scholarly journals Is It Time for a Revolution in Work‒Life Balance? Reflections from Spain

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (22) ◽  
pp. 9563
Author(s):  
Rocío Rodríguez-Rivero ◽  
Susana Yáñez ◽  
Celia Fernández-Aller ◽  
Ruth Carrasco-Gallego
Keyword(s):  
Gender Inequality ◽  
Gender Gap ◽  
Work Life ◽  
Stem Careers ◽  
Life Balance ◽  
Science Technology ◽  
Digital Divides ◽  
The World ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
The Impact

The COVID-19 crisis has taken the world by surprise, and its effects are widening pre-existing inequalities such as socioeconomical, educational, and digital divides. The gender gap is no exception, and research shows that lockdowns are strongly impacting women, who, on the whole, are more vulnerable to the effects of a crisis. This study analyzes the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown in Spain on families, from a gender perspective. To this end, 663 participants related to the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) fields were recruited to participate in the research through their connection with the Equality Office of the major technical university of Spain, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, which offers most engineering and architecture degrees. The results indicate that the great myths of gender inequality are still alive in Spain, and that a crisis of this nature can perpetuate them. However, the crisis also presents an opportunity for change. Will the STEM careers be prepared to take advantage of this opportunity, or will this crisis end up perpetuating their markedly masculine character? Are we ready for a revolution? The COVID-19 crisis and its learnings about the importance of care can open the path to change.

scholarly journals Critical Examination Using Business Intelligence on the Gender Gap in Information Technology in Brazil

Mathematics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (15) ◽  
pp. 1824
Author(s):  
Erica L. Gallindo ◽  
Hobson A. Cruz ◽  
Mário W. L. Moreira
Keyword(s):  
Communication Technology ◽  
Gender Gap ◽  
Business Intelligence ◽  
Critical Examination ◽  
Gender And Technology ◽  
Science Technology ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
Technology Market ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
The Impact

In the early 1990s, cyberfeminism emerged as an area of knowledge to discuss the connection between gender and technology. According to UNESCO, women are underrepresented in the field of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics and less than a third of women worldwide work in scientific research and development. However, this number has grown and this reality is constantly changing. In this context, using business intelligence techniques, this study analyzes data from the computer and information and communication technology market to characterize the impact of the performance of women in these areas. It is expected to show that this performance in the highlighted fields is still a challenge in Brazil. Based on this hypothesis, results indicates that public policies must be focused on the base, i.e., to encourage young women to work in STEM areas. This study could encourage policymakers to find solutions to the challenges presented in this research.

scholarly journals Socio-cultural developments of women in science

2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel Mamlok-Naaman
Keyword(s):  
Gender Gap ◽  
Women Scientists ◽  
Faculty Members ◽  
Women In Science ◽  
Educational Organizations ◽  
Unconscious Bias ◽  
Science Technology ◽  
The World ◽  
Family Demands ◽  
And Mathematics

Abstract Women have not been represented enough in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines in most countries around the world, despite their advancements in these areas. Unfortunately, they continue to represent only a small proportion of faculty members in science and technology fields, especially at more prestigious research institutions. Women still need to cope with discrimination, with an unconscious bias, as well as with family demands. According to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, fewer than 30 % researchers from all over the world are women. Analysis of “A Global Approach to the Gender Gap in Mathematical, Computing, and Natural Sciences, How to measure it? How to reduce it?” survey advanced our understanding of this phenomenon and identified various factors that cause it. The recommendations address a variety of groups: instructors and parents of girls in primary, secondary, and higher education, educational organizations, scientific unions. and other worldwide organizations. This paper will describe the situation of women scientists in Israel, with examples of chemistry women in the academia.

scholarly journals Factors that Influence High School Female Students’ Intentions to Pursue Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Education in Malaysia

2021 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
M Sultana Alam ◽  
Sadia Sajid ◽  
Jin Kuan Kok ◽  
Mobashar Rahman ◽  
Aamir Amin
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Stem Education ◽  
Gender Gap ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Female Students ◽  
Outcome Expectancy ◽  
Independent Variables ◽  
Science Technology ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
The Impact

Despite the increase in the number of female students in education indicating a reversal in the gender gap, their participation in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education in Malaysia is still a matter of concern. This study extends empirical explanations for this gender gap and identifies factors influencing high school students’ intentions to pursue Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education in Malaysia. The present study aims to develop a framework of female intention to pursue STEM education by examining the impact of five independent variables on STEM self-efficacy and in turn the impact of self-efficacy on intention. The independent variables include attitude towards STEM, self-concept, gender stereotype, motivation, and teacher stereotypes. The study also examines the independent and moderating impact of career outcome expectancy on the relationship between self-efficacy and intention. Data was collected from 211 secondary school female students in Forms 4 and 5, studying at eight secondary schools in two states in Malaysia. The data was analyzed using SmartPLS. The results of the study show that attitude, motivation, and career outcome expectancy are positive and are significant predictors of STEM self-efficacy, whereas gender and teacher stereotypes are the negative predictors. The results of the study also highlight that self-efficacy is a strong predictor of intention to pursue STEM education. These findings of the study would assist policymakers to develop suitable strategies to improve female participation in STEM education in Malaysia.

scholarly journals Critical Examination using Business Intelligence on the Gender Gap in Information Technology in Brazil

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erica L. Gallindo ◽  
Hobson A. Cruz ◽  
Mário W. L. Moreira
Keyword(s):  
Communication Technology ◽  
Gender Gap ◽  
Business Intelligence ◽  
Critical Examination ◽  
Gender And Technology ◽  
Science Technology ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
Technology Market ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
The Impact

In the early 1990s, cyberfeminism emerged as an area of knowledge to discuss the connection between gender and technology. According to UNESCO, women are underrepresented in the field of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics and less than a third of women worldwide work in scientific research and development. However, this number has grown and this reality is constantly changing. In this context, using business intelligence techniques, this study analyzes data from the computer and information and communication technology market to characterize the impact of the performance of women in these areas. It is expected to show that this performance in the highlighted fields is still a challenge in Brazil.

Gender Impact on the Enterprise Performance

2020 ◽  
pp. 54-62
Author(s):  
Oleksii V. Lyulyov ◽  
Oleksandra I. Karintseva ◽  
Andrii V. Yevdokymov ◽  
Hanna S. Ponomarova ◽  
Oleksandr O. Ivanov
Keyword(s):  
Gender Equality ◽  
Gender Gap ◽  
Gender Representation ◽  
Board Members ◽  
Enterprise Performance ◽  
World Economic Forum ◽  
Return On Assets ◽  
The World ◽  
World Economic ◽  
The Impact

The article describes the situation of gender equality in Ukraine and in the world during the last 5 years, identifies the leading countries in moving towards gender equality in various fields of life by analyzing the indicators of the Global Gender Gap Report of the World Economic Forum. These indicators include: Economic Participation and Opportunity, Educational Attainment, Health and Survival, Political Empowerment, which are the part of a single index that determines the position of countries in the overall ranking. Based on the results of this analysis, Ukraine has improved value of gender equality index, although in the overall ranking of countries Ukraine has lost its position and dropped 11 ranks lower than in 2014. This means that, among all the countries surveyed by the World Economic Forum, there are countries that are moving much faster towards gender equality than Ukraine. In addition, the article includes the investigation of the gender representation among the board members of 5 enterprises of Ukraine for 2014-2017, which represent the leading sectors of the Ukrainian economy. The dynamics of changes in the level of performance of these enterprises using the return on assets (ROA) indicator is analyzed, the relationship between the leadership of the enterprises and the value of the ROA indicator is graphically presented. The obtained results do not give a clear answer about the gender impact on the enterprise performance. The reason for this is a number of factors, such as: insufficient statistical sampling of enterprises; the selected performance indicator of enterprise activities does not fully reflect the impact of the gender factor on enterprise activities; the methodology used in the work needs improvements, or it is necessary to choose a totally new approach to the analysis of the investigated issue under study. Gender representation among board members and its impact on enterprise performance should be investigated further. Key words: gender, gender equality, enterprise board members, return on assets.

scholarly journals Green Work-Life Balance and Greenwashing the Construct of Work-Life Balance: Myth and Reality

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (15) ◽  
pp. 4556
Author(s):  
Anuradha Iddagoda ◽  
Eglantina Hysa ◽  
Helena Bulińska-Stangrecka ◽  
Otilia Manta
Keyword(s):  
Job Performance ◽  
Employee Engagement ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Work Life ◽  
Work Life Balance ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Life Balance ◽  
Theoretical Contribution ◽  
Green Human Resource Management ◽  
The Impact

Some of the frequently used buzz words in the corporate sector include green leadership, green human resource management, green employee engagement and green work-life balance. The intention of this article is to identify and examine the logical reasons that govern “green work-life balance” or, in simple terms, “greenwashing” work-life balance. The paper also aims at providing a comprehensive conceptualization of work-life balance, while thoroughly examining the components of measuring the construct. Based on a cross-sectional study in the banking industry with a sample of 170 managerial employees, this study analyzes the impact of work-life balance on employee job performance mediated by employee engagement. Results support the assumed relationship between work-life balance and employee job performance embedded in employee engagement. The theoretical contribution of this study concerns the application of role behavior theory to describe the mechanisms shaping the relationship between work-life balance and job performance through employee engagement. The practical implications of the paper include recommendations for improving job performance by enhancing the work-life balance and strengthening employee engagement.

scholarly journals Bridging the gap: blending spatial skills instruction into a technology teacher preparation programme

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diarmaid Lane ◽  
Sheryl Sorby
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Preparation ◽  
Gender Gap ◽  
Future Research ◽  
First Year ◽  
Spatial Skills ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Base Level ◽  
Technology Teacher ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
The Impact

AbstractIn recent years, there has been a surge in research in spatial thinking across the international community. We now know that spatial skills are malleable and that they are linked to success across multiple disciplines, most notably Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). While spatial skills have been examined by cognitive scientists in laboratory environments for decades, current research is examining how these skills can be developed in field-based environments. In this paper, we present findings from a study within a Technology Teacher preparation programme where we examined first-year students’ spatial skills on entry to university. We explain why it was necessary to embed a spatial skills intervention into Year 1 of the programme and we describe the impact that this had on students’ spatial scores and on academic performance. The findings from our study highlight a consistent gender gap in spatial scores at the start of the first-year with female students entering the Technology Teacher preparation programme at a lower base level than male students. We describe how we integrated spatial development activities into an existing course and how an improvement in spatial scores and overall course performance was observed. The paper concludes by discussing the long-term sustainability of integrating spatial interventions within teacher preparation programmes while also highlighting the importance of future research to examine spatial skills as a fundamental component of technological capability.

scholarly journals Gender Differences in Academic Efficacy across STEM Fields

2021 ◽  
pp. 073112142110286
Author(s):  
Jennifer Ashlock ◽  
Miodrag Stojnic ◽  
Zeynep Tufekci
Keyword(s):  
Gender Differences ◽  
Gender Gap ◽  
Meaning Making ◽  
Stem Fields ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Science Technology ◽  
Middle Schoolers ◽  
Self Assessments ◽  
Math Grades ◽  
And Mathematics

Cultural processes can reduce self-selection into math and science fields, but it remains unclear how confidence in computer science develops, where women are currently the least represented in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics). Few studies evaluate both computer skills and self-assessments of skill. In this paper, we evaluate gender differences in efficacy across three STEM fields using a data set of middle schoolers, a particularly consequential period for academic pathways. Even though girls and boys do not significantly differ in terms of math grades and have similar levels of computer skill, the gender gap in computer efficacy is twice as large as the gap for math. We offer support for disaggregation of STEM fields, so the unique meaning making around computing can be addressed.

Work-Life Balance in Italy pre-, during and post-COVID-19

2021 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-46
Author(s):  
Olga Rymkevich
Keyword(s):  
Parental Leave ◽  
Domestic Workers ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Work Life ◽  
Work Life Balance ◽  
Organizational Changes ◽  
Labour Law ◽  
Life Balance ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Legislative Measures

The COVID-19 pandemic is bringing immense pressure to bear on labour law and social security institutions in all countries of the world, while having a major impact on work-life balance. The total lockdown, also of schools and higher education, the unprecedented fall in the level of production, the reduced possibility of relying on other family members, friends and domestic workers, traditionally constituting the essential pillars of formal and informal caring, in addition to working from home with children doing their schooling online (in large part on the parents’ shoulders) have compelled families to face new and abrupt organizational changes. The aim of this article is to investigate the legislative measures such as parental leave (ordinary and emergency) adopted in Italy aimed at supporting families during the pandemic, with a view to assessing their effectiveness and the impact on the Italian labour market during and after the pandemic. For this purpose, the socio-economic and legal framework dealing with parental leave before the COVID-19 emergency will be outlined, followed an the analysis of the emergency measures to provide support for parents, concluding with some reflections on possible future developments.

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