Soma Chaudhuri and Merry Morash
The chapter presents a critical look at the importance and impact of funding priorities for women’s empowerment programs (specifically those that target violence against women or…
Abstract
The chapter presents a critical look at the importance and impact of funding priorities for women’s empowerment programs (specifically those that target violence against women or VAW) in a state that has been declared “developed” by the government. The location of research is Gujarat, India, a “model state” with official reports of zero VAW incidents. Based on seven years of research experience in the state, and drawing from a range of qualitative data resulting from interviews and participant observations, findings suggest that social and cultural changes require decades and generations of support, as progress in these areas is slower compared to the achievement of economic goals. These programs are often dependent on donor funds, and the impact of empowerment is often not fully realized before funding runs out, as government and international funding agencies are no longer prioritizing gender equality programs in Gujarat due to its “developed” status. Local women’s organizations now depend on grants that result from corporate social responsibility. These funds, like all resources from funding agencies, come with their own dictates on how the money is to be used (sanitation; education; health vs. tackling VAW), leaving the organizations’ goals of ending gender inequality compromised. The impact of lack of funds is greater in the programs that focus on ending VAW, compared to the ones that focus on economic empowerment.
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Merry Morash, Dae‐Hoon Kwak and Robin Haarr
The research compared the predictors of work‐related stress for policemen and policewomen. Stressors included workplace problems, token status in the organization, low family and…
Abstract
Purpose
The research compared the predictors of work‐related stress for policemen and policewomen. Stressors included workplace problems, token status in the organization, low family and coworker support, and community and organizational conditions.
Design/methodology/approach
In 11 police departments, racial and ethnic minorities were oversampled. Of 2,051 officers sampled, 46.2 percent responded. Questions and scales were adapted from prior research on both males and females. Regression analysis revealed the strength of individual predictors of stress, the variance explained by workplace problems, and the additional variance explained by social support, token status, and community and organizational context.
Findings
Workplace problems explained more male's than female's stress. Regardless of gender, the strongest predictor of stress was bias of coworkers, and a weaker predictor was language harassment. Just for males, lack of influence over work and appearance‐related stigmatization were additional predictors. Workplace problems explained gender differences in stress that were related to token status as a female.
Research limitations/implications
The sample was not representative of all police in the USA. Measures of community and organizational characteristics were highly intercorrelated, so they could not be examined separately. Especially, for women, there is a need to identify additional sorts of influence on stress.
Practical implications
Although individual interventions and coping strategies are important for reducing police officer stress, changes in the organizational context also deserve attention. There is a need to develop and test interventions to reduce bias among coworkers, to contain language harassment, and to provide police with an increased sense of control over their work.
Originality/value
The paper focuses on stress within the policing environment.
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Chaiyavej Somvadee and Merry Morash
This article aims to examine the sexual harassment experiences of US policewomen by using the Sexual Experience Questionnaire (SEQ) and asking them to describe incidents in which…
Abstract
Purpose
This article aims to examine the sexual harassment experiences of US policewomen by using the Sexual Experience Questionnaire (SEQ) and asking them to describe incidents in which male colleagues’ behavior made them uncomfortable. It seeks to identify areas of discomfort and patterns of response in the context of current harassment policies.
Design/methodology/approach
A convenience sample included 117 female law enforcement officers in the USA from two sheriff, two police, and one state police department. Participants completed surveys in small groups with the researcher present.
Findings
Study participants were especially concerned about male colleagues' view that women could not “do the job”. Sexual harassment policies and the integration of women into work groups with men influenced how women viewed and reacted to discomforting behaviors.
Research limitations/implications
The findings are consistent with those from a broader national sample and international research. Further study of the effects of US women's tolerance of sexual joking and remarks is needed.
Practical implications
Organizational efforts to stop sexual harassment seemed to have brought some benefits to policewomen, as has their integration into all facets of police work. Still, women's concern that male colleagues think they cannot “do the job” persists, and tolerated harassment may negatively affect some women.
Originality/value
The qualitative data analysis shows the complexity of women's tolerance of behaviors in the workplace in order to fit in, and how working along with men heightens concerns about being seen as incapable of doing certain aspects of the job well.
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Marcia Texler Segal, Kristy Kelly and Vasilikie Demos
This introduction provides the history and rationale for this volume on gender and practice. The editors’ broad conception of practice, especially gender practice, and the…
Abstract
This introduction provides the history and rationale for this volume on gender and practice. The editors’ broad conception of practice, especially gender practice, and the relationships among education, training, and practice, three sections into which the volume’s chapters are grouped, are outlined. Connections between gender practice and the United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals are drawn. Each chapter is then summarized and relationships among them are highlighted.
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Vasilikie Demos, Marcia Texler Segal and Kristy Kelly
Departing from an online interactive Gender Café on the topic of Knowledge Management (KM), jointly hosted by a UN agency and the Society of Gender Professionals, this chapter…
Abstract
Departing from an online interactive Gender Café on the topic of Knowledge Management (KM), jointly hosted by a UN agency and the Society of Gender Professionals, this chapter seeks to provide gender practitioners and others with practical examples of how to “gender” KM in international development. Through analyzing the travel of feminist ideas into the field of KM with inspiration from Barbara Czarniawska’s and Bernard Joerge’s (1996) theory of the travel of ideas, the chapter explores the spaces, limits, and future possibilities for the inclusion of feminist perspectives. The ideas and practical examples of how to do so provided in this chapter originated during the café, by the participants and panellists. The online Gender Café temporarily created a space for feminist perspectives. The data demonstrate how feminist perspectives were translated into issues of inclusion, the body, listening methodologies, practicing reflection, and the importance to one’s work of scrutinizing underlying values. However, for the feminist perspective to be given continuous space and material sustainability developing into an acknowledged part of KM, further actions are needed. The chapter also reflects on future assemblies of gender practitioners, gender scholars and activists, recognizing the struggles often faced by them. The chapter discusses strategies of how a collective organizing of “outside–inside” gender practitioners might push the internal work of implementing feminist perspectives forward.
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Antonio K.W. Lau, Richard C.M. Yam and Esther P.Y. Tang
While the beneficial impact of supply chain integration (SCI) and modular product design are generally acknowledged, few empirical studies have examined how an organization can…
Abstract
Purpose
While the beneficial impact of supply chain integration (SCI) and modular product design are generally acknowledged, few empirical studies have examined how an organization can achieve better performance through SCI with modular product design. The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between SCI and modular product design, as well as their impact on product performance.
Design/methodology/approach
By surveying 251 manufacturers in Hong Kong, structural equation modelling is used to test the research constructs and the hypothesized model.
Findings
The results confirm that information sharing, product co‐development and organizational coordination are crucial organizational processes within SCI. Companies that have high levels of product modularity appear to be good at product co‐development and organizational coordination directly and at information sharing indirectly. Furthermore, companies that have high levels of product co‐development or product modularity appear to have better product performance.
Research limitations/implications
This paper theoretically and empirically identifies three specific organizational processes within SCI (information sharing, product co‐development and organizational coordination), which affect modular product design and product performance. These more specific findings were previously absent from the literature. However, the study is limited to the cross‐sectional nature of a survey study, the operationalization of SCI and product modularity, and the nature of the product types.
Originality/value
This paper empirically examines the relationships between SCI and product modularity, which has seldom been attempted in previous research. It clearly identifies exactly which processes within SCI are directly and indirectly related to product modularity.