Category: Free Essays

Empowerment is a multi-dimensional procedure that aids women to achieve power and control over their individual lives. Empowerment gives due right to women.

Yet measurement of women empowerment is difficult and it is challenging to judge country level performance as there is difficulty in gathering diverse data. Based on the findings of, Women’s Empowerment: Measuring Gender Gap, five important dimensions have been selected for the examination of women empowerment. Economic participation refers to contribution of females to workforce in quantitative terms. Economic opportunity is related to how much women are involved in the economy, beyond their mere presence as workers. This problem is concentrated in developed countries where women gain access to employment easily but they have little chances of upward mobility. Political empowerment means women have contribution in the decision making and can influence policy making. Educational attainment is very important as women can get the same opportunities as men do and it can be a big step for development purpose. Health and well-being is associated with how much females have access to sufficient nutrition, healthcare and reproductive facilities. It is very difficult to measure each dimension in each country and to implement policy as each country has many other factors effecting its women empowerment.

The GEM quantitatively measures the liberation of women on a country level. This indicator comprises of the share of inequality in control over earned economic resources, involvement in governmental decision-making and economic decision-making. This variable measure how much a power woman holds.

Drawing upon Women’s Empowerment: Measuring Gender Gap, a report on Taking action: achieving gender equality and empowering women, takes a step forward and elaborates further more on that there are three main domains. Capabilities domain which refers to basic human abilities as measured by education, health, and nutrition plus access to resources and opportunities domain, which refers primarily to equality in the opportunity to use or apply basic capabilities through access to economic assets and finally security domain . These three domains are interconnected, and alteration in every one of three is significant in accomplishing Goal 3.

Women: Current Reality

In a report by Augusto Lopez-Claros, it is mentioned that the past three decades have witnessed a progressively aggregate awareness of the necessity to invest in women through measures to increase social, economic and political justice, and wider access to important social rights but it is argued that changes in women state is a very slow process, up till now a lot of work has been done but yet still the picture is depressing. It is not only the issue in male dominated society but also in developed country as well.

A spotlight on deprived female is acceptable for numerous causes. Unfortunate female have the furthermost requirements. It is regularly stated that female outnumber male among the underprivileged.

One more important report ,Taking action: achieving gender equality and empowering women, further elaborated that poor women have greatest need; investment in them will produce greatest benefit. Further, investment in the adolescent girls is very crucial as they experience more disadvantage than boys.

Plus with progress in education and health, yet poverty among women has increased even in the richest countries where women’s labor force participation has grown, but the terms and conditions of their employment have not improved.

According to Linda Mayoux, Women also help in poverty reduction, if they are given liberty to save with no interference and or they are offered with loan, these women can cater to the need of their house hold eventually reducing poverty.

Microfinance has been fruitful in reaching poor women through inventive methods to address gender-specific restraints. According to a report Women’s Control over Economic resources and access to financial Resources, including microfinance, 2009, it is obvious that microfinance has a constructive effect on income, but this income expansion has definite limits. As females are subjugated to unfair customs and practices which limits their activities. Females face constraints in gain access to financial services.

From all these studies it can be assumed that in spite of numerous accomplishments in giving power to women still women empowerment are effected by many factors .women should be given equal opportunities not only in education, health, and political, economic but also socially as well. Society as a whole should be targeted where new changes, changes in lifestyle and thinking should be accepted. To empower women in Pakistan all these determinants should be taken into consideration.

Increasing socialism, religious fundamentalism, and traditionalism are main limiting reasons for women’s safety and liberty. other than that self-regulating groups like NGOs and other self-governing research and academic organization, have been very energetic in formulating policy documents, raising public responsiveness and encouraging for gender-sensitive strategies and actions at all levels in order to advance women’s empowerment in Pakistan.

Women’s Economic Activity

Economic participation refers to contribution of females to workforce in quantitative terms. Economic opportunity is related to how much women are involved in the economy, beyond their mere presence as workers. This problem is concentrated in developed countries where women gain access to employment easily but they have little chances of upward mobility.

With the passage of time and despite considerable work done on women economic enrichment yet this is still time-consuming as due to many norms and practices women continue to be missing from many important decision-making opportunities which result in the determining the distribution of economic and financial resources and opportunity, that makes women more underprovided.

Depriving women from economic resources makes a nation less productive resulting in negative economic consequences. Several social practices seem as ordinary from culture and religious perspective move women out of the main stream.

Paid employment for women continues to expand slowly and remains meager in many countries including Pakistan. As the global financial crisis does not create problems for men but also for women. With men finding difficulty in recruitment as fewer jobs available due to recession thus, less jobs available for females as well. As females previously were offered less employment the men now with recent event they are less proffered and they are at huge disadvantage then men. They are getting more menial jobs and are given less wage jobs. To a great extent of work of females remains imperceptible, as most of the work done by them goes unaccounted and invisible The segment of women in salaried employment outside the agricultural sector has increased only marginally over the years, this shows that women are not getting work in productive jobs which can lead o development.

According to (Oxaal, 1997) , with the shortage of jobs, a woman does not have any opportunity except for to accept these kinds of job. With that those women who are not allowed to leave their house for income are also at disadvantage , as their men after recession are losing jobs , even than they are not allowed by their females to also take the burden of earning income thus , females due to poverty get undernourished and malnutrition makes them unhealthy , which resultantly effect their families. Poverty, unemployment and lack of economic prosperity further strengthen this aggressiveness in rural areas the large amount of time women spend on housework and caring for family members means that they had little time to spend on employment and personal care.

Since beginning women face a lot of constraint and these restraints replicate women’s difficulty in education; lack of power and confidence and negotiating authority; as from their household they are misjudge which effects in low self-respect plus with comparatively high participation in part-time or transitory professions; leads to less employment for women and discrimination against them. Despite women’s increased participation in the labor market, there has been no significant increase in the sharing of unpaid work, which affects women’s employment choices.

Access to Education

The living conditions of women, their poverty and huge family household prevent them from gaining education. Since the beginning girls are required to work with their mothers to look after the whole family and do household chores this, therefore limits their time and energy to get involved in education. Issue of illiteracy is the main priority for women. As only educated women can access to economic and political sphere.

According to (Medel-Anonuevo, 1993) , Providing education to women will develop self-esteem and self-confidence; they will have knowledge of their health and well-being plus they will have the ability to make their own decisions and negotiate; further this will raise the women’s awareness of their civil rights. In addition will be able to provide skills for income generation and will participate in community/society more effectively and this will prepare them to be good women leaders.

As according to the report Taking actions, educated females are more operative at refining their own well-being and that of their family. They are better equipped to get the most advantage from prevailing facilities and chances and to generate alternative opportunities, roles, and support structures. These empowering effects of women’s education are demonstrated in a range of ways, including increased income-earning potential, ability to bargain for resources within the household, decision making independence, autonomy over their own fertility, and contribution in public life.

In underprivileged countries, girls from their childhood are given domestic work ,this handicaps them in terms of education. Gender inequality in rural location is even more noticeable at the phase of tertiary education. Girls from poor and rural Families face higher obstructions to education.

Boys are always preferred over girls in education in each level from primary to tertiary. But directed public policy and governance actions can help overcome gender disparities. According to The Millennium Development Goals Report, 2009 policies like removing school fees and providing incentives for girls to attend school can alleviate financial pressures on households. Building schools close to distant communities and recruiting local female teachers can also constricted the gender gap in rural areas.

A lot of work must be done to finish inequality and discrimination based on gender especially in schools .hard work must be done to enroll all children in to school, especially girls. And to make sure that they complete their studies up till tertiary level as this can lead to good productive jobs and high economic growth for the whole country.

Barriers in the Political Domain
Institutions:

Since the independence of Pakistan , Pakistani governments has passed many laws for the rights of women but the change in women condition is still very slow with the passage of time. There is a huge gap between the policy making and practical work. An analysis by JOHN stated that after freedom, leading Muslim women in Pakistan continued to support women’s political liberation through lawful reforms.

According to (Haq, Khadija Haq on Women’s Political and Economic Empowerment in South Asia), government is starting to take steps to surge women’s political contribution through the founding of quota systems at countrywide and local levels. Introducing quota systems is nonetheless only single step on the road to female political empowerment. We are still facing inherent male-controlled traditions and approaches that limit chances for women’s participation in public life.

Environment for women’s political empowerment

Less number of women, who attain decision-making places in a political sector dominated by men, will be unproductive in manipulating decisions as large majority is needed. Women are underrepresented in government, civil service, and other public establishments and still massive gaps continue in education and job opportunities. At the identical period, women face legal restrictions that halt them from gaining equal access to property and inheritance. We can achieve gender equality by promoting women in politics.

According to (Moser, 2007), throughout the world women are still disproportionately represented .They remain a very small minority at the center of political power. One important approach to supporting women’s empowerment is the promotion of the participation of women in politics This includes promoting women in government and national and local party politics as well as supporting women’s involvement in NGOs and women’s movements. In government, women concentration in decision-making positions should be in social, law and justice ministries

Women in Pakistan face a lot of stereotypes like women are considered as unsuitable for leadership positions; and all men contemplate that if women have political influence she must be all knowing. Ever since beginning women are disqualified from leadership roles, they are deprived of chances for leadership skills preparation. Domestic errands make it difficult for females to go for training or further studies as they solely do not have the essential hours for study. Thus they lack the talent and ability of political contribution. Most women are linked to a male political leader: as wife of an assassinated leader or daughter of an older, if not late, politician. While most women ultimately emanate into their own as leaders, it does not alter the fact that women, compared with men, have partial access to the support of political parties and males.

People have different expectations of male and female leaders. As females are responsible for their family needs with their political career simultaneously. But men has only have their careers to concentrate on. When women are elected, they are expected to be all-rounder and all-knowing and in their initial stage of political career, they are expected to make a strong constructive influence in altering the situation of women or talking critical issues such as poverty, health care and education within a small time from their election. According to report ISSUES IN WOMEN’S POLITICAL EMPOWERMENT IN THE ASIA-PACIFIC REGION,Unjustified and inequitable beliefs results in insufficiency of females to consider entering into politics. This diminishes the group of prospect women leaders who can be confronted, motivated, prepared, and developed for politics. Women’s plea for representation is not to substitute men’s power but to create places for both women and men to grow their potentials and foster a collaboration that can take on the tasks of the new millennium.

Culture barriers

Taking the argument in a new direction by a report on Guidelines on Women’s Empowerment, states that social issue also plays major role in empowerment.

In Pakistan, the girl is still differentiated from the boys from the birth, through her childhood, and into her womanhood. In the tribal fragments of Pakistan, native men are grasping more power through religion and tradition. Girls are considered socially weaker in a Pakistani culture that discriminates against them. In rural areas they observes violence, male violence against their mothers and against them thus from start this becomes a part of their life. Brothers also then participate in this violence against the girls in the family to show their manhood to peers and family male members. Male children become more violent when they grow up. Extreme poverty is a major factor that will impede the elimination of all forms of discrimination and violence against the girl child .The state of extreme poverty is so severe that it leaves its victims inert to awareness, legal punishment or even religious obligations. The economic empowerment of girls and mothers is critical to the achievement of equality.

Females in Pakistan live in a domain, which is controlled by severe religious, family and tribal traditions. According to Zaheer Udin Babur, Pakistan, They are exposed to discrimination and viciousness on a daily basis .Islamic views are not properly interpreted , they are molded according to the views of men as Islamic views wrong interpretation results in females oppression physically, mentally and emotionally. Women in Pakistan are facing numerous methods of violence, discrimination and difference in nearly every part of life. Violence against women in many fields is often not conceived as a violation of human rights but rather as a normal aspect of lives of Pakistani people. They live in an atmosphere of fear, and their lives are guaranteed in exchange for obedience to social norms and traditions. Because of this fear and sense of being inferior, imposed by the traditional thoughts of a male dominated society, women are suffering immensely especially in their homes. The most abusive forms of violence being faced by women take place in their homes.

A thesis by (Faridi, 2009) states that women are under the control of men as the decision about education, health, occupation, marriage and physical mobility are all made by her men folk from the selection of their dress to the selection of life partner is made by either her father or brother. Women especially in Pakistan are the property of their males and to give them empowerment they should be given their due right. Moreover, Segregation and veil as perceived by men folk make women alienated from their surroundings and limiting their mobility resultantly reducing their participation in economic activities. Child male preference and domestic violence result in the underestimation of females and from beginning they undervalue themselves. Further this study elaborate that fertility rate also plays a major role as females have fewer burdens and have the right in decision making as when to have children.

The family structure of Pakistan implies that make are the bread winner and the women have to look after the family, if the men is unable to do work, even then they will not allow female to work out to fulfill the necessity of the children for food. As if they are tied to home and there going out is still prohibited. A girl is taken less seriously then her male brother, she will not be given proper food. And will not get proper health treatments, are malnourished, thus in the end females die early then males.

Other than that, it can be shown that women in Pakistani tend have more children, especially in rural areas, thus decreasing their opportunity to go to and work. As on Pakistan it is the work of female to look after the whole family, thus, the more they have children, less time available to them for their work.

It is the tradition for females to get married early, they do not get time even to complete their education, and thus early marriages make them educationally crippled. Whereas men of the same age are concentrating on their economic career, females are given the responsibility of the households, cut off from the education world and the depriving them of the opportunity of economically empowering themselves.

Violence

In Pakistan, especially in rural areas Violence against women is very common. And they are not encouraged to report their cases to police. If any one of them does that, instead of giving them their proper right, they are subjugated to humility. The dowry has been maintained and thousands of females are killed every year by their husbands because the dowry is too little. And as majority of the cases are not registered so more than half of the scenarios do not come to surface. Moreover, male children are given more rights than female. As girl is considered a burden for the whole family, especially when children are ill, the fathers prefer to pay treatment for sons than for daughters, so that more girls die .Women are not free to move in the villages and suffer severe restriction on their movement.

Generally several laws guarantee that women have access to property, including land. However, these rules are not respected. As more than half, a woman does not even have access to money as they must ask their husbands for a small amount of money to buy daily necessities. In these cases, women naturally do not have access to other forms of property as well, including credit. The condition is worse for land possession which is always limited to men.

Violence against women is very frequent in Pakistan. Wives are frequently the prey of domestic violence .It is vital for women to survive without the terror of aggression. The focus is basically on the safety of women as according to (Malhotra, Schuler, and Boender 2002; Kabeer 1999), Empowered women must not only have equal capabilities (such as education and health) and equal access to resources and opportunities (such as land and employment), but they must also have the agency to use those rights, capabilities, resources, and opportunities to make strategic choices and decisions (such as is provided through leadership opportunities and participation in political institutions). And for them to exercise agency, they must live without the fear of pressure and violence .The core of empowerment lies in the ability of a woman to control her own destiny. The girl child has the right, as any other child, not to be subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (CRC, article 37).

Women health is the one of the most important factor as maternal mortality rates are high, and women’s probabilities of dying of pregnancy-related problems are almost 50 times higher in developing countries than in developed countries. Females are also more susceptible to sexually transmitted infections, particularly HIV/AIDS.

Improving women’s well-being

A lot of new policy are required keeping in mind the constraints faced by women in the labor market, including development of women’s capabilities to adapt to changing labor market conditions, support to reduce unpaid care work, and discrimination in the job sector.. These policies can be very helpful in eliminating gender inequalities and discrimination and ensuring access to decent work. Gif these policies are properly enforced they can have a very ever lasting impact. It is, however, increasingly difficult to ensure that all women benefit from labor market regulations because many women in developing countries still lag behind. Due consideration given to health, nutrition and education, and microfinance by policy maker, can have a positive impact on women participation. As microfinance gives income security for children safeguards their well-being and improves their health, nutrition, school attendance, educational achievement and, later in life, labor market performance. Education is the key factor behind all, as enrollment in schools will not be beneficial for them but also for the whole economy.

Efforts must be done to provide productive and decent employment for all, including women .importance should be given to that equal access and availability of employment for men and women in the policy agenda.

According to PAKISTAN EMPLOYMENT TRENDS FOR WOMEN, 2009 ,For political empowerment the administration of Pakistan has a special ministry for women development. Whilst the Ministry of Women’s Development encourages gender equality and supports the status of women in Pakistan at the National level, Women’s Development Departments also occur at the local management level. The functions of the Ministry mainly include ensuring that women’s needs are represented satisfactorily in public policy by various government bodies and agencies. It also ensures equality in education and employment and full participation of women in all scopes of social welfare.

The government of Pakistan makes policies to protect women rights but the problem is that law enforcement agencies such as judiciary and police do not follow these policies wholeheartedly It can be said that at the governmental level, there are policies to end gender based violence and discrimination but they are not implemented properly because almost all politicians are either religious lords or feudal lords who give more importance to their tribal and religious narrow approaches rather than towards universal rights for women. In reality, women are still facing immense problems. (Ahmed, 2007).

In the past decades, the discussion of work and aging has aroused widely public and professional thinking. In this paper, I would begin with the analysis of the current Hong Kong situations and characteristics of older workers, among which I pay most of attention to the low participation rate of elderly workers and try to demonstrate the reason accounting for that. The second part can be seen as a brief summary of the productivity and limitations of old workers in Hong Kong today. Finally, I would come up with several suggestions on how to encourage labor force participation.

Keywords: employment of elderly, productivity, functional limitation, old worker

Employment of elderly people

Situations of the employment of elderly in Hong Kong

With the baby boomer generation’s entering into their old years, the employment of older people has brought about wide public concern. According to the sources from Census and Statistics Department, at the middle of 2010, there are more than 1.78 million Hong Kong people over the age of 55, 51.46 percent of whom are age 65 and above, and 25.76 percent of whom are age 75 and above. Many of these people are working or have had work experience and, many of retired persons work at least part time after they leave their permanent job.

Among all the features of older workers in Hong Kong today, we would focus on several main characteristics to help us understand the situation.

Labor force participation rates

In Hong Kong 2009, the labor force participation rates, which refer to the proportion of economically active population (that is the labor force) in the total population aged 15 and above was 26.5 percent for the age 55 and above. Among that, we can find that the labor force participation rate for this age group was apparently higher for males (37.6 percent) than for females (15.9 percent). Nevertheless, nearly ten years ago, the labor force participation rates of the age 55 or over was 56 percent, which is almost twice the number of today.

The employed and unemployed population

The unemployment rate of older worker is relatively lower than that of young workers. In 2009, the unemployment rate for age group of 60 or above was 3.1 percent, which substantially lower than its counterpart aged 20-29 group of 7.3 percent. There are a few reasons accounting for that, but the most important one would be that older people can retire as an alternative choice.

On the other hand, people over the age of 50 are still employed for a number of reasons. Thomas Leavitt once mentions that, the majority of people at ages 50-62 would still choose to work mostly because they enjoy the satisfaction and useful feeling brought by working, which followed by the need to make money. However, at the age of 62 or over, the requirement for money becomes their major concern.

Low labor force participation rate among older persons

The downward trend in labor force participation rates among elderly is considered by many people. First of all, many would agree that the current social security policy carried out by the government is encouraging the increased employment rate for young people by removing the old workers in the labor force. Turner claims that: for any given employee at any given time, the alternative of ‘retiring on a pension’ is more attractive than to ‘keep working for a salary’. (Turner, 1993) The social security and medical care of old people do protect them from low income, but is also reduces the employment rate.

The productivity and functional limitations of older workers

Most of us would agree that productive activity plays a significant role in successful aging and higher self-related happiness. Older people who remain high level of productivity accomplish better physical functioning and are less likely to die six years after self-report. Therefore, we would like to ask: how elderly Hong Kong people will take part in economic and social activities?

The assumption that age and job performance are closely related has been confirmed by a variety of aging researches (McEvoy and Cascio, 1989). On one hand, many reported that older workers are more productive than younger workers for that they tend to be more dependable, careful and responsible. Certainly, no evidence shows that learning capacities will significantly fall with the aging process. Therefore, it is important to find out aged related decline causes so that we can extend work-life for elderly by providing protections, services and benefits.

On investigating the effects of the potential of aging have on the productivity of older worker, I pay attention to the following factors:

Age-related physical changes and limitations

There are many indications imply that the strength of people declines with the aging process. Many people at age of 60 report that physically demanding job is hard and strenuous for them to carry on, so they tend to leave the work that is highly physical in nature. Apart from changes in strength, old people also experience the physical loss of endurance and balance and, an increase of reaction time as a result of peripheral nervous system gradually slows down.

With regard to health and rehabilitation, it is well-accepted that the measures of functional capacity can reflect the extent to which elderly are able to work. However, the functional capacity does not merely mean an absence of disease. There are conditions which are directly related to aging, such as heart disease, cancer and stroke. While for those conditions such as hearing and visual impairment, they are not necessarily the functional limitations preventing people from work.

Annis and colleagues (Annis et al. 1991) also conclude that weight gains are regarded as the fifth decade of life, followed by declines. They mentions in their research on anthropometric changes with age: ‘the individual’s body dimensions change also, characterized by increases in the size of the stomach and hips.’ Moreover, some old workers admit that they have difficulties to perform tasks involving highly repetitive manual actions, the use of small hand tools or using force (Tayyari & Sohrabi, 1990).

Age-related cognitive changes and limitations

The traditional discussion about changes in cognitive ability of old people focuses on intelligence, memory, and learning and so on. According to medical findings, brain loses weight as a result of shrinking neuron size in cerebral cortex and some mental problems such as depression and dementia occur with aging. Yet in order to perceive the complicated relationship between cognitive change and working ability, I refer to some mental models of cognitive sciences to help us understand the situation in which old people gain knowledge, skills and experience through aging while loss perceptual capacity and motor speed.

When assessing the changes in intelligence, major longitudinal studies (Schaie, 1985) claim that most individuals can maintain the stable intellectual level well into their seventies and over and that modifiability in brain function continue well into late adulthood. But findings also suggest that people tend to less efficiently process complex information with increase of age. Overall, there is no obvious evidence show that old people’s performance is unsatisfactory under the daily and ordinary job situations. Even if there are changes in problem-solving ability of older people, they can use job experience and extensive skills to ‘compensate’ age-related slowing performance. Older adults deliver a decline performance on lab-related cognitive task but demonstrate good level performance in real-world job, and there appears to be no significant relationship between age and job capacities.

Warren Buffett, born in 1930 and ranked as the world’s second wealthiest person in 2009, is one of the most successful, active and smart investors in the stock and capital market of the world today. He is often called the “legendary investor Warren Buffett” for his precisely judgment of the market and value invest philosophy. But he is not a special case in the expertise, problem solving and decision making condition of old people. Actually, everyday plenty of old adults are making the most important and complicated decisions in the world as executives, politicians, and world leaders. Researches find that cognitive processes appear to be more important in the differentiating the old and young managers. Expertise in a certain field can act as an improvement to cognitive aging. In a research conducted to investigate the relationship between cognitive aging and experience, sociologists find that among experienced players, those who are skilled in bidding strategies could ameliorate the negative influence of cognitive aging until nearly the age of 60.

The highest level of a job description would be the creative thinking. The researches focus on creativity and idea productivity state that originality declines gradually from younger worker to older workers.

Age-related sensory and perceptual changes and limitations

When concern about old people’s visual changes, Fozard (1990) presents four main sensory and perceptual capacities we need to focus most. Firstly, he concludes that excessive extent of illumination can cause elderly workers’ adversely reactions. For example, older workers have shown to be more adversely affected by glare from lights in workplace. Secondly, he also mentions the disability of older adults to detect different visual stimuli, which he calls poor contrast. Old workers require more contrast between the stimuli before distinguishing them. Furthermore, a third age-related change in visual ability is the useful field of view, in which older workers gain messages from environment. Finally, he also points out that the decrease level of visual activity of older adult bring about the fact that they are not favorable to read printed material (Fozard, 1990).

It is well recognized that many older people experience hearing changes such as difficulties to hear sounds at high frequencies. Sometimes we find older people would speak louder because they cannot hear themselves. What is more, many manifest trouble to understand what they have clearly heard at a given loudness. Suggestion about this can include reduce distracting noise in working place for old people.

When we talk about older people, the most common stereotype of them would be slow to perceive things as an aging deficit. Scientific research findings indicate that it will take nearly 1.2 times longer for older people to finish cognitive process than their counterpart.

In a conclusion, job performance is closely related to functional ability but deficits with aging can not necessarily prevent most of older workers from being still effective and qualified employees. Older workers have positive effects on labor force productivity and economic growth

Encourage the labor force participation rate of elderly

After talking about all the strength and deficits of older work, I would like to focus on the dealings with means of expanding the opportunities for them to regain active participants in the labor market.

In the first place, empirical evidence that elderly have difficulty integrating information from multiple sources gives us a clue to develop communication and information-handling systems for older workers in workplace. For this reason, the priority for designing the system is to be acceptable by majority of users.

What is more, in order to integrate into the labor force, older worker are longing for training of the new technology or skills in an easy to comprehensive way when they face up the difficulties with computerized work situations. Training and educational programs would be really helpful if we handle them on the right direction. That means we understand that elderly employees have alternative requirements for different position.

Finally, if the government could apply more practical social policy and promote the social perspectives of the whole community, the low labor force participation rate may grow to meet the need of older people in Hong Kong. Even though we understand unemployment, no matter for young or old, is a problem brought about by economic recession, policy can still try to help aging who really need assistance in meeting their daily needs and can live peacefully.

Introduction:

Although there is a significant progress that has been achieved to gender equality in the labor market over recent decades and women are moving steadily into occupations that have been reserved for men and have managed to overcome the institutional discrimination that prevents them from certain jobs that hinders their career development, but there are many obstacles remain and rooted in the way that the work itself is organized or in the challenges that face women who try to reconcile work and family commitments or for cultural and religious reasons that have social / cultural and anthropological aspects. Women are still concentrated in the most unsteady forms of work and still far reaching from getting equal working opportunities, facing the phenomenon of glass ceiling which hinders them to get into high positions. Women worldwide have achieved higher levels of education than ever before and represent more than 35% of the global workforce in 2007 [1] .

The majority of top management positions in almost all countries are primarily held by men while female managers are holding lower management positions with less authority than men. It is something goes beyond just sex differences. Although women in general may be less emphasis on career success than men, but there are considerable huge number of professional women seeking top management positions and are unable to get them. Women seeking top managerial positions levels face large amount of challenges and may require different skills to be successful in the work place than their male counterparts. The causes are varies depending upon the size of the organization, level of management, and requisite job duties.

Gender mainstreaming has been defined [2] as “a process of assessing the implications for women and men of any planned action, including legislation, policies or programs, in any area and at all levels. It is a strategy for making the concerns and experiences of women as well as of men an integral part of the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies and programs in all political, economic and societal spheres, so that women and men benefit equally, and inequality is not perpetuated. The ultimate goal of mainstreaming is to achieve gender equality”. Gender mainstreaming is a synthesizing concept that addresses the well being of women and men. It is a strategy that is central to the interests of the whole community. Although men and women are entering the labor force in equal numbers and qualifications, but the majority of top management positions still belong to men, and women share of management positions remains unacceptably low.

Perception of Gender Roles:

In 1960s-1970s, liberation movement has helped in changing the public perception of traditional gender roles. The introduction of the Equal Employment Organization, Affirmative Action, and Discrimination Laws helped shape public awareness. Although economic roles between men and women have become more similar over time, sex differences are still prevalent and tensions still exist in the workplace. In the United States in 2003, the most significant difference between men and women in the workforce is between Hispanic men and women 76% to 56% and the lowest difference is between black men and women (only 6% difference) [3] . There is a huge amount of theories explaining why sex differences exist, but most can be categorized in supporting either a nature or nurture theory. Those that support biological factors argue that people behave as they do because they are biologically male or female. Those that support the nurture approach view social-environmental factors as influencing behavior and believe that biological sex has very little to do with how people behave.

What comprise sex discrimination?

Article 11 of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), states that “appropriate measures should be taken to eliminate discrimination against women in the field of employment in order to ensure, on the basis of equality of men and women”. The US Civil Right Act of 1964 provides strong protections against sex discrimination [4] . In modern societies, skilled women have the power, right and ability to compete with every field engaged with men including, employment, athletics, academics and politics without sex discrimination. Unfortunately, there is a fundamental nature all around the world to keep women’s salaries lower and opportunities fewer in the employment realm. Less common, men too can be subjected to unlawful sex discrimination regardless the shape and form it takes. Unequal pay and discriminatory job standards on the basis of sex discrimination are prohibited by law. Unequal treatment on the basis of sex is the core of sex discrimination. Separate rest rooms, does not constitute sex discrimination, but it is sex discrimination to provide different working conditions, salaries, hiring, promotion or bonus criteria to women and men. Everyone, men and women has the right to secure and perform their jobs free of unwanted demands for romantic or sexual relationships, or unwanted communications or behaviors of a sexual nature that interfere with their ability to work.

Another form of unlawful discrimination is the workplace harassment. It is not enough for employers to offer his women and men employee equal pay and opportunities; they must also remedy any sexual harassment situations that are known such as:

Harassment of lower-tier employees by a manager or executive of lower position.

Sexual harassment among coworkers. Harassment involves unwanted sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature.

Make sexual conduct a condition or term of employment, to base employment decisions on such conduct, or to permit sexual conduct that unreasonably interferes with an employee’s work performance or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment.

Offensive or rude comments, unwanted touching, displays of sexual objects or photographs, or offensive cartoons or drawings may constitute sexual harassment when they interfere with an individual’s work performance.

Is there a real limitation on women employment capabilities?

The role of men and women in the society is clearly segregated. This division of role is part of division of labor. Unfortunately the nature of division of labor between men and women became too firm and continued to persist when it was no longer appropriate. The initial division of labor between men and women was primarily influenced by the child bearing role of women and their lower average of their physical strength. These differences in characteristics have not changed and the importance in division of labor becomes marginal.

The most important requirements for most important jobs are mental capacities that both men and women have. With changing technologies and social structure, women are not tied down to the home to the same extent for performing their child bearing role. Changes in economic structure and culture have greatly reduced the importance and need for domestic duties. Therefore, most of the jobs today can be equally carried out quite well by men or women. For some jobs, it can be performed better by women because of their thin fingers and other jobs can be carried out better by men for it require heavy or physical manual labor.

Women continued to encounter obstacles in first getting employment and advancing in jobs although of the change in the reality that women become equal to men. These obstacles can be referred to two main reasons.

Women were not encouraged to acquire the education and skills that are needed to do many jobs.

There was a cultural resistance in certain societies against women carrying out many of the jobs performed by men. This resistance came not only from men, but from women too, describing them as unladylike.

Women employment situation today has considerably improved and these obstacles are no longer serious enough to be a significant barrier for women with a little determination. Ascendancy of so many women across the world occupying senior most position in government and business, including as prime ministers of countries and chief Executives officers of large corporation is a testimony to this fact.

The Glass Ceiling and its Causes

Although women are entering the labor force in large scale, but they cannot reach top managerial level positions that oppressed by men. About 70 percent of women and 57 percent of men believe that an invisible barrier, the “glass ceiling” (a term coined in 1986 by the Wall Street Journal), prevents women from advancing to top positions [5] .

There are varied causes of the glass ceiling. Some refer the causes to self-imposed by some women for choosing for example to work fewer hours than men in order to spend more time with their families. Women measure their success in the workplace differently than men while men tend to measure success by high salaries and important job titles whereas women place a higher value on their relationships with colleagues and community service. Others refer the glass ceiling cause in organizations to the good old boy network when deciding who to promote in these organizations, women are often not even considered.

The majority of employees in any companies or organizations have a life outside the office. These companies or organizations that are called family friendly organizations recognize this fact and introduce to their employees options such as flex-time, onsite child care, employee-assistance programs, and telecommuting to allow them to have a better chance to accommodate and balancing their home and work lives. But the problem lies in fact that some employees have no children, no family obligations and do not want to work in a family-friendly organization dislike their organization offering services that do not apply to them.

To determining what employees want in the work place is to determine how people define career success. Men and women use different types of measures when determining what makes a career successful. Men focus on earnings, promotional opportunities and success while women focus on positive interpersonal relationships and feelings [6] . There are also difference between men and women in their career gaps. Women not like the men in regards that they are more likely to take a leave of absence and work a part-time job. Organizations need to adopt a culture that will allow them to stay competitive but also allows their employees to maintain a balance with their lives outside of the office. Employees should take advantage of work-family programs offered but women may feel reluctant to take advantage of these programs as they feel it may lessen their chance for success within the company.

Extensive travel is another issue that women must face when considering executive jobs within an organization. Women have to find a solution on how to balance and accommodate family and work life and deal with doing business in countries like Saudi Arabia as an example that might not be as receptive to women in top positions. Although that video and teleconferencing has given companies as well as managers on the top of the company’s hierarchy the ability to offer alternatives to extensive travel but they will not replace face to face meetings for relationship building and contract negotiations.

Great efforts were made by women to knock on the glass ceiling but have not quite broken through it yet. It is true in high business companies where women represent less than 10% of executive positions [7] while they were represent almost 50% of worldwide workforce. This concludes discrimination due to hiring practices. Women will continue to push towards breaking the boundaries of their employment discrimination until companies recognize the value in securing a diverse work force. The glass ceiling may not be shattered for some time, but there are more holes in it than ever before.

Gender Inequality in the Economy

Around 200 million women worldwide have managed to find jobs in the last decade. In 2007, working women were 1.2 billion and men 1.8 billion but still the number of unemployed women increased from70.2 to 81.6 million [8] . If equitable and sustainable progress is to be achieved, women’s status must be improved, their rights must be respected, and their contributions must be recognized.

Women freedom has improved and has more power than before. However, they are still disadvantaged not receiving the full rights compared to men in virtually all aspects of life. Women, in developing countries in particular, often lack the education and skills necessary to gain employment in more lucrative sectors. The reasons can be summarized to the following categories:

Capacity:

Girls likely are less than boys enrolled in primary school and less likely to attend irregularly or not at all. If gender gap exists in primary school, it widens dramatically when it comes to secondary and higher education.

Girls and women are vastly overrepresented among the world’s illiterate. Women are less likely to receive professional or vocational training once employed, significantly limiting their chances at promotion and success.

Even when resources are made available to women in the form of microcredit and help with starting small businesses, business management practices are not generally taught. Most women-owned microenterprises do not experience growth beyond subsistence level.

Access to Resources

Women have not much access to resources necessary to start and grow businesses.

Divorce, inheritance, and land laws often discriminate against women and girls, robbing them of valuable capital and property. Without capital, women are often unable to obtain credit, an absolute necessity of business transactions.

Decision-Making

Women often lack of ability to act as their own agents of change and improvement.

Women are often underrepresented in positions of power and influence, and are less likely to be able to effectively pursue and protect their interests.

Women lack accessibility to informal channels of power and influence.

Household Responsibilities

Women are generally responsible for the majority of unpaid work associated with care of the home, children, and the elderly.

Household responsibilities thus take away from the time women have to spend in paid employment, whether full-time or part-time. This reduces female earning power and economic status.

Norms and Stereotypes

Even when laws prevent official employment discrimination, the participation of women in a diverse range of jobs, gender inequality may still result from cultural norms, stereotypes, and traditions.

Economic activity cannot be separated from the socio-cultural context occurred from families to communities. Values, norms and attitudes shape both hiring and job-seeking; choices are made by men and women alike that serve to economically marginalize many women. Muslim women are not permitted to leave the house while western women strive to balance traditional motherhood with work.

Policies to enhance gender mainstreaming at workplace:

Recruitment policies or processes should be the same, clearly written and phrases not to discriminate employee on the basis of race, color, national, ethnic origin, gender, religion, disability, etc… . Non discrimination policy encompasses the operation of any work programs or activities. The law is the authority that protects anyone from being directly or indirectly discriminated [9] . Direct discrimination would include treating somebody differently and less favorably than others on the bases of gender, indirect discrimination that would include rules and working regulations within the workplace that advantages males against females or vice versa.

Anny Human Resource Manager in any organization, recruitment process usually has three stages: Announcement or advertising, selection criteria and interview, and appointment. Before creating recruitment policy, a considerable and well thought -out approach is needed rather than trying to tackle issue on an ad hoc basis. Employers should take in consideration the following recruitment principles before formulation a recruitment policy:

To be objective in identifying necessary skills and qualifications of the post candidate that will be able handle the job.

Avoid any discriminatory language or implications

Remain open-minded.

In the announcement stage, it is unlawful to publish any advert that might be understood or hold an intention of discrimination against applicants from a particular racial group or sex. Gender neutral language must be selected and used. If the post title denotes a specific gender, it is necessary to state that application will be welcome from either sex. No graphics, style or expression indicate tendency to recruit a specific gender or race. It is of paramount importance to encourage applications from all categories of the community through including an equal opportunities statement within a job advert. Sex and race are not the only areas of discrimination, but disability, religion, belief, sexual orientation, marital status and age are grounds on which a person may not be discriminated against during the recruitment process.

Selection criteria and interview should be related to the requirement of the post. Employers must be clear, precise and objective in their selection. No assumption as to stereotypical requirements for the job. Because of job criteria requires physical strength, it does not mean to exclude female candidates from the selection process. Employer should consider individual wish to work on part-time basis if he or she could undertake the required job. A covered refusal will negatively affect one gender and might raise complaint for indirect sex discrimination. If the selection process falls down on the basis of gut- feeling selection, more than one person carries out the interview to ensure that discrimination do not affect the selection process.

In the appointment process, some employers use system of points to remove subjectivity from the process. Job is not necessary to be offered to individual with highest points but if it is offered to who did not score higher points is discrimination with no satisfactory explanation. No legal obligation to tell applicants why they have been unsuccessful, but many employers committed to equal opportunities which enable them to explain to the candidates why they were not selected. This approach will reduce the likelihood of a claim for discrimination being made and demonstrate the objectivity and openness used in the appointment process.

Gender equality promotes the equal participation of women and men in decisions making. Supporting gender equality can reduce the gap between women’s and men’s access to and control of resources and the benefits of development are still out of reach for most women worldwide. Women continue to have fewer rights, lower education and health status, less income, and less access to resources and decision-making than men. Nevertheless, women’s critical roles in food production, income generation, and management of natural resources, community organization and domestic responsibilities are essential for sustainable development.

Gender Mainstreaming and Development effectiveness

In the new conceptualization of poverty reduction, access to livelihood resources, capabilities building, security against vulnerability and equality of gender have come to be viewed as one integral process of the national plans of macroeconomic and social policies to promote growth and reduce poverty [10] . Scholars have identified the following dimensions of poverty [11] + [12] :

Lack of access to labor markets and employment opportunities and productive resources.

Lack of access to capabilities and public services as education and health.

Vulnerability to economic risks and to public and domestic violence, as well as constraints on mobility.

Lack of representation/empowerment, being without voice and without power at the household, community and national/international levels

Gender mainstreaming introduced changes that were community sanctioned and supported, precisely because they provided identifiable and visible benefits for the house hold and communities such as: improved health status, expand primary school enrollment or both girls and boys, increased harmony in households and community , greater integration of children into community life etc.. Gender mainstreaming has integrated women more fully into communities in ways that enhanced their status. Instead of withdrawal from the house hold and separation from the community, gender main streaming increased women’s opportunity, collaboration and contribution to the family and to larger community.

Hence, gender mainstreaming quietly challenged long held cultural traditions and practices that ruined individual and community progress. Moreover, embedded in gender mainstreaming is a flexibility that enabled individual and communities to embrace the process at their own level of comfort and need. It dealt a direct blow to poverty, leaving in its wake a change that was desired, positive, purposeful, community driven and sustainable. Gender mainstreaming encouraged total involvement of all and became the driving force for development effectiveness.

Conclusion:

Since the start of the women’s movement, changes in social acceptance of gender equality have been primarily due to changing perceptions among women and men themselves. Gender concept must be truly understood to be promoted effectively. It is neither an easy nor a straight forward process. It requires efforts to reduce gender inequities, whether they favor men or women. A true understanding to gender approach would eliminate gender gap, on the basis that no gender inequality is good either for individuals or the society as a whole. Gender interventions should not stop at gender equality; it should promote positive synergies that will act throughout the social system as generators of development. Gender equality should be seen within a dynamic system of relations embedded in a development process that seeks to empower its actors.

The spread and enforcement of equal opportunity laws have lessened institutional discrimination and add considerable impact on the awareness of populations. Working women have become characterized by more continuous labor force participation. Women have entered many of the professions previously reserved for men, and their earnings have become an essential part of household income. They enjoined the choice for being independent earning that allowed them decide send their children, especially girl children to school. Women’s economic empowerment emerged as key gender mainstreaming benefit and opened opportunities for women’s participation in community development activities, with potential for their emergence as positive force in local and national politics.

“Shaping Minds: The Soap Opera and the Power of Representation”
Abstract

In this thesis I aim to identify what the younger British public find engaging about Soap Operas, and to identify some of the processes at work during viewing, which might alter or enhance the ways in which we see the world. Focusing specifically on the relationship between popular media and the attitudes of young people towards sex and social class, research addresses the power of media representation, the use of role models, and how popular media encourages the viewer to make social distinctions and reinforces our ideas of classification. My research examines the influence of popular programmes, such as Sex and the City, and Australian and British Soap Operas, and throughout the thesis I refer to the theoretical approaches of Bourdieu and Michel Foucault, where I discuss the paradoxes latent in both the logic and language that people generally perceive to be stable and fundamental to social order. I also consider systems of classification and how the act of perceiving the validity and existence of such distinctions creates them. Conclusions drawn suggest that people consider soap viewing to be more dangerous in hindsight, whereas younger people do not recognise, or are less willing to recognise the inherent influences of soap story lines. Research does conclude that most people do consider soap operas to present an unrealistic portrayal of family life and relationships.

Introduction

Before the seventies a relatively small and largely irrelevant body of research existed that was solely based around soap operas, and it was only at that point when soaps began to assume a position as a topic of interest (LaGuardia 1974, 1977; Stedman 1971; Weibel 1977. In Blumenthal, p.43), as well as an area worthy of academic research (Katzman 1972; McAdown 1974; Newcomb 1974. Ibid). As Blumenthal openly writes ‘there were those who simply were “against them,” or found them “silly.”’ (Blumenthal, p.43). The context for this research formed out of a perceived gap in current research topics between the effects of media on children and adults, with relatively few projects being based solely upon teenagers and young people. As noted by Hawk et al (2006) much public and scientific concern has been expressed regarding the influence of sex in the mainstream media on children’s sexual development, such as Greenfield, 2004. However, fewer studies have studied in depth the relationships between adolescents’ viewing of sexual content in the media and their own sexual behaviours and attitudes, and of those studies which do exist many are subject to severe limitations such as small samples, and narrow focus on a single type of sexual outcome, such as incidence of intercourse (Peterson et al., 1991. In Hawk et al, 2006: 352). An important consideration for the topic of this research also rested upon the observance that it is less common for research into sexual attitudes to be combined with attitudes towards social class; the decision to marry these two topics derived from the consideration that British soap operas more often represent the working class, whereas Australian soap operas mostly refer to middle class families. It was therefore an interesting research proposition to consider whether attitudes towards sex and class are being shaped by the type of target audience that these programmes are being aimed at. Although the present study does not focus on the extent to which women only are influenced by viewing soap operas, it does recognise that a large body of research exists on women and soap operas, and that more useful responses might be given by women respondents.

Methodology

In considering the methodology for this project it was decided that in order to achieve a more comprehensive collection of data – with specific personal reactions to media – that primary data – in the forms of questionnaires and interviews – should be used, rather than basing the thesis purely on secondary textual and resource analyses. As some critics suggest, textual analysis cannot always enlighten us as to what goes on in the minds of viewers – and often relies upon inference and speculation (Dow, 1996). Secondary materials used for this project also include journals, articles, and books which have attempted to define the relationship between viewers and popular media. Results and findings are discussed using the research of theorists such as Adorno and Fiske; this was decided in order to encompass opinions which span a broad spectrum of relevant ideas, and are useful for how they illustrate the contrasts present in media research.

Participants

Participants who filled in only questionnaires were obtained by contacting high schools and middle schools, mostly in urban areas, that agreed to participate in data collection. Fifteen schools (who had their own colleges for 17-19 year olds) were initially randomly selected and contacted, 10 of which agreed to participate. As this project did not aim to highlight how attitudes might vary between age and race the identity and nationalities of respondents were not obtained. This was also decided upon because the ‘blind’ questionnaire offered school pupils more scope to provide false answers, especially concerning age and gender. In total there were 200 pupil responses with ages ranging from 12 to 18. As part of gathering primary data slightly different form of questionnaire (see Appendix Two) was presented to a random selection of young adults. This sample was achieved by approaching people on the street in a local town during rush hour. The only criteria that the second lot of respondents had to meet was that they were aged 30 or under – this was to ensure that recall of their watching soap operas during their teens would be more likely to be more accurate. Furthermore, this age limit was necessary considering the ages of the programmes themselves, many of which have been running approximately 20 years or less. In the random sample interview it was possible to make a note of gendered responses

Questionnaire and Interview Design

In the interviewing techniques selected for this project it was decided to use a combination of single and multiple choice options and include questions which encouraged respondents to give subjective views and opinions. Contact with sexual and class content in the mainstream media, as represented through the viewing of soap operas and popular programmes, was measured by asking respondents on a four point scale the degree to which they felt that their favourite programme had influenced their ideas concerning these issues. In order to account for the differences in age between the two sets of respondents it was decided that when questioning the elder set that questions should include a retrospective option. For example, when questioning people about the influence of soaps on their opinions the question would read: “Would you say that watching this programme has – or might have done so in the past – altered your understanding of sexual relationships?”

Chapter One: Literature Review
The Meaning and Origins of Popular Culture

Over the last few decades ‘culture’ has become frequently used to denote changing tastes and popularity in appreciation of interests such as music, art, theatre. As noted by Peter Goodall the word ’culture’ is consistently made use of by journalists and politicians, and especially by people studying within the Humanities (Goodall, 1995). The same author also notes that the word ’culture’ has become an ‘increasingly empty term […] more frequently it is used, the more regularly it seems to need another word to prop it up and define its field of reference.’ (Goodall, 1995: xii). Take, for example, the term ‘police culture’, says Goodall, and the term ‘welfare culture’: does the word promise to mean more because these areas of society actually have little in common with one another? In both contexts the word ‘promises much [..] but delivers little; it poses as a noun but it is really an adjective’ where ‘culture’ means little more than ‘’group behaviour’, ‘practice’ or ‘shared assumptions’.’ (Ibid).

The phenomenon of popular culture and the ease with which it has spread across the Western world, owes much to the existence of television, radio, and, more recently, the Internet. It was the Queen’s Coronation that begun the television age, with half the adult population watching the ceremony on TV sets; and most of these people not owning their own television at the time (Karwowski: 2002: 281). Statistics show that in 1951, the only available BBC channel had just 600,000 viewers, and that by the end of the century, watching TV was the most popular leisure activity – with 94 per cent of homes having at least one colour TV and 66 per cent a video cassette recorder (Ibid). Karwowski highlights the following televised programmes as being central to the historical analysis of popular culture:

the Queen’s Coronation
The Goon Show – from June 1952 to January 1960, described as ‘a surreal form of humour that lampooned all forms of pomposity and hypocrisy.’ (Karwowski: 2002: 281).
Situation comedies such as Till Death Us Do Part
60s TV comedies, such as That Was The Week That Was and Monty Python’s Flying Circus
Independent TV (ITV) began broadcasting in 1955. The number of TV channels grew to three with the start-up of BBC 2 in 1964, to four with Channel 4 in 1982, and five with Channel 5 in 1997, while colour TV was available from 1968.
British Costume Drama, portraying English novelists such as Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, and Evelyn Waugh
Educational documentaries such as Sir Kenneth Clark’s Civilisation (1969), Dr Jacob Bronowski’s The Ascent of Man (1973) and Sir David Attenborough’s Life on Earth (1979)
Walking with Dinosaurs
Children’s programmes, such as Mole’s Christmas and the BBC’s Teletubbies to more than 125. Quiz programmes such as the BBC’s
Quiz shows, such as The Weakest Link, and detective series such as Inspector Morse, currently being seen in 211 countries.

However, KarwowskI observes that ‘all these genres become mere niche markets when compared to the ‘soap opera’, which has around a third of the nation addicted to its multifarious expressions.’ (2005: 282). In the UK, the most popular soap is Coronation Street, longest running since 1960, is as popular in Canada and New Zealand, with the Coronation Street web site having more ‘hits’ from Canada than anywhere else. (Ibid).

What we see in soap operas is often designed to provoke an empathic response in the mind of the viewer. Soap viewing can offer very contrasting experiences – sometimes alienating or even shocking the viewer, and other times offering emotional support and guidance concerning difficult issues. It is perhaps this ‘mixed bag’ effect of soap viewing – when a person is never sure what content will shape their viewing experience – that make soap viewing so popular. Media theory questions how knowledge is received and understood by the audience. Charlotte Brunsdon once said that “the pursuit of the audience” can be characterized “as a search for authenticity, for an anchoring moment in a sea of signification” (1990, p.68). The interpretations of the complex relationship between the viewer and the viewed have been controversial and often, contrasting; for example, Theodor Adorno believed that the influence held over the public by mass media was potentially harmful and brainwashing, whereas John Fiske wrote that work should focus on viewers’ interpretation of what they saw – that the viewer had autonomy over the extent to which they would absorb and articulate the information presented (Gauntlett, 2002). Fiske also used the term ‘polysemy’ to refer to the potential for audiences to decode texts in varying ways (Fiske, 1986). Dow presents her idea that the viewer has almost complete autonomy over how they interpret what they see, saying that:

“The most powerful claim of audience studies has been that “real” viewers often resist the dominant messages of television and interpret programming in ways that suit their own interests [..] Intentional or not, such judgments cast the differences between approaches within the framework of a zero-sum game in which only one party can be right, making the other automatically wrong.” (Dow, 1996: 2)

Dow also suggest that it is not possible to completely disassociate oneself from the object of criticism because of the cultural and social interests which are shared by both the critic and the creator of the media in question. Furthermore, criticism becomes less about discovering meaning in texts and becomes more of a performative activity that is about creating meaning.

Sex and Identity

Part of the idea for this project was born out of the premise that there exists a strong link between ideas about sexual relationships and a young person’s sense of identity. It is an aim of this project to explore the degree to which hindsight might affect a person’s belief as to whether they have been influenced by what they have seen on soaps. Research has been conducted into the damaging nature of representation in popular media – especially into the use of models or ‘ideal’ body types; what Virginia Blum calls the ‘yardstick’ of the ‘Other Woman’ against which women measures their imperfections. For the ‘twenty-first century Western woman,’ says Blum, ‘who is always evaluating her appearance (intimately bound up with her identity) in relation to some standard that must be Other in order to function as a standard’ (Blum, 2005: 27). Gauntlett cites research findings on women in prime time TV in the early nineties as being ‘young, single, independent, and free from family and work place pressures’ (Elasmar, Hasegawa and Brain, 1999:33. In Gauntlett: 2002, 59). Gauntlett goes on to suggests that the 1990’s saw the use of inoffensive models of masculinity and femininity, which were generally acceptable to the majority of the public, and that this reflected producers’ beliefs that they no longer needed to challenge gender representations (Ibid). In the case of the sitcom Friends the use of male and female models of represnetation were equal. As Gauntlett explains:

“The three men (Ross, Chandler and Joey) fit easily within conventional models of masculinity, but are given some characteristics of sensitivity and gentleness, and male-bonding, to make things slightly refreshing. Similarly, the three women (Rachel, Monica and Phoebe) are clearly feminine, whilst being sufficiently intelligent and non-housewifey to seem like acceptable characters for the 1990s. The six were also, of course, originally all characters with a good set of both male and female friendships – i.e. each other – and the friendship circle was a refreshing modern replacement for the traditional family. (It was not long, of course, before they spoilt that by having Ross and Rachel, then – more implausibly – Monica and Chandler fall in love.)” (Gauntlett, p.59)

In most soaps there exists a core set of characters who form the firm basis of the on-screen reality. If these core characters were to change too often then the soap loses credibility, and becomes an unreal parallel of the world that it is trying to represent. It is important that themes such as sex and class are presented in a coherent and consistent way. As Gauntlett’s comment on Friends suggests – this is sometimes not the case as the idea of quasi family is ‘quashed’ by the sexual dynamics within the group, thus complicating the original idea.

The Concept of Transformation

It is a premise of this project that women might be more likely to have experienced closer identification with soaps than men. Although it was beyond the scope of this project to direct an in-depth inquiry into this premise, the questionnaire nevertheless attempted to explore whether there was a gender divide, although this attempt was limited due to the size of the questionnaire. As academic and soap viewer, Danielle Blumenthal, is quoted as saying:

Soap operas . . . a connection with other women, beloved to me: my mother, grandmother, aunt, sister . . . a steady stream of modern folktales that symbolically link us together. Memories abound: racing off the schoolbus to catch the last ten minutes of General Hospital; laughing with Grandma over the plotline antics of Days of Our Lives; worrying over the lives of characters I cared about; endless feverish conversations with girlfriends, sister, aunt over who should do what, how, and with whom. (Blumenthal, 1997: 3)

In her publication on feminist perspectives and soap operas, Blumenthal refers to soap opera viewing as a ‘specific cultural activity’ questioning how much the activity is an ‘empowering practice–or, “praxis”–for women to engage in.’ (Ibid, p.4). The term praxis, Marxist criticism has been defined as meaning “conscious physical labor directed toward transforming the material world so it will satisfy human needs” (Rothman 1989:170. In Blumenthal, 1997:3). Blumenthal extends this interpretation to mean not only physical, but also mental labour, ‘which transforms images and experience to meet human needs.’ (Ibid). The concept can also be interpreted as a belief that ‘social objects do not simply exist “out there” in space, but are mediated through a continual process of interpretation and construction by the subjective and socially oriented mind.’ (Ibid). ‘Girl Power,’ and themes which identify the strengths in women’s attitudes are not limited to the sitcom or the soap opera, in fact they occur, to some degree, within just about every form of visual media – and are mediated by the minds of the programmes creators to be received by the viewing public.

The concept of transformation is prevalent in most media – where women use their new image to take control of their lives and turn around situations. For example, Barbra Streisand’s 1996 film, The Mirror Has Two Faces, uses the idea of a before and after to provide tension and contrast within the film. In this film, the character Rose is transformed by losing weight and dying her hair – this secures the physical adoration of her husband who married her for her ‘inner self.’ While the film encourages viewers to identify with Barbara Streisand it also reinforces the ideal of transformation, where the heroine does not settle for less, but dares to achieve more. Rachel Moseley, in her publication on feminist cultural perspectives, fashion, and media, observes that within these Cinderella stories there exists a ‘moment of increased visibility which provides a space for both the visual pleasure offered showcasing of the transformation, but also for the articulation of the anxiety and emotional resonance of ’coming out’ in relation to class, as well as gender.’ (Moseley, 2002: p.40). In British and Australian soaps the concept of transformation is readily embraced – not least within the lives of individual characters, but within each episode itself – so as to create a mini section of a greater storyline. The world of the soap opera is fluid and dynamic – it moves along at a much faster rate than reality off-screen, with new ideas and events constituting change on many levels. Blumenthal’s ideas concerning the ‘transformation’ of images is particularly useful here as it might help to explain how the serial relationships of soap characters are interpreted by the viewer. In soaps, it is often the case that characters who are not married engage in a string of successive relationships, which sets an unreal precedent to viewers, especially younger viewers. Media critic Mary-Lou Galician, in her publication Sex, Love & Romance in the Mass Media lists twelve false premises which are regularly promoted within, and associated with, mass media; all of which she defines as ‘myths and stereotypes’ (2004: p.x):

“Your perfect partner is cosmically predestined, so nothing/nobody can ultimately separate you.
There’s such a thing as “love at first sight. ”
Your true soul mate should KNOW what you’re thinking or feeling without your having to tell.
If your partner is truly meant for you, sex is easy and wonderful.
To attract and keep a man, a woman should look like a model or a centerfold.
The man should NOT be shorter, weaker, younger, poorer, or less successful than the woman.
The love of a good and faithful true woman can change a man from a “beast” into a “prince. ”
Bickering and fighting a lot mean that a man and a woman really love each other passionately.
All you really need is love, so it doesn’t matter if you and your lover have very different values.
The right mate “completes you” — filling your needs and making your dreams come true.
In real life, actors and actresses are often very much like the romantic characters they portray.
Since mass media portrayals of romance aren’t “real, ” they don’t really affect you.” (2004: ix)

Many social critics and relationship therapists have blamed the mass media for brainwashing viewers with portrayals of unrealistic love that are ‘unattainable as a goal and unhealthy as a model and, thereby, contributing to the construction of these unrealistic expectations’ (Dyer, 1976; Fromm, 1956; Johnson, 1983; Norwood, 1985; Peele, 1975;Russianoff, 1981; Shapiro & Kroeger, 1991; Shostrom & Kavanaugh, 1971. In Galician, 2004: p.13.). Certainly, many soap operas under discussion in this thesis are guilty of this phenomenon, and are suggestive of the idea that it is unfashionable or abnormal to be single. For example, as Glass writes:

“Who can take seriously a character saying, as one does in the televised version of Candace Bushnell’s column, “We’re not dating. It’s a fuck thing”? Or, “I’ve been fucked every way you can be fucked”? These characters are not serious, not even interesting, certainly not funny. With that type of woman, romance, with its necessary belief in an ideal, is impossible. [..] Bushnell’s women cavort aimlessly in New York, trying different sex games to see which they can win. When they lose, they move on. There is no reflection, no despair, no consequence of any action. The tragedy is that nothing in their lives is tragic.” (Glass, 1999: 14)

This sort of promotion of casual sex could be potentially damaging to younger people, who are in the earlier stages of forming opinions about themselves and the world, as it could encourage them to find partners before they are comfortable to do so. Furthermore, in a school environment, where children are exposed to the same sorts of mass media, these ideas are discussed and reinforced within a social reality that is far different from the reality on-screen. As author of Sex and the City, Candace Bushnell, said of her creation:

“No one has breakfast at Tiffany’s, and no one has affairs to remember – instead, we have breakfast at 7 am and affairs we try to forget as quickly as possible. How did we get into this mess?” (cf Glass, 1999: 14)

During its popularity SATC was responsible for liberating the ideas of many women, and even their male partners, who watched it. The character of Samantha, played by Kim Cattrall, has been highlighted as an importnat portrayal of a sexually assertive woman in her forties. As Cattrall once said in an interview, ‘I don’t think there’s ever been a woman who has expressed so much sexual joy [on television] without her being punished. I never tire of women coming up and saying, “You’ve affected my life”’ (Williams, 2002. Found in Gauntlett, 2002, p.61).

Unfortunately the themes of casual sex is unsustainable and will not hold viewer’s attentions for as long as say, family dramas, which can be played out over a much longer period of time and have far more complex dynamics. Thus, the heyday of SATC is over, while Emmerdale continues. As suggested by Goldenberg et al the themes of sex is both intriguing and disturbing:

“Despite its potential for immense physical pleasure and the crucial role that it plays in propagating the species, sex nevertheless is sometimes a source of anxiety, shame, and disgust for humans, and is always subject to cultural norms and social regulation. [..]We argue that sex is threatening because it makes us acutely aware of our sheer physical and animal nature. Although others (e.g., Freud, 1930/1961) have also suggested that human beings are threatened by their creatureliness, following Rank (1930/1998) and Becker (1973), we suggest that this motivation is rooted in a more basic human need to deny mortality.” (Goldenberg et al, 2002: p.310)

Indeed, there is nothing safe about the themes of sex in soaps – it is an unpredictable world, where things are more likely to go wrong, in comparison to the world of family life, where there are obvious boundaries and limits within which to localise behaviour.

In terms of class, which is the other distinction that this project is addressing, the idea that most soaps represent a particular group of people from a particular area, means that they represent the social structure of that particular area. In turn, this means that most soaps are unable to present a cross section of society from any area wider than that which it chiefly represents, and often only manages to represent the lives of either working class or middle class people. Soaps which concentrate on more elitist tastes or narrower, more inaccessible stratas of society do not often gain such a high level of popularity.

This can be seen in the case of Eldorado, a soap set in Spain about the lives of British expats, that lasted only a year before being axed. A different approach to the soap opera came alon gin 1997 with the airing of Family Affairs, a soap that focused on one family. The description of the soap read as follows:

“The biggest, and riskiest, decision they made was to break away from the communal concept that underpins other soaps, whether it is the village (Emmerdale), the close (Brookside), the square (EastEnders), or the local streets and pub (Coronation Street). Family Affairs will centre on one family, and examine in intimate detail the struggles and tensions within the four walls of the Hart household. The other difference between this soap and its rivals will be that Family Affairs will not be geographically characterised. It is set in a neutral town, and will lack the northern atmosphere that permeates “Corrie” or Brookside. Class differences within the family will play a big part. The personal experience of Young and Hollingworth influenced them to base the soap around a family that had an ex-miner at its head (Hollingworth’s grandfather was a miner), whose son had become a self-employed builder, and whose four grandchildren were variously a trainee lawyer, an entrepreneur, a shop assistant and a schoolboy.” (McDonald, 1997: 1)

This soap underwent a complete change in setting and in characters, before it was axed after only seven years. These example show that there is not enough of a market for specialised soaps which dare to do something a little different. It appears that it is the grittiness of urban landscapes or the character of places which people enjoying watching the most. Furthermore, it is interesting how similar themes – such as teenage pregnancy, underage relationships, and people seeking to break the boundaries of their family’s class can all assume a different meaning, or at least be interpreted differently, according to the different locations and environments in which they are set.

Mass Media and the Body

Gauntlett observes a similarity between the malleability of the self and the late modern attitudes to the body:

“No longer do we feel that the body is a more or less disappointing ‘given’ – instead, the body is the outer expression of our self, to be improved and worked upon; the body has, in the words of Giddens, become ‘reflexively mobilized’ – thrown into the expanding sphere of personal attributes which we are required to think about and control.” (In Gauntlett, p.104). Perhaps one of the greatest power centres behind both of these arguments is Hollywood, which in its history has seen the changing representation of women, and more recently, the increasing number of women, and men, who have surgery to preserve the image of their youth. These ideal images of women are not always positively received. For example, speaking in 1973, Marjorie Rosen commented that ‘the Cinema Woman is a Popcorn Venus, a delectable but insubstantial hybrid of cultural distortions’ (1973:10), and upon the changing representation of women Rosen observed the presence of rebellious natured commentaries against working women in the 1940s and 1950s, and against female sexual emancipation in the 1960s and 1970s. Whereas women have been consistently promoted as ‘sex objects’ – in varying styles throughout Hollywood’s history (Rosen, In Gauntlett, 2002). It would be an interesting line of enquiry to explore the degree to which feminist literature can help to explain the presence of the perceived gender gap in the process of idolisation and representation, and the influence of these processes on ideas concerning sex and sexuality. Some critics suggest that popular media have over-simplified debates which are essentially feminist in nature, and, in some cases, wrongly consider the feminist movement retrospectively, encouraging viewers to do the same. For example, in her article exploring the different definitions of third-wave feminism emerging in the U.S, Amanda Lotz comments that ‘simplistic popular media constructions of third-wave feminism’ are misleading to feminists, and that study of the ‘third-wave feminist ideas may be understood as distinctive of new social movement organization.’ (Lotz: 2003, p.3 ). Other critics pay close attention to the different psychological constitutions of women – what Jane Gerhard terms ‘ideas about the distinctive psychological reality of women’ – especially concerning our definition of post feminism, which makes a significant contribution to the re-assessment of heterosexual power relations. (2005: 41). With proponents of equality still battling with what Susan Faludi refers to as lackadaisical nature of post-feminism and the unfair ’backlash’ against the feminist movement itself (1992) the idea of feminism and soap opera viewing is topical and extensive, and, unfortunately, beyond the scope of this thesis to explore.

Foucault

Foucault’s work is useful in the discussion of soap operas and the effects of viewing popular television as it comments on the damaging nature of ‘normalization.’ Foucault argues that there is no such thing as a singular fixed meaning, and that meaning is understood on many levels – most often through the historical, retrospective interpretation of rational and reasonable behaviour (Danaher et al, 2000). For example, he suggests that the nineteenth century witnessed a preoccupation with correctness – where all things ‘wrong’ had to be ‘righted’ in some way in order to fit into a box of classification. This phenomenon has had long-lasting effects on Western culture – to the extent where ‘norms’ have been established, and exceptions to these norms ‘cured’ or corrected. In the discussion of class and attitudes towards sex we might consider how the media has portrayed the image of the ideal woman or man. The difference between the historical normalisation of beauty to contemporary is that such images have been popularised through the media on an increasingly global and interpersonal scale. With the advancement of technology, advertising reaches people even within the private space of their own homes – through television, radio, and the Internet. This is all the more dang

This dissertation will examine the evidence for the claim that witnessing domestic violence causes serious and lasting harm to children. As it would not be feasible to conduct primary research on this topic at the researcher’s current level of training, given the significant ethical issues involved in working with children and families in this context, it will consist of an extensive critical review of the literature on this topic. This body of evidence will be systematically reviewed to establish the current state of knowledge regarding:

aˆ? The strength of the link between exposure to domestic violence and children’s

aˆ? Trauma symptoms

aˆ? Development

aˆ? Social functioning

aˆ? Internalising (eg. depression)

aˆ? Externalising (eg. aggression, disruptive behaviour)

aˆ? Academic performance

aˆ? The existence of mediating or moderating factors determining the level of damage caused by witnessing domestic violence, including

aˆ? Temperament

aˆ? Social support

aˆ? Genetic factors

aˆ? The prevalence of exposure to domestic violence in childhood.

Preliminary review of the literature
The prevalence of childhood exposure to domestic violence

Intimate partner violence is disturbingly common in the UK: an analysis of recent data gathered by the NHS for various purposes found a lifetime prevalence rate of some experience of domestic violence of 13-31% among the general population of British women (Feder et al, 2009). In the US, Dong et al found (2004) that 24% of respondents (n = 2,081) indicated that they had been exposed to domestic violence while under the age of 18. These figures indicate that a high proportion of children will, at at least some point, witness acts of violence between (most commonly) their parents or caregivers in the home or another family setting. However, the usefulness of lifetime prevalence figures like this in assessing the real impact of domestic violence on children is rather questionable: these results do not distinguish adequately between individuals who witnessed a single incident, or very infrequent “mild” violence, and those who were repeatedly exposed to serious violence. More detailed data is required to address the question of how common prolonged exposure really is.

A further problem with the analysis of data for the prevalence of children’s exposure to domestic violence is the high level of co-occurrence with other forms of maltreatment. A large US study (3,777 males and 4,411 females) found that 12.3% of men (n = 482) and 15.9% of women (n = 703; chi square of difference 15.9, p < 0.0001) had witnessed "maternal battering;" however, only 3.7% of men (n = 139) and 3.8% of women (n = 168) had only witnessed violence and not suffered physical and/or sexual abuse as well (Edwards et al, 2003). This suggests that it may be hard to identify the specific effect of witnessing violence alone; it is intuitively obvious that homes in which there is violence between partners are likely to be ones in which there is an atmosphere conducive to other forms of abuse, and the parents' orientation to the child is highly likely to be problematic.

Witnessing parental aggression: its effects on child development

There is strong evidence that aggression and violence between the child’s parents or caregivers can have serious negative consequences even if the child is “too young to understand:” in particular, it has been suggested, very reasonably, that domestic violence negatively impacts the quality of maternal care as poor management of emotions and conflicts may transfer from the couple relationship to the mother-infant one (eg. Krisknakumar & Buehler, 2000). Indeed, women who are in violently abusive relationships may even express more negative attributions about their unborn child while pregnant (Theran, Levendosky, Bogat, and Huth-Bocks, 2005), creating the conditions for an emotionally distant parenting style which can lead to a poor attachment between mother and infant. Of four studies of children aged 3-6 reviewed by Wolfe et al (2003), all but one found moderate to strong effects on internalizing and externalizing symptoms as a consequence of witnessing domestic violence; Levendosky et al. (2002) also found a significant level of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in a similar population, and Bogat and her colleagues described clinically significant trauma symptoms in one-year-old infants exposed to family violence (2006). Interestingly, however, in a sample of 7865 British children aged 5-16, Meltzer and his colleagues found that “Witnessing severe domestic violence almost tripled the likelihood of children having conduct disorder but was not independently associated with emotional disorders” (2009:491). The picture is yet further complicated by the finding that at least some mothers who suffer domestic violence in fact appear to compensate for this in ways which increase their availability to their children, showing “heightened sensitivity and responsiveness” (Letourneau, Fedick and Willms, 2007:649).

Domestic violence and adolescent outcomes

Given the complexity of the picture of the effect of witnessing domestic violence (and of having a caregiver who is a victim or perpetrator of it) which has already emerged, it is to be expected that the impact of this form of maltreatment on the eventual outcomes of children who are affected by it will also be far from easy to determine. High levels of conduct disorder and other adjustment and attitudinal problems in the adolescent children of battered women have been extensively described (Fantuzzo et al, 1991; Holden and Ritchie, 1991, and numerous later studies); these conduct problems have, however, bee n found to be amenable to interventions to improve mothers’ own support, and management of their children (eg. Jouriles et al, 2001). McFarlane and her colleagues found, worryingly, that in a sample of 330 children (including black, white and hispanic ethnicities), “the mean internalizing behavior score for boys 6-11…as well as girls and boys 12-18…of abused mothers were not significantly different from the clinical referral norms” (2003:202), suggesting that the impact of witnessing serious domestic violence is enough to lead to clinically significant symptoms – including suicidality and self-harming behaviours – in adolescents. This indicates that, although the mechanisms by which it causes such great damage are as yet unclear, witnessing domestic violence which is either serious or prolonged needs to be treated as a major traumatic incident in a child’s life. However, the prevalence of exposure like this is so great that intervening in the vast majority of cases where harm is being caused would be impossible; we are, furthermore, learning ever more about the factors which determine whether or not these experiences take a lasting toll, both biological and social.

Domestic violence and the biology of trauma

While only a small fraction of the children who suffer maltreatment are, as it were, “fortunate” enough only to witness domestic violence and not be subject to other forms of maltreatment, even in these cases evidence has been found that “both [hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal] axis and sympathetic nervous system functioning were found to differ between children exposed to domestic violence and comparison children (Saltzman, Holden and Holahan, 2005), suggesting that exposure to this form of trauma has lasting biological as well as emotional consequences. While the exact effect of the kinds of changes which Saltzman and his colleagues found on later functioning is unknown, findings like this give cause for serious concern that exposure to domestic violence in early life may have consequences which include functional, particularly social, impairments which are difficult (although not impossible) to overcome. They may, too, have long term health effects: the prolonged effects of biological stress responses observed in PTSD sufferers have been linked to a variety of serious chronic illnesses (Boscarino, 2008), suggesting that children who witness violence may be at risk of ill health long after their exposure itself has ended. Future research seems likely to confirm that the hypersensitivity to verbal conflict displayed by the one-year-old (ie. pre-verbal) infants studied by DeJonghe and her colleagues (2005) has a neural basis; this high level of sensitivity may itself predispose individuals who were exposed to domestic violence as young children to displaying high levels of arousal in conflict situations, contributing to the emergence of aggression and conduct problems in later life.

Rationale for undertaking this research

It is clear from the preliminary review of the literature which has been presented above that exposure to domestic violence is a serious child welfare issue: it affects a large number of children, is frequently combined with other forms of maltreatment, and has been shown to have long-term negative effects on both psychosocial functioning and, more tentatively, on physical health. As such there is an obvious rationale for assessing the current state of research into this topic: there is now a large volume of work on this issue, although it has only been explored empirically since the 1980s, and new techniques such as the use of biomarkers and neuroimaging continue to add dramatically to our understanding of the risks and mechanisms of harm associated with witnessing domestic violence. Producing a broad systematic review of the aspects of this topic of greatest relevance to social policy and professional social work practice will help to inform responses to this grave threat to the wellbeing of thousands of children in the UK, and contribute to the formulation of effective responses to the challenges which family violence poses today.

Outline research strategy

As has been mentioned above, the research strategy which will be adopted here is that of a critical review of the literature, based on a structured search of major journal databases. This strategy is the most appropriate one due in part to the challenges of conducting experimental or observational research in families where domestic violence occurs; given the researcher’s lack of training in managing the care and welfare of vulnerable children and adults, a methodology of this kind would not be appropriate. As such, an approach which does not pose these ethical and practical problems has been adopted.

A structured literature search methodology will be used to search the PUBMED, OVID and Web of Science databases; the terms used will be selected in order to identify literature which deals primarily with exposure to violence without the copresence of other forms of maltreatment. Due to the broad scope of this review, a meta-analytic approach would not be appropriate: where appropriate, meta-analyses of studies on this topic will be included, along with discussion of the individual studies included in them. Particular attention will be given to critical analysis of the effectiveness of the studies’ attempts to exclude the effect of confounding variables, including exposure to other forms of maltreatment and verbal aggression in the home, social factors and other issues.

The two major ethnic groups of Sri Lanka, the Sinhalese and the Tamils, both had very different viewpoints on how the country should be run. Fears of a stereotypical government and the ideas of inequality occurred during passings of discriminatory state policies (Sri Lanka, Relations with.) A policy that was most looked down upon was the deprivation of Indian Tamils from having citizenship and representation. Another reason the Tamils believed that the Sinhalese were in more control was due to the difference in representation, the Sinhalese were more obligated to express their own culture and religion; which mainly consisted of Buddhism. Lastly, in 1956 it was declared by the Sinhalese that Sri Lanka’s only official language should be Sinhala, the language of the Sinhalese people. The Sinhala Act Only of 1956 is one of the most notable policies, it is directly stated, “Sinhala language shall be the one official language of Ceylon.”(The Sinhala Only Act) These policies made Tamil people infuriated, and made them have a greater need for independence. Militant Tamil youth groups were formed in order to fight for a separate Tamil state, thus starting the Sri Lankan Civil War(Sri Lanka, Relations with.).

The main point made was that the Sinhalese people were always use to being the supreme force and majority of Sri Lanka, while the Tamil people also felt like they should be recognized and acknowledged as a part of Sri Lanka. The main reason the Tamil people weren’t given much recognition and independence was due to them not being natives of Sri Lanka; they were all of Indian descent. It is also important to note the differences between the Sinhalese and Tamil people, most of the Sinhalese people practiced Buddhism, while most of the Tamil people were either Muslim or Hindu. Both the Sinhalese and Tamil had their own language. Lastly, a majority of Sri Lanka was composed of Sinhalese, while only about 18% of the population was Tamil (Sri Lanka, Relations with.) It is important to note these differences because it only makes it much more harder for the Tamil and Sinhalese people to agree upon certain standards.

The Tamil people were originally descendants of india, thus making them not Sri Lankan natives. The Tamil people felt that the Sinhalese decision of passing the Sinhala Only Act was only to estate a sense of dominance and prejudice. One of the biggest issues caused by making Sinhala the official language of Sri Lanka was that Tamil people had less of a chance to uphold a government position. Dr Colvin R de Silva, a former member of the parliament famously said, “Do we… want a single nation or do we want two nations?”(Colvin R De Silva) Silva’s quote shows that the Tamil people felt like the nation was starting to be divided up into two different regions. The quote also shows that the Tamil people were willing to negotiate, just so that Sri Lanka may remain as one nation. The Tamils eventually responded to these policies by protesting against the Sinhalese, these protests ended up becoming violent. These protests were encouragement for the Sinhalese to pass more discriminatory policies against the Tamils. The policies passed were looked at as discriminatory against the education and employment of the Tamil people (Ethnic Prejudice.) The Tamils constantly being blocked off from chances at employment and receiving education lead to a need for separation. The Tamil people were willing to fight for their independence in Sri Lanka, and the suppression being put down by the Sinhalese(policies) weren’t going to discourage them.

The passing of the Sinhala Only Act ended up encouraging the Tamil people to riot against the Sinhalese Government. The formation of Tamil Youth Groups gave India a much bigger role during the Civil War. After many failures at establishing a multicultural government, The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam(LTTE) were formed in 1975. The purpose of the LTTE was to fight with as much force necessary to establish equal rights, and to potentially make a separate state called Tamil Eelam (The History of the Tamil Tigers.) The violence that the Sri Lankan army (Sinhalese) initiated on the Tamil youth groups with caused many Tamils to leave Sri Lanka, and seek refuge in Tamil Nadu; a southern part of India. The people and press of Tamil Nadu emphasized sympathy for the Tamils in Sri Lanka. The main action Tamil Nadu did to help was demand that the Indian government(in New Delhi) take action against the Sinhalese (Sri Lanka, Relations with.) India became much more involved in the situation with Sri Lanka, India helped train and fund the Tamil youth groups to aid in creating a stronger force. Another way India helped was by helping set up negotiations and compromises between the Tamils and Sinhalese (Sri Lanka, Relations with.) India’s attempts at trying to estate positive relations between the Tamils and Sinhalese had little success.

The Tamils responded violently to the policies passed by the Sinhalese. After many failed attempts at negotiating, the Tamil rebels took it upon themselves to form the Tamil Tigers. The Tamil Tigers were one of the most pressuring Tamil Forces against the Sri Lankan government. The LITE was most well known for their elite guerilla warfare tactics, this played a key role when the Tamil people rebelled. The Tamil people’s protest grew substantially bigger as the Sinhalese tried to suppress them, this only encouraged the Sinhalese to use more force. In 1981, Sinhalese forces burned a Tamil library in Jaffna, and terrorized the Tamil people with violent acts, including bombing raids on Tamil villages. The Tamils reacted to this with more violence and rioting, which only made the Sinhalese make more violent decisions. The Sinhalese retaliated to the rioting by burning the remaining Tamil homes and Businesses in Sri Lanka. At this point India sent 80,000 troops to step in so that this violence may come to a short halt, though these troops were asked to leave shortly after the violence; which they did obey. The Tamil Tiger’s key role was that the violent acts by the Sinhalese only ended up giving LITE more encouragement to obtain their goals. More force had to be used by the Liberation Tigers to achieve their goal of Tamil Eelam, suicide bombing began to occur. On July 5, 1987, Tamil rebels rammed a truck with explosives into a building containing Sri Lankan soldiers; this was the first act by Tamil rebels regarding suicide bombing (The History of the Tamil Tigers.) Another instance of suicide bombing was when Sri Lankan Defence Minister, Ranjan Wijeratne, was killed in a car bomb explosion; this was considered to be the biggest suicide act to have been performed by Tamil rebels. A year before his death , Mr Wijeratne informed the press: “I am going all out for the LTTE. I never do anything in half measures.”(Sri Lankan hardliner among 19 killed in blast.) This quote shows that the Tamil Tigers are pressuring the Sri Lankan government in a much more brutal way. The Tamil Tigers started to target government officials as ways of taking out individuals that are higher in command. The Tamil Tigers main method of fear was to cause chaos in Sri Lanka.

The Sinhalese government responded to most of the Tamil rebel’s violence with violence. The thought that the Sri Lankan government had was that they had to fight fire with fire in order for the Tamil Rebel to back down. In 1987, Sri Lankan President J.R. Jayewardene and prime minister Rajiv Ganhdi tried to resolve this conflict by making the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord. The Indo-Sri Lanka Accord declared that Sri Lanka is “a multi-ethnic and multi-lingual plural society.”(Sri Lanka, relations with.) Tamil and English were added on to be the official languages of Sri Lanka. The accord was soon challenged by Colombo’s Ruling Party, which was lead by Prime Minister Premadasa. The accord wasn’t support by many militant tamil groups, including the Tamil Tigers.(Sri Lanka, relations with.) The introduction of the Tamil Tiger didn’t seem as much of a threat at first, but suicide bombers quickly changed the perspectives that the Sinhalese had. Suicide bombing was one of the most brutal tactics the Tamil Tigers had used for violence, and the targets of these were mainly Sri Lankan government officials and law enforcement. Eventually Sri Lanka wasn’t the only nation to view the Tamil Tigers as a threat, India banned LTTE as a terrorist organization in 1993(Sri Lanka, Relations with.) Talks between Tamil and Sinhalese leadership emerged in the late 1990’s, but were quickly ended and war was resumed. The Sinhalese were making an attempt at finally making peace with the Tamils, but the new policies weren’t satisfactory to most Tamil rebel groups. The Sinhalese groups are still persistent over trying to stop the Tamil rebel groups from causing so much disruption in their society.

The Sinhalese and Tamil are two very dominant cultures that have been fighting for many years. The whole Civil War seemed to be an argument of whether or not the Sinhalese people should get all the glory for being there first. The thought was that Tamil people weren’t descents of the Sri Lankan region, thus they shouldn’t too many rights. The Tamil people disagreed with that idea and rioted for changed. The changes made weren’t satisfactory enough for the Tamil people, thus having them riot and engage in even more violence. The Sinhalese people fought fire with fire, and engaged in violence with the Tamil people. The Tamil people technologically advanced their ways or retaliating by introducing suicide bombing as a tactic, this completely shocked the Sinhalese people. It’s seen that the Tamil people weren’t going to back down, and kept on pressuring the Sri Lankan government to change. It is also seen that the Sinhalese people did whatever they could to suppress the Tamils from causing too much disruption, which only made them even more encouraged. The Sri Lankan Civil War was a huge changing point in history, it showed that both nations with very different perspectives each wanted something for themselves. It almost seems as if the Tamils were trying to express nationalism by trying to make their cultures a bigger part of Sri Lanka, and having the Sinhalese people take part in it.

As the most populous country in the world, the People’s Republic of China has been adopting the One-Child Policy since 1979 in order to improve the problem of overpopulation which is seen as an obstacle of the growth and development of the country. While the Chinese Government emphasizes its achievements of population control in China, the controversial policy has been widely criticized for its negative influences. This paper presents the One-Child Policy’s effects on the position of women. “Women’s position” in this paper is basically defined by women’s rights, freedom, respectability and social status .I will first briefly introduce the policy, then analyze both the positive and negative impacts with relevant data and statistics, and lastly come to a conclusion.

The Policy and Population Growth

Introduced in 1978 and implemented since 1979, the One-Child Policy is a family planning policy adopted by the Chinese Government in order to improve China’s over-rapid population as to prevent its unfavourable effects on economic and social development of the country.(Information Office of the State Council Of the People’s Republic of China 1995) The policy restricts married urban Chinese couples from having more than one child by imposing monetary penalties on families with extra children yet exemptions are allowed for couples who belong to ethnic minorities, live in rural area or do not have any siblings.(BBC News 2000) The One-Child Policy is considered successful in terms of its control on China’s population growth as the birth rate in the county has been greatly decreasing since the introduction of the policy. (see Figure 1) “Compared with 1970, in 1994 the birth rate dropped from 33.43 per thousand to 17.7 per thousand; the natural growth rate, from 25.83 per thousand to 11.21 per thousand; and the total fertility rate of women, from 5.81 to around 2aˆ¦According to statistics supplied by the United Nations, China’s population growth rate has already been markedly lower than the average level of other developing countries.” (Information Office of the State Council Of the People’s Republic of China 1995)

Figure 1. Changes in the total fertility rate in China
Source: National Population and Family Planning Commission of China (2006)
Violation of Women’s Reproductive Rights

Despite its success in population control, the One-Child Policy gives rise to criticisms among which one lies in its violation of women’s reproductive rights. Reproductive rights are a subset of human rights first recognized at the United Nation’s International Conference on Human Rights in Teheran on 13th May 1986. According to the 16th article of the Proclamation of Teheran, “Parents have a basic human right to determine freely and responsibly the number and the spacing of their children”. Dixon-Mueller (1993: 12) suggests that reproductive rights can be defined as three types: “1. the freedom to decide how many children to have and when (or whether) to have them; 2. the right to have the information and means to regulate one’s fertility; 3. the right to control one’s own body”. Reproductive freedom is “the core of individual self-determination”.

The One-Child Policy does not only violate women’s rights by limiting the number of their children but also leads to forced abortions in the country. Under the enforced policy, every 2.4 seconds there is a woman undergoing a forced abortion in China and this makes a total of about 35,000 abortions per day. (Phillips 2010: 1) Abortion is legal in China and as reported in China Daily in 2009, 13 millions of abortions are performed in China every year, which largely exceeds those performed in other countries such as the United States and Canada. (see Figure 2). There is a direct relationship between the One-Child Policy and Chine’s abortion rate. Posten&Yaukey (1992: 290) point out that the abortion rate in China increased by nearly 50% between 1978 and 1979 when the policy started being implemented. It is widely known that abortions can cause women health problems, not to mention its negative impacts on emotional and mental health. Ms. Reggie Littlejohn, president of Women’s Rights Without Frontiers, criticized that “The one child policy causes more violence toward women and girls than any other policy on the face of the earth.” (Jiang 2009)

Figure2. Abortion statistics in China, U.S.A., U.K., Canada and Australia
Source: Jiang (2009)
Unwanted Daughters and Sex-Selective Abortions

A saying among peasants in China goes like this:”The birth of a boy is welcomed with shouts of joy and firecrackers, but when a girl is born, the neighbours say nothing”(Westley&Choe 2007: 2) In spite of China’s modernization over the past decades, it is still common for Chinese parents to prefer sons to daughters. (Wang 1999: 197) Such a preference indirectly leads to sex-selective abortions as female fetuses are usually considered less precious than male ones, especially if the couples are allowed to have only one child. With fetal screening technologies such as ultrasound, amniocentesis and chorionic villi sampling, the sex of unborn fetuses can be recognized before their birth. Such technologies and available abortions result in the possibility that couples selectively abort female fetuses in the hope of having a son instead.(Westley&Choe 2007: 3)

Beside sex-selective abortions, China’s infant mortality rate is another thing to look into. Generally the mortality of male infants is expected to be greater than that of female ones as male infants are biologically weaker than female infants.(Li, 2007: 2) This assumption is also proved by the world’s infant mortality rate by sex.(See Table 1) However, as shown in Table 2, China goes in the reverse direction. It is believed that this unusual tendency is caused by female infanticides and daughter abandonments resulting from the son preference.

Table 1. World’s infant mortality rate by sex 1980-2010
Source: United Nations Population Division (2010)
Table 2. China’s infant mortality rate by sex 1980-2010
Source: United Nations Population Division (2010)
Gender Imbalance – Blessing or Curse?

Together with the increasing female infant mortality, there is a rising trend of the sex ratio in China since the implement of the One-Child Policy.(See Figure 3) It is estimated by the State Population and Family Planning Commission that there will be 30 million more Chinese man than Chinese women in 2020. (BBC News 2007)

Because of the supply-and-demand law that supply decreases t and demand remains unchanged then the value of supply increase, some people assume that if there are less women in China their “values” and social status should naturally rise. However, this law would make sense only if the “demand” of women was high. Poon(2008) points out that when women become the minority in a male-preponderant society like China, China may face “a period of unprecedented male aggression, which would likely render women as victims and women’s status even more precarious and vulnerable to subjugation.”

Figure 3. Rising sex ratio and excess female infant mortality in China
Source: Sun (2005)
Women’s Empowerment – The Mistaken Focus

It is always emphasized by the Chinese Government that the One-Child Policy helps promoting women’s empowerment and improving women’s position as they are “freed from heavy burdens brought about by having many children”(National Population and Family Planning Commission of China 2006). This claim contains two causal relations:

1) Because of the One-Child Policy women have fewer children.

2) Women have fewer children so they can spend more time on their career.

Both of them make sense in a large extent, but is the One-Child Policy a must to control the number of women’s children? Probably no.

Despite that Hong Kong is a special administrative region of the PRC, the One-Child Policy is never implemented in the city, where the social position of women is relatively high. As shown in Figure 4, the fertility rate of Hong Kong kept dropping even and was even lower than that of China. Of course one can argue that there are various factors contributing to Hong Kong’s low fertility rate, yet one can also question whether the One-Child Policy is the only factor causing the decline in fertility rate and the rise of women’s position.

Figure 4. Fertility rates from 1960-2005 in China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Taiwan and East Asia & Pacific
Source: The United Families International (2010)
The Single Child Generation

The One-Child Policy does not only aim to decrease the birthrate but also to improve the quality of the new generation, the future pillars of China. It is commonly believed that having single daughters will raise the position of women as their parents provide them with better and more concentrated resources such as education and materials. It may be true in some ways, but Greenhalgh(2007.) points out that the One-Child Policy has produced “the most materially and educationally privileged generation of young people in Chinese history” who are spoiled and egocentric. “Having been the focus of attention from the family throughout their growing-up years, these children are more dependent on others and easily hurt psychologically.”(China Daily 2005) The new single-child generation in China has already concerning Chinese from the “older” generation. Do better resources necessarily create a better generation? If it does not, how can we expect a decline in qualities of children (both male and female) will result in better positions of women?

Conclusion

The One-Child Policy was claimed to be “a short-term measure” when it was first introduced in China.(Hesketh, Li& Zhu 2005) Now that the policy has already been implemented for three decades, its negative consequences eventually appear and have aroused worries from the society. The policy negatively affects women’s position as it violate women’s rights and enhances the existing favoritism towards male children –

and it is not coming to an end yet. According to Zhao Baige, deputy director of the National Population and Family Planning Commission of China, although it is said that the policy has been slowly being relaxed ,China’s family-planning policy will remain unchanged until at least 2015. (Kumar 2010)

(1631 words)

Introduction:

My selected thesis topic basically lays emphasis on how employee motivation and productivity get effected by gender discrimination in workplace and how different variables effects under different envirnoment. Now I shall move to explaining the topic in detail.

OVERVIEW:

My research interest is in this field because I know the gravity of the situation and how important it is for both genders to treat each other equally. As we move towards development an integrated effort is needed and everyone has to do his/her bit. Women need to be looked upon as equals by men from the very start so that they can get good education and pursue good careers in the future.

Gender discrimination is a very real and actual problem that is being faced by firms and more importantly women in our society. It is important to note that gender discrimination takes place not only at the workplace but in every walk of life for a common Pakistani woman. When being faced by pressure from all sides, it is very tough for the woman to carry out her day to day activities and work at her full Most of us wake up in the morning, go to college or our respective job and act in ways that are more or less our own. We respond to the atmosphere around and the people in it with little thought as to why what makes us do such things e.g. why we enjoy some activities more than others and why we fine some recreational activities better than others. All these actions are motivated by something. Motivation is defined as the forces either within or external to a person that arouse persistence and want towards completing a given course of action. Employee motivation affects productivity and part of a manager’s task is to channel motivation towards the accomplishment of organizational goals. Thus, a manager has to study that what motivates his employees and what influences their choice of action furthermore why they persist in that action over time. So the way people are treated deeply affects how they will perform at the workplace. Gender discrimination against someone will obviously affect his/her productivity; this study is intended to prove how deeply the two are connected to each other. Discrimination is treating of employees based on criteria that are not job related, these may include race, color, gender, ethnicity and religion.

Organizations these days are moving towards diversity which means women and minorities will play a larger role in the workplace than in the past and it will be more important to keep them working at their optimum level if success is intended in the future.

MANGERIAL CONCERNS:

When someone in the workplace is judged, appraised, promoted or given a pay based on criteria which are not job related, discrimination occurs. This discrimination leads to the employee being demotivated because he/she knows that no matter what amount of work they put in, they will be reward on the basis of criteria which are not job related.

My study is not entirely based on the wage differentials but also deals with motivational effects of discrimination at the workplace on the whole. The main motivating factor for employees has always been pay. There has used a huge gender gap in pay in Pakistan but has now decreased over time but still exists. This gap in motivation is mainly because of differences in characteristics of the jobs carried out, the labor market experience they bring to the job and discriminatory treatment of women by employers or co-workers (which will be my area of study). All these factors interact in many complex and different ways. Thus making it difficult to determine precisely how much of the difference can be attributed to discrimination. Women and men do differ greatly in their preference of jobs and the roles they play in families. Still, the skill set of a woman has now come much closer to a man’s. As my thesis shall suggest, there is continuing discrimination against women in the labor market which leads to demotivation because there is loss of confidence for the worker. Confidence in self abilities and in the firm one is working for account as a great motivating factor. According to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs one of the pillars of motivation is to get appreciation for doing a certain task.

Many women are raped, sexually harassed and given unfair treatment by the society leading to high rates of female illiteracy and prostitution. In my view, it is very important for the woman to be soundly educated because in our society the responsibility of raising children mainly lies with the mother. When the mother herself is not educated she can not possibly give her child the support and basic fundamental training needed to become a good human being.

Moving to gender discrimination in the workplace regarding Pakistan, most of the women are house wives in our country and there are very few double income families. Although the gender gap in the workplace has reduced significantly over the past decade it still remains high with most of the working women mainly pursuing very low paid jobs e.g. teaching, nursing, receptionists and many of them work in houses as maids and helpers etc

Term

Working Definition

Motivation [a]

Motivation refers to the forces either within or external to a person that arouses enthusiasm and persistence to pursue a certain course of action.

Discrimination [b]

To discriminate socially is to make a distinction between people on the basis of class or category without regard to individual merit.

Gender Discrimination at the workplace [c]

Promoting/Rejecting or treating one person differently to another based on a criterion which is not job related. In this case mainly gender

Workforce Diversity [d]

Hiring people with different human qualities who belong to various cultural or sub cultural groups.”

Glass Ceiling [e]

Invisible barriers that separate women and minorities from top management positions.

Disparate Treatment Gender Discrimination [f]

This is also called direct discrimination. To put it simple, it is treating an employee a different manner because of their gender.

Harassment [g]

Harassment refers to a wide spectrum of offensive behavior. When the term is used in a legal sense it refers to behaviors that are found threatening or disturbing, and beyond those that are sanctioned by society.

Verbal Harassment [h]

Verbal harassment refers to persistent and unwanted verbal advances, typically in the workplace, where the consequences of refusing are potentially very disadvantaging to the victim. Also casually known as flirting.

Sources:

(Daft, Richard, (2000), Management 4th Edition, p. 526)

(Stokes, DaShanne. (In Press) Legalized Segregation and the Denial of Religious Freedom)

(Daft, Richard, (2000), Management 4th Edition, p. 524)

(Daft, Richard, (2000), Management 4th Edition, p. 453)

(Daft, Richard, (2000), Management 4th Edition, p. 462)

(Taylor, Allison, (2005). Wrongful Termination)

(Taylor, Allison, (2005). Wrongful Termination)

(Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harassment)

Study Objectives

To study wage differences between men and women working on equal level in the banking sector.

To conduct questionnaire surveys from employees to find out differences in treatment for males and females.

Study how difficult it is for a woman to get promoted in a workplace

How treatment of supervisors differs from males to females

Is the working environment psychologically suitable for a woman to work in on a long-term basis.

The ways harassment takes place for a women in her workplace and who is the main harasser

LITREATURE REVIEW

Gender discrimination and harassment are topic of immense importance as they have been under discussion for over more than a decade, many studies and researches have been conducted to investigate on the different aspects of this topic, to correlate and identify the various variables from within the studies to contribute to the society in a direct or an indirect way. All the studies point out to a healthy working environment for both Men and Women so that they are more motivated producing better results for the companies as a whole. The areas of research on this topic in the past focuses on Law, job satisfaction, employee turnover, organizational costs, social responsibility and corporate culture providing insights into many factors influenced by gender discrimination and harassment. Almost all the studies focuses on problem faced by women from within the organization and social external factors involving discrimination and effecting productivity. Relationship between the variables drawn in the previous studies shows the direction of the research and how the factors interrelate with each other.

Studies show that people have protection against this menace of discrimination and harassment but its effectiveness is always challenged and debated for over some time. Law and justice are always closely looked upon when it comes to harassment at work place.

A study “Gender-Based Harassment and the Hostile Work Environment” (Joshua F. Thrope) tests whether non-sexually motivated gender discrimination is as serious a factor in creating a hostile working environment as sexually motivated gender discrimination. Although Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 applies to all gender-motivated discrimination, in practice many lower federal courts make a distinction between sexually motivated gender discrimination and non-sexually motivated gender discrimination (gender-based harassment) in a work environment. This study illustrates a court case of Dwyer v. Smith in which a police officer alleged that her co-workers and supervisors engaged in a pattern of abusive conduct that created a hostile working environment. (Thorpe). The failure of the plaintiff to allege a case of sexual harassment proved to be fatal to her case. Sexual harassment is only a part of gender discrimination that female employees face in a hostile work employment. Ridicule, rudeness or insults directed at working women may not be sexually motivated but may still create a hostile working environment. The failure of courts to view gender-based harassment claims as actionable has reduced the availability and deterred the effectiveness of Title VII. The study claims that in order to recognise gender-based discrimination as actionable it must be severe or pervasive or it could be misinterpreted.

Impacts and consequences have been explored in many previous findings and emphasis have been given on the nature and reason of harassment, but from within harassment sexual harassment is the concept which is quite highlighted factor discussed in findings as in,

“Recent Thinking about Sexual Harassment: A Review Essay” (Elizabeth Anderson) discusses the wrongs of sexual harassment and presents three theories that capture a different aspect of sexual harassment. Dignity theory explains the offensiveness of harassment; autonomy theory deals with the coercive nature of sexual conduct whereas equality theory highlights the group based harms of sexual harassment. This article also gives an example of airlines that expect female flight attendants tolerate customer’s anger, rudeness or ogling without any objection and hence, make it difficult for them to perform their jobs satisfactorily. The essay also tries to provide remedies and explains that antidiscrimination law has been quite useful in helping people understand their rights and combat sexual harassment in the workplace.

Most people perceive harassment and gender discrimination as a mentally or physically induced trauma but very few people measure it on the basis of the high costs involved by this practice of harassment and its deeply routed and ever growing cost is often ignored. One such article:

The study “Estimating the Organizational Costs of Sexual Harassment: The Case of U.S. Army” (Robert H. Faley, Deborah Erdos Knapp, Gary A, Kustis, Cathy L. Z. Dubois) tested the implication of sexual harassment on the organizational costs. The increasing costs of sexual harassment encouraged organizations to give attention to the issue of sexual harassment. These costs initially included litigation and associated settlements. However, with further research it was found that harassment can lead to an overall decrease in employee motivation towards the job resulting in increases in absentees, turnover, and requests for transfers, and use of mental health services, as well as decreases in productivity (Gutek & Koss, 1993; Martindale, 1990; U. S. Merit Systems Protection Board, 1981 and 1987). This study states that results indicate that the total annual cost of sexual harassment in the U.S. Army in 1988 was over $250,000,000. This not only brought attention to the organizational costs of sexual harassment and also to the seriousness of the problem as well. However, this study concludes that increase in the proportion of females in the military would increase that part of the total costs of harassment associated with females and as a result the cost of sexual harassment may grow even more. Furthermore it implies that losing a higher rank female in the army due to sexual harassment would cost a staggering amount.

Hence sexual harassment continues to be a threat not only to the working individuals but also harms the companies financially.

“Gender Mainstreaming and Corporate Social Responsibility: Reporting Workplace Issues” (Kate Grosser, Jeremy Moon 2005) focuses on the potential of corporate social responsibility (CSR) to gender equality. The paper states that women are provided equal opportunity in the workplace by the combination of legal compliance, business care and social regulation (Dickens 1999) and the theory of CSR combines all these three notions. This study suggests that a reason for slow progress in reporting gender issues is the lack of platform for gender issues to be discusses. The study has highlights the under-representation of women’s issues and has stressed on the need of women representation in company practices, as employees, community members, consumers and investors among other things.

The impact of sexual harassment in a legal profession on job satisfaction is examined in “The Effects of Sexual Harassment on Job Satisfaction, Earnings, and Turnover among Female Lawyers” (David N. Laband and Bernard F. Lentz). The results from American Bar Association’s National Survey of Career Satisfaction/Dissatisfaction (1990) show that nearly two-thirds of female lawyers in private practice and nearly half of those in corporate or public agency settings reported either experiencing or observing sexual harassment by male superiors, colleagues, or clients during the two years prior to the survey. The study shows that overall job satisfaction is significantly lower among female lawyers who experienced or witnessed sexual harassment by male superiors and colleagues than among those who did not experience or witness such harassment. According to statistics shown in the study, job satisfaction among female employees is affected more than twice as strongly by sexual harassment than by their annual income. The study also implies that there is a direct relation between sexual harassment and intention to quit current employment. However, the study was limited by the fact that the survey did not refer to the degree of harassment.

“Implementation Mechanism” (Shamreeza Riaz) discusses the provision of law related to sexual harassment at workplace and the effectiveness of its implementation. This study was conducted in Islamabad and Rawalpindi. Interviews were conducted with the work force of organizations, women activists, NGO workers and educational institutions. The writer argues that women participation in the making policies and in decision making can lead to a prosperous nation. However, the true potential of women is hindered due to the difficulties that they face at the work place. The ‘Protection against Harassment of Women at the Workplace Act 2010’ provides the definition and kinds of harassment at the workplace. According to the study, in 20-30% sexual harassment cases, women remain silent because of their dignity and self respect. 70% of the women are victims of physical harassment and verbal and other kinds of harassment. The writer lists the causes of harassment as lack of awareness, misuse of authority, lack of organizational policy and a male dominant society. The study shows that sexual harassment has very serious consequences resulting in the loss of job, a hostile environment and physical and psychological breakdown while some women are forced to quit their jobs. The International Labour Organization, United Nation on Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women, Beijing program for action Declaration, European Union Legislation and Organization of American State all provide laws aiming to prevent gender discrimination.

The study “Branded: Corporate Image, Sexual Stereotyping, and the New Face of Capitalism” (Dianne Avery, Marion G. Crain) aims to show how the adoption of sophisticated forms of marketing are distinct from the worker’s physical and mental labour. The study reveals the case of Jespersen v. Harrah’s Operating Co. in which the court rejected a female bartender’s Title VII challenge to the workplace’s policy that women wear makeup, which she found sexually demeaning. Employer’s sophisticated marketing techniques sometimes create a property like interest and employers take advantage of their employees outside of their usual work by forcing them to propagate company brands outside of the workplace.

“Transforming discriminatory corporate cultures” (Cheryl L. Wade) discusses gender equality in corporate environment. The writer argues that companies can only change if men change. She states that even if men witness discriminatory behaviour or harassment in their workplace, they fail to take necessary action that could promote gender equality. Many male managers may seem to support gender equality but still ignore gender conflicts in the work place. If the CEO of a company strives to bring a culture of gender equality then the workers will follow his example. Moreover, the writer states that sometimes women allow sexist comments and jokes to go unnoticed in an attempt to show that they belong to the right workplace. The corporate workplace also seems to work on the expectation that women of colour can be given jobs that are not valued in the corporate context. Hence, such negative stereotypes adversely affect the performance of women in the workplace. As the relationship between management and its employees plays a central role in a companies’ success, it is necessary that problems of workplace discrimination be dealt with.

The study “Gender Justice and Its Critics” focuses on the judicial practices and laws on gender discrimination. The article underlines the traditional treatment of women and the current condition of women. Women were victimized by the laws made to protect them by giving decision making powers to the male members. The writer states that in contrast to these laws, the remedial laws such as prohibition of sex-based discrimination in workplace have empowered women to make their own decisions. Laws which tried to prevent discriminatory practices have created distinct profession for men and women. Furthermore, Gender Justice claims that it is not opposed to the needs of working mothers but offers that parental benefits be given to both males and females.

The study “The Price of ‘Man’ and ‘Women’: A Hedonic Pricing Model of Avatar Attributes in a Synthetic World” (Edward Castronova 2003) investigates the demand of physical attributes and qualities of the social world. The study examines the computer generated avatars which are both male and female. However, the hedonic price analysis suggests that the female avatars are available at a discount and that there is less preference to have a female avatar. As this physical difference is not real in the synthetic world, this reluctance can be explained by the general assumption about the effectiveness of the female avatar. However, the study does not indicate whether this is arises from a prejudice on behalf of the population or simply the numbers indicate that more male players choose male avatars. This article was chosen because of the importance it holds in outside world other than corporate sector to give out an overview on the gender based difference one holds in his mind.

They were shortcomings and left out concerns in those previous studies which can be looked upon on the basis of variables and introducing more measurable models which could relate and interlink the variables in appropriate and a strong way.

Theoretical Framework
DEMOGRAPHICS
Characteristics of a human population
Age
Income
Gender
Race
Experience
Gender diversity
Unfair treameant
Promotion
Placement
Moral fairness
Sexual orientation
Female employee turnover
Hiring & firing.
Work envirnoment
Healthy
Motivating
Safety
Stress
Frequency of Women Promotion
Number of times women get promoted at workplace
More promotions to male or female?
Productivity
Equal treatment in terms of salary and promotion
Drive
Increased desire
Encouragement
Inspiration
Motivated to work
Motivation
Level of satisfaction
What one wants from a job and what one perceives it as offering
Overall satisfaction
Satisfaction with the job
Satisfaction with the work
Sense of achievement
Scope of using own initiative
Influence over the job
Harrasment
Offensive behaviour
Intent to disturb or upset
Unwanted sexual advances
Bases of colour, race religion and sex
Financial and recognition rewards
Wages & Salary
Empower-ment
Fringe benefits
SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE TO ANALYZE
THE CORRELATES OF GENDER DISCRIMINATION
AND IT IMPACT ON MOTIVATION

This questionnaire is being exclusively used for research purpose; all the information provided by respondents would be kept confidential. Your co-operation would be highly appreciated.

Personal info:

Name —————————

Age ————— Experience in this organization ——————

Education———————–

Marital status Single Married Divorced

Gender Male Female

Income bracket 10,000-20,000 20,000- 50,000 50,000 & above

Section A
Levels of Satisfaction
Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Neutral
Agree
Strongly Agree
I enjoy at my workplace
1
2
3
4
5
Factors can be added to improve employee motivation at your workplace
1
2
3
4
5
Would you like to stay at your workplace for long
1
2
3
4
5
I am over all satisfied by the attitude of my boss and workplace
1
2
3
4
5
Do you feel as an important part of your organization
1
2
3
4
5
Are you satisfied by your designated authority
1
2
3
4
5
GENDER DIVERSITY:
Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Neutral
Agree
Strongly Agree
Mostly the supervisors are male
1
2
3
4
5
Majority of Co-workers are Male
1
2
3
4
5
I belive that I have equal opportunities and potential for growth as my other colleagues have
1
2
3
4
5
In my view discrimination does take place at workplace.
1
2
3
4
5
At times I have been judged/mistreated on criteria which is not merit based
1
2
3
4
5
You have been treated and judged on the basis of Gender
1
2
3
4
5
1)Race
1
2
3
4
5
2)Physical appearance
1
2
3
4
5
3)Religion
1
2
3
4
5
Working enviornement and Harassment:
Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Neutral
Agree
Strongly Agree
My company is strict on the laws of harassment.
1
2
3
4
5
In majority of workplace harassment cases the harasser is 1) immediate boss
1
2
3
4
5
2) Subordinates
1
2
3
4
5
3)Colleagues
1
2
3
4
5
Verbal harassment takes place
1)openly
1
2
3
4
5
Equal gender treatment creates a healthy environment at workplace.
1
2
3
4
5
If harassment occurs verbally my response would be
1)to react to the harasser the first time
1
2
3
4
5
2)Report the harassment to my boss
1
2
3
4
5
3) I would bear with it because there is no other choice.
1
2
3
4
5
Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Neutral
Agree
Strongly Agree
I have been mistreated in an offensive manner because of my Gender.
1
2
3
4
5
Offensive treatment harm your ability to work.
1
2
3
4
5
I have switched my job because of unequal treatment
1
2
3
4
5
Harassment results in increased stress and anxiety
1
2
3
4
5
Frequency of promotions:
Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Neutral
Agree
Strongly Agree
I have been quickly promoted to the post I am today.
1
2
3
4
5
Male workers get frequent promotions
1
2
3
4
5
Female have more chances of getting hired for a job at first place when the interviewee is Male
1
2
3
4
5
Male have more chances of getting hired for a job at first place when the interview is Female.
1
2
3
4
5
Female workers most get in house assignment as compared to traveling assignment
1
2
3
4
5
Female get more sexually harassed than men
1
2
3
4
5
MOTIVATION:
Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Neutral
Agree
Strongly Agree
Discrimination affects my productivity
1
2
3
4
5
Male workers are paid more salary/wage as compared to female for the same job description
1
2
3
4
5
Male workers are more empowered to take decisions
1
2
3
4
5
Male and Female workers get same Fringe benefits
1
2
3
4
5
Low percentage of female getting promoted than men works as a less motivating factor.
1
2
3
4
5
Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Neutral
Agree
Strongly Agree
Men feel more superior than women which affects motivation for women in negative way
1
2
3
4
5
Some people get desperate things to get promoted
1
2
3
4
5
Women get more limited opportunities than Men contributing negatively towards motivation
1
2
3
4
5
General training has been given to staff a your workplace in connection with general duty to promote equality between Men and Women
1
2
3
4
5
Men and Women are treated equally when it comes to performance Appraisals and analysis.
1
2
3
4
5

Gender discrimination and harassment are topic of immense importance as they have been under discussion for over more than a decade, many studies and researches have been conducted to investigate on the different aspects of this topic, to correlate and identify the various variables from within the studies to contribute to the society in a direct or an indirect way. All the studies point out to a healthy working environment for both Men and Women so that they are more motivated producing better results for the companies as a whole. The areas of research on this topic in the past focuses on Law, job satisfaction, employee turnover, organizational costs, social responsibility and corporate culture providing insights into many factors influenced by gender discrimination and harassment. Almost all the studies focuses on problem faced by women from within the organization and social external factors involving discrimination and effecting productivity. Relationship between the variables drawn in the previous studies shows the direction of the research and how the factors interrelate with each other.

Studies show that people have protection against this menace of discrimination and harassment but its effectiveness is always challenged and debated for over some time. Law and justice are always closely looked upon when it comes to harassment at work place.

A study “Gender-Based Harassment and the Hostile Work Environment” (Joshua F. Thrope) tests whether non-sexually motivated gender discrimination is as serious a factor in creating a hostile working environment as sexually motivated gender discrimination. Although Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 applies to all gender-motivated discrimination, in practice many lower federal courts make a distinction between sexually motivated gender discrimination and non-sexually motivated gender discrimination (gender-based harassment) in a work environment. This study illustrates a court case of Dwyer v. Smith in which a police officer alleged that her co-workers and supervisors engaged in a pattern of abusive conduct that created a hostile working environment. (Thorpe). The failure of the plaintiff to allege a case of sexual harassment proved to be fatal to her case. Sexual harassment is only a part of gender discrimination that female employees face in a hostile work employment. Ridicule, rudeness or insults directed at working women may not be sexually motivated but may still create a hostile working environment. The failure of courts to view gender-based harassment claims as actionable has reduced the availability and deterred the effectiveness of Title VII. The study claims that in order to recognise gender-based discrimination as actionable it must be severe or pervasive or it could be misinterpreted.

Impacts and consequences have been explored in many previous findings and emphasis have been given on the nature and reason of harassment, but from within harassment sexual harassment is the concept which is quite highlighted factor discussed in findings as in,

“Recent Thinking about Sexual Harassment: A Review Essay” (Elizabeth Anderson) discusses the wrongs of sexual harassment and presents three theories that capture a different aspect of sexual harassment. Dignity theory explains the offensiveness of harassment; autonomy theory deals with the coercive nature of sexual conduct whereas equality theory highlights the group based harms of sexual harassment. This article also gives an example of airlines that expect female flight attendants tolerate customer’s anger, rudeness or ogling without any objection and hence, make it difficult for them to perform their jobs satisfactorily. The essay also tries to provide remedies and explains that antidiscrimination law has been quite useful in helping people understand their rights and combat sexual harassment in the workplace.

Most people perceive harassment and gender discrimination as a mentally or physically induced trauma but very few people measure it on the basis of the high costs involved by this practice of harassment and its deeply routed and ever growing cost is often ignored. One such article:

The study “Estimating the Organizational Costs of Sexual Harassment: The Case of U.S. Army” (Robert H. Faley, Deborah Erdos Knapp, Gary A, Kustis, Cathy L. Z. Dubois) tested the implication of sexual harassment on the organizational costs. The increasing costs of sexual harassment encouraged organizations to give attention to the issue of sexual harassment. These costs initially included litigation and associated settlements. However, with further research it was found that harassment can lead to an overall decrease in employee motivation towards the job resulting in increases in absentees, turnover, and requests for transfers, and use of mental health services, as well as decreases in productivity (Gutek & Koss, 1993; Martindale, 1990; U. S. Merit Systems Protection Board, 1981 and 1987). This study states that results indicate that the total annual cost of sexual harassment in the U.S. Army in 1988 was over $250,000,000. This not only brought attention to the organizational costs of sexual harassment and also to the seriousness of the problem as well. However, this study concludes that increase in the proportion of females in the military would increase that part of the total costs of harassment associated with females and as a result the cost of sexual harassment may grow even more. Furthermore it implies that losing a higher rank female in the army due to sexual harassment would cost a staggering amount.

Hence sexual harassment continues to be a threat not only to the working individuals but also harms the companies financially.

“Gender Mainstreaming and Corporate Social Responsibility: Reporting Workplace Issues” (Kate Grosser, Jeremy Moon 2005) focuses on the potential of corporate social responsibility (CSR) to gender equality. The paper states that women are provided equal opportunity in the workplace by the combination of legal compliance, business care and social regulation (Dickens 1999) and the theory of CSR combines all these three notions. This study suggests that a reason for slow progress in reporting gender issues is the lack of platform for gender issues to be discusses. The study has highlights the under-representation of women’s issues and has stressed on the need of women representation in company practices, as employees, community members, consumers and investors among other things.

The impact of sexual harassment in a legal profession on job satisfaction is examined in “The Effects of Sexual Harassment on Job Satisfaction, Earnings, and Turnover among Female Lawyers” (David N. Laband and Bernard F. Lentz). The results from American Bar Association’s National Survey of Career Satisfaction/Dissatisfaction (1990) show that nearly two-thirds of female lawyers in private practice and nearly half of those in corporate or public agency settings reported either experiencing or observing sexual harassment by male superiors, colleagues, or clients during the two years prior to the survey. The study shows that overall job satisfaction is significantly lower among female lawyers who experienced or witnessed sexual harassment by male superiors and colleagues than among those who did not experience or witness such harassment. According to statistics shown in the study, job satisfaction among female employees is affected more than twice as strongly by sexual harassment than by their annual income. The study also implies that there is a direct relation between sexual harassment and intention to quit current employment. However, the study was limited by the fact that the survey did not refer to the degree of harassment.

“Implementation Mechanism” (Shamreeza Riaz) discusses the provision of law related to sexual harassment at workplace and the effectiveness of its implementation. This study was conducted in Islamabad and Rawalpindi. Interviews were conducted with the work force of organizations, women activists, NGO workers and educational institutions. The writer argues that women participation in the making policies and in decision making can lead to a prosperous nation. However, the true potential of women is hindered due to the difficulties that they face at the work place. The ‘Protection against Harassment of Women at the Workplace Act 2010’ provides the definition and kinds of harassment at the workplace. According to the study, in 20-30% sexual harassment cases, women remain silent because of their dignity and self respect. 70% of the women are victims of physical harassment and verbal and other kinds of harassment. The writer lists the causes of harassment as lack of awareness, misuse of authority, lack of organizational policy and a male dominant society. The study shows that sexual harassment has very serious consequences resulting in the loss of job, a hostile environment and physical and psychological breakdown while some women are forced to quit their jobs. The International Labour Organization, United Nation on Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women, Beijing program for action Declaration, European Union Legislation and Organization of American State all provide laws aiming to prevent gender discrimination.

The study “Branded: Corporate Image, Sexual Stereotyping, and the New Face of Capitalism” (Dianne Avery, Marion G. Crain) aims to show how the adoption of sophisticated forms of marketing are distinct from the worker’s physical and mental labour. The study reveals the case of Jespersen v. Harrah’s Operating Co. in which the court rejected a female bartender’s Title VII challenge to the workplace’s policy that women wear makeup, which she found sexually demeaning. Employer’s sophisticated marketing techniques sometimes create a property like interest and employers take advantage of their employees outside of their usual work by forcing them to propagate company brands outside of the workplace.

“Transforming discriminatory corporate cultures” (Cheryl L. Wade) discusses gender equality in corporate environment. The writer argues that companies can only change if men change. She states that even if men witness discriminatory behaviour or harassment in their workplace, they fail to take necessary action that could promote gender equality. Many male managers may seem to support gender equality but still ignore gender conflicts in the work place. If the CEO of a company strives to bring a culture of gender equality then the workers will follow his example. Moreover, the writer states that sometimes women allow sexist comments and jokes to go unnoticed in an attempt to show that they belong to the right workplace. The corporate workplace also seems to work on the expectation that women of colour can be given jobs that are not valued in the corporate context. Hence, such negative stereotypes adversely affect the performance of women in the workplace. As the relationship between management and its employees plays a central role in a companies’ success, it is necessary that problems of workplace discrimination be dealt with.

The study “Gender Justice and Its Critics” focuses on the judicial practices and laws on gender discrimination. The article underlines the traditional treatment of women and the current condition of women. Women were victimized by the laws made to protect them by giving decision making powers to the male members. The writer states that in contrast to these laws, the remedial laws such as prohibition of sex-based discrimination in workplace have empowered women to make their own decisions. Laws which tried to prevent discriminatory practices have created distinct profession for men and women. Furthermore, Gender Justice claims that it is not opposed to the needs of working mothers but offers that parental benefits be given to both males and females.

The study “The Price of ‘Man’ and ‘Women’: A Hedonic Pricing Model of Avatar Attributes in a Synthetic World” (Edward Castronova 2003) investigates the demand of physical attributes and qualities of the social world. The study examines the computer generated avatars which are both male and female. However, the hedonic price analysis suggests that the female avatars are available at a discount and that there is less preference to have a female avatar. As this physical difference is not real in the synthetic world, this reluctance can be explained by the general assumption about the effectiveness of the female avatar. However, the study does not indicate whether this is arises from a prejudice on behalf of the population or simply the numbers indicate that more male players choose male avatars.

They were shortcomings and left out concerns in those previous studies which can be looked upon on the basis of variables and introducing more measurable models which could relate and interlink the variables in appropriate and a strong way.

Describe cultural variations in family arrangements and critically examine psychological research on the effects of these family arrangements on children’s development. Marriage is the basis of households that are formed; a neolocal household consists of a married couple creating a new home. One main family type arrangement is the nuclear family. Lee (1987) this arrangement consists of three main positions. The members being within the household sets a presence, so the number of members does not make a nuclear family more compelling. In a patrilocal family, the new couple join the house of the husband and form a new home. In a matrilocal family the home is set up in the wife’s birth home. Matri and Partilocal families are also extended/joint families; this is where members of different generations also live in the house. The older generations uphold a power role and are highly respected.

The joint/ extended families usually consist of three or more generations in one house. However, there are “non- residential extended families” this arrangement is where they live near to the home and communal activities and eat with the other household. Extended family arrangements has its advantages such as being supportive in hard times, however there are disadvantages such as them becoming interfering in the independence and restrict the other younger members life Goodwin, Adatia et al 1997.

Family structures are mostly dependant on social and economic circumstances as well as cultural values. Joint families are more likely to see having a bigger family as an important source of secure labour and importance. This is mostly deemed to be important when the wage labour is not the principal economic form. A hierarchical and authoritarian structure is often developed gradually within a joint family structure; this is in order to operate in a smooth manner, and to stress obedience and respect for authority and family reputation. Stropes-Roe and Cochrane, 1989.

Extended family living situations have often been exaggerated; this was noticed by Goode 1963, when he researched family systems. An example of this is from family structures in China, whereby the family structure was under attack as the newer generations saw this structure within the household as a negative issue, as they stated that “aˆ¦.the traditional family is being wiped out without being replacedaˆ¦.” Levy 1949. In the rural areas of China the extended family arrangement is becoming extinct, as the census revealed that the nuclear family is becoming a more common arrangement, reasons for this change may stem from economical reasons, as high mortality rates have increased in the poorer regions due to financial issues which made it difficult for families to extend their homes to accommodate for more people.

However, as this change was occurring in China a new form of living developed, this was known the “stem family”. Stem families consist of parents, their unmarried children and one married child with a partner and children. This arrangement suited children living with their parents due to the lack of housing made available to new buyers and the newly married couple may take advantage of the free accommodation whilst saving to buy further accommodation and the babysitting facilities whilst both parents attend to work. However, instead of contributing more to the elders within an extended family, the young would now benefit more and taking more than they are returning Tsui 1989. This shows that Chinese families can adapt very well in order to suit the socio-political conditions and the environment within the modern family. Overall this demonstrates the functional value of family which is to provide solidarity and material support in difficult times Yang 1988.

Also like China the extended family arrangement is rare and only dominant amongst large landowners as they are able to support their large families. Research carried out from Al-Thakeb 1985 found that the extended family has never been the main family structure amongst families living in Arab cultures. This was found by studying nine different Arab countries. Although Al-Thakeb stated that the extended family has never been the main family form in Arab cultures. Due to the family being an independent wedded family this does not mean that the family bonds are weak. As in Arab countries it has been known that the relationship between family members is strong, due to living in close areas to their brothers and sisters, so this arrangement has its rewards as economic cooperation and emotional support is available for the family members.

Within the Iran households, housing is a major problem which results in extended families being reduced in size, whilst intensive migration among the rural population has led to the weakening of larger household groups. In turn has led to the separation of extended families, whereby new couples leave their parents and form their own household separately.

Meanwhile in Japan a different concept has been applied within household arrangements. The Japanese family structure is like the American family household arrangement; a nuclear setting. Economical reasons are adapted within families here as well, as the retired parents are more likely to live with their children due to economic reasons.

However due to many cultural variations in family arrangements, children’s development in society may differ; although there are some similarities as well. The difference in how parents socialise with their children, affects the child’s socialisation on children’s development. There are many different parenting styles that are adopted. Steinberg et al 1989 put forward suggestions of three different parenting styles. The first one being psychological autonomy which is the degree to which parents encourage their children to be independent. The second description is parental involvement this is where parents are actively involved in their child’s lives. Lastly, the third style is behavioural control this is measured by the degree of how much the parents try to control their child’s behaviour and activities.

There are two main types of societies within cultures, one being collectivist: this is where the society is involved with the community’s life. The community encourages obedience to authority. In collectivist societies obligation is highly ritualised. The family arrangements that tend to stem from these societies are extended/ joint families mainly. On the other hand there are individualistic societies whereby children are encouraged to develop their own opinions. The family arrangement that mainly stems from this society is the nuclear family. Research into comparing the different society’s views on parental upbringing. Larano 1997 conducted research in Canada. Children from different ethnic minorities a list of individualistic and collectivist activities and a parental monitoring scale. The results found showed that collectivist children perceived their parents as being more controlling and less involved with them than individualistic children. This research suggests that the children may have come to these conclusions as they live a particular life, for example if a child lived the collectivist extended family life, then it could be argued that the child may perceive the other way of doing things as the better way as it differs from the norm they have to abide by.

In China there is continuing evidence for strong parental nurturance and support even when the child has grown up, although the Chinese parenting style is largely authoritarian and involves high levels of regulation from parents in order to ensure “proper” behaviour. This doesn’t mean that children fail to develop autonomy, but may mean that they do so at a later age than children in the more individualistic cultures was found by Schneider et al 1997.

One comparison that has been made into the difference between how a child is brought up in cultural difference within families is between Japanese and Israeli families. In Japan children are strongly bonded to their families, with the Japanese mother keen to harmonise her needs with those of her child, which shows the family arrangement between mother and child to be an important one, with the child growing up with a close bond with its mother. Japanese children are constantly in contact with their mothers and are rarely left alone Tobin 1992. Babies are often carried around on their mother’s backs and there is a constant non-verbal interaction between parent and child. In comparison the Israeli mothers put forward a more independent upbringing style, and favour the idea of children being independent and self sufficient. As a result of this the Israeli mother may encourage the child ability to be alone as an example of their child’s emotional independence, while the Japanese mother may value the child development of social relationships.

In Britain different ethnic groups have different attitudes towards the socialisation of their children and their development. Asian families tend to be based with an extended family arrangement. Asian families and in particular Muslim, parents are highly protective of their daughters, fearing British society’s drugs problems and its undue emphasis on sex Singh Ghuman 1994.

In some cultures polygamous marriages are accepted, this is where a person may be married to more than one partner. On the other hand in most cultures monogamous families are more commonly recognised; one single partner. However, it would raise the question as to whether such a family arrangement affects the development of children Alean Al-Krenawi et al investigated this matter. 146 participants were involved in the study; they consisted of children who were involved in either polygamous family or a monogamous family. The children were tested through a questionnaire which was later analysed. The children from monogamous families had higher levels of learning achievement than the children from polygamous families, which in turn meant that the monogamous children adjusted to school framework better, unlike the polygamous children as much. This shows that these children suffer a disadvantage from living within such a large family, as they experience an overall educational disadvantage and social difficulties as well. The Results also showed that the conflict rating of the children from a large family background; polygamous had a higher rating. It was also found that the father’s level of education tended to be inversely correlated with family size in terms of both number of children and number of wives.

These results show that due to these learning difficulties children are faced from living in such situations, that now the teachers my become aware of such problems, as it may be assumed that children from polygamous families may drop out of school early, and may be more at risk of falling for bad habits such as drugs and theft. It was stated that the problem should be overcome by focussing on the recognition of polygamy as a particular risk factor, along with the expectation that over time higher levels of paternal education may well lead to smaller families and more attention to the emotional and social needs of the children. Due to the findings issues within the polygamous families such as tension caused from other wives and step siblings, could be worked on, as it may be an issue affecting the children’s development. It could be argued that the wives could perhaps be encouraged to perceive one another as partners rather than opponents, and in turn the half siblings could also follow this principle to help improve the overall family relationship within the household.

However there are limitations to this research such as, individual differences have not been considered as some children may just not be very into school life, and that the failure to achieve well isn’t to do with the family arrangement at home. Another limitation is that the polygamous families that were researched only had two wives, so it cannot be widely generalised to polygamous families as they differ in sizes, therefore it cannot be stated that even larger polygamous families have a bigger affect on children’s development. A further limitation is that the study was based on a sample of one race, which again makes it harder to generalise the results to other races. With all these limitations it must not be forgotten that the research still shows us that living arrangements and differences such as monogamous and polygamous families do impact the children educational development at school to some extent.

Nuclear and extended families affect children’s development as some research has suggested that these living arrangements may cause some psychological stress in childhood. An examination of lifestyles within the inner cities of non-industrial countries highlights the changes in family life this was noted by Abdel

Rahim & Cederblad, 1980

An example of this is from Sudan families as they traditionally consist of three or more generations, with siblings living side by side and sharing domestic duties and economic responsibilities. Marriages occur early and are arranged by parents; they are frequently between cousins or other family relations Abdelrahman & Morgan, 1987.Authority in these extended households usually rests with the grandfather. The grandmother plays a central role in child care and the transmission of cultural identity to her grandchildren. In turn, the extended family is embedded within the wider communal structure of the tribe. This type of social structure encourages conformity to standards of conduct which are seen to be acceptable according to tradition and so promotes social stability. At the same time, gives a sense of communal responsibility for the upbringing of children. Up until the age of weaning a mother has the main responsibility for care. After weaning the responsibility for care and discipline is shared within both the immediate family, and to a lesser extent among the other responsible adults living with the immediate family.

In the research conducted by Abdel Rahim & Cederblad, 1980 the relation between emotional and social development and family structure in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, was examined. Children between the ages of 4 and 9 living in extended and nuclear families were compared on mothers’ ratings of a range of childhood problems. Analysis revealed that children in nuclear families had more conduct, emotional, and sleep problems, poorer self-care, and were more likely to be over dependent than those living in extended families. They were also less likely to be breast fed, to be weaned later, and to have grandmothers involved in child care. Linear multiple regression revealed that, of these 3 childcare factors, grandmother’s involvement was the strongest predictor of normal social and emotional adjustment. The possible protective characteristics of the extended family are discussed in relation to the importance of the grandmother as maternal advisor, social support, and socialization agent.

However this research does face some limitations such as results of the study may be influenced by factors not studied here. First, it is possible that mothers’ reports were affected by some systematic bias in reporting. Although both groups reported spending the same amount of time with their children, reporting bias may be due to differences in the mental health of nuclear and extended family mothers Lancaster, Prior, & Adler,1989 or variation in the standards of conduct deemed acceptable by them Sonuga-Barke, Minocha, Taylor, & Sandberg. These questions centre on the relation between actual deviance and parental perceptions and cannot be addressed without direct observation of the child’s behaviour.

Second, the relation between child development and family structure reported in the study might be mediated by the effects of stressful life events, such as migration. In a recent study. El Farouk (1991) examined the makeup of a representative sample of the large (34% of the total population; Population Census Office, 1989) migrant population living in Khartoum. More than half of the 266 migrant families studied included three generations. This is similar to the proportion found in the non migrant population and suggests that migration would not selectively affect childhood adjustment in the nuclear families in the present study.

The findings imply that the meaning and protective significance of factors

is conditional on cultural context as well as developmental status and history. Global ideals of human conduct operating within different cultures directly influence the meaning and significance of personal and intergenerational

relationships within families. The impact of family life on child development is mediated by a set of beliefs about the extent to which a particular family structure is consistent with those ideals. In Sudanese culture, as in many traditional societies, social life is governed by ideals of communal interdependence, intergenerational harmony, and social conformity motivated

by feelings of collective responsibility and filial piety. In extended families, the physical proximity, emotional intimacy, and (grand-) parental authority are consistent with these ideals.

So far the issues that have been mentioned are that family arrangements can affect children development in educational aspects such as the children’s performance at school, and the differences between nuclear and extended family arrangements in regards to development. Another aspect that some research has found that family arrangements may affect is the nutrition and physical growth of children in their development this was researched by Tinkew and DeJong 2004. They looked into the influence of household structure and resource dilution features. The study aimed to compare the impact of different types of household structures such as single parent, multiple parents, extended and cohabitating, and the influence this had on children’s nutrition. They also aimed to investigate whether household structure and household resources interact to affect child nutrition.

The results were collated from the Jamaica 1996 Living Standards Measurement Study Survey and other sources. The findings showed that living in a single parent household and cohabitating household increases the odds of stunting for children. The analysis also indicates that children in single parent families with low income and have siblings are more likely to have low height for age, as well as low income extended families with siblings. The key policy implication that is shown through this study is that household structure is important for understanding children’s nutritional outcomes in the Caribbean. This research was beneficial as it highlighted that household arrangements does have some impact on children’s development in regards to health issues.

However, it can be criticised as the findings would be more reliable if a larger sample was used and the use of longitudinal data was used instead of cross sectional data, as this would be useful for capturing changes over time in children’s nutritional statuses as well as changes in household structures. Longitudinal data would be especially useful for understanding how changes in household structure can influence child nutrition given the variability of households in the Caribbean, and other changes in composition across the developmental cycle of the household. It has been suggested that further research should also include measures of parental time allocations which would improve the understanding of how time used as a resource is used to affect child nutrition. Household structures effects could work through a variety of mechanisms, and a careful study of these processes is needed especially with regard to future research on this issue in the Caribbean context. In regards to whether this research is useful, it shows us that there can be some cultural family arrangement issues that are proven to impact the nutritional development of children showing us that there aren’t just psychological differences; which most research suggests there is.

Overall it could be suggested that there are many cultural variations within many different family arrangements. However, it is not completely clear whether the family arrangement directly affects the child’s development for reasons such as every child and their development is different and we therefore cannot pin point what factors specifically affect development. Other factors such as sexual orientation, wealth of families, social status and class are all areas that could be researched further to help link the affects within child development.

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