This thesis aims to describe and compare how female and male foreign ministers are represented in Swedish and U.S. daily press. Choosing two critical cases, Swedish and U.S. media, where gendered stereotypical representation is most unlikely to occur, gives a larger chance for generalization to other countries media, and other types of media. Based upon the ontology of social constructivism and theories of gendered media representation, a qualitative analysis will be conducted to be able to describe how media representations of these foreign ministers look like. The use of gender stereotypical words and meanings used when portraying foreign ministers in media will be compared both between the female and male foreign ministers and between the Swedish and U.S. daily press. The analysis will show that the foreign ministers are portrayed differently based on sex, where women are portrayed as weak and emotional, with their competence doubted, while the men are strong and unquestionable competent.

This study explores the experiences of women undergraduate nursing students within a feminist framework. In enquiring into the lives of undergraduate women nurses, this study sought to develop a deeper understanding of the social, historical and political factors that shape the lives of these women. An important aim of the study was to provide the women participants a political voice by which they could communicate their experiences. The methodology is developed from the theoretical insights of a range of feminist theorists and researchers and draws on some fundamental assumptions about the gendered social location of women. The study sought to test out these assumptions through an exploration of key themes within data collected from unstructured interviews with a purposeful sample of 13 undergraduate women students from a School of Nursing within a major Brisbane university. The emerging themes reveal that women have roles that are gendered in construction and that their personal stresses and traumas are shaped by gender role construction.

Researchers have given considerable attention to war crimes across nations. Numerous anthropologists, political scientists, and economists have conducted research on the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka; however, there is scant literature exploring violations of international law as experienced by the minorities (i.e., Tamils) from sociological and criminological perspectives. The purpose of this study is to offer an insight into how masculinity and war crimes by the military and the paramilitary forces affected the Tamils from the Northern and the Eastern provinces in Sri Lanka. I explored victimization experienced by the Tamil Diaspora populations, the construction of victimization avoidance strategies, the social forces that motivated them to leave Sri Lanka, the short and the long-term effects of victimization (i.e., sexual, economic, physical, mental), the process the refugees adopted to assimilate themselves into new space, and the resources available from Sri Lanka and place of new residence to meet their needs. Finally, I explored within gender differences and similarities of victimization as experienced by the refugees. I employed qualitative methods to collect the data, where I gathered a sample of Tamils Diaspora population from Canada and the United States of America by way of snowball sampling via advocates who worked with refugees. I used open-ended questionnaires during the face-to-face interviews. I audio-taped most of the interviews and I manually transcribed them. I took written notes of a couple of the interviews when the participants did not permit audio recording. Finally, I analyzed the collected data and present the findings. This approach informs the scientific community of how people understand and give meanings to their life experiences (Orbuch, 1997; Mishler, 1986). The findings indicate that several types of social forces contributed to how families operated during the war. For instance, the war impacted the quality of available education, the quality of available shelter, and the social and family pressures for expected roles within the community. I specifically looked at victimization experiences, the social forces that motivated them to leave Sri Lanka, the short and long-term effects of war related victimization, the process of assimilation, resources available in Sri Lanka and their new place of residence, and gender differences or similarities of war crime victimization as experienced by the refugees. The research question I explored revealed that many faced financial/economic strain, secondary victimization, sexual abuse, mental/ emotional abuse, and physical abuse. When I explored victimization avoidance strategies, the data revealed that some participants submitted while others’ social bonds allowed them to evade victimization. Next, I explored the coping strategies employed by the participants during and post-civil war. The themes that emerged to explain their coping strategies were medical/counseling assistance, deference to God, and gendered roles. I also explored the social forces that drove the participants out of the country. The data revealed that it was the impact of the internal conflict on various infrastructures that stimulated the participants’ exodus from the country. I also explored the assistance the participants received in Sri Lanka and their new place of residence. The data revealed that many of the participants received most of their help from the paramilitary. All of the participants indicated they received aid from their new place of residence. Finally, I conclude by providing theoretical discussions of the findings, limitations of the study, future recommendations, and implications. This study unveils how the Sri Lankan Tamil refugees experienced and gave meaning to their lived experiences due to the war.

This dissertation examines the role of US legal and administrative institutions in intimate partner violence (IPV) against immigrant women in two instances treated as separate in policy and scholarship: 1) women seeking asylum in the US on account of IPV and 2) immigrant women facing IPV in the US. Through an analysis of congressional hearings, relevant policies and administration, court cases, and interviews with employees at non-governmental organizations that serve immigrant women, this dissertation analyzes the ways in which immigration law intersects with ameliorative policy intended to address IPV in these contexts. In so doing, I develop a broader understanding of how state institutions, policy frameworks, and policy implementation shape the lives of vulnerable immigrant women. Contrary to scholarship that views relevant policies and institutions in the US as well-meaning though inadequate, this dissertation examines the extent to which the state may be directly implicated in IPV against immigrant women and in fostering institutional conditions under which this violence continues to thrive.

The following thesis explores a topic mixing different themes. In fact, the researchersexplore the gender affiliated of digits. Following a consistent structure, the aim of theresearch is to show, or not, a gendered affiliation of digits in the marketing field. Underthe assumption that digits have gendered affiliation through cognitive interpretation, thisresearch could take an important place in the naming process of products or brands. Inorder to test the relation between genders and digits, the researchers explore differentgendered dimensions as forms, pronunciation, colors, odd and even digits, etc. Throughqualitative analysis, the researchers try to find a potential relationship between these thetwo main themes: gender and digits. Moreover, in the case where a link is proved, anothertheme will be explained: marketing. Indeed, marketing departments could haveopportunities to target gendered segments through specific numbers. Different researcheshave been done on this topic. However, the researchers still consider the topic like a topicwithout many explorations. In fact, Wilkie and Bodenhausen (2012, 2015) have shown alink between gender and odd versus even numbers with a quantitative research. On thecontrary, this research explores several dimensions through a qualitative exploration.

Women’s entrepreneurship has garnered substantial research interest over the years. The majority of the previous research investigates nascent entrepreneurship rate, while fewer studies investigate entrepreneurial intentions. This study focuses on the relationship between women's entrepreneurial intentions and institutional and personal variables. This study uses data from Global Entrepreneurship Monitor and Social Institutions and Gender Index databases and covers 43 countries. Both factor analysis and linear regression methodologies are employed. The results show that if women possess higher levels of entrepreneurial skills, have lower levels of fear of failure, and greater social networks, they are more likely to have entrepreneurial intentions. However, the more women have access to land, bank loans, and property other than land, the less likely they desire to become entrepreneurs. Also, social services for women's careers and fair entrepreneurial opportunities for women do not have significant impacts on women's entrepreneurial intentions. The theoretical and empirical implications of the results are discussed.

Classification schemes are embedded into everyday life and people often expect that each category is fixed and stands alone from one another (Bowker & Star, 2000). In terms of gender, this is evident when people focus on gender as either male or female. With the increasing presence of people who are openly transgendered in the workplace (Taranowski, 2008), people’s expectations about gender as something ‘that just is’ are questioned. There is an emerging research literature focusing on people who transition in their work environments, but comparatively little on their coworkers. This research focuses on the experiences of the coworkers’ to examine how they interpret the meaning of gender after their colleague transitioned from being a “man” to being a “woman”. By analyzing and interpreting people’s behaviours in the context of a workplace where an individual reconstructs what it means to embody a specific gender identity, the feelings and behaviours that arise when expectations about gender are contradicted can be examined.

Gender equality has been linked to several positive organizational outcomes, including improved overall organizational performance (Dezsö & Ross, 2012). Yet, several fields in Canada, such as technology and engineering, remain male-dominated (Statistics Canada, 2009). Men and women communicate differently, and women's communication styles are sometimes perceived as weak, particularly in male-dominated fields (Carli, 2001). Women's preference for a more communal communication style also manifests in negotiations: women are less likely to negotiate, and when they do negotiate they are less direct and ask for less than men do (Babcock & Laschever, 2003). In order to help women develop the skills they require to advance their status in male-dominated fields, the NSERC Chair for Women in Science and Engineering delivered five negotiation skills training workshops for women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) in Ontario. This thesis evaluates this training program using Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick's (2006) four-level training evaluation model, with questionnaires and qualitative semi-structured follow-up interviews as the main data collection methods. Ultimately, the thesis concluded that CWSE-ON was successful in creating a training program that produced positive results at multiple levels of the Kirkpatrick model. The program was particularly effective at encouraging participants to transfer their new skills back to the workplace and actually change their negotiation behaviours. The implications of these findings for training professionals is explored in depth.

The international community has constructed a dominant narrative to explain the prevalence of gendered violence in the eastern parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo. This dominant narrative posits regional and national antagonisms over conflict minerals as the cause of the Congolese wars that have resulted in the mass rape of Congolese women and girls. Sexual violence against women and girls is portrayed as the most significant form of violence occurring during the Congolese wars. This narrative has had a substantial impact on how the international community has represented, researched and responded to Congolese women and gendered violence. I argue that this narrative is based on problematic conceptions of gender relations rooted in white Western feminism that are incompatible with the local experiences of Congolese women and men. The misconception of gender, gender relations and gender violence has engendered misguided intervention initiatives that have failed to produce meaningful change in the lives of Congolese women. This thesis challenges dominant discourses that inform and impose specific narratives of violence and development agendas. It moves beyond them to propose an alternative analysis of gender and gendered violence. It sheds light on the historical disconnection between international and local perspectives of gender and gender violence in the Congo, arguing that to be effective, international development and humanitarian discourses must be re-examined in light of the local socio-cultural context of eastern Congo.

Includes bibliographical references / Gender identification behaviour has altered drastically within the last decade. Consequently, there has been a noteworthy rise in the amount of androgynous individuals. Gender identity congruity theory posits that individuals display more favourable behavioural outcomes towards brands that possess similar images or identities to their own. Further, contemporary consumers express their identities via their brand choices. Thus, there is a strong implication that introducing an androgynous brand could prove to be a lucrative strategy for marketers. However, gendering brands as either masculine or feminine prevails as the most commonly employed strategy to differentiate a brand and appeal to target audiences. Introducing androgynous brands through a brand extension could prove to be less risky and costly than introducing such a brand as a novel, stand-alone offering. This study examined gender identity's potential influence on the evaluation of an androgynous brand extension. Further, it investigated the potential influence of three key factors on this central relationship: self-concept, product category and the gender of the parent brand. With regard to these moderators, it was posited that first, if the brand's image aligned with one's self-concept the evaluation of the androgynous brand extension would be more favourable. Distinction was made between actual and ideal self-concept. Second, a distinction could be made between functional and symbolic product categories with regards to the influence that gender identity exerted on brand extension evaluation. And third, that the gender of the parent brand would influence the evaluation of the androgynous brand extension. Subsequently, a 2 x 2 factorial design experiment was administered to a quota-controlled non-probability sample of Generation Y consumers. The findings demonstrated that gender identity influences the evaluation of an androgynous brand extension. Furthermore, self-concept moderated this relationship between gender identity and brand extension evaluation. The product category wherein the androgynous brand extension was implemented was evidenced to affect individuals' evaluation of the brand extension, with the one introduced in the symbolic product category receiving more favourable evaluations than the extension introduced in the functional category. The gender of the parent brand exerted no influence on brand extension evaluation, where androgynous brand extensions from both feminine and masculine parent brands were evaluated similarly. Self-concept also exerted an effect on brand extension evaluation, with ideal self-concept exerting a stronger influence than actual self-concept. Lastly, individuals were shown to prefer an androgynous brand to a masculine or feminine one. The principal inference resulting from this research is that marketers should strongly consider introducing an androgynous brand extension should they possess a feminine masculine brand within the clothing, deodorant, or similar products categories. Respondents evaluated the androgynous brand extension favourably across both assessed product categories and regardless of whether the brand extension was introduced from a masculine or feminine parent brand. This was observed for all gender identity segments. It is imperative that managers take gender identity and self-concept into account as these identity aspects exert noteworthy influences on individuals' consumption behaviours. However, managers should take note of the evidenced interaction between gender identity and self-concept. Where individuals perceive there to be a high level of congruence between their self-concept and the androgynous brand extension, individuals with high levels of masculinity should not be targeted as they displayed negative evaluations of the brand extension.