Author: Andre Coleman

According to the definition offered by the World Health Organisation (WHO) (1948) health is ‘a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.’ This paper seeks to offer critical analysis on the definitions of health and illness in respect of prominent academics in the field. Furthermore an in-depth discussion will be raised on the ways health can be perceived in a social context with regards to the relationship between negative social factors and health through the use of studies and surveys.

To find the definition of health one can refer to Kenworthy (2002) who revealed the apparent links to theories that directly relate to health care. A noticeable theory consists of the biomedical concept. This concentrates on the belief that being healthy is to be without recognisable disease. One can see a direct contradiction of the biomedical concept of health in contrast to the definition offered by WHO (1948). On the other hand the WHO recognises that health is not ‘merely the absence of disease or infirmity.’ This undoubtedly questions the strength of the biomedical concept in its definition of health.

The definition revealed by WHO (1948) has similarities with the holistic concept of health which makes reference to the various dimensions of health each relating to each other and the need for health care professionals to treat the individuals and not just one aspect of their health. Ewles and Simnett (1992) made reference to the individual’s physical, mental, emotional spiritual, social, sexual, societal and the environmental aspect of their health.

Equally important is the definition of illness. When the elements of the WHO definition are not fulfilled then the individual may be regarded as ill. This is reflected by the definition offered in Mosby’s Medical Dictionary (2009) [2] . He defines illness as ‘an abnormal process in which aspects of the social, physical, emotional, or intellectual condition and function of a person are diminished or impaired compared with that person’s previous condition.’ McWhinney (1987) [3] described illness as the subjective perception by a patient of an objectively defined disease. This is an interesting argument as it tells us the extent to which a patient may perceive their own illness. Indeed acknowledging this may be helpful in understanding the definition of illness. However on the other hand it does not allow for a uniform concrete definition as we are made aware that social aspects come to play as well as the individuals own perception.

Kenworthy makes an interesting argument when he outlines that health is seen in the context of the distribution of illness, epidemiological patterns and class structures of that society. Helman (1992) builds upon this when he states that the presentation of illness and the way in which an individual responds to it is largely determined by sociological factors. In addition to this he elaborates that these factors influence the perception of which symptoms and signs are abnormal in a given culture. He gives the example of how a child growing in a particular culture learns how to respond to, and express a range of physical or emotional symptoms or social stresses in a culturally patterned way. (Helman 1992) This respect that everyone’s perception of illness will vary.

Abraham & Shanley (1992) [4] have adopted a health belief model which raises four key components of a person’s belief about their own health. This includes how susceptible we are to the illness in question, the seriousness of the illness, the potential costs and the effectiveness of this action in relation to possible alternatives.

The reasons behind the recognition of the socially constructed concept is illustrated by Kenworthy (2002) who points out that nurses for example have become “more person centred and individualised” whereas prior to this there was a more medical -disease orientated approach. This is emphasised by Corbett (1995) who identifies the recognition of the patient in healthcare as an active participant rather than a passive recipient of care Thus it is arguable that with the changing emphasis of care the study of the sociological aspect of patients has become almost a central feature in the education of nurses and doctors.

According to the Poverty Site [5] (2009) poverty and health site the relationship between poverty and health is complex. Various factors are considered such as poor environmental conditions, poor housing, pollution, low education levels and unawareness of needed medical care, financial barriers in accessing health services, and a lack of resources necessary to maintain good health status which may entail poor diets.

The Hillingdon Crime Survey 2004 [6] is a good representation of the direct effects of crime on health. Although it was carried out five years ago it does offer insights into figures as to the direct and indirect effects of crime on health. The survey was based on a random sample of over 2400 residents on the electoral register of whom 25% responded. Twelve point six percent encountered direct effects of crime including physical injury, disability and death resulting from violent assaults, abuse and accidents, including those caused by

dangerous driving. It was discovered that when asked the impact of crime on their health almost seven per cent reported an injury; ‘6.1% onset or relapse of an eating disorder; 9.4% increased use of alcohol, drugs and/or smoking; nearly 60% increased stress or anxiety, 28.2% depression and about 17% each reported isolation and insomnia’. (Hillingdon Crime Survey 2004).

On the other hand the indirect effects of crime on the victim’s health consisted of time off work, financial losses and changes in home circumstances. The findings also disclosed that for some victims, there were long term consequences of higher rates of mental health problems, smoking, alcohol and drug misuse, neglect of their health and ‘risky sexual behaviour’ [7] . The Acheson report () [8] supports this finding as it revealed that fear of crime and violence can affect people’s quality of life and also be a cause of mental distress and social exclusion.

The British Medical Association (2003) [9] identifies the important contribution made to health and illness by the standard of accommodation. Undoubtedly the quality of accommodation is strongly related to income, Therefore it is reasonable to conclude that those with a satisfactory or higher income can minimise the adverse effect of poor housing resulting in better health. The report also reveals that social and physical characteristics of the surrounding area are also vital in maintaining good health. Indeed the fact that poor quality accommodation is often situated in impoverished surroundings contributes further to making vulnerable individuals housebound. The report cited the elderly, the very young and those suffering from long-term ill health amongst the vulnerable individuals who are at particular risk. Thus these groups have the greatest exposure to many specific hazards.

These studies and surveys highlight the importance of social and economic factors as an adverse effect of poor health. We can see that especially those in poor housing conditions and those habiting in deprived high crime areas are most likely to suffer ill health.

However there are encouraging policy and legislation which exists to minimise these social factors on the health of individuals such as the Health and Social Care Act 2008,

The Health Act 2006 prohibiting smoking in certain premises and provides a minimum age of persons to whom tobacco may be sold and the Health Bill 2009 that attempts to improve the quality of NHS care and public health [10] .

It is apparent that the definition of health and illness endorses not only the individuals’ objective medical condition but also the impact of social factors. Whereas the biomedical model of health has a more individualistic approach the socio medial approach is more valuable in giving a considered perception of the definitions of health and illness. Indeed one agrees with Helman’s analysis (1992) as he reveals that the presentation of illness and the way in which an individual responds to it is largely determined by sociological factors. It is also evident that whilst applying the social medical approaches that the relationship between poverty and health should also be acknowledged. If the individuals perception of health is to improve positively then negative social factors which contribute will need to be addressed further; such as low educational attainment levels, poor housing, and dangerous environments including crime levels.

Introduction

Jock Young once said: “At heart, the extent of crime is a political as well ^[1]as a behavioural matter … The figures for crime … are not hard facts in the sense that this is true of the height and weight of physical bodies. They are moral not physical statistics”. It is apparent from this statement that there are inherent flaws in all types of theories of crime causation whether these derive form the sociological, psychological or biological traditions. Nevertheless, crime causation theories form a significant part of modern criminology and have been used extensively to form policy and legislation.

Bearing in mind the limitation of these theories, this essay will try to address the question why sociological theories of criminality suggest that social deprivation and poverty are two of the most significant factors that lead to criminality when two of the most poverty stricken groups, women and the elderly, have low rates of crime.

Crime and poverty: A sociological approach

There are many schools of thought that deal with crime causation. Sociological theories of crime focus on the social dimension of criminality, trying to analyse the sociological reasons that push individuals to commit crime e.g. poverty, shaming, social deprivation, fear etc. Sociology, in general is “the study of social organisation and institutions and of collective behaviour and interaction, including the individual’s relationship to the group”^[2].

As early as 1893, criminologists such as Durkheim asserted that social deprivation and the division of labour in society puts disadvantaged groups in need, often leaving them with no other option but to resort to crime^[3]. Very close to this analysis is the approach of Radical Criminology. This uses Marx’s ideas of capitalist society and social classes claiming that “much proletarian offending could be redefined as a form of redistributive class justice or as a sign of the possessive individualism which resided in the core values of capitalist society”^[4].

Radical Criminology went a step further by arguing that individuals from working classes who resort to crime are in reality victims of a false consciousness that turns proletarian against proletarian. The ultimate goal is to preserve unequal class relations, masking the real nature of crime and repression in capitalist society^[5].

Irrespective of whether we adopt the sociological explanation of the Traditional or Radical Criminology, there is still a paradox that both theories seem to overlook. If crime is closely related to class, social deprivation and poverty – regardless of whether this is a construct of capitalism or simply a means to survival – there is still not an adequate explanation as to why the female and older groups that form great part of poor classes render very low criminality rates.

The correlation between, crime, poverty and gender/age

The two most powerful demographic features that discriminate between offenders and non-offenders but at same time provide a good explanation of criminal behaviour are gender and age. At one time there was so little criminality from female and older groups that criminologists turned their attention to it.

John Hagan justified the low crime levels within female groups by saying that male groups often see crime as a source of fun and excitement, which is not often the case with female groups which are more family-oriented due to the maternity role they carry^[6]. Moreover, daughters are believed to be more frequently subject to intense, continual and diffuse family control in the private and domestic environments and this gradually develops among female groups a stronger feeling of emotional sanctions than physical or custodial controls. Therefore, shaming methodologies and the withdrawn of love and affection have greater impact on female groups than incapacitation. This system does not need the intervention of the criminal justice system but of close family guidance. Finally, this close family control also encourages female groups to stay away from the “purview of agents of formal social control”^[7].

Carlen’s findings reinforce this theory as he collected evidence that showed “female criminals were most likely to emerge when domestic family controls were removed altogether”^[8].

With minor exceptions the crimes of the elderly have not been in the focus of criminological attention^[9]. Stephens argues that older people who belong to poor classes are more concerned with survival issues and do not feel empowered to resort to crime apart from occasional petty offences. They also lack the physical and psychological motivation to commit serious crimes such as murder or robbery.

However, this is not the case with older people from wealthy classes as these groups are most often characterised by power, greed. They also carry the advantage of experience. However, again, they lack the physical energy to commit violent crimes and that is why they tend to focus on financial offences.

Conclusion

It is apparent from the above analysis that sociological theories that use poverty and social deprivation to explain crime do not clash with the low levels of criminality within female and older groups. Male groups from poor classes render higher rates because they do not experience the same control mechanisms that female and older groups receive. When these mechanisms are lifted (e.g. because there is no close family control or because the feeling of survival is not that evident), then the risk is the same.

Bibliography

Box S (1983) Power, Crime and Mystification, London: Tavistock.

Carlen P (1988) Women, Crime and Poverty, Milton Keynes: Open University Press.

Durkheim E (1953) The Division of Labour in Society, Oxford: Oxford University Press

Rock P (1997) “Sociological Theories of Crime” The Oxford Handbook of Criminology, Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Haggan J (1979) “The Sexual Stratification of Social Control” 30 British Journal of Sociology.

Stephens J (1976) Loners, Losers and Lovers. Seattle, Washington: University of Washington.

Young J (1988) “Radical Criminology in Britain: The Emergence of a Competing Paradigm” 28 British Journal of Criminology

1

The phenomenal stretch of Globalization has touched and affected, positively or negatively as well, practically every aspect of human existence, through its varying tentacles in its ever-propagating areas of influence. The recognition and acceptance of the phenomena of Corporate Social Responsibility (hereinafter referred to as CSR), in developed as well as developing countries, is a doting example of the same. It needs a special mention that CSR is nowhere a legally sanctioned document or observance, but it indeed, has come forth as a minimal standard as to the governance of business at global level, with international reference standards set by the United Nations, Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) guidelines and International Labour Organization (ILO) conventions.

The primary reason as to why this phenomena is rising at such a fast pace, is the global competitiveness ensuing between the business houses of different countries. The corporates mainly demonstrate the extra responsibility to earn the goodwill of the market, and CSR helps in building loyalty and trust amongst shareholders, employees and customers. In this sense CSR denotes a voluntary endeavour by the big business houses to look into the varied issues and concerns of the public at large, apart from the profit-maximising objectives.

CSR is closely linked with the principle of sustainable development, which argues that enterprises should make decisions based not only on financial factors such as profits or dividends but also based on immediate and long term social and environmental consequences of its activities. CSR has a significant role in controlling the perils of uncontrolled development, satisfying the needs of the present generation and at the same time ensuring that the resources of future generations is not jeopardized. [1] The inclusion of the objective of ‘sustainable development’ within the CSR agenda magnifies the duties and responsibilities of the big business houses, upto a large extent, which cannot be made limited as per any parameters. The realization of the ultimate objective of sustainable development is a long and continuous process, and is rather more inclusive, which includes the interest of the developing nations also.

The impact of CSR in context of developing nations, as evident, is rather a negative impact. The primary reason as identified by the authors seems to be the inappropriate approach towards the practical applicability of the CSR in the developing countries. There is lacunae in the structural approach towards implementation of the CSR agenda within the developing countries, mainly due to the irresponsible inactiveness on the part of the government of the developing countries, in framing its policies and regulations as per the international norms and requirements, as CSR is largely a global phenomena.

In this research paper, a structural and conceptual analysis is done with regard to the difficulties faced by the developing countries in implementing the CSR initiatives. This paper is an attempt to identify such issues which attributes to the failure of CSR in developing nations, and also identify the correct possible approaches to properly reap up the benefits of the CSR agenda and initiatives evolved mainly through the internationalization of the initiatives taken in the developed countries, by various approaches to be discussed herein.

EVOLUTION OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AS A FULCRUM OF SOCIAL RESPONSIVENESS

What exactly is inferred from the social responsibility of the corporations? The corporations are generally expected to strengthen and mobilize the economy by enhancing profit, the social implications of which are highly overlooked. The concept of CSR refers to the general belief held by many that modern businesses have a responsibility to society that extends beyond the stock holders or investors in the firm. That responsibility, of course, is to make money or profits for the owners. [2] In 1960, Keith Davis suggested that social responsibility refers to businesses’ “decisions and actions taken for reasons at least partially beyond the firm’s direct economic or technical interest.” Also it has been argued by Eells and Walton (1961) that CSR refers to the “problems that arise when corporate enterprise casts its shadow on the social scene, and the ethical principles that ought to govern the relationship between corporation and society. [3]

The current wave of interest in CSR dates from the early 1990s. [4] However, in recent years the CSR has emerged as an inclusive and global concept to embrace corporate social responsiveness, and the entire spectrum of socially beneficial activities of businesses. It follows the trend of a diffusion process of policy instruments from North to South and therefore of a global convergence of policy structures. [5]

Now the term ‘social’ within the CSR is again a vague concept and enlarges the sphere of the corporate responsiveness. The social dimension of the CSR can effectively be attributed to the organizations’ stakeholders, who are in the immediate connect to the corporation. Stakeholders denote the group of persons who have a stake, a claim, or an interest in the operations and decisions of the corporation. This bond of the corporation with the stake-holders practically denotes the area of social operation of the corporations. The

The idea of CSR cannot be traced as to the place of its origin and evolution, since it is mainly a progeny of the globalization, which is encumbrancing in itself, the world at large. Therefore, the concept of stake-holder management becomes an effective instrument to analyse the social impact of the corporations. This methodology can have, or rather it has appeared to be an aberration, which practically excludes the impact on the developing nations, as it is a very common fact that the activity of the stake-holders of the developing nations cannot match upto that of the developed ones.

One tangible result that has certainly been achieved by the current CSR”movement” is that it “has got people talking about worker rights, global governance, sustainable enterprise and all manner of topics that have relevance to the well-being of the poor and marginalized”. [6]

The effective implementation of CSR in developing countries has come forth to be recognized as a challenge after the vision in the year 2000 was instilled in the Milleneum Development Goals (MDGs) as ‘a world with less poverty, hunger and disease, greater survival prospects for mothers and their infants, better educated children, equal opportunities for women, and a healthier environment’.

CSR AND DEVELOPING COUNTRIES: IDENTIFYING THE CONNECTION

The CSR in connection with developing countries can be considered as ‘to represent ‘the formal and informal ways in which business makes a contribution to improving the governance, social, ethical, labour and environmental conditions of the developing countries in which they operate, while remaining sensitive to prevailing religious, historical and cultural contexts’. [7] The analysis of the effectiveness of the CSR cannot be considered to be complete unless its impact on the developing countries is identified, as they represent the most rapidly expanding economies, providing for a lucrative market for the growth of the corporate business. It is a common fact that the world’s poor are distressingly plentiful, and despite of the vastness of their market, they are largely unexplored by the multinational companies, in assumption that the people of the developing countries are more busy in sustaining their normal living rather than going for any developmental incentives. Also it is assumed that various barriers to commerce – corruption, illiteracy, inadequate infrastructure, currency fluctuations, bureaucratic red tape etc, make it impossible to do business profitable in these regions.

The authors assert this fact that the above notions and assumptions are largely outdated. It is well-evident in the current scenario that the large number of corporate houses prefer the markets in the developing countries only, as it provides them with ample oppurtunities to maximize the profitability, and the restrictions assumed are hardly existent. Moreover, certain positive trends in developing countries – from political reform, to a growing openness to investment, to the development of low-cost wireless communication networks – are reducing the barriers further while also providing businesses with greater access to even the poorest city slums and rural areas. [8]

Since in developing countries, rural areas represents more than half of the population, for instance in India, 60% of GDP is generated in rural areas. The critical barrier to doing business in rural regions is distribution access, not a lack of buying power, but new information technology and communications infrastructures – especially wireless – promise to become an inexpensive way to establish marketing and distribution channels in these communities. [9]

CURRENT STATE OF CSR IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

It is argued that the practice of CSR is a work in progress. The idea of evolution of CSR as a concept clearly envisages the fact that it has mainly evolved through an active participation of the developed world, and then it got internationalized, and ultimately it is in a process of reaching to the developing ones also. In the present scenario, no matter what kind of effect it is producing, but it is propagating at a very fast pace, in the developing countries due to the ample market available therein. It has been seen that the developing countries also opened up their economy and whole-heatedly welcomed the advent of foreign companies into their territory as a part of their liberalization strategies. It has been quite beneficial for the foreign investors as well, since the developing countries enrich them with huge profitable market. With increased emphasis on the profit-making, the CSR development agenda has definitely taken a backseat in the developing countries. In his analysis of the relationship between companies and poorer local communities, Newell concluded that “mainstream CSR approaches assume a set of conditions that do not exist in most of the world. CSR can work, for some people, in some places, on some issues, some of the time” [10] . And in the process, the CSR looses the connect with the real life situations of the developing world.

Following are the bases on which the CSR is rendered ineffective in context of developing countries:

The Stakeholder Concept

It has been observed that, in the present time, it benefits some people and some companies in some situations. The success of CSR initiatives can be linked to the stakeholder dialogue and stakeholder engagement, who can bring together representatives of business, non-governmental and public sectors in order to identify and address aspects of social responsibility. However, in context of developing countries, this stakeholder dialogue cannot be effectively realized due to various unwanted barriers such as language, culture, education and pluralistic values, which adversely affects the negotiations and decision-making.

Moreover, one more obstacle that hampers the positive advantage of CSR in developing countries is the prioritization of the interest. As the stake-holders represents the common will of the civil society, but it depends upon their priorities and interest, the success of the CSR, for instance, those groups whose issues and problems are not taken up by the civil society organizations may also be ignored by firms. Notwithstanding the role of organized labour, the unorganized sector can rarely present a threat to a firm’s productivity, nor is the firm’s dependence on them likely to be high. Elaine Sternberg alleges that stakeholding is unworkable and destroys accountability within a firm, as the stakeholders are usually seen as all those who affect or are affected by a corporation. [11] This shows that the CSR for the unorganized sector, which represents a significant proportion of the population in developing countries (more than 50% in India) is highly neglected.

The CSR business case

It is a common practice that the companies are generally meant for their profit-maximising attributes based on the competitive advantage, and to maintain corporate reputation, the beneficial impact on staff morale, etc, and thereby the lessening the involvement of theirs in developing countries. The business case is simply the arguments and rationales as to why business people believe these concepts bring distinct benefits or advantages to companies, specifically, and the business community, generally. One of the possible explanation to the business case of the corporate is given by Simon Zadek, who says that the corporate follow the defensive approach, i.e., companies should pursue CSR to avoid the pressures that create costs for them. [12] The second approach identified by Zadek is the cost-benefit approach, which holds that firm will undertake those activities that yield a greater benefit than cost. The third approach can be that the firms will recognize the changing environment and engage in CSR as a part of a deliberate corporate strategy. As a consequence, CSR is commonly focused on add-on measures and technical solutions, to a certain extent neglecting the contextual environment or even the intended beneficiaries that are addressed by the CSR measures. In this sense, the big business-hubs only act so as to maintain their healthy reputation, and thereby neglecting their social responsibilities, and even if they pursue their social responsibilities, the interest of the developing countries is even not represented there, as the issues are normally evolved in the developed world, which are quite different to that of the developing world.

The inappropriate CSR agenda

Though CSR has evolved as an umbrella concept, but still there many issues which are left unaddressed under the ambit of CSR, and which renders the effective applicability of CSR in developing countries, a potentially difficult task to achieve. The CSR agenda are mainly framed in developed countries, and hence they could not identify the practical situations faced by the developing world, like tax avoidance and transfer-pricing problems, the resource curse effects of the influx of the foreign aid or revenues, etc. This problem is ever-propagating since there is inactiveness on the part of the developing countries, mainly represented through the very few stakeholders, who do not at all represents the actual situation. The appropriateness of the CSR agenda can be ascertained once the representation of the developing countries is adequately ensured while framing the agenda, so that a more inclusive approach can be taken into consideration, including the varied concerns of the developing countries, ab initio.

POSSIBLE APPROACHES TO EFFECTIVELY IMPLEMENT THE CSR IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

So far, the concept of CSR has mainly evolved through the concerns and interest of the investors, companies, campaign groups and consumers based in the developed countries. As a result of this, the CSR agenda with regard to the developing countries is very difficult to realize. It has been observed that the impact of CSR in context of the developing countries is rather negative, due to various conceptual as well as structural inadequacies. However, as observed, the developing countries are a potential hub for the growth of CSR accordingly to achieve its ultimate cherished goal of sustainable development. Although the CSR is a global phenomena, its implications can very well be sensed at the local boundaries of the individual States as well. Due to various structural differences within the developing countries, the ‘State Activism’ needs to be enhanced to properly harvest the ripe benefits of the CSR initiatives. The States need to mould the national policies so as to recognize the concerns of the stakeholders of the developed countries. The following initiatives could go a long way for procuring the positive outcome of the CSR in developing Countries:

Free acces to market

As it is well-known that the markets in the developing countries provides for a potential market and the CSR mainly acts through the stake-holders, the CSR objectives can be effectively realized by making possible maximum number of participation from the consumers, so that minute interest of the consumers which are often neglected being unidentified, can be given due consideration. The market policies of the States should be so formulated, as to promote extended participation from the consumers. This becomes especially relevant as more and more companies from developing countries are globalizing and needing to comply with international stock market listing requirements, including various forms of sustainability performance reporting and CSR code compliance.

Socio-Political Reforms

The Government of the developing countries should induce political reforms so that the problems and issues at the ground level can be identified, and then only the CSR initiatives could be effectively realized forthwith. For example, De Oliveira (2006) argues that the political and associated social and economic changes in Latin America since the 1980s, including democratization, liberalization, and privatization, have shifted the role of business towards taking greater responsibility for social and environmental issues. [13]

Enhancing the investment incentives

It is a common assumption that there is not much scope for investment in the poorer countries as they are largely occupied by the fulfilling of their basic requirements. There comes the responsibility of the concerned Government to frame policies so as to promote ‘socially responsible investment’ (SRI), so that the corporate houses could be attracted to invest in the developing countries. For instance, In some developing countries, like South Africa, the SRI trend is well documented (AICC, 2002). In addition to featuring prominently in the SRI movement in the 1980s through the anti-apartheid disinvestment phenomenon, since 1992, South Africa has introduced more than 20 SRI funds nationally which track companies’

social, ethical, and environmental performance (Visser, 2005a).

Propagating Stakeholder Activism

As discusses earlier, that the CSR mainly works with respect to the stakeholders, who have certain pecuniary interest in the whereabouts of the business house, and they represent a very segregated part of the actual mass of population, and hence, the interest of the large part of the developing world could not be identified. The stakeholders are generally confined in the furtherance of their own petty interest, and therefore, it becomes impossible for the Corporate to identify the interests of the consumers at large. And hence, the onus shifts on the concerned government to intiate such policies to enhance stakeholder activism. In the developing world, the stakeholders agencies such as NGOs, Trade Unions, International Business Associations could be mobilized to ensure their participation in CSR activities, as they represent the class of stakeholders who mainly work at the primary level and are well aware of the existing issues and circumstances. Newell identifies the Stakeholder Activism in developing countries as civil regulation, litigation against companies, which go a long way in procuring the interest of the developing world. There are numerous examples of civil regulation in action in the developing world of which South Africa is a rather striking case in point. This has manifested itself mainly through community groups challenging companies over whether they are upholding the constitutional rights of citizens. Various landmark cases between 1994 and 2004 suggest that, although civil society still tends

to lack capacity and resources in South Africa, this has been an effective strategy. Stakeholder activism has also taken a constructive approach towards encouraging CSR, through groups like the National Business Initiative and partnerships between business and NGOs. [14]

The theory of ‘Organizational Legitimacy’ as a possible solution the implementation of CSR in developing Countries

This theory of ‘Organizational Legitimacy’ can have various dimensions, but through a strategic view-point, the focus rests on the organization and assumes a relatively high degree of managerial control over the legitimating process. In the institutionalist tradition, a broader perspective is taken (“society looking in”), focusing on how organisations or groups of organisations adapt to their institutional environments in order to manage legitimacy. Here, legitimacy is not seen as an operational resource, but rather as a set of external constraints, forming the actions of the organization. [15] Therefore, this theory of organizational legitimacy imposes upon the business houses, a certain kind of ethical constraints, to be complied with, for effective implementation of the CSR agenda. Suchman defined Legitimacy “as a generalized perception or assumption that the actions of an entity are desirable, proper, or appropriate within some socially constructed system of norms, values, beliefs, and definitions”. This definition denotes the principle of moral legitimacy which the organizations follow to appear consistent with one’s external expectations in order to be able to continue business as usual. This theory need not be made universally applicable as in the judgment whether an organization and its actions are legitimate or not, is rather socially construed, and therefore subject to change depending upon the socio-political environment, the organization is established into.

CONCLUSION

In view of the above discussion, it is well-evident that the CSR has not been able to properly stretch its tentacles in the developing world, due to various conceptual and structural obstacles. The reason could be primarily attributed to the fact that mostly the issues are not recognized and thus have not come forth within the ambit of the CSR agenda, due to the shortcomings in the policies of the developing countries.

It is pertinent to observe the conceptual aspects of the CSR beyond the customary approaches being carried thereon. It cannot be necessarily assumed that CSR is ineffective in context of developing countries, rather there is problem with the identification and acknowledgement, of the issues which needs to be addressed. If the CSR standards with respect to the worker’s right and natural resource management are looked into, it is observed that for people in developing countries, it has been inadequately addressed. This issue of identification of the problems at the ground level can be mainly attributed to the fact that the stakeholders, who are primarily in touch with the CSR agenda, represent a very minimal proportion of the actual working population, and also the stakeholders are primarily bothered about their own self-interests. The policy of Stakeholder Activism initiated by certain States is a welcome move in this regard, and this could go a long way in ensuring the representation of the larger mass of population in the mainstream CSR agenda.

Thus it is inferred that the failure of CSR agenda in the developing countries is a mainly a structural inadequacy rather than any practical or procedural aberration. However, regarding CSR in the context of developing countries, the explanatory power of organizational legitimacy goes beyond its customary tradition. The institutional array of organizational legitimacy proves as a useful body of theory to inform CSR in a developing country context, since it is able to address cultural factors and goes beyond business case considerations. Therefore, the CSR initiatives being seen through the organizational legitimacy theory can effectively solve the problem of non-implementation of the CSR policies in the developing world.

It is pertinent to observe at this juncture, that ‘State Activism’ is urgently required to mobilize the dormant effect of the CSR policies, in the developing countries. The State needs to frame regulations and policies, in their municipal laws so that CSR initiatives could reach to the people at large, rather than being confined to the minor stakeholders. The ineffective realization of the CSR policies is mainly a structural aberration, which needs to be solved by taking into consideration the issues and problems at the ground level.

Transformations in agriculture, natural resource management, exploited tourism, and absentee ranch ownership have changed the face of many rural communities. Several of these changes and other factors have led many rural communities to experience serious declines in their economies during the past decades. These changes have been exacerbated by recent economic hardships further depleting the economy and resources of rural communities. Thus, the precursors and consequences of poverty for families in these communities deserve attention. While Wilson (1987) brought the demographic changes related to urban poverty to light, larger explanations of rural poverty have been less of a research focus. Families living in rural communities are sometimes expected to be buffered by the effects of poverty by maintaining strong family and community connections. However, many of the changes related to family structures and community involvement that often lead to negative outcomes have also become characteristics of rural living (MacTavish & Salamon, 2003). In studying rural families in poverty, I propose two theoretical perspectives, symbolic interaction theory and social exchange theory that can help guide research and illuminate some of the issues related to families in poverty in such communities.

Symbolic Interaction Theory

Symbols are used by humans, according to their contexts, to describe the meaning behind physical objects and occurrences. Socialization is considered the propellant of symbols in society. Individuals comprehend situations through symbols and perceived roles of self and others. Human behaviors actualize through the process of perceiving symbols and roles (White & Kline, 2002; Blumer, 1967; Mead). Thus, symbolic interaction theory emphasizes how people perceive themselves within and outside the family environment. Several assumptions are captured in this theory, including that people live in a symbolic world, people learn about selves through interactions with others, individuals have minds and can analyze the self, and people learn their roles within society from the society (White & Kline, 2002). Thus, images and symbols are found throughout the ecological system, including how the individual perceives, family interactions, and community interactions found within a rural community. Symbols about rural living are also carried throughout the broader macro system and expectations of the larger society. Symbolic interaction sheds light on rural families coping in poverty on two important fronts. First, understanding the symbols, meaning, and interactions related to poor families in the community can bring awareness to communities and hopefully allow for more social mobility among their residents. Second, understanding the symbols, meanings, and interactions within the family can help families sense of cohesion and ability to cope (Kaplan & Hennon, 1990; Turner).

Stigmatized symbols related to poverty are often made explicit as a person conducts their daily life. For example, using food stamps at the grocery store especially in a small community is in full view. A family in poverty cannot hide this in private life; there is typically not a front about this (Goffman, 1963). Poor youth in schools will confront meanings about the clothes they wear (name brand or not) and what it means to stand in line for a free or reduced lunch. Students from families who may be struggling to make ends meet may need to stay in after school programs which may also hold a negative connotation with other school youth (McLoyd et al. 2009; Pogash, 2008). These negative connections to symbols may follow families and youth throughout a lifetime in rural communities. For example, a parent may have a poor interaction with the youth’s school, not knowing how to navigate its systems. The school may then come to expect a child’s poor actions and soon a youth may experience this in the grocery store and throughout the community. These interactions may then be tied to a family name. This addresses one of the several mechanisms through which stratification in a community is maintained by legitimatizing certain stereotypes (source). These are beliefs that are widely accepted and taken for granted, for instance the meaning behind a family name. Furthermore, there may be symbolic people in the community who maintain power and perhaps perpetuate poverty within a community (Bourdieu, 1986). A person may be in charge of a manufacturing company and the workers must buy all manufactured owned products by shopping at the manufacturing grocery store. Then everything goes back into the system where a small group of people or one family retains power. For example, plantation owners gave low wage jobs to keep poor in “their place” and limited their education which equaled low literacy rates for workers. Thus, people in poverty cannot move upward. This has often also happen through racism in the US. Thus, it would be important to understand who has the symbolic power in a community and it may be important to trace this back further than expected in order to clearly understand the history of a region and how certain families have maintained power or even remained poor (Duncan, 1996). A lack of distrust of certain families can occur and arbitrary power can be carried over into the state of contemporary communities. Hence, people forget to see the political nature of their problems and poverty gets seen as a personal problem as highlighted through Mill’s (1956) concept on the sociological imagination.

Finally, the researcher may meet with families to understand how symbols within their one family unit are carried out. This has been used as a helpful therapy tool for families in conflict. Many poor families experience extreme stress related to a lack of resources and so understanding the role strain within families and different meanings attributed to certain actions would also be important for families in poverty (Kaplan & Hennon, 1990; Turner; Seccombe, 2006).

Thus, regarding research questions, the researcher may pose several inquiries related to the symbolic power in the community and the symbolism related to being poor in the community. The researcher would ask about the certain families that have power in the community. What does it mean to live in a certain area of town? What actions are socially approved in the community? When do you feel like your family is not receiving social approval? How is social status distributed in the community? Also, family members would be asked how they view their specific situation within their family. What burdens do they experience because of their role in the family? What is the meaning behind certain conflicts in their family?

Social Exchange Theory

Social exchange theory can help researchers consider why families stay in their communities when there may be other alternatives out of poverty if they moved. Social exchange theory describes the characteristics and motivations for humans’ social behaviors by a system of perceived rewards and costs. Social exchange theory arose out of utilitarian ideas, emphasizing how people are motivated to act in relationships by maximizing their perceived rewards and minimizing their perceived costs. A reward is anything perceived as a benefit to an individual, family, or relational unit; costs are anything perceived as a reward forgone. Social exchange theory asserts that people rationally calculate while assessing decisions based on the profit ratio of costs and rewards (White & Kline, 2002). Theorist such as Homans (1961) believed in generalized rewards that most people would adhere to – he suggested social approval as the main generalized reward and motivator for humans. Other theorists have proposed generalized rewards such as love, personal attraction, instrumental services, respect, and power (Blau, 1964), status, services, goods, information, and money (Foa & Foa, 1980), autonomy, predictability, security, agreement, and equality of resources (Nye, 1979).

Thus, a researcher would assume that a family would rationally calculate about why they decide to stay in a rural environment in poverty when there may be other alternatives. The researcher would want to understand how families’ situations may apply to the described rewards or costs above. The other alternatives for families must also be understood. The value and meaning of living in a rural community must be elucidated; thus, ideas related to symbolic interaction would also be employed to enhance understanding. On one hand, families’ choice to live in a rural environment may have higher benefits compared to the costs of living in an urban environment. We must understand what the costs mean to families. The benefits and costs may relate to rural living sentiments (Elder & Conger, 2000). Rural families may view a huge cost associated with moving and starting over in a new community. A benefit for staying would be familiarity, perhaps a connection to the land, and social supports in the community (Elder & Conger, 2000). However, a cost of living in the rural environment may be unsteady work and lack of job opportunities. We might also want to consider why poor young adults would choose to stay in the rural community versus leaving the rural community. The researcher would want to understand the costs and benefits of things associated with leaving and going. What are the social stigmas associated with staying or leaving? What job opportunities, educational attainment, marriage choices, and lifestyle choices exist relative to leaving or staying? We would also want to clearly understand the comparison levels of alternatives for the families in poverty. If they see limited job opportunities in new areas, the comparison level is low and they will not be motivated to move. This may be the case for young adults as well, if they view the comparison level of alternatives as low they will likely stay where they are. However, if the comparison level of alternatives is high, they will likely move and change their situation (White & Kline, 2002). Homans (1961) also thought people gravitate toward social equals as people can gain more social approval this way, what he labeled “the cost of inferiority”. This may help explain why certain parts of a town remain more poverty stricken as people with similar social and human capital gravitate toward one another. It might also be important to understand how this has worked out in community life in a rural environment.

The researchers may also want to understand these choices at a larger macro level. In this view, parents, schools, and government make investments in the human and social capital of families and children (Haveman & Wolfe, 1994; Strauss). Thus, the researcher may meet with community leaders to understand how they are investing in poor families and youth to understand their cost to benefit ratio. Do they see investments in the social mobility of families as reaping long term benefits that outweigh the social problems related to poverty?

Regarding specific research questions, we would want to ask specifically what the advantages of staying in the rural community are. What are the costs of leaving and what are the costs of staying? We would want to clearly understand the meaning of the costs and rewards through in depth qualitative interviews. What does rural living mean to them? These would be similar questions also relevant to the symbolic interaction questions. What symbols are associated with moving and how does this lead to views related to costs or rewards? Why do families live in certain areas of the community? What are the cost and benefits to community leaders of helping poor families with social mobility?

Related to the two theoretical perspectives, the types of data the researcher collects would also be important. Associated to symbolic interaction we would want to do in depth observations in the community trying to understand the different symbols related to statuses and families in the community. This would require observations at several institutions; the researchers would meet with people from all different power statuses within the community. We would hopefully gain access to the private life of several families where perhaps less filtering is done (Goffman, 1963). We may ask many clarifying questions related to the symbols and reflect on our own biases about these symbols. We would want to look for places within the community and related to different families where these symbols matched or had discrepancies. Related to social exchange theory, we would likely gain the most information from the in-depth interviews with families and young adults understanding the exact costs and benefits these families associate with their lives. Our work with symbolic interaction theory would most likely enhance our understanding of the benefits and rewards related to these families as they reflect on why they stay or go. Data should also be collected on community leaders regarding their views of the costs and benefits related to assisting poor families in their community.

Limitations

The suggested theories may lead the researcher to many interesting questions and data collection efforts, however, the suggested theories also pose several limitations. Social exchange theory for instance is a bit behaviorist, implying all human interaction is a response to a benefit/cost ratio. Researchers must account for the symbols related to rewards and costs as rewards may be unseen and not understood by others. A closed system of understanding rewards may be found in several communities (Acock). Clearly defining rewards and costs would be an important first step before asserting research entirely from a social exchange theorists view point. Clearly, this is an area where symbolic interaction could enhance social exchange theory.

Furthermore, asserting that humans always act rationally may be an overstatement. Social exchange theory may also not account for individuals of younger ages who have not fully developed their ability to calculate rationally. Social exchange theory also asserts that individuals are motivated by their own self-interests, some theorists have allowed for people to act in the best interest of their families but clearly understanding the mechanisms of how an individual’s desires transform into the family’s self-interest may pose a hardship in research (White & Kline, 2002). Understanding these explicit processes is an area for future research. Additionally, decisions based on the profit/cost ratio may be made sub-consciously and bringing this subconscious information into the forefront of research may also pose challenges. However, it is important to examine the cost and rewards associated with why people choose to stay in or leave rural communities as these reasons are critical for the economic vitality and in understanding how to encourage others to move or stay within their community. Understanding these motivations for young adults and youth who will be the face of rural communities in the future is especially important. Understanding the exchanges for families in poverty is also important to ascertain mechanisms that may help their social mobility.

Symbolic interaction may also pose limitations in this study. Symbolic interaction does not deal very well with how people handle emotions (White & Kline, 2002). When looking at coping in poverty, emotions certainly play a large role in how families deal with their situation. Furthermore, this type of research is hard to generalize to other communities or cultures as the symbols used are likely only highly relevant to the community being researched. Symbolic interaction also emphasizes the importance of meaning to individuals – how the individual views others, is viewed by others, and behaves related to meaning. As this research is specifically studying families, it may be hard to keep the unit of analysis as a family group. Symbolic interaction tends to view the family as a collection of individuals. This may or may not pose issues with the research depending on the unit of analysis of interest.

The “sexual revolution” opened the way for greater expression and practise of female sexuality, at least in Western cultures. However, society has historically and still does exert control over female sexuality. This control, in fact, underlies men’s general control of women in society. Such control is accomplished through gender definition and social pressure, and economic and political oppression.

First, women are conditioned to certain, often oppressive, gender roles by hegemonically male society. Connell (1995) first introduced the term ‘hegemonic masculinity’ as a description of the most valued definition of manhood in a given society. He held that whilst in any society there are many possible types of masculinity, only a few will be the most valued or “ideal” (Connell, 1995). Society then provides power and benefit to males fitting in this hegemonic definition, establishing their dominance in relation to what is considered feminine and in relation to other, less ideal masculinities. As such, hegemonic masculinity becomes justification for both the hegemonically masculine man’s domination of women and over other men (Cohn and Weber, 1999).

For example, Butler (1990) found that most women are trained from early childhood that caring for a home and family are appropriate women’s activities. She describes how little girls are given dolls and encouraged to nurture, versus little boys who are given blocks and encouraged to build things. Certain behaviours are also considered acceptable for girls but not boys, and vice versa. Girls are allowed to cry and be more emotionally expressive in their gender roles. Boys are allowed to be more aggressive and assertive (Butler, 1990). In terms of female sexuality, girls are often taught to be “little ladies,” who do not spread their legs whilst wearing a dress or express their sexuality. Female sexuality is presented as something to be guarded, and young women are encouraged to be “good girls.” Such gender roles are reinforced by various authority figures, such as teachers and parents. Barnes (2003) finds social workers, for example, will often assume a “disciplinary gaze” to communicate their understandings of appropriate behaviour for women, typically reinforcing traditional gender roles (149).

Gender roles tend to be more strongly reinforced and women’s sexuality typically more constrained when opportunities for women outside the home expand. For example, during World War II, when many women occupied jobs traditionally held by men, there is strong reference in the media regarding chaste women as “patriotic” (Hegarty, 1998). “‘Promiscious’ female sexuality became a prime target during wartime” (Hegarty 1998, 115). Acceptable male behaviour of the same period, however, included “drinking, gambling, fighting, and picking up women” (Hegarty, 1998, 121).

Hegarty (1998) describes in society how the “virtuous wife / mother and virginial daughter, devoted to domestic pursuits in their place – the home” is often presented as “a symbolic measure of social stability” (113). Sexually open women, in contrast, are considered “deviant” and refered to by negative language such as “slut,” “whore,” and “prostitute.” There are few negative words in the English language that refer to a sexually open man. Male virgins are often a subject of ridicule in movies and television, whilst promiscious women have historically been portrayed in the media and in culture as destructive to individuals and society, and as spreaders of venereal disease (Hegarty, 1998).

These gender roles, embedded in Western society and reinforced through family, authority figures, and the media, create social pressures that exert control over women’s sexual activity. Whilst there has certainly been a relaxation of attitudes towards sex in recent decades, women are still expected to exert more restraint and control than men regarding their sexuality and sexual practices, and are more likely to be judged or condemned for sexual openness.

Economic and political oppression is another way that female sexuality is controlled. In some cultures and countries, this is through political legislation or religious rules. For example, women in many Arab countries, such as Saudia Arabia, are not legally allowed to vote, drive cars, or own property (Berk, 1985). Religious restrictions in some Muslim countries even prevent women from wearing anything but a very loose garment or from uncovering their heads in public, lest they “entice” a man. This strongly portrays such reaction from men to women’s appearance as the woman’s fault. Such practice occurs in Western society to a lesser extent, although not regluated by legislation. Victims of rape, for example, are often portrayed as enticingly dressed or “loose” in their sexual expressions as justification for such crimes (Butler, 1990).

A number of countries with strong religious foundations for their governments also directly legislate birth control and abortions, thereby exerting political control over female sexuality. Many countries with Muslim or Catholic foundations to their government restrict the use of birth control and do not allow abortions for any reason (Butler, 1990). As such, these governments control female sexuality, as women must then be concerned regarding unwanted pregnancy, often curtailing their sexual activity. Men obviously do not face such issues, and are therefore less curtailed by such laws (Butler, 1990).

Economically, unequal vocational opportunities and a social responsibility for housework place many women in a dependent state on the men in their lives. A woman with small children and little work experience, for example, is in a much more difficult economic condition to leave her husband or make decisions contrary to his wishes (Berk, 1985). Baxter (2001), in review of multiple studies on gender and housework , concludes “women do a much larger proportion of child care and routine indoor housework tasks than men, regardless of marital status,” educational attainment, or vocational duties (19). Such duties leave them in an economically dependent state, where their sexual wishes are often subverted to accomodate the men on whom they depend (Oakley, 1974).

Acceptable expression of sexuality, therefore, becomes one that is either controlled by or designed to serve men (Butler, 1990). For example, pictures of attractive women provacatively dressed in popular magazines serve as both a reinforcement to women that their attractiveness to men is of prime importance, and provide men with stimulating pictures. Hawkesworth (1997) contends that many men would be happy to look at such pictures, but not for their wives or daughters to dress or portray themselves as such in public. As such, women are constrained to dress or behave a certain way at the bidding of men, not as a direct expression of their own wants or desires (Hawkesworth, 1997)

Such social pressure, political and economic oppression allow not only control of women’s sexuality, but of a more general control of women by men in society. As social systems were typically designed by men and with their best interests in mind (such as the wife staying home to ‘serve’ her husband, whilst he participates in career and other interests and even equally employed women retaining responsiblity for many hours of unpaid household labour each week), the control of women and keeping of them “in their place” becomes a need in regard to stability (Oakely, 1974, Hegarty, 1998). Expressions of women that conflict with such traditional power relationships, including that of female sexuality, therefore threaten both the fabric of society and the power position of men within it.

REFERENCES

Barnes, A. 2003. Social Work, Young Women, and Femininity. Affilia, Vol. 18, No. 2, Summer 2003, pp. 148-164.

Baxter, J. 2001. Marital status and the division of household labour. Family Matters, Vol. 58, Autumn 2001, pp. 16-21.

Berk, S. F. 1985. The Gender Factory. Plenum: New York.

Butler, J. 1990. Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity. Routledge: London.

Cohn, C., Weber, C. 1999. Missions, Men and Masculinities. International Feminist Journal of Politics, 1999, pp. 460-475.

Connell, R. 1995. Masculinities. Polity Press: Cambridge.

Hawkesworth, M. 1997. Confounding Gender. Signs, Vol. 22, No. 3, Spring 1997, pp. 649-685.

Hegarty, M. 1998. Patriot or prostitute? Sexual discourses, print media, and American women during World War II. Journal of Women’s History, Vol. 10, No. 2, Summer 1998, pp. 112-36.

Oakley, A. 1974. Housewife. Pantheon: London.

Karl Marx and Max Weber are two of the most influential thinkers in terms of modern social thought that there are. Both Marx’s and Weber’s contribution to the development of social thought is in my opinion second to none. Marx and Weber wrote about modernity before it was in full swing, yet there works including such classics such as Marx’s Communist Manifesto which is a familiar name to most, not only attempted to explain something near impossible to explain in such a way that most modern thinkers base their works on a criticism or celebration of their work. These two writers are of particular interest to because of how prolific they are and because they have both written so much on the subject, some of which is comparable and some of which is contrastable. Both Marx and Weber looked at similar themes including the reasons for modernity occurring, though their conclusions differ. Karl Marx leans towards the economic side of modernity whereas Max Weber, who writes after Marx with his findings to improve on, believes that the impact of science, arts, and religion is a better explanation of modernity.

Firstly, I will be looking at Karl Marx’s contribution to modern social thought through his book The Communist Manifesto in which he looks at class struggle. In The Communist Manifesto, Marx explains how the friction between classes has always existed, as he remarks ”In ancient Rome we have patricians, knights, plebeians, slaves; in the Middle Ages, feudal lords, vassals, guild-masters, journeymen, apprentices, serfs; in almost all of these classes, again, subordinate gradations” [2] . Marx goes on to put forward the idea that the bourgeoisie have always existed and do indeed exist today. He puts class struggle down to society itself which through its nature will have classes, an order. Marx explains today’s class struggle as ”Society as a whole is more and more splitting up into two great hostile camps, into two great classes, directly facing each other: Bourgeoisie and Proletariat.” [3] Marx’s understanding of class divide in the Communist Manifesto is clearly true and therefore key in understanding society today. Marx’s take on class divide can be summarised as being that class divide has always existed and will exist today, as he predicted, rather than the classes changing, he believes that characteristics of the classes change. Where as in history, the bourgeoisie would have owned farm, they will own businesses today and whereas the proletariats would have worked in farms, today they work for businesses owned by the bourgeoisie. Marx’s understanding of there being two main classes, those in power and those in not, is important in modern social thought as all Marxists will use it to argue that there is a lack of equality and too large a divide between the two classes. Marx does not distinguish between individual situations, rather is a big supporter of the belief that there is no real equality for the proletariat and his voice is therefore used today by anyone voicing such an opinion.

It can be argued that Marx’s prediction of an uprising by the working class has come true in modern times. The working class has never had as many rights as it does today, with measures such as minimum pay and benefits ensuring that an unreasonable amount of power is not held by the ruling class, and that the working class have enough rights and voice to be ensured a decent standard of life. There were plenty of revolutions between the 18thC and 19thC, which are evidence of Marx’s prediction of an uprising against the ruling class. Marx believes that the” proletariat alone is a really revolutionary class” [4] . This can be seen as a contribution to the understanding of modern society as it is true today, no other classes are seen to be revolting nearly as much as the working class who have been working on their rights for the last few centuries. As Marx also states, the ruling class have all the power and it is in their nature to ensure power is kept for future generations. Marx says that the working class only achieve things such as a minimum wage law because the ruling class allow them to do so, in order to keep them happy and therefore deter them from revolting more.

A significant manner in which Marx contributed to the understanding of modern society is through his explanation of market expansion. Marx’s argument was that for the bourgouise to remain in power, they must constantly work at creating links between themselves to ensure a global rule [5] . Marx argued in the Communist Manifesto that the future would see a capitalist market grow to operate on a global scale through the increase of technology and communication. This idea has perhaps been the most significant contribution to understanding modern society by Marx. It is clear that what Marx predicted has become reality, with a global economy that we have today, with transnational cooperation operating worldwide. The behaviour of the ruling class in modern society reflects Marx’s theory on keeping wealth within the minority of the population. Businesses still work in a hierarchical structure whereby a few at the top benefit from many at the bottom of the hierarchy who do not benefit from increase in profit, rather receive a fixed low wage.

Finally, i have chosen Marx’s contribution to the understanding of modern society through his literature on technology. In the Communist Manifesto, Marx looks at the effects of an introduction of technology and how it effects the labour market. The introduction of technology such as machinery ultimately means that a human’s job is done by a machine. Robert J.Antonio describes machines as something that ultimately does jobs that ” were formerly done by the workman with similar tools” [6] . This will decrease the need for human labour, which will ultimately mean there are more people for fewer jobs. An increase in availability of market labour and a decrease in need for market labour results in the ruling class being at liberty to alter the wages of the workforce. This sees as the workforce become a commodity [7] . Linked with a need for fewer labourers, the type of work changed to less laborious, jobs were suddenly possible to carry out through the pushing of a button. This meant that a new work force was available for the ruling class to be exploited, women and children. This availability of a new workforce meant that the ruling class were more powerful than ever, as the family of a working man had now become the work force of the ruling. An introduction of a new labour force means that the ruling class suddenly controlled everything that matters to a working man, i.e. increasing the divide but more importantly cementing the existing control. The reduction in labour intensity of jobs due to technological and mechanical improvements meant that working hours could be increased. This brought with it an increase in productivity and if anything a reduced cost.

Max Weber was similar to Karl Marx in that he too looked at ancient Rome and the structure of the ancient economy which he, like Marx found to have certain similarities with the structure of modern capitalism. Marx believed that modern society was more of a result of the economic changes that were seen in the 18thC and 19thC due to technological improvements. However, Weber believed that the change seen after medieval times i.e. modernity, were more so a result in a change of attitude of the world’s population. Weber noticed that if we lived in a capitalist economy before and ended up in medieval times, a change in society could not solely be due to economic change. Thus Weber looked at Eastern German agriculture in 1892. Weber’s finding in this research supported his belief that it was through the genuine will power of the proletariat that a change resulted. The findings of this research can be summarised as the work force having a true desire to work for them in order to retain more of the profit created by their work. Weber’s believe that the working class chose to want to do better is a key feature of modern society, the constant struggle for workers to better their situation.

Weber’s understanding of capitalism, a key foundation of modernity is drastically different to that of Marx. Marx saw capitalism as a materialist economy based upon the will to acquire economic wealth. In contrast, Weber argues that the will to further one’s economic standing is based on religious beliefs such as the Protestant and in particular Calvinist teachings [8] . The Protestant teachings are that everything that one does must be done in honour of God. Weber argues that it is this belief that is the cause people striving to do their best, be as productive as possible and generate as much wealth as possible. This dedication to giving everything cannot, according to Weber be ”explained by ownership relations, technology and advances in learning alone” [9] . This attitude which Weber believes is a part cause for modernity itself is essential to the further existence of capitalism. In order for capitalism to survive, the working class must continue to have reason to work hard and be productive, or the ruling class would not be able to live of them. This need for the work force to try their hardest true today and therefore another way in which Weber has contributed to the understanding of modern society. Weber goes on to suggest that the view point of Marx whereby capitalism is a result of solely economic change is ”Naive” [10] and should be ”abandoned once and for all” [11] this contribution to modern social thought is of interest because it offers an explanation as to why people work hard and how capitalism works i.e. capitalism depends and runs on the quality of input of the labour force.

Max Weber believed that the increase in scientific knowledge was a key factor in creating modernity and modern social thought. Weber described the level of science that we have reached as ”valid” [12] but noted that it only existed in the western world [13] . This idea was based upon Weber’s belief that such a structured theology was only present in Christianity, though he recognised that most fundamental knowledge did come from eastern faiths. This structured theology could be argued to have been left integrated in the religion from roman times when a form of capitalism coincided with Christianity. This structured way of thinking brought with it rationality which was in turn branded upon the foundations of western life. It is this rationalism that Weber offers as an alternative cause for modern social thought rather than Marx’s suggestion of economics.

To conclude, both Karl Marx and Max Weber have made vast contribution to modern social thought. Their works have been agreed and disagreed with since their creation, adapted and used to both prove and disprove arguments and theories. Their work is still relevant today as their contribution to understanding modern society such as key issues including class and employment have changed the course of history. Their contribution to modern social thought will continue to influence thinkers on modern social thought for centuries to come.

After the accession of His majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said Al Said in 1970 Oman transformed from a rudimentary single economy that lacked all sorts of public amenities and modern infrastructure to a modern and diversified economy aided by the wise leadership of his Majesty. The availability of oil revenues and the importance given to education in the post 1970 period accelerated the development process.

For women in Oman, the new era started when His Majesty Sultan Qaboos Bin Said began the process of Renaissance. The result seen today is because of his firm belief in the future of Oman and its men and women. Women are encouraged to work shoulder to shoulder with their male counter parts.

Omani women today are seen in different professions such as, medical doctors, lawyers, engineers, business leaders, and teachers. Omani women are found in the army and police, private and public sectors, and most importantly, in senior government positions. While there are no official figures available, it is said that Oman has the highest number of working women among the AGCC states. (Source: Oman Tribune, 30 September 2007)

Purpose of the study

This conceptual paper addresses the following issues

factors that encourage women to pursue various careers

role and contributions of Omani women in the Sultanate

obstacles hindering women’s progress

Recommendations

Factors that encourage women to pursue various careers:

Factors which encourage women to work and achieve economic independence and leave a significant mark on the society are mainly: support of women from the Islam religion and the Holy Quran, the wise leadership of his majesty under which thrust has been given to education and Omanization, setting up of Women’s Association and favorable labour laws.

Rights of women as stated in Islam

Islam accords equals rights to men and women. Female education in the Islamic world was inspired by Prophet MuhammadHYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad’s_wives”‘HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad’s_wives”s ( PBUH) wives: Khadijah, a successful businesswoman, and Aisha, a renowned hadith scholar and military leader. According to a Hadith attributed to Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), he praised the women of Medina because of their desire for religious knowledge:[18]

An indicator of the attitude of the Quran to women in the workplace is indicated by the quotes used to justify women working. Khadijah (Prophet Muhammad’s(PBUH) wife), who was an eminent business woman.Sitna Khadijah is called up as a role model for women.

Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) encouraged Muslims, men and women alike, to seek and pursue knowledge. The Holy Quranic verses and Hadiths can be cited to demonstrate this fundamental right to knowledge. “Say: My Lord, increase my knowledge” (Holy Koran xx: 1,14). “God will exalt to high ranks those who believe among you, and those who have knowledge” (Holy Koranlv11: 11). “Seek knowledge from the cradle to the grave” (Hadith).”The search for knowledge is a duty of every Muslim, male and female”(Hadith).

Role of His Majesty

His Majesty in His speech: “The education of girls is never absent from our mind, since women form half of our society.” Rapid strides in educational development were taken after Sultan Qaboos assumed power in 1970. In the year 1970 there were only three schools and no colleges or universities. By the year 1985 the number increased to 588 schools and by 2006 – 07, there were 1053 schools enrolling a total of 5,63,602 students and employing a teaching staff of 44,514.

To support the role of women, the Omani government has set a number of programs such as a network of modern health services and social services throughout the country aimed at improving the advancement of women. Undoubtedly, Omani women have been liberated and accorded their respect as equal partners in Omani society under the leadership of His Majesty, Sultan Qaboos.

Omanization

Omanization Policy was introduced in 1988 as a long-term process of committed vision and mission. This is a key development policy influencing the employment scenario of the country. Omanization plan is seen as a national objective in order to stop the continuation of the country’s dependence on the expatriate manpower by substituting Omani nationals for foreign labor.

To this effect, legislation concerning employment contained in the Omani Labor Law states that preference should be given to Omani nationals. This mandate is enforced by the Government’s Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor by specifying the ratio of Omanization to be achieved in the private sector taking into account the number of Omani graduates graduating annually from the various educational institutes

Education

Education in Oman is a fundamental right for each and every Omani citizen. The importance of educating and developing the country’s national human resources has been one of the main aims and policies of His Majesty’s government .In accordance with His Majesty’s directives, a network of modern primary and secondary education establishments for girls and boys has been extended across the whole country, catering to even remote villages. Educational progress has been phenomenal. Women have an equal access to educational opportunities. For the academic year 2008 – 2009 275,229 males and 265,103 females are enrolled in Government schools for general education. For the academic year 2008 – 2009 7,298 and 4,033 female students are enrolled in Sultan Qaboos University and Colleges of Applied Sciences respectively which is very close to the number of enrollments of the opposite gender.

Role of Support Services

The aims of the Directorate is to set up programs for the care of mothers and children, the eradication of illiteracy, education, the development of traditional and modern handicraft skills, the promotion of healthy and hygienic environment, the teaching of survival skills, and the cultivation of women’s minds and roles as citizens of a modern developing society.

Omani Women’s Association, the first of its kind in the country was founded in 1971 and is managed as a not for-profit organization. The Omani Women’s Association acts in collaboration with the efforts and support of the government to carry out a great number of activities such as literacy classes, provision of handicrafts skills and family care programmes.. It is envisaged that the Women’s Association could be instrumental in providing a network for Omani women in management, and to offer the much needed support for their development in the workplace. These programmes enhance the role of Omani women in Sultanate.

Women’s Leadership

41.9% women (Omanis and Expatriates) are employed in civil services out which the major share is of the Omani women. One and two Omani women are employed in the Special and Ambassador grade respectively with no expatriate females in this grade. Omani (16,389) and expatriate (1,749) women are primarily employed in Grade 6 of Civil Services in 2008 .

Economic growth and diversification

The availability of oil revenues has made it possible for Oman to develop its economy, educate its people and offer a relatively comfortable standard of living. This however, has not rendered a total reliance and dependence on oil revenues, rather the government of Oman has been pursuing economic diversification and privatization programs as a measure of maintaining available and sustainable economy for its people.

Labor Laws pertaining women

Labor laws are favorable Omani women .They ensures equality in the workplace and employment in Oman does not discriminate on gender and exercises a sound policy of equal employment opportunity and equal pay act. An entire section in the Oman Labor Law is dedicated to the employment of women. For example, Articles 80 to 82 in the Oman Labor Law clearly safe guard the rights and working conditions of Omani women (Oman Labor Law). Women can avail special leaves such as maternity leave and leave upon death of husband, and a special provision that allows working women to request leave of absence (up to four years) without pay to accompany a spouse who is posted abroad. Working mothers who return to work while continuing to breast feed are allowed to leave work an hour early each day for six months to feed their babies.

The working hours in the government (public) sector are conducive to working women. Government employees work from 7:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. Saturday through Wednesday, and Thursday and Friday are days off from work. Such working hours allow parents, particularly working mothers, to spend time with their children.

With all the above factors Omani women have occupied different professions and have contributed to the progress of society.

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Role and contributions of Omani women in the Sultanate

Today Omani women are in key positions starting at the Ministerial posts. Dr Rawiyah bint Saud Al Busaidiyah, Minister of Higher Education, Dr Rajiha Bint Abdulamir bin Ali Minster of Tourism, Dr Shariffa bint Khalfan Al Yahya Minister of Social development, Sheikha Aisha bint Khalfan Al Siyabiya, Chairperson of Public Authority for Craft Industry, all hold crucial portfolios.

At all levels women are found to hold responsible positions today. Health, Education, banks are the leading sectors. Omani women are active voters as well as candidates who have served terms in the Majlis A’shura. The Majlis A’shuras members represent the Sultanates wilayats. Omani women exercising their voting rights prove their equal status.Omani womens membership of the Majlis A’Shura dates from 1994.

Omani women are also represented at Diplomatic circle as His Majesty appointed the first woman ambassador by appointing her as ambassador to the Netherlands in September 1999.

In the Legal area also a growing presence of women is seen. In April 2009 First Omani women was appointed as Director of public prosecution Directorate in the Wilayat of Barkha.

Women have served in the ROP for over 35 years and their contribution is growing with new development and experience. Women Police traffic patrols are introduced which is in its first phase now that is limited to the Governorate of Muscat.

In the field of fine arts Omani women have been reaching out to international audience. Works of Omani female artists, artisans, sculptress, photographers have been around to other countries for exhibitions. Omani actresses have won accolades for their performance on stage and screen.

The Royale Oman Symphony Orchestra has harnessed the talent of some wonderful female musicians. During 2007-2008 the Royal Oman Symphony Orchestra and Syria’s Mari orchestra with Maestro Raad Khalaf performed a joint concert featuring 50 female musicians the first time an event of this kind has been staged in the Gulf.

Dr Mariam Al Waili is a Senior Specialist in Nutritional Medicine. She feels that Health sector is a suitable place for women to play their essential role in society. There are more opportunities available than even before and a high demand for qualified and skilled practitioners. Due to the dramatic rise of several diets related chronic diseases, she dreams to see specialized Nutritional Medicine and education centers in the country that can provide adequate treatment and cost effective supplements.

Her Highness Sayyida Zeyana Ali Al said is an Air Traffic Controller for the last 14 years. She was selected to study in UK and underwent all the 4 stages of training in Air Traffic Control. According to her the 2 qualities in an ATC would require is Multi tasking and quick thinking.She needed to work in shift, needed a lot of focus to talk to pilots at the same time, keep abreast of information of all aircrafts and work harder to make Air raffic less congested.She thanks His Majest Sultan Qaboos to have given women a chance to prove their capabilities in all of these careers.

Barka Al Barky studied Social Science and after her Post graduation moved to Oman in 1976. She took up employment with UN Development Programme and worked till 1993. She helped in development and coordinating UN Agencies contribution to Omani development efforts in all fields of economy from fisheries, agriculture, tourism and industrial planning, civil aviation and meteorology systems. She was the Director of Administration and Personnel at Al Shatti Hospital. In the last 3 years she is mainly supporting the blind community across Oman.

Ahlam Al Jahdhami is an Engineer who is today Sales and Client support Manager

At Falcon Oilfield Services (National Wireline Logging Company). She provides hi-tech exploration and production services to oil companies in the region. After a degree in Biomedical Engineering she wanted a career as a real engineer. Opportunities in the region were limited. There was a lack of other female engineers from the AGCC and she was one of the first Omani women to survive in this environment. The sharp end of the oil industry is never described as woman friendly or even just friendly. It is still a very male dominated and conservative business. She was working and sometimes living in remote camps or on offshore rigs kilometers away from the comforts of home. The work was very physical and set in some of the harshest environments on earth. However she wants to continue to share her passion for science and engineering and encourage more young women to get involved and contribute in a real and practical way.

Dr. Wafaa Al Harasy is a consultant and director of the ROP Forensic Laboratory. She did her Bsc in Egypt and completed her MSc and Phd in United Kingdom. Practically Forensic work is mostly a mans world. There are times when the Forensic team is required to attend crime scenes at unsocial hours of the day and at isolated locations.

But she enjoys her job because of these daily challenges and considers herself lucky not only to be part of this specialized skilled team but also one of the founders of this profession in Oman. She wants to be able to contribute to Oman and have a State of art Forensic laboratory and achieve an international recognition for its services.

Maliha Al Kharoussi is an E business entrepreneur and CEO of Arabian booking.net a new resource for business, leisure and family travelers.She wishes to add value to the core industries that all use i.e. hospitality, travel and tourism. By bringing these 3 major sectors in one easy to access and use website she will help those who want value for money in quickest possible way. She wishes to help and strengthen Oman as leading tourism destination in areas of regular tourism, medical tourism, cultural tourism and adventure tourism.

Ghada Al Harthy is the proprietor of cafe G Patisserie & Cafe G Catering.From aviation to catering she wanted a career not just a job. She strongly feels that business has no gender. As long as the business is legal and ethical there is nothing to stop us from achieving the goals. She believes that under the wise leadership of His Majesty whohas a strong advocate for women in business, we are amongst the most fortunate in the Gulf as far as equal opportunities are concerned.

The opportunities are endless. But there is more to be achieved and that is why His Majesty has initiated yet another step toward the advancement of women in Oman.

There are various factors that have hindered the progress of Omani women.

Obstacles hindering women’s progress
Traditional Mind set of Arab men

The Arab traditional attitude asserts that women are inferior to men and incapable of pursuing a professional career. Such conservative attitudes negate the concept of professional working women in traditional Arab societies, the idea of women working is degrading and a disgrace to some Arab men who consider that it is their responsibility to provide for their wives and family.

The above attitude tends to have a spillover effect at work, whereby male employers regard women as being less capable then men and unfit for responsible positions, claiming that their family obligations take priority; and hence, subjects them to lower productivity and absenteeism (Beck, 1994;Hammoud, 1993). This negative attitude and traditional stereotype towards women in Arab/Islamic societies has been, and still is, a major resisting force to progress for professional working women.

Portrayed Self-image of Women

The inferior self-image of women becomes difficult to overcome considering that it is ingrained and conditioned in their upbringing and social development(Hunsaker & Hunsaker, 1991; Hennig & Jardim, 1977). In traditional Arab-Islamic patriarchal societies, the feminine gender is subordinate, while the masculine is superior and dominant (Magharabi et.al., 1994; Bech,1994; Hammoud, 1993; Allaghi & Almana, 1984; Gerner, 1984; Al-Hatimy1983). Generally, men are held responsible for providing the necessities of life, thus to work outside the home. On the other hand, women are expected to serve their husbands and children at home, especially since women are not required by the Islamic law (Shari’a) to financially support the family. In this subordinate position, women become victims of their own gender (Mernissi,1985, Rassam, 1984). Hammoud’s (1993) dynamic study on the role of women in higher education management in the Arab region confers that the most fatal obstacle which prevents women from realizing their utmost professional achievement is the self-image of a woman portrayed as inferior to men, incapable of being socially and financially independent, and hence depends on them an to care for and protect them.

Human Resource Policies and Strategies

The lack of proper human resource policies and strategies addressing women workers has proven to be a major obstacle to women’s progress and development. The majority of these workers are concentrated in the lower echelons of the organizational hierarchy with a small percentage in decision making positions12,072 out of 51,229 Omani employees in the wage group of 120 Rials were Omani women, followed by the 200 – 300 bracket in which 3349 Omani women are employed out of a total of 15,665 local workers in that bracket. Only 25 Omani Women fall in the wage group of 2000 + in the private sector out of a total of 589.

. In Oman, the absence of human resource policies and strategies to promote the recruitment and development of female managers at work is a deterrent to gender diversity. The work environment and culture are not conducive to promoting women in management. This acts as a ‘glass ceiling” preventing women’s accessibility to top management positions. For example, there are no programs to facilitate the advancement of women as role models, absence of mentoring programs, lack of management training programs, and shunning of affirmative action.

Lack of Professional a Women’s Network

The lack of a professional women’s network in Oman creates a major void for women aspiring to professional managerial positions. The absence of female mentor-protege relationship makes it difficult for women to develop the requisite attitude, skills and abilities for leadership and management positions. This results in a disparate situation and a state of confusion; because after all, women are entering a male dominated domain coupled with a traditional value system and a culture that tends to shun women from pursuing management careers.

Work Family Conflict

There is an interdependence of work and family life which is especially problematic for women as a result of their greater family responsibilities. Traditionally, women have had the primary responsibility for housekeeping and childcare which do not diminish when they are employed outside the home. Furthermore, the responsibilities they carry are simultaneous while men’s are more typically sequential. i.e. a woman may be called in at work regarding a sick child whereas typically a father may fulfill role obligations after work hours.

Recommendations

The hindrances should be tackled efficiently from all angles like Government, organization and the individual. In Oman the availability and accessibility to all levels of education along with equal opportunities in the job market is more so in the urban area. In the rural interiors the importance given to education takes a back seat and therefore the opportunities in the job market is relatively less? Thus it is important to ensure that rural areas should be focused for literacy campaigns. It is urged that educational opportunities to Omani women should never be compromised, but rather be improved. Meanwhile, special measures should be undertaken to encourage and promote women’s access to scientific, managerial, technical, and vocational disciplines in order to develop the requisite skills and extend their opportunities for employment in non-traditional occupations.

. It is necessary to institute awareness programs of employment opportunities and benefits to Omani women in all the different regions of Oman so that their participation in work force will further increase. This can be achieved through the utilization of the local and international media as a means for promoting the role of working women in the workplace and the values of Arab women in changing society and their integration in the development process. Other measures include setting up quota systems to ensure the employment and representation of women in the workforce.

Since the Omani society is based on strong family ties the centrality of the family accompanied by close relationship makes it the responsibility for parents and parents in law of working women to help with child care. However it is recommended that the Organizations and Government also take the responsibility of family support and Child care services and special attention is directed to the provision of a social infrastructure that will enable women to work, such as professional day care centers onsite, kindergartens, and adequate maternity leave. The availability of such support services is a tangible expression of organizational recognition of the needs of professional women. Consequently, it undoubtedly can make a great difference to the capacity of women to manage multiple roles

It is very important that Omani women should think positive about them first and convince others that they are empowered and deserve to be trust worthy.

Ghada Al Harthy proprietor of cafe G Patisserie and Cafe G Catering says” I hope to one day fund and support my own training facilities for younger generation of Omanis so that they may also have a brighter future ahead of them. I also want to start new business ventures that will allow me to create career opportunities for the blind and disabled members of our society. We can all make a positive change starting with our thoughts which lead to our actions.”

His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said has always emphasized the importance of the woman’s role in the country’s growth: “Many years ago, I said that if the energy, capability and enthusiasm of women were excluded from a country’s active life, then that country would be depriving itself of 50 per cent of its genius. I have taken very good care that this should not happen to Oman, and I look forward to the further progress of women in my country with the greatest pleasure and confidence.”

Durkheim (1858-1917) who devoted himself to the scientific study of sociology is widely regarded as a pioneer in French sociology. It is known that Emile Durkheim inherits some of Auguste Comte and Herbert Spencer’s ideas and developed a systematic sociology both in theory and methodology (Monivas, 2007, p. 18). However, some of his works have been questioned and criticized. In order to examine the contribution of Emile Durkheim to the scientific study of society critically, one should consider Durkheim’s groundbreaking works including: The Division of Labour (1893), Rules of Sociological Method (1895), and Suicide (1897), all of which reflect a popular topic about individualism and a new social regulation in modern industrial society (Barnes, 1920, p. 4).This essay will first describe Durkheim’s notion of social facts which run through as a principle concept in his sociology. It will discuss its characteristics as well as importance, and then introduce Durkheim’s methodological approach to study social facts. The essay will move on to explore Durkheim’s contribution to the social sciences through the use of examples which include his study of The Division of Labour and Suicide. In addition, limitations will be mentioned when examine his works. This essay will argue that in spite of some criticism both in theories and methods. The overall contribution of Durkheim remains one of the peaks in modern sociology.

Second, social facts are external from individuals. Durkheim rejects Comte’s opinion to unify social science with other scientific disciplines and try to treat it independently. He argues that social facts are different from those assumptions in people’s mind and regular acting such as drinking or sleeping in everyday life. As a result, one could distinguish a kind of conduct and thought out of biology and psychology and classifies it into the particular category of sociology (Allan, 2005, p. 102). Casteel (2009) considered this as ‘an important issue to Durkheim’ that ‘complete Comte’s project and establish sociology as its own academic discipline’. Besides, such externality also reflects on continuum and social facts are kind of objectivities that ‘prior to individuals, but individuals are born into them and enact them’, thus social facts could be observed and measured by statistics (McCormack, 1996). However, Lukes (1973, p. 11) argues that Durkheim’s concepts about ‘externality’ is ambiguous. For example, ‘collective consciousnesses’, which defined as a kind of similar and general perspectives and emotions such as religion that could react on people in an indirectly way that without crystallized forms. As is regarded as a social fact, it should be outside and independent from individuals. Nevertheless, Durkheim explained that collective consciousnesses are derived from most individuals in a society as a ‘group mind’ thus failed to support his notion about externality.

Thirdly, social facts have external coercions on individuals. It limits the choices of individuals and if individuals try to go against them, they may likely to get resistance by certain external constraint power such as public laws. Additionally, those coercive powers are not only administered by social organization but also potential moral awareness which called ‘social currents’ (Harrington, 2005, p.28). However, Durkheim failed to distinguish the power of coercion and prestige. For examples, the power of public law which administered by institutions composed on individuals not only by means of the ‘acceptance of legitimacy’, but also fear of sanction. On the other hand, beliefs may probably constraint individuals through prestige or moral obligation (Lukes 1973, p. 13). Moreover, it is argued that Durkheim neglects the reaction from individuals on social facts. Some critics who challenged Durkheim’s theory believe that individuals could have the capability of creation on social facts (Casteel, 2009).

In his book ‘The rules of Sociological Method’, Durkheim highlights the importance of study social facts as well as the methods to study them. He accepts Comte’s idea that every social phenomenon should be studied as a thing within the context of society. Due to its objectivity, one could use positive approaches to observe, experiment, compare and analysis social phenomenon in favour of finding the sociological laws, demonstrating the normal and pathological as well as speculating the future development of society (Craib, 1997, p.30). In Durkheim methodology of social science, he stresses the importance of looking at society scientifically and discovering the formations (collective consciousnesses etc.) as well as functions (social cohesion, change etc.) of social facts and how they have effects on individuals within the scope of society (Brown, 2008). Emirbayer (1996) point out that Durkheim has rejected metaphysics and uses ‘statistical methodology’ and ‘comparative strategy’ (p. 264) to explore the correlations and casual relations among a number of systematic and connected variables by collecting and interpreting evidences.

Durkheim has exercised his theory and methodology in two of his major works: ‘The Division of Labor’ and ‘Suicide’. In ‘The Division of Labor’, Durkheim argues that there have other approaches to integrate the society beside religion. One of them is the division of labor, which he regarded as a powerful evidence of how social bonds transit from collective consciousness to division of labor (Brown, 2008). Durkheim highlights the functional interdependence of different individuals or units of the society which could be explained by the term of ‘solidarity’ (Allan, 2005, p. 122). In the division of labor, he illustrates two kinds of solidarity: mechanical solidarity and organic solidarity. He compared primitive society and modern society using the organismic approach to explore how individuals maintain solidarity. In primitive society where there is low productivity, individuals are automatically bond together by the ‘collective consciousnesses’, an external uniform beliefs imposed on individuals. On the other hand, organic solidarity exists in modern society. Spencer enormously influenced Durkheim’s Division of Labor. Spencer believes that society was stimulated by the fundamental force of population growth, which changes the way of society to distribute production and wealth (Jones, 205, p. 345). Durkheim developed his evolutionary and organism doctrine. According to Barnes (1920, p. 240), for Durkheim, ‘social evolution is characterized by a decrease in this repressive and mechanical type of social cohesion or solidarity and by a corresponding increase in the development of individual consciousness and personality’. That is, with a dense growth of population as the determinant cause of raised intensive division of labor, individuals are more interdependent on diverse contribution of others to perform a cooperatively function instead of the dominance of collective conscience (Sirianni, 1984). Brown (2008) points out that ‘individualism becomes more important than the collective’ to maintain social solidarity and represents the characteristic of modern society.

It is apparently Durkheim provide a sociological platform which benefits to interpret social process. However limitations could probably exist in his theories as well as methodology such as the cause of the division of labor and the interpretation of its effects. Tarde (citied in Lukes, 1973, p. 304) suggests that Durkheim’s opinion on the division of labor only concern the social internal problem without international relationship. Meanwhile, the division of labor could also result from variety of creation instead of population density. Moreover, Merton (1994, p. 22) argues that in Durkheim’s presentation of social evolution, he diminished the effectiveness of civil law in primitive society and common interest in the modern society in order to give prominence to main power of cohesion : collective consciousnesses and the division of labour, in mechanical solidarity and organic solidarity respectively. As a result, a precise relationship between solidarity and law may not be obtained. Finally, in the conclusion of his work, he personally regard the society as pathological due to the lack of social regulations that do no match the level of the division of labor and excessive individualism during transition, it is likely to push the society into anomie as well as increase the suicide rate (Mutchnick et al., 2009).

In another significant book ‘Suicide’ Durkheim explained a popular moral phenomenon in the 19th society. Suicide can be defined as ‘every case of death which results directly or indirectly from a positive or negative act, accomplished by the victim himself which he knows must produce this result’ (Lukes, 1973, p. 202). Durkheim first considered suicide is a private action but also as a matter of a social fact that exists external to each individual in the society. Thus, the statistics of suicide could reflect diverse outside forces through which one could access to the origins of the weakness of the society as well as solution to those problem. Then he theoretically categorizes different but general social causes of individual suicide and draws its effect by deduction approach. There are four forms of suicide respect to two levels of imbalanced social forces: integration and moral rule (Thompson, 1982). Firstly, it is regarded that egoistic suicide is the consequence of excessive individualism. In a deteriorated society, individual who integrate less with others and act on their own interest is likely to act egoistic suicide. By contrast, altruistic suicide is result from excessive conformity, Durkheim stats that suicide becomes one’s obligation. It often happens in modern societies among civilized people who sacrifice themselves in order to save others such as military (Durkheim, 1979). The other two kinds of suicide are classified into the group of moral regulation. Durkheim again divided the situation that people tends to conduct anomic suicide into four aspects of crisis: decline in the capability of social organizations to instruct people’s lives; rapid social transformation; wealth no longer satisfied people and unbalanced marriage. Finally, Durkheim view fatalistic as the product of rigid but strong moral norm which often committed by slaves (Jones, 1986).

It is suggested that if examine Durkheim’s work critically, one may noticed flaws in his notion of Suicide (Gane, 1988, p. 152). First, one may question whether such phenomenon causes by external force such as society but shared awareness from individuals. However, Durkheim defends it by the term of conscience collective which is also a kind of a social fact and points out the strength of linking morality to discover social laws (Craib, 1997, p. 32). Secondly, Lukes (1973, p. 202-206) argues that his classification of suicide form has limited the causes and types. Moreover, Durkheim concerned the causes of suicide only with social facts and rejected the relationship between suicide and personality in terms of psychology, physic as well as alcoholism. Additionally, the subject of suicide is more like to exist in disordered societies thus lead to an unbalanced research which prone to the theory of pathology. As a result, the contribution of suicide to sociology is actually restricted.

However, Thompson (1982) states that regardless the shortages, Durkheim’ work of suicide is an essential contribution because they effectively combine sociological theory with empiricism to explain social phenomenon. Durkheim suggests that the study of suicide could reveal the connection between social members which closely go with the original subject of social bond in sociology. Moreover, by examining suicide could help one to discover the law of sociology and thus give a direction of the development of society (Lukes, 1973, p. 193). In the research, he related series of common characteristics of the society as social facts to suicide rate statistics and draw a general conclusion that particular social environment and current could lead to a growth of suicide rate. For example, insufficient economy growth and social mode changes generate a remarkable suicide rate in the 19th century of European. Aimed at solving this problem, Durkheim also proposed to strengthen the backbone of economy and support individuals with the sense of belonging (Lukes, 1973, p. 220).

In conclusion, this essay explored Durkheim’s main works in sociology. As one of the founder of professional sociology, Durkheim identified social facts thus built the dimension as well as the skeleton of sociology. Based on previous work, he formulates a systematic methodology to discover the social laws by observing and comparing the relationships between different variables. Durkheim further applied his methodology and theory into his work of ‘The Division of Labor’ and ‘Suicide’. He discovered the procedure by which individuals socially integrate into society, and provide different types to explain the relationship between people and society. Although there are certain indistinct interpretation in terms of concepts and correlations, Durkheim’s work is considered to have significant to the scientific study of society.

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There has been a marked change for the better in our overall approach towards the women in Mauritius. Gone are the days when their place was considered to be behind the four walls of the house and their only job was confined to looking after the household affairs. But now they can be seen working shoulder to shoulder with men in every sphere of life. This is undoubtedly a good sign and an indication of their emancipation. It is a known fact that women have played an active role in the economic development of Mauritius since its independence in 1968.

In the period 1983-2001 the number of women in full-time employment rose by 81 per cent, from 93,000 to 168,700. Women now represent 51 per cent of the population (608,458 out of a total population of 1,205,665) and 35 per cent of the labour force (186,400 out of 538,500). The share of women in total employment stands at 34 per cent in 2001, up from 23 per cent in 1972. As in most developing countries, women’s increased economic importance has been the result of a gradual process of change and not an explicit policy focus. But it is important to stress that since ratifying the UN Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women in 1984, the Mauritian Government has undertaken a number of significant legal reforms to remove all instances of discrimination against women in Mauritian law. However, while the economic empowerment of women has known significant progress over the decades, there is still a long way to go to raise their standard of living to be at par with that of their male counterparts in the work sector.

Women in the Mauritian’s public and private sector

Women still have to strive to be at the same level of their male counterparts in the Mauritian public and private work sector. According to Central Statistical Office, employment in the General Government Sector decreased by about 500 from 74 300 (52,100 males, 22,200 females) in March 2006 to about 73 800 (51 200 males, 22 600 females) in March 2007. Three out of four persons employed in General Government were males. Male workers were predominant in all activity groups, except in “Real estate, renting and business services” where the female employees accounted for 66 percent of the total employment in the activity. It is to be noted that female employment in “Public administration and defence; compulsory social security”, “Education” and “Health and social work” together accounted for around 96 percent of total female employment in General Government.

Employment by Ministry/Department and gender in the
General Government, March 2007
Government Services
Male
Female
Total

Budgetary Central Government

37 367

16 975

54 342

Office of the President, Judicial and National Assembly

503

245

748

Prime Minister’s Office

12 465

1,033

13 498

Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Trade

157

169

326

Ministry of Agro Industry and Fisheries

220

242

462

Ministry of Education, Culture and Human Resources

5765

5811

11576

Ministry of Labour, Industrial Relations and Employment

276

233

509

This table show that the majority of public jobs are being allocated to males rather than their females counterparts, hence, perpetuating the notion of gender inequality in the public work sector.

In the private arena too, the scene is more or less the same. Men are the more preferred employees and dominate almost all the spheres of work. Occupation-wise, women are largely confined to low level, low paid jobs, such as machine operators in the EPZ enterprises, clerk, typists and shop assistants. Nearly 60 per cent of women work in the manufacturing sector, of whom 91 per cent in the textile factories. 75,000 employees in the private sector earn less than Rs 5000. 75 per cent of them are women. Only 14 per cent (or one in seven) of women in full-time paid employment in the private sector hold senior management or professional posts.

Despite the positive developments that had taken place in Mauritius in this modern era with respect to the increase in women’s employment, the promotion of their human rights and their economic independence, this inequality between man and woman in the labour force still insists although we are all now talking about combating gender inequality. For example women are more likely to be employed in jobs like sales girls, clerks, assistant, speakers, whereas on the other hand, jobs with big positions and which require leadership skills such as ministers, managers, engineers, doctors, lawyers are mostly reserved for men. Why is it so? The statistics are showing us that girls are outperforming boys in primary, secondary and tertiary education. How come they are not allocated the big post public or private jobs in the country. This is the question that renders us perplexed. Women continue to aspire for leadership positions in all spheres of governance in both the public and private sector. However it has not been easy we can say.

Historically, leadership has carried the notion of masculinity and the belief that men make better leaders than women is still common today. Although the number of female leaders has increased, they are often named as an afterthought. This belief that men lead and women follow is so impregnated in the Mauritian mind that the second sex though intelligent are being deprived of many facilities in the workforce. They are not treated fairly as their male counterparts in the work setting. Despite efforts made to ensure that female representation is achieved at all levels of governance, women are still underrepresented in many government and non-government organizations particularly in positions of power and leadership (de la Rey, 2005).

From statistics presented by Sadie (2005) on the Southern African Development Community (SADC) parliamentary structures, it is evident that the target of 30% representation by women in political and decision-making structures of member states was not met, except in South Africa and Mozambique. For instance, by 2004 the proportion of women in parliament was 15.4% in Angola, 15.9% in Botswana, 12% in Lesotho, 14.4% in Malawi, 17.14% in Mauritius, 25% in Namibia, and while South Africa and Mozambique had 32.8% and 37.2% respectively. Great strides have been made in the political realm, and women’s participation in both the freedom struggles and democratic processes of many African countries including Mauritius have been notable. However, this participation has not always translated into equal representation in political leadership positions. Once elections are conducted, and positions are assigned, one realizes that women are no longer visible, thus, we can notice that in politics, women have been marginalized because men monopolize the decision making structures and are in the majority.

Moreover, in education and academic circles too, the picture is more distressing especially if one looks at higher education. One would expect that things would change faster in this environment. After all, as Carleene Dei (2006) observed, universities are traditionally viewed as centres of free thought, change and human development. But leadership in higher education is still a man’s world and universities are male dominated institutions. Men also dominated positions at professorial and senior lecturer positions. It is therefore quite evident that men dominate the governance and management levels of higher education institutions. Consequently, men have the decision-making power and authority regarding strategic direction, and allocation of resources.

Various factors are at work in limiting women’s potential to aspire to positions of leadership both in the public and private sector. Sadie (2005) advanced the argument that women face the patriarchal system where decision making powers are in the hands of males. Despite women’s education and entry into the job market, the woman’s role is typically one of homemaker. The man, on the other hand, is bread winner, head of household and has a right to public life .Confining women’s identity to the domestic sphere is one of the barriers to women’s entry into politics. The media too has a major part in influencing and perpetuating the second sex as being inferior. For example, they always portray women to be sensitive, calm, caring, looking after children and men as being assertive, courageous, and valiant. Thus, it is not surprising to see men dominating the work arena. The table below shows that all types of public and private jobs are mostly suited to men rather than female. Women dominate in the clerical sector only.

Employment by occupational group and sex, 2009

However, despite inequality prevailing, there are some women who were able to transcend cultural barriers, stereotypes and rise to positions of leadership (whether in politics or elsewhere), such as Margaret Thatcher, Sonia Gandhi, Julia Gillard. But these are exceptions and exceptions do not make the rule! In fact, it has been argued that women themselves are often reluctant to run for public positions and this is partly attributed to cultural prohibitions on women speaking in public or going to public places. Political campaigning for instance, requires that one travel extensively, spend nights away from home, go into bars, and for women it means meeting men. Women who struggle for public office have to consider the risk of being labelled ‘loose’ or ‘unfit’ as mothers and wives, and being socially stigmatized. Such considerations make many women shy away from politics, and positions that put them in the public eye.

Furthermore, in other public and private arenas also, women’s access to leadership positions has been hindered by discrimination and stereotyping. Women are more or less persecuted for seeking an executive position. This is largely due to society’s attitude toward appropriate male and female roles. Women have to face the sticky floor, preventing them to get access to the high position jobs. In fact, the recruitment processing itself is discriminating women. For instance, in the private sector, the manager will choose a married man employer rather than a married woman in the recruitment process. Since they all have the prejudices that women can fall pregnant at anytime, they will have to take maternity leaves, thus, hampering the productivity of the company during their absences. Therefore, with a male worker, there is no such problem. Hence, men are more favoured and are more likely to be recruited.

Comparison of salary in the public v/s private sector

If the public service, decrying those at the top of the wage scale are worse off compared to the private sector, in the private sector, it insists that the preservation of jobs is more important than salary increases that might putting the company at risk. In the private sector, employees whether men or women are better paid than in the public sphere. The table below shows this evidence. Its source is from MEF.

Types of jobs
Public sector
Private sector

Receptionist / Telephonist

Between Rs 8400 and Rs 16000

Between Rs 5,000 and Rs 28,210

Human Resource Officer

Between Rs 17,200 and Rs 26,400

Between Rs 15,358 and Rs 41,420

Secretary

Between Rs 9600 and Rs 21400

Between Rs 10,167 and Rs 29,434

Human resource manager

Between Rs31,250 and Rs 45,000

Between Rs 35,000 and Rs 94,600

Civil Engineering

Between Rs 22,000 and Rs 45,000

Between Rs 20,375 and Rs 65,300

General worker

Between Rs 6,425 and Rs 10,200

Between Rs 6,205 and Rs 18,300

Conclusion and Recommendation

Women continue to enter the workplace in increasing numbers in all developed countries. Several factors account for this trend. An increasing number of economies have become industrialized, the service sector has grown opening up positions for women, and growth in public and not-for profit sectors have created new opportunities for women. However, the pace of advancement for women in the top position jobs continues to be slow and uneven in different countries and cultures. Women still cannot crack the marble ceiling and are thus at a disadvantage despite they possess lots of skills and aptitudes. Educational institutions can help by teaching the equality of the sexes through lessons. Further, the family too should not be biased and give the same kind of upbringing to the sons and daughters. Boys should be made to help in the domestic chores as much as the girls. The mass media should also project the picture of the women as an equal with the same desires, ambitions and intelligence. True liberation of women is possible only when our overall attitude is changed!

This paper examines the concept of ‘standpoint epistemology’ in the field of social science and discusses whether this remains a viable radical perspective on knowledge. The focus is placed upon the perspective from the feminist viewpoint and the application to sociology. The historical content is examined as a foundation to knowledge and this is placed into context in the relationship to knowledge. It is argued as to whether there continues to be a viable radical perspective on knowledge, both the pro’s and con’s are examined. Conclusions summarize these points highlighting the key issues of the argument.

The concept of ‘standpoint epistemology’ is based upon the philosophy of knowledge that enables a holistic world-view of the challenges of oppressed women and the vision of how knowledge provides a platform for social activism, transformation and change. It combines the concept of both a body of knowledge and a method of conducting research. The feminist standpoint provides a call for political action and a reformation agenda. Dorothy Smith [1] was one of the original feminine theorists who developed standpoint epistemology. Smith focused heavily on gender studies and talked about ‘ruling texts’ which examined the power relations in society and the dominance of men in social societies. Smith made the point that the knowledge we have of women, together with ‘ruling texts’ that define the relationships are completely opposite to the experiences of how women are treated in society. Smith focused in on racism and stated that a common bond existed between black women of all nations as they had experience of oppression, slavery and discrimination. (Johnson 2010)

Sandra Harding, [2] within the context of feminine standpoint epistemology puts forward two important claims: (i) Those social positions within the under privileged classes has less distortion than those embodied within other classes and (ii) All scientific knowledge is socially situated. She in essence puts forward the argument that the diversity amongst inquirers creates an epistemic advantage. (Rolin 2006).

The standpoint epistemology has maintained interest from sociologists over the last thirty years. Despite the criticism involved it has continued to evolve into a wide array of different perspectives and viewpoints. The research is considered to be closely aligned to the materialist perspective (the Marxist feminism view). This provides the research in a more balanced and realistic stance. Marxist feminism argued a standpoint epistemology that embraced concepts of both knowledge and power; as such having emphasis more on process than that of the materialistic viewpoint. A standpoint as such may be defined as the action that we accomplish from a social status perspective. Standpoint research theorists claim that their research is a more complete and rigorous set of results than that of their male counterparts. They believe that feminist research suffers from less distortion than male research and as such stands up to better scrutiny. (Pamela Abbott 2005). Standpoint is considered to be an epistemology of transition and as such seeks to find change that aligns with knowledge transfer. It has been widely held that the feminist standpoint theory, as of today, seeks to find ‘epistemic privilege’ that supports the female point of view. Harding has condemned the feminist standpoint theorists “for attempting to express a single women’s perspective” (Harding 2004). The condemnation is based upon the fact that theorists fail to consider the complete diversity of the female opinion. In 1991 Harding [3] stated that there needs to be a reformation of a standpoint that portrays more post modernist standpoints.

CONTENTIONS OF STANDPOINT EPISTEMOLOGY

In the context of feminist standpoint epistemology it is necessary to compare traditional standpoints with that of modern perspectives. Traditionally it was held that “science holds that objective, political neutral inquiry that maximises the power in order to achieve scientific aims.” (Cassandra L. Pinnick 2003). Harding argues against this viewpoint stating that objectivity in scientific research is a delusion and as such a contradiction; it is far too rigorous to be objective. (Cassandra L. Pinnick 2003).

Abortion is a subject area that contains contentions within the context of ‘standpoint epistemology’. The feminist standpoint provides linkages between that of experience and knowledge. In order to achieve a feminist standpoint you need to identify and experience both the struggle and intellectual challenges first-hand. Hence those women who accomplish this have a far sounder perspective than the male researcher. In the contemptuous subject of abortion, those women who have actually experienced the problem will have a profound understanding of the issues, trauma and prejudice of the process than that of a passive observer. It is the difference between that of specific experience and that of pure perspective.

MariAnna [4] underlines the importance of ‘concrete experience’ as an important source of information towards a body of knowledge. Sandra Harding stated that ‘feminist epistemology’ is characterised by the recognition that women are ‘agents of knowledge’ (MariAnna 2002). Women in general are seen to be more flexible with a fluidity that enables them to multi-task and accomplish multiple events at the same time. MariAnna stated that it is important to distinguish between that of methods and methodology, it is the latter which has deep roots in the epistemology approach to research. Feminist methodology within the approach to inquiry is deeply rooted in those feminist beliefs and theories that provide a more holistic and wider range of thinking to the subject matter under review.

It has been pointed out by Pamela Abbot et al that there are conflicting areas of knowledge within feminism i.e. that of standpoint epistemology and the concept of post modernization. They have become problematic because they aspire to contain a degree of unity. Abbot argued that “an element of relativism remains in the multiple standpoint approaches” (Pamela Abbott 2005). That is to say the question remains unanswered as to who is exactly “the final arbiter of truth” (Pamela Abbott 2005).

Abbott et al conclude by saying that within the overall research carried out in her book “mainstream sociology becomes inadequate owing to the systematic bias and distortion in male stream knowledge” (Pamela Abbott 2005). They argue that a total re-thinking is required in sociological knowledge that embraces the feminist contribution. The transformation is required because historically women have not just been ignored but their input has been both marginalised and distorted within the overall science. As such advances and contributions made by female researchers and sociologists need to be examined for integration within the overall body of knowledge and process of sociological thinking. It is a transformational step process that requires reformation in order that both concepts and questions become more centric to the issues of the discipline.

Shawn Best [5] looked at research from the standpoint epistemology that examined the power of white feminists and the attempt to subjugate the knowledge of black women; the latter of which has been historically regarded as invalid intellectual knowledge. Interestingly he examined white women in the role of oppression. In addition to the concept of racism and power, in the 1990’s attention was drawn towards the gay and lesbian communities and as such the post-modernist ‘Queer Theory’ emerged. This put forward the argument that ‘biological sex’ in addition to gender was part of the social construct. As such the possession of certain organs was the ‘type’ that defined the binary reality of women or man. (Best 2005).

Sirmondo [6] stated that the central argument of standpoint theory is that it is based upon a theory of privilege and not merely another different perspective. It examines sexual discrimination from the viewpoint of the female and as such provides a platform in order to become more informed and understand gender issues. As such women are in an improved position to see discrimination from a perspective that eludes males. This becomes more apparent when female activists take political actions to overturn male discrimination. He concludes that those people who see social constraints as oppressive can more easily comprehend those constraints than those who cannot see them. (Sismondo 2010)

In recent years sociologists have been somewhat detached in the mainstream philosophy of science. It was David Bloor [7] who commented that social science remains impartial to truth, falsity, rationality, irrationality, success or failure. The desire for detachment has not only been confined to that of relativism. Others have commented that standpoint epistemology may be more of an escape from “the intellectual quicksand of relativism and indefensible territory of neutrality and detachment” (Iorio 2009). As such the standpoint requires a new examination of objectivity and a movement away from what is considered to be subjective perspectives.

It is considered that most of the contentions that surround standpoint feminism and postmodern feminism are centered on power and agency. The post structural feminists continue to question the transparency upon the experiences put forward by women. They state that they rely upon the same expressive state of language that under pins liberal feminism. Many of these standpoint theories operate from the premise of fixed truth about the insights made. It is automatically assumed that experience represents both valid and reliable sources of information. These individuals with already fixed identities have limited experience of oppression. These experiences are articulated in conventional power relations. These power relations have a tendency to fix women to a specific category. (Carole Ruth McCann 2003).

By way of comparison it is useful to examine the international perspectives of contention in standpoint epistemology. The political activism that is currently taking place in modern day Chile provides a direct response that has been based upon gender experience. Historically Chilean women have been branded and placed in a specific position in Chilean society, this being termed ‘marianismo’ (Tetreault 2000). There have been certain criticisms of postmodernism and the movement towards relativism. This in turn has seen many females hybridize the epistemologies in order to deflect the criticism. The approach has moved towards examining different voices and standpoints of feminism. In Chilean society the women are deemed to be very cultured and have different views on a range of varying subject matter. It is considered that the postmodern feminist perspective has broadened the voice of the Latin American woman and allowed true feminist views to be openly expressed. (Tetreault 2000).

It is over the last two decades that there have been significant advances in sociological theory and in particular the many changes in feminist theory. The emphasis being placed upon the areas of gender, identity and subjectivity. Dietz stated that within the many debates that have took place it has been contested what is the true meaning of feminine citizenship (Dietz 2003)

FEMENIST EPSISTEMOLOGY

Epistemology essentially refers to the science of knowing and the acquisition of knowledge. It relates to how people understand what they know and draws its source from the disciplines like sociology and psychology. The research fields within this area have given rise to feminist epistemology and the knowledge that specifically applies to women. As such it becomes an approach that summarises the experience of women and integrating both knowledge and experiences into the female voice. More recent manipulations of the term epistemology illustrate the term has been widened or redefined to include new areas that were previously omitted by traditional research concepts (Alcoff 1993). The historical implications of female epistemology have been based around clashes that involve female liberalism and the oppression of women in society. The need to have their contribution recognized and included within the context of the social sciences.

Feminist standpoint theories generally put forward the view that gender creates the social differences in epistemology. The aim being to obtain a closer comprehension of how authoritative knowledge is obtained and how female constructive uses can be put forward from marginal standpoints. Historically it has been considered that feminist standpoint theory has remained subordinate to the traditional mainstream philosophy of science. This has caused feminists to feel uncomfortable with both their role and contribution in the field of sciences. (Hirschmann 1997)

In the journal Hypatia, numerous feminist empiricists have argued that scientific knowledge is socially situated and as such there is increasing levels of convergence between feminist empiricism and standpoint feminism. The latter has become much more subtle in terms of interpreting standpoint claims distinguished from that of views held by feminine empiricists. Sociologists have stated that feminine empiricism is more a way of how scientific claims may be proven as opposed to standpoint feminism which is more related to the study of science as a phenomenon. Both views are similar in that they strive towards a greater degree of diversity. (Intemann 2010).

Jane Flax argues that psycho analysis, feminist theories and postmodern philosophies are all independent methods of thought, with each being understood in a different way. Each of these has its own perspective on social issues and transitional way of thinking. Flax describes feminist theory as “a delimited area of intellectual discourse where general consensus occurs amongst its practitioners” (Flax 2010). Regardless of this there remains a lively debate on those who are identified as feminist theorists. Within this is the importance of analysing gender and the distinction of female issues to that of the male domain. The aim of feminist theories is that of a recovery vehicle in order to reclaim those aspects in society that have been suppressed or denied by male dominated viewpoints. As such feminist values call for transformative thinking about such items as values, sense of self-worth and the dealing of stereotypes by the compartmentalization of women into specific categories and thereby denying freedom of expression.

One of the central points in feminist standpoint theory is derived from that of Karl Marx’s views on materialism. Feminists have adopted from this philosophy that the concept of power is the main way towards understanding social society. As such there exists a social identity between that of power and gender. The feminist engagement with epistemology tends to represent itself in one of two ways i.e. it is either very closely aligned with postmodernism or aligned with that of epistemology; the term ‘female epistemology’ generally tends to imply that it is lined to the latter term. This in itself creates a degree of tension and conflict between the two forces.

Miranda Fricker stated that we can credit feminist postmodernism with making a number of important contributions to social science. Amongst this is the contribution to the intellectual knowledge base and making the general populace more aware of the complexity of social identity. In this sense it is more accurate than that of an onthology that relates purely to class. (Fricker 2000).

In current terms it is important to recognise that a large number of women are employed in science, engineering and academic positions. As such they offer a diverse range of opinions on a wide range of subject matter. The female positions tend to have two distinct types of focus (i) that engaged with the sciences and (ii) that focused upon society. Researchers have emerged from former marginalised groups and as such have had a profound way of changing the pattern of inquiry and thought process. There are still those however that holds the opinion that feminism is a threat to the objectivity of science. Sandra Harding pointed out that if all knowledge is socially constructed it will pose a major threat and challenge to science. For example with most scientists “the notion that their views of the natural world are subjective is counter to their professional training”. (Wyer 2008)

Holland et al believe that the notion of a feminist standpoint tends to be more theoretical and political. The reason being the inability to separate politics and the epistemology. They have cited particular differences appropriate to realism and those influenced by empiricism. In addition they believe that standpoint feminists are far too influenced by concepts of gender. In making specific judgements or opinions on subject matter, the feminist needs to have a superior knowledge that the theoretical epistemological position if the research is to be formally accepted. (Caroline RamazanoClu 2002)

Sandra Harding’s [8] views on Standpoint Epistemology focused more on the concepts of objectivity. Harding advocated a new concept of ‘strong objectivity’, as opposed to that of the weak concept which she referred to as ‘objectivism’. She stated that objectivity must contain all social values and interests from the research that is carried out. She was aware that certain social values could adversely impact the research and cause potential distortions. As such Harding viewed traditional research concepts and objectivity as the denial of cultures best beliefs (knowledge), whereas the new version fully embraces both political and historical origins.

Harding believed that her new theory holds validity, particularly from the feminist standpoint i.e. women are part of an oppressed group and as such they approach research problems in a less arbitrary way. They are more likely to evaluate theories that might otherwise be overlooked or denied by more traditional concepts or viewpoints. Harding states that that the standpoint has a substantial foundation in the empirical experiences of women and although this may not constitute a foundation of knowledge, nevertheless it does create a more diverse contribution leading towards increased objectivity. As such it might be regarded as a hybrid approach, between that of objectivity and relativism. Critics have argued that this is bound to fail because concepts of hybridisation cannot adequately deal with issues of generalisation and as such it will fail to distinguish from that of weak objectivity. (Sandra 2001)

One of the most influential people in the field of standpoint epistemology was that of Dorothy E Smith. [9] Smith is famous throughout the world as a developer of theories and as such she has advanced the academic position from a feminist standpoint. Smith developed theories and concepts around the subject matter of gender and particularly that of the ‘ruling texts’ of man. She advocated that many texts were compiled from the male perspective and as such were responsible for defining gender. She further advocated that such rules written by men determined the rules of society and defined the way in which we live and conduct our lives. Amongst the books that Smith referenced were the US Constitution, The Holy Bible and the Communist Manifesto. Smith stated that the rulings defined in many of these books were completely opposite to the manner in which women conducted their lives today. Such obsolescence creates the way for transformation of thinking and revision in these areas. – Ryan B Johnson [10] (Johnson, Standpoint Epistemology Summary 2010)

The ASA [11] President Patricia Collins [12] has also been extremely influential in her works on standpoint epistemology. Collins has excelled as a distinguished black professor rising through the ranks dealing with oppression that includes race, class and gender. She emphasises this point in her research and talks about white privilege in feminist society. She has broadened the discussion of gender to include that of racial factors as black women shared a common bond in terms of almost universal oppression. Most black women could recount from their history a record of oppression, slavery and discrimination. This created an even stronger standpoint than that experienced by white women and had a wider impact than other discriminated groups like gays, lesbians and Jews. (Johnson, Standpoint Epistemology Summary 2010).

CONCLUSIONS

Alison Wylie [13] maintained that Standpoint theory is grounded in social and political thought. As such the notion of knowledge and epistemology is nothing new. Wylie states the most significant contributions in the area have been made by Sandra Harding and Nancy Harsock. Standpoint theory continues to have a profound impact on social and political thinking to this very day. (Grebowicz 2007). The arguments put forward by the female epistemology practitioners focus upon potential bias and exclusion by their male counterparts. The practice has seriously disadvantaged women by : (i) excluding them from inquiry (ii) denial of access to epistemic authority (iii)denigrating female cognitive styles and types of knowledge (iv) male dominance that is self-serving and denigrates female contributions as being inferior or insignificant (v) theories of social phenomenon that render women’s interests invisible (vi)the production of knowledge that creates class divisions, creates hierarchies or relegates women to that of subordinate roles. (Andersen 2010). Whilst considerable strides have been made towards the resolution of contentions in standpoint epistemology, particularly in what we refer to as the Western or first world environment; on the global scene there still remains a lot of work to accomplish. Females still suffer oppression in such areas as the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Latin America and many Muslim speaking countries. The internet has helped in the creation of a global forum for women to communicate world-wide and talk about experiences, lifestyle, social interaction, oppression etc. Nevertheless despite open access communication we are even seeing examples of where this is being subverted for political power and exclusion of feminine authority. Examples being that of China and certain Middle Eastern countries. Feminist groups have also advocated for the recognition of women’s rights on a global scale. However, when this has been approached as a ‘human rights issue’ it has met with opposition from cultural relativists and liberal human rights activists. It has been viewed as an attempt by western women to expand western cultural philosophy. The relativist’s argument being that recognition of women’s rights as human rights is linked to that of western imperialism. This view is very misguided because by nature the concept of oppression, racial discrimination, gender issues etc. are universal ones and as such not confined to the west but are global issues for resolution. (Kim 2010)

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