This thesis reports on the findings and implications of gendered precarity in the neoliberal labour market for millennial mothers. By considering the unique intersection of precarity, gender, and age, my findings contribute to the literature by adding qualitative evidence to the anecdotal reports of women being restructured, demoted, and let go from their workplaces while on pregnancy/parental leave. Further, this research contributes to the knowledge on the topic of precarious work by reporting on participants’ “sense of precarity” as a result of structural inequalities. The interviews conducted with six millennial women in their 30s reveal the complexity of their experiences as precarious workers and parents. Specifically, feeling vulnerable in the workplace, the impact of major life changes on millennial mothers’ identities, and participants’ responses to perceived motherhood penalty. The thesis concludes with a discussion of the findings in relation to the literature, considers the limitations of the study and offers possibilities for future research, avenues for policy advocacy, and suggestions for social work practice. / Thesis / Master of Social Work (MSW)

The aim of the study is to investigate gender relations in the production and export marketing of horticulture produce in Uganda. The study uses gender as an analytical tool in critiquing the Neoliberal reforms that advocate trade liberalization. This is done through examining the construction and perpetuation of unequal power relations within the tasks as well as access to production and market resources needed for effective participation in export trade. The study fills a gap in knowledge by providing an explanation of the factors that hinder effective participation of female and male tanners and traders. It reveals the failure of the assumptions of price, supply and demand as organizing principles in a market economy as those ignore the practices of politics and gender dynamics that shape the production and distribution of products for export trade. In order to reveal hidden control and influence of decisions, the study investigates the manifestation of power in the marketing channel at three sites: the household site (for production); the collection site (for purchase and assembling); and the exportation site (for export arrangements and air freight). Examples are given through a case study of female and male farmers, collectors and exporters of horticulture produce, in particular hot-pepper and okra, in Uganda. The unequal power relations that are examined, show how women and men create a hierarchical setting within the same site, as well as through the interactions they make by linking to the other sites. While female and male tanners require the tasks and resources provided by the collectors, collectors also need the resources given by exporters. Within such a context, this study, shows how gender analysis can be used to examine the dynamics of the relations between women and men who interact within tasks and resource acquisition between the different sites. The question of power therefore becomes a key concern as some categories of men, and sometimes women who are in positions of control of resources, have the "power to" influence decisions on allocation of tasks and acquisition of resources. Yet, such power to influence actions concerning who should perform the tasks and who can have access to resources, is so hidden that revealing it requires examination of its manifestations as well as the way its is exercised differently by men compared to women. Those practices, through which power manifests, create conflicts and hierarchical differences between tanners, collectors and exporters that show gender as well as status differences. Female collectors and exporters can manage to control resources, recognize these power practices, and react by resisting and manipulating them according to their own interests. Unfortunately, in most cases, both female and male tanners cannot challenge decisions of the exporters. Such dynamics create differential access to production and market resources. The characteristics that enable women as well as men to have influence are investigated in addition to what leads to the subordinate position that others experience. Gender theory is applied and focuses on two arguments: the extent to which men exercise power over women in ways that show how power relations are manifested through the gender division of labour and the way tasks are organised; and how power relations are manifested through different positions that women occupy compared to men in the different sites in ways that enable mostly men to have the power to influence decisions and command allocation of resources. Gender analysis is used as a methodology that enables examination of power practices that are hidden in the way tasks are organized and resources acquired in the different sites at a specified time period. Although these sites are self-contained, the findings indicate that actors also have opportunities to move across and between sites. The ability to participate in more than one site is therefore a means of rescue from practices that disempower women, thus hindering their participation in export trade. The findings do not only affirm the claims by gender critique of macro-economic theories that the markets are not abstract entities, but also provides examples that show how markets have a gendered structure. Women and men engage in relationships of cooperation, conflict and manipulate decisions of others who seek to access resources. Women who undertake activities in more than one site have power to make choices and influence decisions that would otherwise have had adverse effects on their export-oriented activities. Women who are able to access resources are sometimes those who exclude and exploit other women of lower status, just as higher-status men do to those below them. Such women decide to take actions not necessarily with an intention of resisting male dominance but to develop defensive and creative ways through which they can promote their own agenda. Some men of lower status resist actions of exploitation and exclusion imposed upon them by men of higher status. In addition, they can overcome the informality of labour provision and contracts that exist in trade relationships by becoming decision-makers themselves and dealing directly with export trade. This study therefore makes contributions to gender theory in ways that illustrate how gender analysis is an effective tool in investigating the construction of unequal power relations for export trade within an African setting.

The purpose of this study was to explore the question of poor representation of women in science and technology in two academic institutions of Rwanda. Those are the National University of Rwanda (UNR) and Kigali Institute of Science and Technology (KIST). By exploring institutional factors underlying the said question, the study has complemented previous works on the same subject, which placed an emphasis on social, economic and cultural factors. Data were collected through archival exploration, in-depth face-to-face interviews and focus groups discussions. Exploration of archives was mainly based on gender policies existing within the concerned institutions, and their compliance with Rwanda national gender policy. Access of women to science and technology, and their participation in these areas were the key elements that guided the exploration of relevant policies and various discussions with participants. In-depth interviews were conducted with men and women teachers at the concerned academic institutions and high government officials from the Ministry of Gender and Family Promotion, and Rwanda Parliament. Focus group interviews targeted men and women students from the third year level of study and above from the concerned areas. Discussed questions were given in an open-ended form. Through the exploration of existing policies and thematic analysis of qualitative data, the study revealed three main areas of gender inequalities. Those are decision making, infrastructure and academic cultures. It was found that the poor representation of women in decision-making affects the rest of these areas and their interconnectedness proved to be the key explaining the under-representation of women in science and technology. The study concludes that in the current form, the concerned institutions are embedded with forces that contribute to women's discrimination, especially in the areas of science and technology, which remain the preserve of men. It gives recommendations on how to address gender inequalities in the highlighted areas.

Bibliography: leaves 154-158. / The HIV/AIDS youth education organisation, loveLife, was examined to determine how its production of knowledge and values relates to transforming gender relations as they impact on HIV/AIDS in a South African context. The research originated out of a concern that loveLife, the world's largest HIV/AIDS youth education organisation in the world, was possibly replicating gendered inequities in its communication initiatives geared toward reducing transmission of HIV in the adolescent population. To carry out the research data was collected from three different "sites" and was analysed using discourse analysis. The approach to discourse analysis was informed by both Foucauldian and feminist theory. Furthermore, both the literature review and the primary data were informed by a social constructionist approach, in an attempt to recognise the environmental, social, structural, temporal and political impact on the constructions of AIDS, gender and sexuality by loveLife messages, staff and participants as they intersect with the lived realities of South African adolescents. All of the primary data is qualitative, and therefore, limited in scope. The research is experimental and iterative in nature and the data produced is varied. Nevertheless, it provides a useful snapshot with which to begin an examination of loveLife's production of knowledge and values. The data sites included: loveLife's second major print media campaign; interviews with loveLife staff and their volunteer youth corps, known as "groundBREAKERS"; and a focus group with participants at a loveLife youth centre. The print campaign included a series of five billboard advertisements and produced the most static of all the data examined. The interviews were conducted with five loveLife staff and four groundBREAKERS at loveLife's head office in Johannesburg and at a loveLife youth centre in Langa. Finally, the focus group consisted of three young men and two young women between the ages of 14-18 and was also conducted at the youth centre in Langa. The findings show that loveLife's constructions of gender are both narrow and problematic and often lose relevance when intersecting with the target audience as represented by the focus group. The findings also show that through its chosen strategy to promote loveLife as a brand, loveLife is producing a discourses that both homogenises its target audience and shifts the focus of the organisation away from transforming behaviour change as it relates to sex, sexuality and gender relations in an attempt to curb HIV transmission. Lastly, the findings also reveal that loveLife assumes that sexual choice is universally available to all South Africans. However, because this assumption does not reflect the lived realities of South African youth, particularly the realities of young women, loveLife ignores, and consequently, further replicates existing gendered inequities.

The assignment of grammatical gender in German is a notoriously problematic phenomenon due to the apparent opacity of the gender assignment system (e.g. Comrie 1999: 461). Various models of German gender assignment have been proposed (e.g. Spitz 1965, Köpcke 1982, Corbett 1991, Wegener 1995), but none of these is able to account for all of the German data. This thesis investigates a relatively under-explored, recent approach to German gender assignment in the form of Optimal Gender Assignment Theory (OGAT), proposed by Rice (2006). Using the framework of Optimality Theory, OGAT claims that the form and meaning of a noun are of equal importance with respect to its gender. This is formally represented by the crucial equal ranking of all gender assignment constraints in a block of gender features, which is in turn ranked above a default markedness hierarchy *NEUTER » *FEMININE » *MASCULINE, which is based on category size. A key weakness of OGAT is that it does not specify what constitutes a valid gender features constraint. This means that, in theory, any constraint can be proposed ad hoc to ensure that an OGAT analysis yields the correct result. In order to prevent any constraints based on 'postfactum rationalisations' (Comrie 1999: 461) from being included in the investigation, the gender features constraints which have been proposed in the literature for German are assessed according to six criteria suggested by Enger (2009), which seek to determine whether there is independent evidence for a gender features constraint. Using an independently-verified constraint set, OGAT is then tested on a sample of 592 nouns systematically selected from the Duden Rechtschreibung. The results indicate that OGAT is relatively successful in its predictions when compared to other approaches but that it cannot account fully for the sample data. Accordingly, a revised version of the theory is proposed (OGAT II), which involves the ranking of certain gender features constraints. It is found that OGAT II is able to account for the genders of around 95% of nouns in the sample. A number of specific aspects of OGAT II are then tested by means of an experiment in which native German speakers are required to assign genders to 26 pseudo-nouns. The results suggest that OGAT II comes the closest of the systems discussed in the literature to modelling how native speakers assign gender in German.

This thesis investigates issues related to gender inequalities and scarring effects in school to work transitions. The first chapter analyses the gender earnings gap among Italian college graduates at the beginning of their careers. Thanks to the richness of the dataset used I am able to control for a large set of variables related to individuals' educational and family background, as well as personality traits. The main finding is that the content of the college degree course is the most signicant variable in explaining the earnings gender differentials of young workers. In particular I show that female sorting in college majors characterised by a low maths content explains between 13 and 16% of the earnings gender gap. Motivated by this result, in Chapter 2 I investigate the determinants of gender gaps in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) graduation rates, with an emphasis on family, cultural and school influences. I show that half of the gap is attributed to the gender difference in maths and science content of the high school curriculum. The results indicate that in Italy the issue of the gender gap in STEM graduation has its roots in a gendered choice that originates many years before. The final chapter analyses the extent to which the mismatch of demand and supply of skills that young workers face when they enter the labour market upon completing education affects their careers. Regression results show that there is a long lasting negative effect of these initial conditions on labour market outcomes. The evidence is suggestive of a `trickle down unemployment' phenomenon, namely that high-skill workers try to escape strong competition from their high-skill peers by taking jobs for which a lower level of education is required, moving down the occupational ladder.

Blanche Wetherill Walton played a significant role in the development of America’s modernist music culture throughout the 1920s and 1930s. Her legacy has largely been preserved through her roles as a patron and salonnière during this time, which included sending financial aid to composers, housing modernist musicians, hosting meetings of the New York Musicological Society, and hosting musicales in her home. However, Walton’s participation in modernist music extended far beyond traditional patron or salonnière roles. In addition to offering financial gifts, Walton carried out tasks typical of a music agent. These activities included organizing auditions, sending and receiving programs and scores, disseminating writings, corresponding, booking dates, securing venues, coordinating networking opportunities, handling contracts, and arranging lessons on behalf of modernist musicians. The depth and breadth of Walton’s work sets her apart from other music patrons; she acted as a one-woman agent for a select, yet still large, group of modernists. Walton’s upbringing in a wealthy Philadelphia family ensured that she gained managerial skills necessary for overseeing and running a large household. As a young woman of the elite class Walton also learned social etiquette and benefitted from her family’s connections to influential individuals in American music culture. These experiences would prove to be invaluable to Walton’s work in assisting modernist musicians in the early twentieth century. Walton’s upbringing also featured strong ties to her family’s Quaker background. As direct descendants of the founder of the Free Quakers, the Wetherills would have been well versed in Quaker values of simplicity, peace, integrity, community, equality, and stewardship. These tenets influenced Walton’s work in modernist music culture as she generously offered her resources, skills, time, and energy to promote modernist musicians and their music. Despite her family’s wealth and a large settlement she received following the death of her husband in 1903, Walton experienced financial strains in the aftermath of the 1929 stock market crash. In addition to providing funds and housing to musicians whenever possible, Walton supplemented this support with managerial assistance. Thanks to her upbringing, Walton knew how to be involved in the day-to-day activities of music culture, understood the importance of working hard on behalf of others, and lived comfortably enough to devote her time and energy to this work. Her influence was far reaching and influenced the careers of many modernist musicians, including Henry Cowell, Ruth Crawford, Imre Weisshaus (Paul Arma), Aaron Copland, Joseph Szigeti, and Wesley Kuhnle. This project examines her work on behalf of these six composers, though many others also benefitted from her work and generosity. This group of musicians speaks to the diversity of Walton’s interests in modernist music, encompassing a wide range of modernist compositional approaches, individuals from a variety of backgrounds, both composers and performers, and both male and female modernists. Examining Walton’s managerial work not only illuminates the extent of her involvement in modernist music culture but also provides a better understanding of the structure and state of America’s modernist music culture in the 1920s and 1930s. By looking at the influence Quaker beliefs had on Walton’s work as a manager, this project also suggests that religious values may serve as a new framework through which we may better understand modernist music culture. / A Thesis submitted to the College of Music in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Music. / Spring Semester 2019. / March 13, 2019. / Agent, Blanche Wetherill Walton, Manager, Modernist, Quaker, Stewardship / Includes bibliographical references. / Denise Von Glahn, Professor Directing Thesis; Rachel Lumsden, Committee Member; Douglass Seaton, Committee Member.

<p>In this paper an upper level compulsory school is examined from a gender perspective. The purpose of the paper is to analyse how girls and boys acquire space in the classroom (during a Swedish lesson) and in the sports hall (during a lesson in physical education). To fullfil the purpose of this paper a seventh grade class was observed during a lesson in Swedish as well as in sports. In addition to this on pupil was interviewed. </p><p>In this paper the results are compared to and measured against results from earlier research in the field. Used as a theoretical basis are Simone de Beauvoir’s theories on gender.</p><p>The results attained indicate that girls and boys claims space in different ways during time in the classroom as well as in the sports hall. Boys are the ones acquiring the largest space. They talk out loud more often and they have more possession of the ball during ball games. Furthermore the girls ask for the word less often than the boys.</p><p> </p>

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