In recent times, the incidence of single-parent families has increased rapidly with the principle cause being the rising divorce rate. The vast majority of these single-parent families are headed by women and a predominantly common factor in these households is the extent to which they are financially impoverished after divorce. This situation has given rise to the phenomenon known as the feminisation of poverty, where women are seen to make up the majority of the poor. This study examines the many varied factors contributing to this phenomenon and discusses some of the general solutions offered world-wide to address these poverty-stricken households. An assessment is then made of those legal solutions most appropriate for South Africa / Law / LL.M.

Text in English / In Zimbabwe, women are concentrated in rural areas where there are limited resources. For human development to be achieved, the welfare of women needs to be taken into consideration. Some NGOs operating in the country aim at advancing and improving the status of women and promote gender equality through socio-economic empowerment programmes. This study aimed at determining the impact of three selected local NGO’s programmes at grassroots level. The study revealed that progress has been made in transforming the general livelihoods of the women who are members of these organisations at grassroots level but there are various issues which these NGO’s have to consider so as to improve their effectiveness. / Development Studies / M.A. (Development Studies)

時至今日女性教育程度提高，但女性在勞動力市場獲得的職位並沒有因此提升，大部分的女性仍然傾向集中在以女性居多的劣勢職業，並且薪資明顯低於男性居多的職業。相關研究提醒我們注意接觸工作出缺訊息的管道在進入勞動力市場前就已經出現性別化的現象，男女性的社會網絡並不相同，並且不同性別的求職者傾向動員不同性別的中介人。但究竟是原因使得女性求職者持續進入待遇較差的女性主導職業？Lin(1999)認為男性之所以比女性在勞動力市場的職業獲得更具有優勢，是因為女性求職者存在資本欠缺與回報欠缺，所以只能動員到較劣勢的女性中介人、獲得較差的工作。但從資料分析顯示，女性求職者並不存在資本欠缺，女性求職者擁有的社會資本量並不比男性求職者少，真正導致女性承受回報欠缺的原因在於兩點勞動力市場對於女性的貶值與性別化社會資本的差異。由於勞動力市場對女性求職者本身的歧視，即使女性求職者動員到擁有較多資源的男性中介人也無法有效的脫離求職劣勢。其次，女性求職者透過性別化社會資本尋職而承受回報欠缺的因素在於女性化可觸及社會資本，女性化可觸及社會資本直透過接與間接的效果同時限制女性求職者獲得較好的、女性比例較低職業。但女性化可觸及社會資本對男性求職者只能產生間接影響，且男性求職者擁有的女性化可觸及社會資本比女性求職者來得少很多，女性化可觸及社會資本能發揮的效果並不多。 總結來說，對於女性求職者而言，回報欠缺主要來自於性別化可觸及社會資本以及雇主對女性能力的貶值、統計歧視等，即使接觸到男性中介人也無助於女性跳脫求職劣勢。對於男性而言則是性別化可動員社會資本才是主要直接影響獲得職業女性比例的關鍵因素。

During the course of this study we have been inspired by Carin Holmbergs essay ’It’s Called Love’ (1993). Our purpose with this study has been to examine how gender works among young Swedish heterosexual couples without children. This was done by examining how couples distribute housework among themselves, with certain focus on how class interacts with gender. We asked three questions: 1). How is gender made in relation to expected characteristics of how women and men should be? 2). How is gender made with distribution of household work within the couples? 3). In what way does class play a role in distribution of domestic work? Qualitative method was used in order to answer our purpose and questions. We interviewed ten couples, five whom had a university degree and five whom had secondary education. Our theoretical framework consists of the perspective of symbolic interactionism, Yvonne Hirdman's theory of the gender system, asymmetric role-taking and class. The analysis of our empirical material showed that the individuals within the couples attribute themselves and each other with properties that are in line with the traditional gender distribution in society, regardless of which class the couples belong to. When it came to all housework activities women were initiators. The distribution of household work took place according to what the men thought was interesting, regardless of class. Class, on the other hand, plays a role in the distribution of domestic work that took place on the basis of what was natural or not. Couples with upper secondary education distribute household work based on what is natural for the sexes in relation to the traditional gender roles, while those with an academic degree carry out household work that is not tied to the traditional gender roles to a greater extent. We found that women's and men's genders contribute to the maintenance and reproduction of the woman as subordinate and the man as superior, which contributes to an uneven distribution of labour in the home where the woman still has the main responsibility for the care work.

Text in English / In Zimbabwe, women are concentrated in rural areas where there are limited resources. For human development to be achieved, the welfare of women needs to be taken into consideration. Some NGOs operating in the country aim at advancing and improving the status of women and promote gender equality through socio-economic empowerment programmes. This study aimed at determining the impact of three selected local NGO’s programmes at grassroots level. The study revealed that progress has been made in transforming the general livelihoods of the women who are members of these organisations at grassroots level but there are various issues which these NGO’s have to consider so as to improve their effectiveness. / Development Studies / M. A. (Development Studies)

La région MENA est aujourd’hui, au centre d’ambitieux enjeux économiques essentiellement en matière d’intégration régionale et de transformation structurelle. Toutefois, les Etats Arabes de cette région ont présenté des défaillances et une vulnérabilité importante dans le système économique et productif au lendemain des mouvements et des bouleversements politiques, économiques, sociales et populaires de très grande ampleur. Ces chocs apportent un lot de nouveaux défis à relever. L’objectif principal de cette thèse est d’étudier les nouvelles dynamiques du processus de transformation structurelle afin de proposer de nouvelles trajectoires de développement pour ces pays. Dans cette optique, nous abordons les questions liées aux déterminants et aux effets spatiaux de ce processus, à la relation entre d’une part la complexité économique et la pollution de l’air, et d’autre part, la complexité économique et les inégalités de genre en éducation. Pour cela, nous considérons un panel dynamique de 133 pays qui couvre une période longue et récente (1984 à 2014). En utilisant des données récentes et en intégrant des paramètres jusque-là peu utilisés, nous mettons en évidence des caractéristiques particulières du processus de complexification des systèmes productifs. D’un point de vue général, les résultats révèlent que les performances en matière de complexification des systèmes productifs sont très hétérogènes au sein des pays MENA et que leurs déterminants dépendent des caractéristiques des économies. Les fortes disparités observées s’expliquent, au-delà de l’effet significatif du revenu par habitant, par une carence dans le système institutionnel, éducatif en particulier dans l’accès à l’innovation, mais aussi à l’abondance des ressources naturelles ou encore à l’attractivité des investissements directs étrangers. Au-delà des caractéristiques individuelles des économies, l’analyse spatiale montre que des facteurs géographiques tels que le taux d’urbanisation, les accords commerciaux, et la localisation spatiale jouent un rôle très important dans le processus de transformation structurelle. Nous apportons également, grâce aux outils tirés de la mécanique classique, des réponses aux limites des modèles économiques traditionnels qui peinent à démontrer l’existence d’un processus d’accélération du développement économique. / MENA countries is today, at the center of ambitious economic stakes mainly in regional integration and structural transformation. However, the Arab States of this region have suffered great shortcomings and vulnerability in the economic and productive system in the aftermath of massive political, economic, social and popular upheavals and upheavals. These shocks present a number of new challenges. The main objective of this thesis is to study the new dynamics of the structural transformation process in order to propose new development trajectories for these countries. In this context, we address issues related to the spatial determinants and effects of this process, the relationship between economic complexity and air pollution on the one hand, and economic complexity and inequalities on the other education. For this, we consider a dynamic panel of 133 countries covering an important and recent period (1984 to 2014). Using recent data and integrating previously little used parameters, we highlight particular characteristics of the process of complexification of productive systems. From a general point of view, the results reveal that the productivity performance of productive systems is very heterogeneous within MENA countries and that their determinants depend on the characteristics of the economies. The large disparities observed are explained, beyond the significant effect of per capita income, by a deficiency in the institutional system, particularly in terms of access to innovation, but also to the abundance of natural resources or the attractiveness of foreign direct investment. Beyond the individual characteristics of economies, spatial analysis shows that geographical factors such as urbanization rate, trade agreements, but especially spatial location play a very important role in the process of structural transformation.We also bring, thanks to the tools derived from classical mechanics, answers to the limits of traditional economic models which are difficult to demonstrate the existence of a process of accelerating economic development.

Nors sportininkių skaičius nuolat auga, sportas vis dar yra suvokiamas kaip vyrams aktuali veikla, todėl natūralu, kad moterys, norėdamos sulaukti pripažinimo ir populiarumo, susiduria su eile apribojimų. Šio darbo tikslas yra išsiaiškinti, ar egzistuoja lyčių nelygybė sporte ir pastarosios įtaką kolektyvinio tapatumo formavimuisi komandinėje sporto šakoje, kaip būdui, siekiant sugriauti lytiškumu (sexism) paremtas struktūras. Teorinėje darbo dalyje remiantis socialinio pripažinimo, lyties kaip struktūros, galios sampratomis bei sportininkių/ sportininkų vaizdavimo ypatumais žiniasklaidoje parodoma, kad sportas dar tebėra vyrų dominavimo sritis. Aptariama teisinė bazė (Tarptautinių „Moterų ir sporto“ konferencijų principai, Title IX (JAV)), reglamentuojanti moterų teises sporte. Apžvelgiamos A.Melucci, V.Taylor ir N.Whittier kolektyvinio tapatumo sampratos leidžia suvokti, kaip grupė apibrėžia, kas ji yra, kaip konstruoja grupės sąmonę, bei kaip mobilizuojasi kovai prieš nusistovėjusį lyčių status quo. Tuo pačiu, pristatomas kolektyvinio tapatumo ryšys su lauko, socialinio pripažinimo sampratomis. Aptariamos sąlygos, sukeliančios kolektyvinio veiksmo atsiradimą. Pristatomas C.F. Pelak atliktas lyčių nelygybės ledo ritulyje tyrimas. Empirinės darbo dalies pagrindą sudaro atvejo – VU merginų krepšinio komanda – analizė, kurioje siekiama pažiūrėti, ar moteriškos lyties atstovės susiduria su lyčių nelygybė sporte ir kokia forma ji reiškiasi. Tuo pačiu, C.F.Pelak merginų ledo... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Although the number of sportswomen grows, however the sport is conceptualized as exclusively male domain. For this reason, women, who want to be sport leaders have to confront with a lot of boundaries. The aim of this work is to find out whether gender inequality exists in sport and if it does, to show the role that collective identity plays in contesting sexism structures in team sports. According to conceptions of social recognition, gender as a social structure, power and presentation of sportsmen/sportswomen in media, the theoretical part of this work reveals that the sport is not just the male domain. In this part is described the legal basis (the principles of international “Women and sports” conferences Title IX (USA)) that regulates women‘s rights in sports. A.Melucci, V.Taylor and N.Whittier collective identity concepts allow us to examine the processe of how groups define who they are, contruct the group consciousness and mobilize against perceived injustices. Here are also discussed the circumstances that cause the rise of collective action. The research of gender differences in ice hockey by C.F. Pelak is presented. The empirical base of this work is a case study – VU women‘s basketball team – analysis, which helps to find out whether female confront gender inequality in sports and if they do, how it shows. The same indicators were adapted in making the interviews with the VU basketball players as in C.F.Pelak female ice hockey players research, in order to... [to full text]

The reasons why African women become engaged in sex work have received little attention in academic research. While it is largely acknowledged that there exists a connection between entering the sex trade and poverty, not all women who are poor enter sex work. Through the use of life histories with 21 women between the ages of 18 and 42, this thesis explores the combination of factors that lead women and girls to become commercial sex workers in Nairobi, Kenya. This method provides a detailed look at initiation into sex work as it occurs over the life course for women and girls in this context. Additionally, this thesis examines how structural violence impinges on their lives, thereby increasing vulnerability to engagement in sex work. Examining the larger socio-political and economic contexts illustrates how issues such as HIV/AIDS, migrant labour, changing gender roles, the erosion of existing familial structures and gender inequities structure risk for suffering for women. These issues result in many girls losing caregiver support by being orphaned, while additionally, women are burdened with providing total economic and social support for the family in a society that has gendered economic opportunities. Both girls and women are left with few options other than the sex trade to survive.

The reasons why African women become engaged in sex work have received little attention in academic research. While it is largely acknowledged that there exists a connection between entering the sex trade and poverty, not all women who are poor enter sex work. Through the use of life histories with 21 women between the ages of 18 and 42, this thesis explores the combination of factors that lead women and girls to become commercial sex workers in Nairobi, Kenya. This method provides a detailed look at initiation into sex work as it occurs over the life course for women and girls in this context. Additionally, this thesis examines how structural violence impinges on their lives, thereby increasing vulnerability to engagement in sex work. Examining the larger socio-political and economic contexts illustrates how issues such as HIV/AIDS, migrant labour, changing gender roles, the erosion of existing familial structures and gender inequities structure risk for suffering for women. These issues result in many girls losing caregiver support by being orphaned, while additionally, women are burdened with providing total economic and social support for the family in a society that has gendered economic opportunities. Both girls and women are left with few options other than the sex trade to survive.

In recent times, the incidence of single-parent families has increased rapidly with the principle cause being the rising divorce rate. The vast majority of these single-parent families are headed by women and a predominantly common factor in these households is the extent to which they are financially impoverished after divorce. This situation has given rise to the phenomenon known as the feminisation of poverty, where women are seen to make up the majority of the poor. This study examines the many varied factors contributing to this phenomenon and discusses some of the general solutions offered world-wide to address these poverty-stricken households. An assessment is then made of those legal solutions most appropriate for South Africa / Law / LL.M.