“Use it or lose it”: How online activism moderates the protective properties of gender identity for well-being

an article by Mindi D. Foster (Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Canada) published in Computers in Human Behavior Volume 96 (July 2019)

Highlight

• Across 3 studies, online activism increased the benefits of gender identity.
• Analyzing tweets showed female words correlate with well-being words.
• Pervasive sexism increased gender identity, which increased well-being.
• These relationships held for those believing online activism is active vs passive.
• These relationships also held for those participating in online activism vs control.

Abstract

Regardless of criticisms that online activism does nothing but increase positive feelings, there is merit to understanding the role of online activism for well-being. This research sought to integrate two separate but complimentary lines of research (the well-being effects of activism and social identity) by suggesting that online activism may enhance the ability of social identity to protect against the negative well-being consequences of pervasive discrimination.

Three studies, each with different operational definitions of online activism, showed a similar pattern: online activism enhanced the relationship between gender identity and well-being.

Consistent with theory on activism's role as a dynamic predictor of social identity (e.g., Drury & Reicher, 1999), this research suggests that online activism, as a means by which social identity can be enacted, can strengthen the protective ability of social identity for well-being.

Theoretical and practical implications of the benefits of online activism are discussed.

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Gender unemployment gaps in the EU: blame the family

an article by Alena Bičáková CERGE-EI (Center for Economic Research and Graduate Education - Economics Institute) Czechia published in IZA Journal of European Labor Studies Volume 5 Article 22 (2016)

Abstract

There are considerable differences in gender unemployment gaps across the EU. We use labor force survey data on 21 countries to perform a series of data decompositions and show that the cross-country variation in gender unemployment gaps is primarily driven by the differences in female labor force participation behavior after childbirth, namely, the family leave duration and the subsequent attachment of women to the labor force.

Further, in countries where a high share of women permanently withdraw from the labor force after childbirth, the size of gender differences in unemployment strongly correlates with the Eurobarometer measure of perceived overall gender discrimination.

Our findings suggest that family leave policies and institutions that facilitate the leave to work transition and the work-family balance are crucial to tackle the gender differences in unemployment in countries where the female unemployment rate exceeds that of men.

JEL Classification:  J13, J21, J70

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Quality assurance and gender discrimination in English universities: an investigation

an article by Jayne Smith (Institute of Education Policy Research, Staffordshire University, Business School) in British Journal of Sociology of Education Volume 29 Issue 6 (November 2008)

Abstract
The present paper argues that university quality assurance (QA) promotes a masculinist culture leading to systemic discrimination against female academics. The analysis relates to the question of what it is about academic life that results in persistent gender inequality. Based on an ethnographically informed comparative study, textual/discourse analysis of 30 interviewee transcripts reveals disguised messages about QA. The interpretation argued draws on a theoretical scrutiny of the covert power of a masculinist QA movement to disproportionately disadvantage female academics. The paper suggests that this has been made possible by a QA presentation discourse harnessed by male academics to manage identities. It argues that dominant definitions of the “competent academic” that discriminate against females are normalised and cemented within a societal conscience.

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