Women's Studies Commons^™

Sisters In Science: Conversations With Black Women Scientists On Race, Gender, And Their Passion For Science, Diann Jordan

Purdue University Press Books

Author Diann Jordan took a journey to find out what inspired and daunted black women in their desire to become scientists in America. Letting 18 prominent black women scientists talk for themselves, Sisters in Science becomes an oral history stretching across decades and disciplines and desires. From Yvonne Clark, the first black woman to be awarded a B.S. in mechanical engineering to Georgia Dunston, a microbiologist who is researching the genetic code for her race, to Shirley Jackson, whose aspiration led to the presidency of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Jordan has created a significant record of women who persevered to become …

L’Espace Sexué Dans Riwan Ou Le Chemin De Sable De Ken Bugul, Antje Ziethen

Présence Francophone: Revue internationale de langue et de littérature

In Riwan ou le chemin de sable by Ken Bugul, the protagonist lives in the interstice between her own house and that of her husband’s, between the life of a woman educated in Europe and the life of a wife subjected to the laws of mouridism. In her circular movement along the sandy road evoked in the novel’s title, she gradually creates a space that allows her to reconcile the two facets of her identity. Merging different genres, stories and languages, the text itself enacts the symbolism of the road as a transitional sphere.

Building Leaders For The Future: Women In The Middle East, Deniz Zeynep Leuenberger

Bridgewater Review

No abstract provided.

Work, Welfare, And Women's Role As Mothers, Pamela Fiber, Jackie Filla

Journal of Interdisciplinary Feminist Thought

The demand for legal equality for women in the twentieth century has been fraught with challenges and dilemmas. While advocates for equality insisted laws preventing women from full contractual rights be eliminated and that women be compensated equally for their labor, the political and social tides swept poor women responsible for their children into the mix. In addition to the dramatic influence on social policy, the demands for market equality have been met with slow movement. Women continue to act as caretakers of the home and children, and earn significantly less than men. Attempts to change this through law are …

Storming Politics: San José Women In The “Feminist Capital, 1975-2006,, Danelle L. Moon

Faculty and Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Madam President: Progress, Problems, And Prospects For 2008, Robert P. Watson

Journal of International Women's Studies

Women have made great progress in electoral politics both in the United States and around the world, and at all levels of public office. However, although a number of women have led their countries in the modern era and a growing number of women are winning gubernatorial, senatorial, and congressional races, the United States has yet to elect a female president, nor has anyone come close. This paper considers the prospects for electing a woman president in 2008 and the challenges facing Hillary Clinton and Condoleezza Rice—potential frontrunners from both major parties&nmash;given the historical experiences of women who pursued the …

Rocking The Cradle To Rocking The World: The Role Of Muslim Female Fighters, Farhana Ali

Journal of International Women's Studies

Attacks by the mujahidaat are arguably more deadly than those conducted by male fighters and could motivate other Muslim women to adopt suicide as the tactic of choice. The use of Muslim women to conduct martyrdom, or suicide, operations by male-dominated terrorist groups could have implications on the jihadi mindset, challenging more conservative groups such as Al Qaeda, to reconsider the utility of the Muslim woman on the front lines of jihad. These terrorist groups will likely exploit women to conduct operations on their behalf to advance their goals and achieve tactical gain.

Muslim women are increasingly joining the global …

Ahmadi Women Reconciling Faith With Vulnerable Reality Through Education, Huma Ahmed-Ghosh

Journal of International Women's Studies

This paper presents the perceptions, attitudes and views of a group of Ahmadi women in Southern California through the eyes of their local leader. The specific focus is on ways in which Ahmadi women engage in cultural/religious community building within a racially and ethnically hostile environment since 9/11. Of particular concern are ways in which gender norms are reflected in Ahmadi women’s push toward formal and cultural education in their efforts to maintain their faith, culture and sense of community as they interface with the broader U.S. society. Given the current anti-Islamic climate in the U.S., the Ahmadis offer an …

Arab Women’S Education And Gender Perceptions: An Insider Analysis, Amani Hamdan

Journal of International Women's Studies

Studies focusing exclusively on the connection between Arab Muslim women’s educational pursuits and their gender perceptions, and how their gender perceptions may have changed as a result of living in two different cultures, are rarely conducted. Additionally, the factors that may influence an Arab Muslim woman’s educational pursuits seem seldom investigated. This article is highlighting some factors that may influence Arab Muslim women’s gender perceptions. In researching Arab Muslim women’s experiences, I considered the diversity and multiplicity of their race, ethnicity, class, and experience. How Arab Muslim women construct the gender aspect of their identities and how these identities may …

The Jamaican Female Skills Surplus And Earnings Deficit: A Holistic Explanation, Dawn Richards Elliott

Journal of International Women's Studies

This paper addresses the poor socio-economic performance of Jamaican females despite superior human capital. A holistic explanation exploring female lifestyle choices is advanced since discipline-specific theories fail to explain occupational clustering and the resulting earnings gap. It is hypothesized that both reflect lifestyle constraints, which may be linked to characteristics of the social environment. Since these constraints affect different groups of women differently, then policies designed to reduce occupational dis-similarity and female-male earnings gap must adapt a dis-aggregated analysis. Catherine Hakim’s model of female dis-aggregation and data from the World Bank’s Living Standards Measurement Survey, LSMS, are used to advance …

A Gender-Based Analysis Of Performance Of Small And Medium Printing Firms In Metro Manila, Milagros F. Malaya

Journal of International Women's Studies

The objective of the paper is to present a comparative analysis of the performance of men-owned and women-owned businesses. The study uses a multidimensional framework of entrepreneurial success, where the indicators refer to the financial, non-financial and personal goals indicated in literature as being important to entrepreneurs. Economic performance was measured as change in sales and profitability for a period of one year and over three years. Data were obtained from printing firms based in Metro Manila, Philippines, a country in Southeast Asia. That no variations attributed to gender were found in firm performance on the short-term scale further support …

Interaction Between Objective And Subjective Occupational Conditions Affecting Physical Health Of Women Workers, Jinky Leilanie Lu

Journal of International Women's Studies

This is an investigation on the interaction between the subjective and objective occupational conditions in affecting the overall health of women workers in industries that have accommodated information technology. The sample consisted of 23 establishments and 630 women respondents. Results show that the most prevalent issues among workers in the electronics industry included the need to upgrade skills, repetitive and fast paced work, pressure at work, and work that entailed both physically and mentally demanding tasks. It was found that the overall good physical health of the workers was affected by these factors: overtime, mental work, close monitoring, medium industries, …

Myopic Feminist Individualism In A.S. Byatt’S Arabian Nights’ Tale: ‘The Djinn In The Nightingale’S Eye’, Kathleen Williams Renk

Journal of International Women's Studies

I take as my point of departure Jane Campbell’s view that Byatt’s “The Djinn in the Nightingale’s Eye” “exposes the gaps … between the worlds in which twentieth-century women live,” as I situate Byatt’s story within its literary, political, and feminist framework. Viewing “The Djinn” as a condensed pastiche of what Byatt terms “the greatest story ever told,” One Thousand and One Nights, rather than a fairy or wonder tale, I read this tale in relation to Chilla Bulbeck’s insights in Re-orienting Western Feminisms: Women’s Diversity in a Postcolonial World. I argue that in her Arabian Nights’ Tale, …

Gender, Romance Novels And Plastic Sexuality In The United States: A Focus On Female College Students, Huei-Hsia Wu

Journal of International Women's Studies

This analysis gauges gender difference in time spent reading romance novels and sexuality. Respondents were 770 white American college students, including 436 females and 334 males, age 17–49. Males are viewed as a reference group. Drawing upon the “plastic sexuality” thesis and feminist theory, this study hypothesizes that female readers of romance novels have higher levels of interest in sexuality (at least in the attitudes) than male readers, and non-readers but such a sexual interest is not necessarily converted into a more active sexual behavior. Most romance novels promote deeply constraining patriarchal values, reading romance novels plays a role in …

Unbending Gender Narratives In African Literature, Charles C. Fonchingong

Journal of International Women's Studies

The last century has witnessed an upsurge in literature triggered by the feminist movement. This unprecedented event has transformed the various literary genres that are being deconstructed to suit the changing times. African literature has not been spared by the universalized world order. The paper attempts a re-analysis of gender inequality from the pre-colonial to post-colonial period from the lenses of literary narratives. Male writers like Chinua Achebe, Elechi Amadi, Wole Soyinka, Ngugi Wa Thiongo, and Cyprain Ekwensi in their literary mass are accused of condoning patriarchy, are deeply entrenched in a macho conviviality and a one dimensional and minimalised …

An Analysis Of The Economic Status Of Women In Cameroon, Stella Nana-Fabu

Journal of International Women's Studies

The Cameroon woman has for long been the economic backbone of the nation, yet she remains largely marginalized in society generally and in the economic sector in particular. The cumulative effects of the interplay of gender discrimination of traditional African and Western colonial as well as neo-colonial systems on the general status of the Cameroon woman has been enormous. As this paper reveals, in modern times, more Cameroon women have become more dependent on men economically than in pre-colonial or traditional times.

It is true that modernization has wrought some good for Cameroon women, but this article shows that the …

Hidden Overburden Of Female-Headed Households In Guar Bean Production: Zimbabwean Experience, Innocent W. Nyakudya, V. J. Murewa, M. J. Mutenje, M. Moyo, T. J. Chikuvire, R. Foti

Journal of International Women's Studies

The study was done on a guar bean-growing project in Makachi area, Zimbabwe. The study objectives were to determine ownership of resources, time spent on production and access to information by male-headed and female-headed households. Data collection and analysis were based on the FAO Gender Analysis Framework. Results showed that male-headed households had more ownership of resources and spent less time on production; access to information was equal; female-headed households allocated a greater proportion of their land to guar bean production and matched their male counterparts in the mean yield. While inter-household exchanges helped female-headed households access draft power and …

The Health Condition Of Older Women In Ghana: A Case Study Of Accra City, Chuks J. Mba

Journal of International Women's Studies

In the context of increased rural-urban migration, social exclusion of some of the recent urban arrivals and the sharp change in life style in urban communities, some of the most critical health problems of older people may be found in cities. This paper attempts to characterize the general health condition of older women (50 years and over) in Accra, Ghana’s capital city. It employs secondary analysis of data from the Accra Women’s Survey, 2004. The findings broadly suggest that an overwhelming majority of older women lack basic education, are not in any form of paid employment, and are widowed, separated …

Midwifery Education In Jordan: History, Challenges And Proposed Solutions, Lubna Abushaikha

Journal of International Women's Studies

The purpose of this paper is to provide a historical overview of midwifery education in Jordan during the past fifty years with an emphasis on the first bachelor of midwifery program in Jordan. Nine challenges of midwifery education that include expanding midwifery educational needs, accreditation of programs, recruiting qualified faculty members, clinical training, midwifery preceptorship, exit examinations, continuing midwifery education, recognition of midwifery graduates, and lack of graduate midwifery programs are presented. Proposed solutions for these challenges are discussed.

Attitudes Toward Women Managers In Turkey And Pakistan, Semra Güney, Raheel Gohar, Sevcan Kılıç Akıncı, Mehmet Mutlu Akıncı

Journal of International Women's Studies

This paper examines managerial attitudes toward women managers in Turkey and Pakistan by using “Managerial Attitudes toward Women Executives Scale (MATWES)” and draws a cross-cultural comparison between these two countries’ respondents. Significant differences were found in several managerial attitudes between these two countries’ respondents, and both women and men in Turkey have a negative attitude toward women managers as compared to Pakistani respondents. In contrast to the early findings in the literature, women’s attitudes toward women managers in Turkey were more negative than that of men’s while Pakistani women have more favorable attitudes than Turkish women toward women managers. The …

Women And The Hiv/Aids Epidemic: The Issue Of School Age Girls’ Awareness In Nigeria, Solomon O. Momoh, Ailemen I. Moses, Maria M. Ugiomoh

Journal of International Women's Studies

This study was conducted to examine women and the HIV/AIDS epidemic: the issue of school age girls’ awareness in Nigeria information was elicited from 1,222 randomly selected regular under-graduate female students from the 11 faculties of the University of Lagos, Nigeria, with the use of a standardized structured questionnaire. Results of the major objective of the study, that is the level of HIV/AIDS awareness among female undergraduate students, showed a moderate level of awareness, including other specific objectives of age, level of study and marital status. In contrast, at the graduate level—the 600 level of study—medical students showed a high …

“A Sea Captain In Her Own Right”: Navigating The Feminist Thought Of Huda Shaarawi, Rula B. Quawas

Journal of International Women's Studies

Huda Shaarawi was one of the first Egyptian women who argued for women’s liberation, starting with education which would lead to full participation in the social and cultural reform and result in social usefulness and in legal and civic equality. A socialist feminist, Shaarawi promoted a successful program for social change not only from within the existing social and political order but also from within the framework of Islam and its value system. She came to be a speaking subject of feminist politics and a feminist living text for the women of her own generation. She was, and still is, …

Women, Words And War: Explaining 9/11 And Justifying U.S. Military Action In Afghanistan And Iraq, Nancy W. Jabbra

Journal of International Women's Studies

Texts and images in the print media, outdoor advertisements, and on the Internet form the primary source material for this article. The Bush administration and the American media, drawing upon well-worn traditions of representation, contrasted American women and Muslim/Middle Eastern women, American and Middle Eastern male sexuality, and the moral qualities (good versus evil) of American and Middle Eastern people. They used those contrasts to explain 9/11 and legitimize war in Afghanistan and Iraq. 9/11 was simply explained through a contrast between American innocence and Muslim savagery. For Afghanistan, the predominant trope was liberating Afghan women from the Taliban, or …

‘And Not Destroyed By The Destruction Of The Body’: Documenting Incarceration: Joya Mitra’S Killing Days, Tutun Mukherjee

Journal of International Women's Studies

This paper discusses an unusual and disturbing narrative of a young student who is incarcerated for four years in Indian jails for participating in an ideological battle with a state government that steadily escalated in violence and brought students like her in direct confrontation with the state machinery. In prison, she is categorized as a ‘political detainee’ and must await her trial which is not allowed to happen until the political dispensation changes. Killing Days is a prison memoir – not of Mitra alone but of all the women she meets and shares pain and anguish with through the period …

Verbal And Visual Rhetorics Of Cancer: Defying Silence In Margaret Edson, Audre Lorde And Jo Spence’S Works, Catalina Florina Florescu

Journal of International Women's Studies

In this essay I offer some powerful verbal and visual examples of the rhetorics of cancer in an attempt to bring to our attention the experiences and reflections of those who felt more like medical cases than persons-patients while facing and eventually dying because of cancer. My essay is a critical “travelogue” through the pain of the other, more specifically as it is presented in Margaret Edson’s play Wit (2000), Audre Lorde’s memoir The Cancer Journals (1992), and Jo Spence verbal and visual memoirs Putting Myself in the Picture: A Political, Personal, and Photographic Autobiography (1988) and Cultural Snipping: The …

Book Review: A Lot To Learn: Girls, Women, And Education In The 20th Century, S. M. Belcher

Journal of International Women's Studies

Review of A Lot to Learn: Girls, Women, and Education in the 20th Century by Helen Jefferson Lenskyj

Book Review: Women In The New Millennium: The Global Revolution, Kristin Blakely

Journal of International Women's Studies

Review of Women in the New Millennium: The Global Revolution by Anne R. Breneman and Rebecca A. Mbuh

Book Review: Workable Sisterhood: The Political Journey Of Stigmatized Women With Hiv/Aids, Deborah H. Charbonneau

Journal of International Women's Studies

Review of Workable Sisterhood: The Political Journey of Stigmatized Women with HIV/AIDS by Michele Tracy Berger

Book Review: The Curious Feminist: Searching For Women In A New Age Of Empire, Secil Dagtas

Journal of International Women's Studies

Review of The Curious Feminist: Searching for Women in a New Age of Empire by Cynthia Enloe

Book Review: Women In The Superintendency: Discarded Leadership, Rebekah Buchanan

Journal of International Women's Studies

Review of Women in the Superintendency: Discarded Leadership by Joyce A. Dana and Diana M. Bourisaw