Emotional Intelligence & ICTs for Women and Equality

Gender equality is a fundamental human right and is essential for the existence of peaceful societies, with human resources that are fully utilized and sustainable development. Emotional Intelligence is not gender biased and it is an integral key to successful personal and working life. In (Drigas & Papoutsi, 2021) there was an attempt to construct a reliable and valid measurement instrument of emotional intelligence with 81 items, based on the theoretical nine-layer pyramid model of emotional intelligence. The sample was consisted of 520 teachers (129 males and 391 females) from primary and secondary school grade and the data was collected with the Nine Layer Pyramid Model Questionnaire for Emotional Intelligence. Among other results we examined gender differences in emotional intelligence. The results revealed some differences between the two genders on emotional intelligence with women scoring higher on overall emotional intelligence. This article also provides an overview of the prevailing emotional intelligence status of both sexes as it emerges through research, beliefs about emotions between women and men, and suggestions for avoiding stereotypes and proper interventions for raising emotional both men and women. Finally, a reference is made to technology in its various forms, including Information and Communication Technology (ICT), which is also associated with emotional intelligence and has great potential to empower women worldwide and promote gender equality

Perceived Career Success and Career Advancement of Women- Challenges in the Indian IT Industry

Ever since there have been a lot of challenges that a woman has to go through to make her career a success. The study focuses on the challenges that women face as a resultant of organizational and family barriers. The current study aims to test whether mentoring, Perceived Organizational Support (POS), and Family Responsibilities (FR) have an impact on Perceived Career Success (PCS) and career advancement of women working in the Indian IT industry. 307 respondents have been analyzed and the reliability and validity of constructs have been checked using Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA). For hypotheses testing, path analysis has been employed. Results reveal that mentoring, POS and FR significantly impact PCS and career advancement of women working in the Indian IT industry. The results offer insights for organizations to implement leadership strategies and activities to promote gender equality.

Gender Impact of Interregional Trade

After two decades of negotiations, the European Union (EU) and Mercosur celebrated a new Association Agreement in 2019. Structured around three pillars (political dialogue, cooperation, and trade), the deal is still pending ratification but has raised strong criticism. Most concerns address the effect of trade liberalization on social and environmental agendas. This article contributes to this debate, conducting qualitative analysis on the agreement's potential impact on gender equality in the EU and Mercosur. Departing from the feminist scholarship assumption that trade has an unavoidable effect on gender, this article argues that interregional trade agreements can be a helpful policy instrument to promote gender equality. Nevertheless, this research demonstrates that, so far, the EU-Mercosur Association Agreement has neglected this opportunity. The provisional text does not reflect a gender mainstreaming approach, lacking the appropriate mechanisms to manage its effects on women. As a result, the new interregional trade liberalization instrument risks widening gender inequality in both regions. Nevertheless, this research demonstrates that, so far, the EU-Mercosur Association Agreement has neglected this opportunity. The provisional text does not reflect a gender mainstreaming approach, lacking the appropriate mechanisms to manage its effects on women. As a result, the new interregional trade liberalization instrument risks widening gender inequality in both regions.

Women and the employment sector in India – A Review

Women constitute half of the population in India women development and empowerment is the pillar to enhance the economy of India. If India includes 50 % of the women into the workforce the annual growth can reach from1.5 % GDP to 9 %. Just because half of the population is kept away from the workforce, our development is slow. Gender inequality is the main drawback of the Indian society, which has made India remained underdeveloped in many ways. Traditional values and orthodox mentality has never allowed India developed internally. Poverty and hunger is also the product of gender inequality in India, women discrimination at the workplace, there is less payment for more work no social security they are becoming victims of sexual exploitation where as there are some states which are very safe for women like Pune Chandigarh where the police is in charge of making the city safe for women and girl. It is very necessary for the starting to promote gender equality at the school level, people should taught on sex education, violence, sexual violence, there should be more coed schools where both girls and boy study together strict rules and regulation in the society with women police available for the safety of women.

ICT Needs for Rural India - A Review

India is a developing country and for its growth and advancement it is important to bring positive changes and implement new techniques .In this highly populated country ,it's crucial to tackle with the major issues like chronic unemployment ,high level of illiteracy ,women empowerment ,lack of medical facilities, etc. Strengthening and boosting rural livelihood plays a main role into development. The paper is focusing on promoting the rural economy and improving quality of life in remote places. ICT i.e. information and communication technology is powerful media for overcoming these challenges. ICT focuses on improving agriculture activities and enforcing communication and information technologies, helps people in rural area to grow and to create more sources of income. And decrease the poverty rate of the country. And this includes promoting sustainable agriculture, empowering women, introduce new techniques and equitable access to land, water, financial resources, education to all, strengthen health-care facilities, arrange training and awareness programs, expand access to market, promote gender equality and many more. ICT is helping and changing livelihoods of many and if this continues so there will be no gap between rural area and urban area.

Gender Equality and Sustainable Development: Evaluating the Effectiveness of Nigerian Laws and Practices to Guarantee the Woman’s Human Right

In light of the prevalence of discriminatory practices and violence against women, gender equality has been internationally recognized as one of the sustainable development goals to be achieved by state parties before the year 2030. However, achieving equality between men and women has been the greatest human right issue in Nigeria. The main aim of this article is to show that women are important in promoting sustainable development. However there are provisions of the Nigerian law which discriminate against a woman. This article argues that sections 221, 353, 357 and 360 of the Criminal Code and sections 55, 282(2) of the Penal Codediscriminate against a girl or woman. In addition, although Nigeria is a party to a number of international treaties such as CEDAW, gender discrimination remains a major threat to sustainable development. The limited number of women appointed in the senate shows the extent of marginalization of women in Nigeria. For example, the United Nations rating of Nigeria in human development is low due to the fact that the percentage of seats held by women in parliament is so minimal compared to the men. Therefore the findings of this article are to assist policymakers in enforcing sustainable practices that promote gender equality by among other things, amending the relevant provisions of the criminal code and the penal code which discriminates against a female in Nigeria. Finally, to reconsider bringing back the gender equality bill that was rejected for second reading in 2015 at the floor of the senate.

Expanding Opportunities: A Framework for Gender and Socially-Inclusive Climate Resilient Agriculture

Limiting global warming to the 2°C target that countries have committed to in the 2015 Paris Agreement, and reaching the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, will require large-scale expansion of climate-resilient approaches in agriculture and food systems. In order to achieve the scale of change required, coordinated action is needed from global to local levels, from research to policy and investment, and across private, public, and civil society sectors. But at the same time, differential approaches are needed to address gender equality and women's concerns in climate-resilient agriculture. This article sets out a conceptual framework for scaling up climate resilient agriculture (CRA) approaches that are gender and socially inclusive by taking into account these constraints and inequalities across wider areas and different aspects of CRA. It builds on gender and climate-resilient agriculture research and project experience to argue that the additional integration of women's empowerment approaches and dimensions into this scaling framework provides the opportunity to promote gender equality while scaling up. It also identifies gaps and areas for further analysis and research. The intention is to identify potential pathways for developing a gender- and socially-inclusive set of options and strategies, in four key dimensions: climate resilient technologies and practices; climate information services that reach under-reached groups; inclusive finance mechanisms; and promoting leadership in decision-making.

Religion and Attitudes Toward Intimate Partner Violence: A Cross-National Study

In a world where violence against women remains pervasive and serious, intimate partner violence (IPV) is one of the most common and harmful forms of violence against women. Since religion and religiosity have been found to be influential in shaping people’s attitudes toward IPV, this global-scale study investigates the net effects of religion and religiosity on attitudes toward IPV with country-specific influences controlled. Using the data from the World Values Survey conducted between 2017 and 2020 that had 69,578 respondents with Ordinary Least Square regression (OLS) models, this study finds that being religious is related to less accepting attitudes toward IPV, while the frequency of attending religious activities does not have a statistically significant relationship with attitudes toward IPV. Variations in attitudes are found among different religious denominations as well. People belonging to some religious denominations show more acceptance of IPV, so the nuanced differences among specific religions are crucial in creating discrepancies in attitudes across religious people. The results call for more future interdisciplinary and mix-method research to further our understanding of the religious impact on attitudes toward IPV and to promote gender equality globally.

Women and Covid19: How the Italian Government Task Force Fostered Gender Equity

Over the last decades, the social context has been characterized by uncertainty, complexity, and inequalities, with significant impacts on people, groups, and communities. Covid-19 Pandemic has accentuated social discriminations, as inequalities affecting women (World Health Organization, 2018), with repercussions on general income, health, education (Office for National Statistics, 2021) that have been exhausting people, the economic system, and the welfare state (Antonicelli et al., 2020). To cope with these difficulties, on april 10, 2020 the Italian Prime Minister appointed a Task Force of 17 experts with scientific and applicative skills in social and economic fields. Within a short time, the Task Force aimed at identifying practical solutions priming the relaunch of the country. Given the women’s central role in the country’s social and economic development, in the final version of the Task Force plan, Gender Equality was indicated as the third—strategic and innovative—axis, together with Digitization and Green Economy. Its rationale was to promote gender equality in every action, with an allocation of dedicated economic resources. Specifically, the Task Force’s Working Group named “Individuals, Families, and Society” proposed specific initiatives aimed at recognizing and bridging the gender gaps in the various areas, and measures to support vulnerable people. This contribution will focus on the central role that the Task Force has played in encouraging systematic attention to women, considering their needs and the social-economic impacts on their choices and well-being. It will illustrate the Task Force’s internal dynamics (there were four women out of 17 people, then increased), the process of inclusion of different perspectives, both gender and multidisciplinary, and the practices suggested for the post-pandemic rebuilding. The final goal will be to show the inability to promote innovation, resilience and sustainability, without working with and for the community. As shown by the Italian Task Force, an innovative change must consider a multiplicity of perspectives that reflects the complexity of reality, even in the political and decision-making debate. Therefore, it’s central to build multidisciplinary teams that include various professionals from the social sectors, as Social Psychology, Sociology, Pedagogy, Political Philosophy, Demography, and Social Statistics, both women and men.

The Dilemma of Agricultural Mechanization and the Marginalization of Women Farmworkers in Rural Areas

Agricultural mechanization is one of the efforts to accelerate agricultural development through technological changes in agriculture. However, mechanization replaced human labor. The development of agricultural equipment and machinery technology (= Alsintan), which produces agricultural processing machines, has created a new role that replaces agricultural laborers' position. Women farmworkers are the most disadvantaged by mechanization. This study used a qualitative research method with a case study in Gadingsari Village, Bantul. This study shows that agricultural mechanization in Gadingsari Village has shifted the working mechanism of agriculture, to cultivate rice fields from human power to Alsintan, such as tractors, grinding machines, and threshing machines. Apart from leaving the traditional agricultural processing system, this change directly affects female agricultural laborers' employment opportunities because machinery has replaced the job and because men operate the majority of Alsintan. Hence, the dilemma: Changes in agricultural technology accelerate agricultural development, but at the same time increasingly marginalize female agricultural laborers. In the concept of a risk society, gender-biased technology places women at risk of modernity. Consequently, reflection on these risks is needed to find ways to accelerate inclusive agricultural development and promote gender equality