Relational Responsibilisation and Diversity Management in the 21st Century: The Case for Reframing Equality Regulation
Autor/in:
Vincent, Steve; Lopes, Ana; Meliou, Elina; Özbilgin, Mustafa
Quelle: WES (Work, Employment & Society), (2024)
Inhalt: This article critiques equality regulation within neoliberal policy regimes and suggests an alternative. We argue that, globally, neoliberal regimes exacerbate social divisions by individualising responsibilities for addressing inequalities. Consequentially, a new policy direction for equality regulation is required. Using the UK economy as an exemplar, we make the case for relational responsibilisation, which involves raising awareness of workplace inequalities on an international basis; attributing responsibility for inequalities onto specific socioeconomic causes and institutions; and systematically developing policies and practices that extend accountability for and ameliorate the negative consequences of workplace inequalities. Theoretically, Bourdieusian social critique and realist sociological imagination are used to conceive responsibilisation in relational terms and to imagine a policy agenda that might make societies more responsible for tackling the forms of inequality they produce. Our overall argument is for the creation of a new equality, diversity and inclusion-aware form of social democracy.
Schlagwörter:Diversität; equality; inclusion; policy analysis; practice-theory relationship; regulation and compliance; responsibility; UK
CEWS Kategorie:Arbeitswelt und Arbeitsmarkt, Diversity
LGBTQ Young Adults’ Attitudes Toward Workplace Antidiscrimination Policies: A Cross-National Analysis Between the USA and Japan
Autor/in:
Ueno, Koji; Ritter, Lacey J.; Kane, Melinda D.; Bastow, Skyler; Dominguez, Rachael; D’Amours, Jason V.
Quelle: Sex Res Soc Policy (Sexuality Research and Social Policy), 21 (2024) 1, S 177–192
Inhalt: Previous US studies showed that LGBTQ workers played a key role in persuading their employers to include LGBTQ workers as a protected category in antidiscrimination policies. These studies tended to assume that LGBTQ workers are generally supportive of the policy change, but the assumption has not been directly examined. Further, the assumption may be unrealistic for countries where LGBTQ worker activism is uncommon. To address these gaps in the literature, this study investigates how national contexts shape LGBTQ workers’ attitudes toward antidiscrimination policies by comparing the USA and Japan. The study analyzes data from in-depth interviews with LGBTQ young adult workers. The data were collected in the USA between 2011 and 2020 (n = 27) and in Japan between 2018 and 2022 (n = 29). The analysis reveals that US LGBTQ workers strongly support antidiscrimination policies by expressing a sense of collective identity as LGBTQ people and their trust in formal rules. In contrast, Japanese LGBTQ workers question the necessity and effectiveness of antidiscrimination policies by interpreting policy implementation as employers’ PR performance and by underscoring their need to develop interpersonal trust with colleagues while staying closeted. US and Japanese workers’ contrasting views on antidiscrimination policies reflect national differences in how LGBTQ people experience and cope with social marginalization in each country. We make policy recommendations as to how employers and governments in the USA and Japan can support LGBTQ workers while addressing limitations of antidiscrimination policies that LGBTQ workers perceive in each country.
Quelle: Sex Res Soc Policy (Sexuality Research and Social Policy), 21 (2024) 1, S 446–464
Inhalt: Sexual violence (SV) perpetrated by women against men is socially dismissed and underrepresented in research. The aim of the current study was to explore the perspectives of university students (women and men) on women-perpetrated SV against men. A total of 19 undergraduate students were presented with a vignette describing a hypothetical situation of SV and interviewed. A thematic analysis was performed, identifying four main themes: characters’ Features, sexual initiation Strategies, Consequences, and Motivations and Contexts. Participants endorsed gender stereotypes and victim-blaming narratives, but also challenged gender stereotypes and rape myths. Participants could identify violent sexual initiation strategies, could anticipate potential consequences of the abuse, and were able to imagine potential motivational and contextual factors that facilitated the abuse. These results highlight the importance of providing adequate information regarding women-perpetrated SV and can inform preventative approaches targeting social norms that perpetuate the invisibility of this phenomenon. Recommendations for future research are discussed. Public policies that facilitate the training of professionals who contact with victims may help overcome the influence of rape myths that hinder appropriate intervention. Similarly, policies that support the prevention of SV in university contexts may contribute to translate the results from research into practice.
Schlagwörter:context; gender stereotype; myth; perception; perpetrator; Policy; public administration; rape prevention; sexual assault; student; university; USA; victim blaming; Vignettenstudie; violence
Quelle: Sex Res Soc Policy (Sexuality Research and Social Policy), 21 (2024) 1, S 388–399
Inhalt: Using the biopsychosocial model, we explored the mental health and substance use factors associated with sexual violence (SV) victimization and perpetration among U.S. college students and compared the differences in strength of these correlates by gender, SV perpetration vs. victimization, and type of SV. This uniquely contributes to the existing literature by (a) focusing on mental health and substance use correlates of SV among college students, (b) including both SV victimization and perpetration, and (c) comparing the strength of correlates by gender, perpetration vs. victimization, and type of SV. We conducted a meta-analysis of 101 studies meeting inclusion criteria of U.S. college samples published between January 2000 and April 2019 and calculated Q-statistics to compare differences in strength of correlates. Nine mental health factors were positively associated with SV victimization (e.g., suicidal ideation). SV victimization and perpetration were positively associated with substance use. No significant differences were found comparing strength of correlate by gender or perpetration vs. victimization experience. PTSD, drug use, and alcohol were more strongly associated with certain types of SV than others. In association with SV, mental health and substance use are serious considerations for individuals and organizations serving college students. It is important for these institutions to respond to reports of SV in a trauma-informed way, increase the accessibility and quality of on-campus mental health services available to SV survivors of all genders, and make the campus community aware of the resources are available.
Sex differences in scientific productivity and impact are largely explained by the proportion of highly productive individuals: a whole-population study of researchers across six disciplines in Sweden
Autor/in:
Madison, Guy; Sundell, Knut
Quelle: Studies in Higher Education, 49 (2024) 1, S 119–140
Inhalt: Sex differences in human performance have been documented across a wide array of human endeavours. Males tend to exhibit higher performance in intellectually demanding and competitive domains, and this difference tends to be more pronounced the higher the level of performance. Here, we analyse publishing performance for the whole population of associate and full professors in relatively sex-balanced disciplines, namely Education, Nursing and Caring Science, Psychology, Public Health, Sociology, and Social Work, comprising 426 women and 562 men. We find that sex differences in the number of publications, citations, and citations per publication were small across low and medium levels of productivity, but become more pronounced the higher the level of performance. In the top performing 10% the female proportion decreases from the average 43.2% to 26% (25 F, 71 M), which further decreases to 15% in the top 5%. The results are discussed with respect to the greater male variability hypothesis, sex differences in psychological traits, and environmental factors such as sex discrimination.
Schlagwörter:Bibliometrie; gender bias; meritocracy; productivity; publication gap; sex difference
CEWS Kategorie:Wissenschaft als Beruf, Geschlechterverhältnis
Simply academic or damaging. What are the implications of academic stereotypes for women?
Autor/in:
Richards, Joanna
Quelle: Gender & Education, 36 (2024) 1, S 104–118
Inhalt: Since the public intellectuals of the 1960s, there has been a shift towards the celebrity academic, as subjects such as history and science have transferred into popular television entertainment, often with female academics as the presenters. Using a case study of the British media, a post-feminist lens has been applied to examine how 17 celebrity academics have been represented. The use of gendered academic stereotypes such as the blue stocking, the school ma’am, the eccentric academic and the thinking man's crumpet were in evidence, alongside the male academic stereotypes of the hegemonic academic male, the nerd and the complicit male. With increasing numbers of women participating in the education workforce, one might expect gendered stereotypes to have become more positive. This research indicates that academic stereotypes should be added to the list of gendered stereotypes that need to be addressed as part of the work towards gender equality.
Double disadvantage: Female first-generation-students think of themselves as least talented, contributing to disproportionate disadvantage
Autor/in:
Bauer, Christina A.; Job, Veronika
Quelle: Learning and Instruction, 90 (2024)
Inhalt: Frauen mit niedriger sozioökonomischer Herkunft halten sich für weniger talentiert als alle anderen Gruppen – selbst dann, wenn sie die gleichen Leistungen erbringen. Das, zeigt eine neue Studie unter Leitung der Universität Wien. Diese Fehleinschätzung trägt zur ausgeprägten Benachteiligung in Domänen wie MINT-Fächern bei, in denen Talent als wichtiger Erfolgsfaktor gesehen wird. Die Sozialpsychologin Christina Bauer von der Universität Wien hat diese Kernaussagen ihrer neuesten Forschungsarbeiten nun in der aktuellen Ausgabe der renommierten Fachzeitschrift Learning and Instruction publiziert – und mögliche Lösungen für diese Problematik vorgeschlagen.
Frauen und Menschen mit niedriger sozioökonomischer Herkunft werden häufig als weniger talentiert eingeschätzt, was zu Diskriminierungserfahrungen beitragen kann. "Während ein Mann mit sehr guten Noten eher als Genie beurteilt wird, werden Frauen mit gleichen Leistungen zum Beispiel eher als fleißig gesehen", schildert Christina Bauer. Menschen aus Familien mit niedrigerem sozioökonomischen Status werden zudem generell als weniger leistungsfähig gesehen. Die Sozialpsychologin Christina Bauer und ihre Kollegin Veronika Job, beide von der Universität Wien, haben nun untersucht, wie sich diese gesellschaftliche Wahrnehmung auf das Selbstbild jener Menschen auswirkt und wie ihre Lebenswege in weiterer Folge davon beeinflusst werden.
Weibliches Geschlecht und niedriger sozioökonomischer Status – weniger Talent?
Bauer und Job führten zwei Studien mit insgesamt 1.600 Studierenden in Deutschland und den USA durch. Das Ergebnis: Im Vergleich von allen Subgruppen beurteilten sich Frauen mit niedrigerer sozioökonomischer Herkunft am wenigsten als talentiert – selbst, wenn sie genauso gute Studien-Leistungen wie alle anderen zeigten. "Unser Fazit: Das gesellschaftliche Außenbild und gesellschaftliche Hierarchien beeinflussen auch ganz stark das Selbstbild", so Bauer.
Diese sozialisierte Verzerrung der Selbstwahrnehmung bleibt nicht ohne Konsequenzen: "Frauen trauen sich also weniger zu, wodurch einerseits ihre Erfolgschancen sinken und einige Branchen und gesellschaftliche Bereiche sehr einseitig männerdominiert und wenig divers sind", erklärt Bauer. Etwa fühlen sich Frauen mit niedrigem sozioökonomischem Status gerade in Bereichen, in denen Talent erwartet wird, weniger wohl, trauen sich weniger zu und bringen sich dadurch auch weniger ein. Das betrifft etwa den MINT-Bereich (Mathematik, Informatik, Naturwissenschaften, und Technik), Jobs wie Unternehmensberatungen, oder auch Hobbys wie Schach . "Diese Sichtweise hat weitreichenden Konsequenzen für die Erfolgschancen der Betroffenen in diesen Bereichen", so Bauer.
Fleiß-Prinzip statt Talente-Fokus als mögliche Lösung
Die Autor*innen schlagen auch Lösungsstrategien vor: In einem bereits publizierten Experiment konnte Bauer zeigen, dass sich Frauen mit niedrigerem sozioökonomischen nicht für weniger fleißig halten. Die aktuelle Studie zeigt, sie halten sich aber für weniger talentiert. Eine Möglichkeit, Benachteiligungen abzufedern, wäre also die Bedeutsamkeit von Eigenschaften wie Fleiß und harter Arbeit anstatt Talent gesellschaftlich stärker anzuerkennen. "Diese Anerkennung kann auf verschiedenen Ebenen stattfinden: Wie wir über leistungsstarke Menschen reden – statt Genies anzupreisen, und auf "Streber" hinabzuschauen, Menschen für ihre harte Arbeit zu schätzen. Oder auch wie wir Feedback geben – konstruktives Feedback, das klarmacht, wie Menschen sich verbessern können anstatt blankes Lob oder Kritik ohne Entwicklungsperspektive", sagt Bauer.
Warum es zu diesem verzerrten Selbstbild kommt, wird Inhalt weiterer Studien sein. "Stereotype oder auch unterschiedliche Erfahrung mit Herausforderungen, die als Zeichen für fehlendes Talent missinterpretiert werden – könnten dabei eine Rolle spielen", so Bauer.
(idw-Meldung, 3.1.2024)
The Role of Intersectionality and Context in Measuring Gender-Based Violence in Universities and Research-Performing Organizations in Europe for the Development of Inclusive Structural Interventions
Inhalt: The aim of the article is to discuss how thinking about gender-based violence intersectionally and in context can not only enrich our understanding but also lead to transformative change in organizations. The article argues that to better understand gender-based violence in universities and research institutions, analyses need to be intersectional and contextual. Such approaches go beyond binary understandings of gender and narrow legalistic definitions of gender-based violence. The article reflects on how to operationalize this to derive starting points for intersectional categories to consider and contextual factors to measure at micro-, meso-, and macro-levels. It concludes that a multilevel intersectional analysis leads to more nuanced knowledge on experiences of gender-based violence and is, therefore, better equipped to inform the development of measures to eradicate the problem in an inclusive way.
Inhalt: This study aims to provide evidence that managers’ commitment towards preventing gender violence against women is affected by implicit resistance from the patriarchal culture. A structured questionnaire was given to 673 managers of 243 small, medium, and large private companies in Metropolitan Lima, Peru. We design and test a conceptual model using covariance-based structural equation modeling. Even though 90.3% of managers report being committed to and in favor of preventing gender violence in companies, 48.6% have intense implicit resistance against it. In general, 3 out of 4 managers do not believe in violence against women because they consider it “biased”, and think that policies should only talk about family or partner violence. In addition, 2 out of 4 believe that equality policies have “hidden interests” that generate mistrust. The structural equations show that implicit resistance, directly and indirectly, decreases managers’ commitment and actions towards preventing gender violence in organizations. Gender biases, irrational beliefs about sexual violence, and a lack of appreciation of gender equality strongly predict these resistances. Business involvement in the prevention of gender violence is a more complex process than expected, requiring a reinforced strategy aimed at overcoming managers’ implicit resistance
"Big Four" schwächelt noch : Zu wenige Frauen in Führungspositionen außeruniversitärer Forschungseinrichtungen
Autor/in:
Benzler, Guido; Adler, Philipp; Brücherr, Anton
Quelle: Wissenschaftsmanagement. Zeitschrift für Innovation, 28 (2023) Juni
Inhalt: Die Tendenz stimmt. Das Ergebnis ist aber noch nicht zufriedenstellend. So kann die 26. Datenfortschreibung der Gemeinsamen Wissenschaftskonferenz (GWK) zur Chancengleichheit interpretiert werden. Die Auswertung zeigt, dass der prozentuale Anteil von Wissenschaftlerinnen an Hochschulen und außeruniversitären Forschungseinrichtungen im Vergleich zu den Vorjahren erneut gestiegen ist. Die jährliche Hochschulrektorenkonferenz (HRK) im November 2022 stellt hingegen fest, dass der Fortschritt bei der Gleichstellung von Frauen an Hochschulen und außeruniversitären Forschungseinrichtungen bei den unteren Karrierestufen nur langsam voranschreitet und „auf den höheren Karrierestufen de facto stagniert“.