The aim of this study is to examine the extent of women representation in the Councils of the Local Municipalities in the Ngaka Modiri Molema District Municipality in the North West, Province of South Africa. The specific objectives of the study are to investigate the ratio of women representation at both the political and administrative structures of the Ngaka Modiri Molema District Municipality; and examine the factors which inhibit the realization of the women quotas at the District Municipality level. This is an empirical study which utilized both the qualitative and quantitative approaches in the collection and analysis of data. The study identifies the extent of women representation and establishes that there is insufficient women representation in general within local governance in South Africa and in the Ngaka Modiri Molema District Municipality in particular. As a consequence, although the critical legislative and policy has been enacted, presentation of women in local governance still remains a challenge. / Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.(Development Studies) North-West University, Mafikeng Campus, 2011

A group of 188 undergraduate students at the University of Arizona read three vignettes depicting a lawyer's performance at trial. The types of cases presented at trial were rape, sex discrimination, family law (divorce and child support), murder, narcotics, contracts, paternity, prostitution, and insanity. Some of the subjects read a case presented by lawyer John McKay, while others read the same case presented by lawyer Joan McKay. A multivariate analysis of variance revealed no significant differences in the perceived effectiveness and credibility of the trial lawyers, with male and female attorneys rated equally competent. The results were most encouraging for women entering the profession of law, and showed that bright undergraduate college freshmen now perceive women attorneys without sexism and with credibility.

This thesis analyses the process of social construction of women's citizenship rights in Peru under the regime of Alberto Fujimori (1990--2000). It builds on an existing body of literature on democratization and women's movements in Latin America, to develop an understanding of the forms of women's mobilization under new democratic regimes and the impact of the pattern of state-society relations on the advancements and losses in women's citizenship rights. More specifically, it shows that the 1990s witnessed a significant range of advances in women's civil and political rights, while social and economic rights suffered serious reversals. It is argued that the strategies and opportunities of different sectors of the women's movement in Peru, as well as the objectives pursued by the state under Fujimori's rule, combined to generate this evolution of women's citizenship. The forms of mobilization of these different sectors followed the course of their own constraints and choices, while they were also importantly shaped by the broader political framework: a neopopulist model of political rule together with the implementation of a neoliberal program of structural adjustment and liberalization. The influence of a set of international factors also contributed to structuring the political incentives and resources of the different actors involved in the social construction of women's citizenship in Peru. The thesis concludes that the democratic or authoritarian nature of the political regime as such cannot explain the pattern of construction of women's citizenship rights, as witnessed by an increased space of women in the public sphere and advances in civil and political rights under the restricted version of political democracy which characterized most of Fujimori's rule. Contrary to the literature on other Latin American women's movements, which detected a marginalization of women's movements in the political sphere following the transitions to d

The space of appearance emerges from the practice of speech and action in the presence of others. Although it predates the public sphere as a formal construction, it exists in the context of a particular place. With the transformation of the ancien regime and the emergence of the bourgeois public sphere, the meaning of public and private was obscured by the rise of the 'social.' The public realm was transformed from a space of disclosure to a realm defined by the necessities of survival---a process by which speech and action lost much of their former power. In the spectacular relations of the ancien regime, public ritual revolved around the royal bed. Through the analogy of language and architecture, seventeenth-century aristocratic women defined new patterns of social practice. In the convergence of the spectacular relations of the court and the world of letters, a space of appearance arose. At the turn of the century, Salon discourse moved from the daybed to the sofa of Rococo salons. Responding to emerging dichotomies, discourse, architecture and Salon practice took on gendered implications. Its decline as a space of appearance coincided with the emergence of the boudoir. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

Magister Philosophiae - MPhil / This thesis explored the relationship between community adult education and social action. The study investigated how LEAD (Leadership Education for Action and Development), a non-governmental organisation based in the Western Cape, has empowered women to assume leadership and take social action in their communities. / South Africa

This study investigates the women in decision-making positions in the South African Defence Force (SANDF), with a special focus on the Human Resources Division. The Security Sector, a previously male-dominated sector, is investigated. The environment, the enabling qualities, policy formulation, implementation of gender-sensitive policies, monitoring of the implementation of gender policies and opportunities are explored to investigate their impact on decision-making by women. This research report is based on the hypothesis that, despite the appointment of women in key-decision-making positions, their role in these positions does not make an impact on their overall decision-making, as they are not empowered to perform at their best due to various factors that are analysed in this report. Factors that contribute to or impede impactful decision-making by women in decision-making positions in the Security Sector are investigated in this report. This report acknowledges the efforts made by the SANDF to comply with the required legislation for the empowerment of women in decision-making positions. However the environment, stereotypes and other factors pose a challenge to the impact that women potentially have in decision-making positions. The number of women in decision-making positions poses a challenge to the influence that these appointed women can have in their positions.

No description available.

This study is an intensive examination of the role, position, and perceptions of women school board members in Texas as they perceive them. The purpose of this study is to examine the perceptions which women school board members have concerning their role, function, and relationships as they serve on school boards in Texas and to determine if sex prejudice does exist. There were eight basic questions to which the study sought answers. The findings indicate that the perceptions of women board members are not influenced by age, marital status, parental status, educational level, and years of experience. They also revealed that only a small minority of the Texas school board women responding had experienced instances of sex discrimination. Doubt was expressed through the responses of the women as to whether or not superintendents encourage the election of a man as board president. Size of the school district was found to have no effect on the number of women board members serving. It was found to be a factor in whether or not a woman was designated chairman of a board committee as only the larger districts were likely to have women serving in this capacity.

No description available.

Thesis (M.Arch.)--McGill University, 1997. / Includes bibliographical references.