The political engagement of women in post-conflict Kosovo

The Republic of Kosovo was created several years after the breakup of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Its problems were visible during Josip Broz Tito’s presidency. Over the last ten years Kosovo has had two female presidents. The question is, what is the position of women on the Kosovan political scene? This phenomenon is particularly significant from the point of view of the post-conflict reconstruction of the state. The aim of this article is to analyse the evolution of the role of Kosovo Albanian women in the politics of Kosovo at the central level. For this reason, the article includes women involved in the armed conflict in Kosovo, especially in the activities of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA, alb. Ushtria Çlirimtare e Kosovës, UÇK). The author also presents the role of women in the Kosovan political arena since 1999, with particular emphasis on changes that took place after the declaration of independence of Kosovo. Furthermore, the author examines the profiles of selected female politicians. The article is based on an analysis of primary and secondary sources, the comparative and historical method, and an analysis of statistical data.

Women in the teaching union command: gender and power relations

The present text is a brief synthesis of the doctoral research, still in progress. The general objective of the research is to analyze the trajectories of female teaching union leaders who occupy or have occupied positions of female presidents in the basic education teaching unions, highlighting the relations of gender and power and the construction of identities. Consistent with the object of this study, the historical-dialectical materialist method was chosen with the choice of a qualitative approach of the case study type by consulting different sources of information: review of the relevant literature; semi-structured interviews with the leaders of the teaching unions. To analyze the data collected, we opted for content analysis. The preliminary results of the research inform that, in Brazil, women are still minorities in the presidential seats in the teaching unions.

A reflection on the role of women in Science, Dentistry and Brazilian Orthodontics

ABSTRACT Introduction: This paper reviews the history of women scientists in the ‘Western world’, whilst highlighting the persistent socio-structural issues that have led to the hiding and masking of the participation of women in Science. Further, a reflection is made of the situation of Dentistry, specifically in the field of Orthodontics in Brazil. The difference between genders is discussed, with the intention to map the progress of women in management and leadership positions, in both the academic and professional fields. Description: In Brazil, within Dentistry and Orthodontics, despite being in a numerical majority, women are still underrepresented in the area of professional leadership. This is true for Research Groups and Research Productivity; an example being the relatively low authorship of publications in a Brazilian journal of Orthodontics. They are also underrepresented as lead presenters at professional meetings, whilst there are also few female Presidents of professional organizations and associations. Conclusion: Despite being in a numerical majority, it is also important that women act in a more co-ordinated and consistent manner to achieve greater representation in these areas. The necessary changes in the structure in order to achieve this are not only of women and for women, but they must also involve the whole of society so that leadership, rights and duties are equally distributed between the genders.

THE DIFFICULTIES ENCOUNTERED BY WOMEN IN PURSUING A MANAGERIAL CAREER IN SPORTS

With considerable efforts, women have made remarkable progress and have become increasingly present in the sporting phenomenon, both as athletes and in various management positions. However, compared to men, they are still under-represented in the management positions of sports organizations, especially at senior management levels. According to the European Institute for Gender Equality (European Commission, 2014), the percentage of women in management positions in leading sports organizations was very low in 2014 (an average of 10%); also, out of 52 European sports federations, 20 had no women on their federal boards and only two had women as presidents. In 2017, out of the 74 national sports federations in our country, only 7 had female presidents. We should also not forget that there are still situations where women are paid less than men for work of equal value (according to the same European Institute for Gender Equality, women would earn 2 euros per hour less than men, on average). Given these data, we wanted to identify the difficulties encountered by women in managerial careers. For our study, we conducted a series of interviews with women managers in sport organizations from our country. The interviews had pre-determined questions and were focused on issues such as: gender discrimination, differences in remuneration between women and men, barriers and obstacles to promoting at work, difficulties and limitations encountered by women in pursuing their managerial careers

Scientists, collectors and illustrators: the roles of women in the Palaeontographical Society

Women have taken on a range of roles in scientific societies since the early twentieth century. The oldest society dedicated to palaeontology, the Palaeontographical Society, was established in 1847 principally for the publication of monographs on British fossils. Since its foundation, women have been involved, initially as collectors and illustrators, then authors and latterly as elected members of council. Early contributors include well-known female scientists such as Gertrude Lilian Elles (1872–1960) and Ethel Mary Reader Wood (1871–1946), and the enigmatic ‘Miss Pike’. Although there have been female monograph authors and council members since 1901, their number has not risen significantly since the early twentieth century. The increased female presence on the Society's Council since 2009 is promising but, to date, there have been only four female vice-presidents and no female presidents in almost 175 years. Although things have undoubtedly improved since its founding, the Palaeontographical Society – like similar geosciences societies – still has some distance to travel to reach gender parity. This paper contributes to that process by recognizing the many talented women who have played formative roles in the development, and continued success, of this organization.

Polish Tatar Women as Official Leaders of Muslim Religious Communities and the Sources of their Authority

The history of the Islamic presence in Poland goes back over 300 years. In the past, Muslim Tatar women played an important role in their communities by preserving and passing on the faith. In the twentieth century their role expanded, with a substantial number of women present at the highest levels of Muslim leadership. The article presents a case study of seven Polish Tatar women who have held the post of official elected presidents of local Muslim communities. These examples are presented in order to research the source of authority on which female leadership is based. The article uses three kinds of authority distinguished by Max Weber: legalrational, charismatic and traditional authority. The article is based on interviews with these female presidents and other members of their communities in order to reconstruct their authority as social and religious leaders and their impact on their respective communities.

A Theory of Gender’s Role on Presidential Approval Ratings in Corrupt Times

The rise of female chief executives appears to signal gender progress, but this may not be unequivocally so. This article advances a contextual theory for the role of gender on leaders’ approval ratings, a key measure of “success” and source of executive power. I argue that because of gendered expectations and discourse, female presidents will receive lower approval ratings in contexts of corruption. The study focuses on Latin America, known for its powerful, masculinist presidential regimes and its democratically elected female leaders. I first trace the gendered construction of President Michelle Bachelet’s image as an honest mother. Upon a presidential scandal, higher standards and gendered discourse resulted in deeply disappointed citizens, significantly undermining her popularity. Models of eighteen Latin American countries next reveal a negative impact of being a female—rather than a male—president on approval ratings. Marginal effects plots show that female presidents score worse than their male counterparts in contexts of at least one presidential scandal and higher executive corruption. This article contributes to the growing literature on gender and corruption. It also challenges some conventional wisdom on the pro-women consequences of female leadership in providing a more nuanced account of the role of gender in the executive branch.

Presidents’ Sex and Popularity: Baselines, Dynamics and Policy Performance

Public approval is a crucial source of executive power in presidential systems. Does the public support female and male presidents similarly? Combining insights from gender and politics research with psychological evidence, this study theorizes sex-based differentials in popularity based on more general expectations linking gender stereotypes to diverging performance evaluations. Using quarterly analyses of eighteen Latin American democracies, South Korea and the Philippines, the analyses compare the levels, dynamics, and policy performance of macro-approval for male and female presidents. As expected, female presidents are less popular, experience exaggerated approval dynamics and their approval is more responsive to security and corruption (though not economic) outcomes. These findings have clear implications for our understandings of mass politics, political accountability and presidentialism.