Women's empowerment

Since the 1980s, the push for neoliberalism prioritizes competitiveness and self-reliance as a measurement for economic success. Individuals and their identifying communities that do not meet society's favored neoliberal standards are looked down upon and prone to lower their self-esteem. This leads welfare reformers to widen the criteria for an individual to qualify as a welfare recipient, limiting the number of people dependent on welfare. The active push for women to enter the labor market reinforces the notion that single mothers and unpaid care laborers are unproductive to the American economy. Women's empowerment and achieving gender equality help society ensure the sustainable development of a country. Many world leaders and scholars have argued that sustainable development is impossible without gender equality and women's empowerment. Strengthening women's access to property inheritance and land rights is another method used to economically empower women. This would allow them better means of asset accumulation, capital, and bargaining power needed to address gender inequalities. Often, women in developing and underdeveloped countries are legally restricted from their land on the sole basis of gender. In the case women have the opportunity to settle for stable jobs, women of color encounter a lack of equal accessibility and privileges in work settings. They are faced with more disadvantages in the workplace. Patricia Parker argues that African American women's empowerment is their resistance to control, standing up for themselves and not conforming to societal norms and expectations. In connection to power, feminist perspectives look at empowerment as a form of resistance within systems of unequal power relations. Within the societal setting of race, gender, and class politics, African American women's empowerment in the work environment "can be seen as resistance to attempts to fix meanings of appropriate identity and behavior, where such meanings are interpreted as controlling, exploitative, and otherwise oppressive to African American women." When talking about women's empowerment, many scholars suggest examining the social injustices on women in everyday organizational life that are influenced by race, class, and gender. Another methodology for women's economic empowerment also includes microcredit. Microfinance institutions aim to empower women in their community by giving them access to loans that have low-interest rates without the requirement of collateral. More specifically, they(micro-finance institutions) aim to give microcredit to women who want to be entrepreneurs. Some critics claim that microcredit alone does not guarantee women have control over the way the loan is used. Microfinance institutions do not address cultural barriers that allow men to still control household finances; as a result, microcredit may simply be transferred to the husband. Microcredit does not relieve women of household obligations, and even if women have credit, they do not have the time to be as active in the market as men. == Political empowerment ==

Political empowerment supports creating policies that best support gender equality and agency for women in both the public and private spheres. Methods that have been suggested are to create affirmative action policies that have a quota for the number of women in policy making and parliament positions. Women will be less likely to be selected to lead and be involved in politics to make decisions. Women have been unable to become leaders in their communities due to financial, social and legal constraints. Organizational and cultural limitations also affect women in the fields where men are dominant. Those industries include science, engineering, finance and much more. United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) raises the concern gender equality in party policies and platforms, and commits to take actions for supporting the presence and influence of women in political parties. Erin Vilardi, the founder of VoteRunLead points out that it is an opportunity to create real change but to recognize social inequalities in women's access to political office despite the number of women who are standing up to volunteer on campaigns and run for office themselves. WIPO's commitment to protect and value women's innovation and creativity is embodied in its Intellectual Property and Gender Action Plan (IPGAP), which raises awareness about the economic benefits of strengthening the role of women in innovative and creative activities, helps equip governments and stakeholders with data and policymaking tools to improve national ecosystems in support of women and girls, and delivers concrete impact-driven activities that encourage women's use of intellectual property in their entrepreneurial activities. The IPGAP is an action framework to achieved economic equality and empowerment for women and girlswomen's empowerment worldwide. This announcement was made during the World Intellectual Property Day 2023 celebration. Digital things enhance political empowerment Digital skills can facilitate women's engagement with local government and increase their decision-making power in their communities. The Women-gov project in Brazil and India, for instance, has helped women improve their understanding of and communication with local government via ICTs. In Brazil, the project trained female community leaders to access and utilize online data on government health services to better respond to public health concerns in their communities. In India, the project worked with women's collectives to establish women-run, internet-connected community information centres to facilitate applications for government assistance (including welfare and entitlements), which in turn improved linkages between the collectives, local authorities and public institutions. Women with digital skills are better able to make their voices heard on local issues and influence the outcome of decisions that affect themselves and their communities. Digital skills can also empower women to participate in political movements. Images taken on mobile phones and distributed via social media have called attention to domestic violence in China and influenced media treatment of court cases on forced abortion. According to FAO, there are seven success factors to empowering rural women through ICTs: • Adapt content so that it is meaningful for them. • Create a safe environment for them to share and learn. • Be gender-sensitive. • Provide them with access and tools for sharing. • Build partnerships. • Provide the right blend of technologies. • Ensure sustainability. The regulatory role of governments (at local, national, regional, and international levels) is crucial in addressing infrastructural barriers, harmonizing and making the regulatory environment inclusive and gender-responsive, and in protecting all stakeholders from fraud and crime. == Cultural empowerment ==

As a progressive society, standing for women's rights and empowerment, we must stop viewing culture only as a barrier and an obstacle to women's rights. Culture is an integral and huge part of diversity and a medium that seeks to ensure women's equal opportunities. It recognises their freedom to take pride in their values, whether they are orthodox or modern in nature. This is not to say that centuries of abuse clothed in the spirit of culture should be allowed to continue, let alone be celebrated. Undoubtedly, traditions cloaked in the idea of empowerment should be objected to in light of feminism. For example, some research indicates that women only have an equal chance to have their written work published in peer-reviewed journals if the sex of the author is absolutely unknown to the reviewers. Western media idolized her as an education hero, a subject of violence caused by terrorism and the Taliban and a victim of hostility towards women. In her book, she repositions herself as a powerful voice who considers and evaluates her cultural traditions and presents alternative understanding of literacy. == Feminist approaches ==

Feminism is defined by the movement's goal of creating women's empowerment. Two methods feminists use to facilitate a sense of women empowerment are consciousness-raising and building relationships with the women participants and their external oppressors. Raising consciousness To create women empowerment, feminists randomly use consciousness raising. Using the term "raising-consciousness" inflicts the notion that the marginalized community is not aware of their oppression and how to deal with it. When it comes to forming and maintaining relationships, there needs to be a balance of both collaboration and conflict between the two parties. Imposing western feminist ideals can fail to account for cultural differences and perspectives. The goal is to use these perspectives to expand people's knowledge and tell unheard and accurate stories. ==Measurements and assessment==

Women empowerment can be measured through the Gender Empowerment Measure (GEM), which calculates women's participation in a given nation, both politically and economically. GEM is calculated by tracking "the share of seats in parliament held by women; of female legislators, senior officials and managers; and of female profession and technical workers; and the gender disparity in earned income, reflecting economic independence". Gender empowerment measure attempts to make a consistent standardized approach to measure women's empowerment; in doing so, it has been critiqued that the GEM doesn't account for variation in historical factors, female autonomy, gender segregation, and women's right to vote. Sara Hlupekile Longwe, a consultant on gender and development based in Lusaka, Zambia, developed The Longwe's Women Empowerment Framework (WEF) in 1995. Adopted by the United Nations, the WEF is a tool kit to achieve women's empowerment, plan and monitor the development of women-related programs and projects worldwide. It is beneficial to use the framework to evaluate and strengthen women's empowerment in policies and plans. The framework can be used to help planners question what women's empowerment and equality means in practice. There are five dimensions of WEF that emphasizes the commitment to women's empowerment and gender equality: welfare, access, conscience, participation, and control. Other measures that calculate women's participation and relative equality include the Gender Parity Index (GPI) or the Gender-related Development Index (GDI). The GDI is a way in which the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) measures the inequality between genders within a country. Some critique of this measurement is that, because GDI calculations rely solely on the achievement distribution between males and females of a population, GDI does not measure gender inequality; instead it measures absolute levels on income, education, and health. A more qualitative form of assessing women's empowerment is to identify constraints to action. This allows for the identification of power relations between genders. Because this is a participatory process, it facilitates conversation on gender discrimination. Comparing constraints on women at a later time also allows for any changes or expansion to be better identified. The evaluation of the development of women's agency allows for an evaluation of actions taken. These assessments must also be based on the action taken by women, and not external groups. External groups can help facilitate women's empowerment, but cannot bestow it on them. == Barriers ==

Many of the barriers to women's empowerment and equity are the result of cultural norms. While many women are aware of the issues posed by gender inequality, others have become accustomed to it. Many men in power are hesitant to disrupt societal norms that are unfair to women. Research shows that the increasing access to the Internet can also result in an increased exploitation of women. and especially sexual harassment in the workplace. It occurs most frequently in business, trade, banking and finance, sales and marketing, hospitality, civil service, lecturing, teaching, and education. According to the International Labour Organisation (ILO), sexual harassment is a clear form of gender discrimination based on sex, a manifestation of unequal power relations between men and women. The UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) is urging for increased measures of protection for women against sexual harassment and violence in the workplace. 54% (272) had experienced some form of workplace sexual harassment. 79% of the victims are women; 21% were men. When taking the median earnings of men and women who worked full-time, year-round, government data from 2014 showed that women made $0.79 for every dollar a man earned. The average earnings for working mothers came out to even less—$0.71 for every dollar a father made, according to 2014 study conducted by the National Partnership for Women and Children. While much of the public discussion of the wage gap has focused around women getting equal pay for the same work as their male peers, many women struggle with what is called the "pregnancy penalty" or motherhood penalty. This can affect both pregnant and non-pregnant women given institutionalized views of pregnancy that question a woman's commitment. Women are put in a position where they need to make the decision of whether to maintain in the workforce or have children, which has led to the debate over maternity leave in the United States and many other countries in the world. The pursuit of gender equality remains a global challenge. With long-standing gender gaps continuing across countries in all sectors of social and economic life. The Pursuit of Gender Equality: An Uphill Battle was released at the Women's Forum in Paris to highlight the issue (according to a global OECD report). Understanding gender inequalities and removing the particular barriers are the only ways to establish a sustainable management. There are three significant gender imbalance that pose challenges in managing a sustainable environment: The effects of land rights Land is important to cultural identity and ensures resources for daily survival such as food, housing and income. This effects women in a long-term, from physical and mental health to public engagement. A barrier to women's growth value and a factor in the discrimination of jobs based on gender is the fear of enduring violence at work. == Role of education ==

People engage in public debate and make demands on government for health care, social security and other entitlements. In particular, education empowers women to make choices that improve their children's health, their well-being, and chances of acquiring survival skills. Education is not universally available and gender inequalities persist. A major concern in many countries is not only the limited numbers of girls going to school, but also the number of educational pathways for those that step into the classroom. There are efforts to address the lower participation and learning achievement of girls in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education. In some parts of the world, girls and women are attacked for attending school, and societal efforts to stop this may be lacking. Education can play many factors in literacy which is why educators and actitivists should take into consideration societal gender myths and narratives. Literacy can lead to possibility and power, but it can also lead to marginalization and disempowering people. This narrative embodies issues of language acquisition and literacy and may affirm culturally scripted ideas about literacy. ==Internet use==

The Internet is often a source of empowerment for women through its creation, dispersion, and utilization of hashtags on social media. Growing Internet access in the late 20th century provided women with various tools to empower themselves. Women began to use social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter for online activism. Through online activism, they are able to empower themselves by organizing campaigns and voicing their opinions for equality rights. Blogging emerged as one tool for educational female empowerment. According to a study done by the University of California, Los Angeles, medical patients who read and write about their disease are often in a much happier mood and more knowledgeable than those who do not. By reading others' experiences, patients can better educate themselves and apply strategies that their fellow bloggers suggest. Examples of online activism having an impact include a 2013 online campaign which led to Facebook taking down various pages that spread hatred about women. The campaign was started by 100 female advocates. In 2017, when the #AintNoCinderella hashtag emerged, it went viral after Varnika Kundu (a 29-year-old woman in India) was driving home past midnight on August 4 when she was followed and harassed by two men in a SUV. Kundu was blamed for being out late at night, especially by the BJP government Vice-president Ranveer Bhatti. This led to women across India and other parts of the world to share pictures of themselves out late at night with the hashtag "#AintNoCinderella" to show that women do not have a particular curfew they must follow. == Ongoing projects ==

The UN came out with a set of goals called the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to help make the world a better place. Of the 17th, the fourth goal works to allow access to education for all people. A large effort has been made to include women in schools to better their education. The fifth goal focuses on empowering women and girls to achieve gender equality through equal access to various types of opportunities (health care, education, work, etc.). U.S. involvement Domestically, the U.S. empowered women through passing of laws such as allowing women to vote in 1920, banning discrimination based on gender in 1964, banning discrimination against pregnant women in 1978, etc. The inclusion of women in politics allowed for more gender equality. The first female speaker of House, the First Lady to run for president, first women to serve on the Supreme Court, and the first female Vice President were monumental events that provided insight into the developing social acceptance of women in power. The U.S. provides foreign aid to third world countries in various forms, one of which is by providing education programs. There are bills in Congress that work to ensure education to girls. One is the Protecting Girls' Access to Education Act. These bills are enacted with the belief that proper education will pull girls out of poverty and reduce exploitation of them. Another action taken on by the U.S. is the PEPFAR program, initiated by the Bush administration in 2003. The U.S. spent more than $1.4 billion in funding sub-Saharan Africa during the duration of the program. This program was taken into effect in response to the global HIV/AIDS crisis, and it promoted abstinence among young girls and women. There was a partnership with DREAMS, and its main purpose with PEPFAR was to allow both girls and women to develop into Determined, Resilient, Empowered, AIDS-free, Mentored, and Safe women. There are criticisms that this program did not do much to reduce HIV-risk behavior, and critics such as John Dietrich expressed concern that the context of aid enforced Western beliefs of choosing abstinence before marriage. == See also ==