided to conduct an experiment to determine whether women are receiving more subtle discrimination in job hiring due to their identity as mother than men with children,men without children,and women without children.Using the form of questionary and resumes,the team found that Chinese women are indeed enduring subtle discrimination in work hiring.The experiment highlights the importance to promote further equality among women.However,there are some confounding variables,like the level of patient of the HR who reads the resume,affecting the ultimate result of the study.Keywords:gender discrimination,women’s career,Chinese job market,pregnancy discrimination,fertility rate in China.

The Myth of Women’s Fates Under Patriarchal Crisis Control:A Case Study on Heroine’s Characterization in Mid-COVID 19 Chinese TV Series

2018 witnessed some unprecedently strict regulations on national media content production and distribution by the Chinese National Radio and Television Administration(NRTA).On its annual recommended lists of excellent national TV series,there is a noticeable increase in historical series in line with core socialist values.Since late 2019,there has been a strict home-quarantine policy amid the COVID-19 pandemic.Accompanied by the newly introduced three-child birth policy in the context of the country’s low fertility rate and significant ageing,a re-emphasis on traditional Confucian ideologies incented by the Chinese authorities emerged:the primary identity of women being an understanding wife and loving mother.Furthermore,thus,a manifestation of such enforced patriarchal ideologies and cultural values is visible in the country’s strictly regulated media content.This study sets off from a corpus of national recommended TV lists to investigate the myth of women’s fates in amid-pandemic Chinese TV series that are appraised and supported by authorities to explore how their identities are constructed and potentially abused under patriarchal media production.

Influence of cultural factors on choice of childbirth place among women in Oyigbo Local Government Area,Rivers State,Nigeria

Objectives:This study aims to ascertain if cultural factors influence the childbirth place choice of women in Oyigbo.Materials and Methods:The study used a cross‑sectional study design using a self‑structured questionnaire as the instrument to collect data from 384 volunteers through simple random sampling,and these data were analyzed using frequency and percentage for descriptive statistics while Chi‑square was used for inferential statistics at 0.05 level of significance.Results:The influence of cultural factors such as family traditions(χ^(2)=12.56,P=0.006),beliefs(χ^(2)=70.66,P=0.000),lack of confidence in health facilities(χ^(2)=367.83,P=0.000),and the presence of male skilled birth attendants(χ^(2)=50.85,P=0.000)were statistically significant to the choice of childbirth place,while patriarchal system(χ^(2)=2.99,P=0.393)was not statistically significant to the choices of childbirth places of women in Oyigbo.Religion had a statistically significant influence on childbirth place(χ^(2)=125.46,P=0.000).Conclusion:This study shows that religious and cultural factors have a significant influence on the childbirth place choices of women in Oyigbo Local Government Area of Rivers State.

The Dilemma of Women’s Voices in the Post-Epidemic Era:Misconceptions of Feminism on Digital Media Platforms-The Example of Sina Weibo

Weibo,one of China’s largest digital media platforms,has become a major platform for women’s voices to fight for equality.However,misconceptions of feminism on Weibo have become obstacles to women’s voices,for which the platforms did not post women’s views prominently.From the perspective of women themselves,this paper adopted a questionnaire to study the misunderstanding of feminism and its impact on women’s expression on Weibo.

Mechanisms and Associated Factors of Nocturia in Women Attending Two Urogynecology Clinics: A Cross-Sectional Study

Introduction: Nocturia has a multifactorial etiology, and its diagnostic approach involves, in addition to medical history and physical examination, the use of a bladder diary to define the pathophysiological mechanisms present in each case. Methods: This study investigated the prevalence of nocturia, its mechanisms, and associated factors in women with lower urinary tract symptoms attending two urogynecology clinics in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Anamnesis, physical examination, and a 24-hour bladder diary were conducted. Two definitions of nocturia were considered: one or more nighttime voids and two or more nighttime voids. Mann-Whitney and Chi-square tests were used, with p-value ≤ 0.05 considered significant. Results: A total of 133 participants were included. The majority were aged 60 years or older (61.4%) and had three or more comorbidities (66.7%), with systemic arterial hypertension being the most prevalent (59.1%). Of the total participants, 54 (41.4%) completed the bladder diary. Among those with one or more nighttime voids (70.7%), the prevalence of nocturnal polyuria was 69.1%, reduced nocturnal bladder capacity was 17.3%, and global polyuria was 12.9%. Among participants with two or more nighttime voids (56.4%), the prevalences were respectively 68.2%, 19.1%, and 13.6%. Among the mechanisms, associations were found only with global polyuria, namely: use of insulin, body mass index and tobacco consumption. An association was also found between recurrent urinary tract infection and global polyuria in participants with two or more nighttime voids. Conclusions: The prevalence of nocturia was higher than that reported in general population studies and specialized services for lower urinary tract symptoms. Nocturnal polyuria was the most prevalent mechanism. Associations were observed between the use of insulin, body mass index, tobacco consumption, and recurrent urinary tract infection with global polyuria. No associations were found between any clinical or demographic variables and nocturnal polyuria or reduced nocturnal bladder capacity.

Women in a Urban Zone Experience Against Covid

The two-year follow-up as participating observer at the Urban Zone training group and WhatsApp related platform,took place in Roseto degli Abruzzi-a small seaside town in Abruzzi,Italy,during the pandemic crisis for Covid-19.This experience has been a way to keep training despite the pandemic confinement,but it has also become a kind of self-help and therapeutic group.The conditions for its implementation are linked to the impossibility of any indoor sports and also the fact that the online lessons were not very successful.Urban Zone is an outdoor activity that can be carried out in the urban context,whose peculiarity is the opening of the gyms training to the urban or natural outdoor space,through wireless headphones(so people could respect the 2-meter social distancing implied in the prevention measures for Covid-19)in which the music and the trainer instruction can be heard.

Analyzing the Influences on Women’s Upbringing and Their Educational Significance Using the Case of Estella,the Heroine of Great Expectations

This paper explores the influences on women’s upbringing and their educational significance by using the character Estella from Great Expectations as a case study.Through analyzing the impact of social environment,family education,and self-awakening,this article aims to promote gender equality and the construction of a feminist cognitive community.It delves into the class divisions of 19th-century England,the manipulative family education imposed on Estella by Miss Havisham,and Estella’s journey towards self-consciousness after her foster mother’s death.The study highlights the challenges faced by women in societal constraints,family expectations,and the importance of self-discovery in overcoming these limitations.

Experience of, and Perception on Gender Based Violence (GBV) by Pregnant Women in South Eastern Nigeria

Background: Gender-based violence (GBV) is a common women’s sexual and reproductive right violation. Pregnancy could be associated with an increased risk of GBV. Objective: To determine the experience of, and perception on GBV by pregnant Nigerian women. Methodology: A questionnaire-based cross-sectional study involving 250 pregnant women from six selected health facilities in Anambra, Southeastern Nigeria was conducted to elicit their experience of, and perceptions on gender based violence. Data analysis employed statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 22.0. Statistical comparison of variables employed Chi-square test, with significance levels comprising of p Results: Only 80 (32.0%) of the respondents were aware of GBV while 17 (6.8%) and 20 (8.0%) had experienced it in the index and previous pregnancies respectively. Physical violence was the most commonly experienced 18 (58.1%), while marital quarrel and drunkenness were the most commonly perceived causes, 21 (26.3%) apiece. Up to 33.7% of the respondents would report GBV to the law enforcement agencies;22.5% would seek medical attention and only 2.5% would do nothing. The most common source of information on GBV was public lecture (32.5%) followed by media (26.3%). As high as 49 (61.3%) of the respondents that are aware of GBV (N = 80), thought that GBV could be prevented while up to 53 (66.3%) were aware of the strategies for its prevention. Conclusion: Awareness of GBV in this study is low (32.0%) while experience is even lower at 6.8%, and 8.0% for the index and previous pregnancies respectively. Information on prevention strategies for GBV is also low. The need to develop comprehensive reproductive health (RH) policy that incorporates GBV and its management, to be taught in educational institutions is highlighted. The importance of public health lectures and the employment of various media platforms as reproductive right enlightenment modalities, towards creating awareness on the prevention and combat of GBV are also highlighted.

Policy Towards Gender Equality in Employment in a Globalizing Economy——An outline of the analysis report on the impacts of China's economic reform on women employment

1.This study is one of The Applied Economic Institutes Linkages Project(AERIL)which is funded by theCanadian International Development Agency(CIDA)and jiontly managed by The Conference Board of Canada(CBOC)and the International Trade Research Institute in China.It is jointly implemented by the Institute ofEconomic Research of the Chinese State Planning Commission and the North—South Institute of Canada。