This thesis is an analysis of the current situation of women in contemporary France. It analyzes the current situation of French women in education, the work force, politics, and French society, with the intent of uncovering the gender inequalities French women encounter in contemporary France.

Are mobile phones the best vehicle for reducing gender inequality in the developing world? ICT experts champion the use of mobile phones to improve women’s lives, and various stakeholders have invested millions of dollars to launch mobile phone programs for women. Yet, given high female illiteracy rates, patriarchal societies, and other structural and cultural barriers in developing countries, many scholars contend that limited access to ICTs can perpetuate gender inequality. Rooted in the theory that women’s empowerment and equality are inseparable and necessary components for the realization of sustainable economic and social development, this paper aims to determine if stakeholders are jumping on the mobile phone bandwagon too soon by using a multivariate regression of cross national data to demonstrate whether or not mobile phones fall short of advancing women at the same rate that men develop.

In this thesis, the results of a survey regarding grade progression between secondary and upper secondary school in a municipality in the north of Sweden serve as the starting point for a study of the experiences and expectations of a number of 16 year old girls who are in the first year of upper secondary school. The study is performed by means of focus group interviews with female pupils from the three largest upper secondary schools in said municipality in an attempt to gauge their experiences of grades, grade assessment, teacher practices and perceived differences in how boys and girls are treated. The results show that most of the girls are disappointed with upper secondary school so far. Many of them feel that secondary school was both more fun and more rewarding in a sense of learning. Their appreciation of how this more rewarding atmosphere affected their grades differed between the various groups. One group considered lower demands in upper secondary school to be a good thing since it made good grades easy to achieve, whereas one of the other two groups considered the lower demands to be demotivating at best.

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the effects of gender inequality on GDP and GDP per capita. A cross sectional analysis of 177 countries over the time period 1998 to 2008 is undertaken with the use of linear regressions. There are several different factors that contribute to the gender inequality within a country and several ways to measure that disparity. The most well known measurement is the Gender-related Development Index and the components within this composite index have been studied thoroughly, although the index as a whole has not. This thesis then contributes with an overall view of how the gender inequality is important for the GDP and GDP per capita. The findings illustrate how significant equality between the genders is for the economy, irrespective of the human development level within the countries. The implication of this is that gender equality is important for the GDP and GDP per capita, which is in accordance with the theories. One large issue is that there is no way of confirming the way of causality between gender equality and GDP or GDP per capita.

The aim of this study is to examine potential gender inequality in authority positions in the Swedish labour market. In addition, this thesis intends to explore whether there is a difference in gender inequality between the public and the private sector. The results show that women have poorer advancement opportunities compared to men. Men have significantly higher probabilities of holding managerial positions and this is valid in both sectors of the Swedish economy. The outcome cannot be explained by family-related factors, or by gender differences in work motivation. Moreover, despite public sector bureaucracy implying more extensive regulations with the intent to equalize recruitments and promotions on factors such as gender and ethnicity; women have greater chances of holding managerial positions in the private sector compared to the public sector. For men, the sector of employment is not related to differences in workplace authority. Women’s greater disadvantage in the public sector compared to the private is primarily due to the large concentration of female-dominated occupations in the former sector, which limit career opportunities substantially for women. In fact, when controlling for the share of women working in the profession there is no longer a significant advantage in terms of workplace authority for women in the private sector compared to the public sector. This thesis argues that public sector formalized regulations, as regards recruitment and promotion, are not able to attenuate the negative effects for women due to the substantial share of female-dominated occupations within this sector.

Gender equality and women empowerment are two of the most up-to-date concerns on the international arena today. Several methods are being adopted with the aim to allow women’s equal social, economic and political participation. Entrepreneurship has been highlighted as a useful tool to foster women’s empowerment and hence the promotion of entrepreneurship has become a prominent approach in modern development efforts.   In Uganda, women constitute the majority of the informal labour force and are widely engaged in micro-business activities. Thus, this ethnographically inspired research aimed to assess if entrepreneurship can contribute to increased social power among female entrepreneurs in urban and suburban Kampala, Uganda. To do this, John Friedmann’s (Dis)empowerment model has been used as the main frame of interpretation. To fit into the context of women, it has been complemented with a gender analysis in order to identify the structural inequalities that may constrain the empowering impact of entrepreneurship.   This research was carried out as a field study in Kampala City and in three Kampala suburbs: Kyaliwajjala, Kireka and Kinawataka. It was financed by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) and was conducted during nine weeks in September-November 2014. In total, 45 interviews were carried out with local business women as well as with local representatives and stakeholders in women entrepreneurship and women empowerment.   The conclusions drawn from this study is that entrepreneurship has contributed to increased social power among the women participating in this research, but that traditional gender norms and structures can constrain the empowering process. Greater economic responsibilities have not eased women’s obligations in the domestic sphere and thus created a double burden.

[pt] Esse artigo estuda o efeito de um choque grande e plausivelmente exógeno induzido pelo comércio sobre a desigualdade de gênero no mercado de trabalho. Nos anos 1990, o governo brasileiro decidiu reduzir as tarifas de importação, induzindo uma liberalização comercial grande e de uma vez por todas, com efeitos heterogêneos entre as economias locais. Usando Censos Decenais brasileiros, eu estimo efeitos de médio (1991-2000) e longo (1991-2010) prazos desse choque sobre os resultados do mercado de trabalho separadamente por gênero e suas consequências para a desigualdade de gênero. Eu forneço um modelo conceitual de segregação ocupacional para racionalizar os resultados. Finalmente, também examino potenciais implicações desse choque para o mercado de casamentos e a acumulação de capital humano dos indivíduos. Os resultados apontam que, no médio prazo, em regiões mais afetadas, houve um aumento no diferencial salarial por gênero e as mulheres enfrentaram proporcionalmente maior aumento no não-emprego em comparação com os homens. No longo prazo, as perdas de emprego permaneceram no setor de bens comercializáveis, mas na economia como um todo elas desapareceram, enquanto o diferencial salarial entre homens e mulheres diminuiu no setor de não comercializáveis. Além disso, tanto no médio como no longo prazo, houve um aumento na acumulação de capital humano, ao mesmo tempo em que a parcela de mulheres casadas e que têm filhos diminuiu. À luz do modelo, esses resultados enfatizam a importância de se prestar atenção não só à desigualdade salarial, mas também à distribuição desigual dos gêneros entre as ocupações. / [en] This paper studies the effect of a large and plausibly exogenous tradeinduced shock on gender inequality in the labor market. In the 1990 s, Brazilian government decided to reduce import tariffs, inducing a large, once and for all trade liberalization, with heterogeneous effects across local economies. Using Brazilian Decennial Censuses, I estimate medium (1991-2000) and long (1991-2010) term effects of this shock to labor market outcomes separately by gender and its consequences for gender inequality. I provide a conceptual model of occupational segregation to rationalize the results. Finally, I also examine potential implications of this shock to the marriage market and individuals human capital accumulation. Results point that, in the medium run, in harder hit regions there was an increase in the gender wage gap and women proportionally faced higher increase in nonemployment compared to men. In the long run, the losses in employment in the tradable sector remained, but in the as a whole economy they disappeared, while the gender wage gap in non-tradables decreased. Besides that, both in the medium and long run, there was an increase in human capital accumulation, at the same that the share of women that are married and have children decreased. In light of the model, these findings emphasize the importance of paying attention not only to the wage inequality, but also to the unequal distribution of genders between occupations.

O objetivo desta pesquisa é analisar o papel do gênero no aprendizado escolar no Brasil, enfatizando desigualdades e o efeito de pares. Essas questões foram analisadas em cinco capítulos, incluindo a introdução e as considerações finais. Inicia-se com uma breve descrição sobre a desigualdade de gênero em termos de aprendizado de matemática e português no Brasil considerando, principalmente, os alunos de 5º e 9º ano. Observa-se que os meninos tendem a se sair melhor em matemática que as meninas, uma relação que se inverte para português e, ainda, que estas desigualdades aumentam nos anos escolares mais avançados. O segundo capítulo visa investigar os fatores associados a estas diferenças, explorando características dos alunos, professores e escolas através de dois métodos diferentes de decomposição, uma que explora a diferença de média dos resultados e outra que analisa toda a distribuição de notas. Os resultados indicam que apesar de meninos e meninas possuírem características de contexto socioeconômico e familiares parecidas, o principal fator contribuinte para as diferenças de aprendizado está no retorno destas características em termos de nota para cada um dos dois gêneros, o que, portanto, reduz o papel do professor e da escola na diminuição destas desigualdades. O terceiro capítulo trata do efeito de pares no aprendizado do 5º ano das escolas públicas brasileiras. Ele investiga, de maneira causal, a relação entre a proporção de meninas na escola e o aprendizado. Identifica-se uma relação positiva entre notas e a proporção de meninas em português e, principalmente, em matemática, uma disciplina cujas meninas tendem a se sair piores do que os meninos. Isto, portanto, chama atenção para o tópico do quarto capítulo, que busca elucidar mecanismos por trás desta influência. Verifica-se, portanto, que o efeito positivo das meninas ocorre via comportamento, o que se reflete em menor violência, maior expectativa dos professores sobre o futuro escolar dos alunos e facilita o andamento da classe. Diante disso, em termos de políticas públicas, o trabalho chama atenção para o gênero como fator importante na alocação de alunos e professores dentro da escola. Assim, levar os resultados aqui apresentados em consideração na formulação e execução de políticas pode resultar em medidas efetivas e de baixo custo voltadas para o aumento do aprendizado escolar. / The aim of this research is to analyze the role of gender on scholastic achievement in Brazil, emphasizing inequalities and peer effects. These issues are analyzed in five chapters, including the introduction and the concluding remarks. We start by briefly describing gender inequality in terms of math and literacy achievements in Brazil, focusing, mainly, on 5th and 9th grade students. We observe that boys tend to outperform girls in math, a relation that reverses in literacy and, furthermore, that these inequalities increase in more advanced schooling years. The second chapter aims to investigate the factors associated with these differences, exploring students’, teachers’ and schools characteristics in two different types of decomposition methods, one that explores differences in mean achievement and another that assesses the entire test score distribution. The results indicate that despite boys and girls having similar family and socioeconomic characteristics, the main contributor towards the learning differences is the return of these characteristics in terms of test scores for each of the two genders, which, therefore, reduces the role of teachers’ and schools in diminishing these inequalities. The third chapter deals with peer effects in 5th grade Brazilian public schools. It investigates the casual relationship between the proportion of girls at school and learning. We identify a positive relation between test scores and the proportion of girls in literacy and, mainly, in math, a subject that girls tend to be outscored by boys. This, in fact, draws attention to the fourth chapter, which seeks to elucidate the mechanisms behind this influence. We verify that the benefits of having a greater proportion of girls are mainly through improvements in student behavior, which reflects in less violence, greater teacher expectations over the student’s academic future, and facilitates classroom progress. In terms of public policies, this research draws attention to gender as an important factor in the allocation of students and teachers within schools. Therefore, the consideration of our findings in the formulation and execution of policies can result in effective and low cost measures aimed at increasing scholastic achievement.

Im vorliegenden Artikel werden die zentralen Ergebnisse der Studie zur Vermögensverteilung zwischen Frauen und Männern auf Personenebene in Österreich vorgestellt. Es wurden bereits zahlreiche Studien zu den Themen der Einkommensverteilung und dem geschlechtsspezifischen Lohnunterschied publiziert, die Analyse von Vermögensunterschieden zwischen Geschlechtern stand bisher allerdings nicht im Zentrum der Betrachtung. Dabei ist gerade Vermögen ein wesentlich umfassenderes Maß für den Wohlstand eines Haushalts bzw. Individuums. Die Untersuchung der geschlechtsspezifischen Vermögenslücke erfolgt im Rahmen der Studie zum ersten Mal für Österreich anhand von Individualdaten aus dem "Household Finance and Consumption Survey" (HFCS) 2014. Die Analyseergebnisse zeigen, dass das Nettovermögen innerhalb von Paarhaushalten ungleich verteilt ist und eine geschlechtsspezifische Vermögensdifferenz zulasten der Frauen existiert. In österreichischen Paarhaushalten kann im Durchschnitt ein Gender Wealth Gap in Höhe von 58.417 A ermittelt werden. Frauen in Paarhaushalten besitzen demnach um 28% weniger Vermögen als Männer. Dieser Artikel analysiert des Weiteren Unterschiede hinsichtlich Nettovermögen von Frauen und Männern in Paar- und Single-Haushalten anhand von Haushaltsstruktur und Entscheidungsmacht.

O objetivo desta pesquisa é analisar o papel do gênero no aprendizado escolar no Brasil, enfatizando desigualdades e o efeito de pares. Essas questões foram analisadas em cinco capítulos, incluindo a introdução e as considerações finais. Inicia-se com uma breve descrição sobre a desigualdade de gênero em termos de aprendizado de matemática e português no Brasil considerando, principalmente, os alunos de 5º e 9º ano. Observa-se que os meninos tendem a se sair melhor em matemática que as meninas, uma relação que se inverte para português e, ainda, que estas desigualdades aumentam nos anos escolares mais avançados. O segundo capítulo visa investigar os fatores associados a estas diferenças, explorando características dos alunos, professores e escolas através de dois métodos diferentes de decomposição, uma que explora a diferença de média dos resultados e outra que analisa toda a distribuição de notas. Os resultados indicam que apesar de meninos e meninas possuírem características de contexto socioeconômico e familiares parecidas, o principal fator contribuinte para as diferenças de aprendizado está no retorno destas características em termos de nota para cada um dos dois gêneros, o que, portanto, reduz o papel do professor e da escola na diminuição destas desigualdades. O terceiro capítulo trata do efeito de pares no aprendizado do 5º ano das escolas públicas brasileiras. Ele investiga, de maneira causal, a relação entre a proporção de meninas na escola e o aprendizado. Identifica-se uma relação positiva entre notas e a proporção de meninas em português e, principalmente, em matemática, uma disciplina cujas meninas tendem a se sair piores do que os meninos. Isto, portanto, chama atenção para o tópico do quarto capítulo, que busca elucidar mecanismos por trás desta influência. Verifica-se, portanto, que o efeito positivo das meninas ocorre via comportamento, o que se reflete em menor violência, maior expectativa dos professores sobre o futuro escolar dos alunos e facilita o andamento da classe. Diante disso, em termos de políticas públicas, o trabalho chama atenção para o gênero como fator importante na alocação de alunos e professores dentro da escola. Assim, levar os resultados aqui apresentados em consideração na formulação e execução de políticas pode resultar em medidas efetivas e de baixo custo voltadas para o aumento do aprendizado escolar. / The aim of this research is to analyze the role of gender on scholastic achievement in Brazil, emphasizing inequalities and peer effects. These issues are analyzed in five chapters, including the introduction and the concluding remarks. We start by briefly describing gender inequality in terms of math and literacy achievements in Brazil, focusing, mainly, on 5th and 9th grade students. We observe that boys tend to outperform girls in math, a relation that reverses in literacy and, furthermore, that these inequalities increase in more advanced schooling years. The second chapter aims to investigate the factors associated with these differences, exploring students’, teachers’ and schools characteristics in two different types of decomposition methods, one that explores differences in mean achievement and another that assesses the entire test score distribution. The results indicate that despite boys and girls having similar family and socioeconomic characteristics, the main contributor towards the learning differences is the return of these characteristics in terms of test scores for each of the two genders, which, therefore, reduces the role of teachers’ and schools in diminishing these inequalities. The third chapter deals with peer effects in 5th grade Brazilian public schools. It investigates the casual relationship between the proportion of girls at school and learning. We identify a positive relation between test scores and the proportion of girls in literacy and, mainly, in math, a subject that girls tend to be outscored by boys. This, in fact, draws attention to the fourth chapter, which seeks to elucidate the mechanisms behind this influence. We verify that the benefits of having a greater proportion of girls are mainly through improvements in student behavior, which reflects in less violence, greater teacher expectations over the student’s academic future, and facilitates classroom progress. In terms of public policies, this research draws attention to gender as an important factor in the allocation of students and teachers within schools. Therefore, the consideration of our findings in the formulation and execution of policies can result in effective and low cost measures aimed at increasing scholastic achievement.