Browsing by Subject "gender discrimination"

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
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    Examining the Link Between Women's Political and Economic Empowerment: A Comparative Analysis of Success Case Studies and the MENA Region
    (2023) Betancourt, Zoe; Booker, Lily; Huber, Olivia; Lee, Kathleen
    In the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, women’s empowerment is improving in some aspects, but examining the relationship between women’s political and economic empowerment is essential to the creation and implementation of future female engagement strategies. Although women’s empowerment continues to evolve in the MENA region, common themes of concern that jeopardize its progress are still present and are found in the form of harassment and discrimination due to patriarchal systems and customs. This report seeks to evaluate the linkage between political and economic empowerment and concludes that political empowerment is the leading factor in closing gender gaps. Conducting further research, our case studies investigate the countries of Bangladesh, Namibia, Rwanda, Argentina, and Iceland, where the rates of women’s political and economic empowerment are high. The research findings are broad and address key issue areas such as unpaid care, education, land ownership, inheritance, and civil participation. Additionally, it emphasizes that male support is necessary to promote successful campaigns of equality on both the political and economic fronts.
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    Women’s Eligibility for Unemployment Insurance: Disparities and Reforms
    (2021-05) Thompson, Anna
    America’s workforce is evolving. An increasing number of women and ‘nontraditional’ workers like part-time primary earners and ‘gig’ workers make up the labor force; yet, in many states these workers find themselves disadvantaged within the unemployment insurance program (UI). UI program requirements like full-time work availability and job separation reasons are overly burdensome to the non-traditional workforce, especially women. This study will seek to answer: how do reforms to UI programs affect the eligibility of women. Data shows women in some states are up to 25% less likely to be eligible for UI than men. Even though women are a major part of the workforce - as of 2018, 57% of the female population worked compared to 69% of men (Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 2021) - they still face unique barriers like gender discrimination; motherhood penalties; and prevailing responsibility for child and elder care. These barriers lead to a precarious attachment to work or reduced wages for many women. Researchers and reformers have largely focused on the monetary eligibility aspect of UI as the largest barrier to program access and corresponding reforms. But, a growing number of studies have shown that it may be the nonmonetary criteria that is a bigger barrier for most workers, women included, and reforms for this criteria need to be focused on. This study estimated eligibility under traditional UI rules and if three popular reforms were implemented. Additionally, probit models were estimated using personal and work characteristics to measure effects on eligibility and how they differed across the simulated UI program rules.