POSTFEMINISM

In the age of all "post" and "meta" things, when there has been more and more debates about the death of traditional categories, feminism makes no exception. Postfeminism has been discussed since the last decade of the twentieth century, when feminism was pronounced dead (by analogy with the many deaths that were pronounced in the period), or else it was noted as suffering from an "identity crisis." The multifaceted nature of the term depends on its uses in literary studies, academia, politics, and popular culture, respectively. It is part of the vocabulary and theories of feminist scholars working in the fields of gender studies, film studies and media criticism. Traditional feminism gives way to postfeminism. That is why the article deals with today's debates about the distinctions that postfeminism makes, declaring either that traditional feminism has failed or, on the contrary, that it has achieved all goals of its struggle and today there is no place for the topic of women's rights. The text also focuses on the links between postfeminism and popular culture, media, cinema, defending the ideology of successful women, of eternally young women. With its frequent emphasis on luxurious lifestyle, everyday pleasures and the small things in life, postfeminism is fully integrated into economic discourses and new market niches in Western societies.

Controversies and opportunities of two development measures for the advancement of women in Uganda: Formal education and Women entrepreneurship

Aim. The aim of the research is to investigate the relationship between formal education and female entrepreneurship in Uganda. This research hopes to contribute to the literature on education and women’s entrepreneurship in this country. Methods. Data is collected from 109 women through semi structured interviews. These are participants from the agribusiness sector and own businesses ranging from market stalls, retail shops to street businesses. Through the iterative process, emerging themes are analysed and discussed. Results. The research finds that formal education programs and macroeconomic policies negatively impact formal education and female entrepreneurship. Macroeconomic policies such as privatisation and the programs of universal formal education do not incentivize students (specifically female ones) to pursue a full formal education, influencing them to leave schools early for necessity entrepreneurship to meet immediate needs. Conclusions. Even though the study indicates that a formal education demonstrates high outcomes in terms of economic growth and development, the education level attained by women entrepreneurs is insufficient to meet true entrepreneurial success. Furthermore, the macroeconomic environment adds to the challenge of successful women entrepreneurship. Originality. Various economic initiatives have been implemented in the quest for gender parity in education and women empowerment in Uganda since its independence. Statistics have demonstrated an increase in women’s education and empowerment through entrepreneurship, however, such data do not necessarily reflect economic development. The results suggest that the relationship between formal education and women entrepreneurship is more complex and nuanced than previously believed.

Women Inclusivity in Entrepreneurial and STEM Related Education—A Case Study

This paper presents an interdisciplinary case study on women's inclusivity in an entrepreneurship class consisting of adults enrolled in interdisciplinary majors, including science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. With women empowerment through entrepreneurship education as a theme, this case study in learning innovations aims to encourage diversity and inclusivity in the classroom in discussing successful women entrepreneurs alongside men. Acceptance of ideas proposed by women in a class setting formed a basis for this study. Furthermore, this case study used the idea to reinforce women's empowerment during in-class lectures subtly. This paper reports findings based on our case study across multiple undergraduate and graduate classes comprising majors and adults from STEM disciplines.

Social media for social change: Developing social media strategies to influence negative cultural assumptions

This research explores how social media can effectively be used by community activists to influence negative cultural assumptions. This study focused on challenging stereotypical attitudes towards Muslim women who wear hijab. Ten participants responded to a pre-campaign survey, which gathered their attitudes towards head coverings, specifically people in baseball caps (non-religious headgear) and hijabs (Muslim headscarf). Participants then followed a two- week social media campaign, developed with the Canadian Council of Muslim Women (Toronto chapter), that addressed common assumptions about women in hijab, and answered a post-campaign survey to assess the campaign’s impact. Seven participants said the campaign successfully challenged negative stereotypes about women who wear hijab, and five said the campaign positively influenced their ideas about this cultural group. Participants said the profiles of successful women who wear hijab were most effective, which seems to indicate that positive stories may have more impact in creating social change.

Social media for social change: Developing social media strategies to influence negative cultural assumptions

This research explores how social media can effectively be used by community activists to influence negative cultural assumptions. This study focused on challenging stereotypical attitudes towards Muslim women who wear hijab. Ten participants responded to a pre-campaign survey, which gathered their attitudes towards head coverings, specifically people in baseball caps (non-religious headgear) and hijabs (Muslim headscarf). Participants then followed a two- week social media campaign, developed with the Canadian Council of Muslim Women (Toronto chapter), that addressed common assumptions about women in hijab, and answered a post-campaign survey to assess the campaign’s impact. Seven participants said the campaign successfully challenged negative stereotypes about women who wear hijab, and five said the campaign positively influenced their ideas about this cultural group. Participants said the profiles of successful women who wear hijab were most effective, which seems to indicate that positive stories may have more impact in creating social change.

ENGIE Promoting gender balance in the area of earth science and engineering

<p>In recent years, several documents have been published in Europe on the shortage of skilled employees in key scientific professions. Geosciences, especially the raw materials and mining engineering sectors are no exception. One possible factor that contributes to this phenomenon is that the overall gender pattern in geosciences is imbalanced. It is characterised, more or less, by men in almost all parts of the business clusters, in society and professional communities as well as in education, research & innovation and in policy & decision making. The project ENGIE aims to improve the situation by turning the interest of young girls to study geosciences and geo-engineering with the help of a stakeholder collaboration network implementing a set of concrete actions in more than 20 EU countries.</p><p>The project is funded by EIT RawMaterials and started in January 2020 and, despite the challenges caused by COVID-19, it has achieved some significant results. First and foremost, the recent status of geo-education and the interest of young girls for geosciences was assessed via a concise survey targeting specifically secondary school students and teachers. This survey also aimed to identify any possible bottlenecks dissuading young girls to embark on a geoscientific profession. In addition to a comprehensive analysis and national workshops in 20 countries, an international online event was organised with the participation of successful women – all being role models within the global geoscientific and engineering community – in order to better understand the motivation that influenced their career choices, as well as obstacles that they were facing pursuing their career choices.</p><p>Regarding the actions focused on the target group, we organised an online video contest where girls were asked to film what they think geoscientists do at work. Additionally, some geo-activities linked to Researchers' Night events were held throughout Europe during autumn 2020. However, most of the ENGIE actions targeting young girls are planned to be carried out in 2021 and 2022 and should include the following: activities organised at University Open Days and Girls’ Day side events, family science events and school science clubs, fieldtrips, mine visits, mentoring programmes, Researchers’ Nights geoscience events, webinars, photo contest for girls, methodology course for science teachers and last but not least publishing the ENGIE Magazine. The current health crisis will, however, undoubtedly have an effect on the nature and or the schedule of the implementation of these actions as many of them might need to be moved to the online spheres or might be delayed by a few months.</p><p>The implementation of these actions at the national level will serve as the basis for the development of a long-term EU-level initiative, bringing together a stakeholder network focused on the continuous motivation of girls to embark on geoscientific careers.</p><p>Thus, the prolongation of project activities, supported by a sustainability plan, is envisaged. It is expected that future employers will be willing to invest in maintaining the ENGIE network, a 'network that works’ and thus help create a strong and more gender-balanced workforce in Europe.</p>

Successful Women Leaders

This chapter examines research from the lens of women who are in mid-level and senior-level positions in their organizations. Using Mezirow's framework for transformational learning, these inspiring women leaders shared perceptions of organizational practices, work-family interface, institutional culture, issues of equity and diversity, institutional challenges, and personal mastery; they also defined their actions that contributed to their successes as well as the successes of the organizations they identified with. Additionally, within this chapter, the author compares and contrasts the barriers that limit women's ability to aspire to top leadership positions and examine the roles of their primary and secondary supports (i.e., sponsors, family, mentors, work teams, and peer networks).

Policy Approaches to Promote Women Entrepreneurship in India

Women are traditionally regarded as homemakers and are restricted to household affairs and family customs. At the same time, the Indian society is a male-dominated one in the sociological setup, and the women are considered weak and dependent. The major problems of women's entrepreneurship development in India are poor degree of financial freedom for rural women, lack of direct ownership of the property, low risk bearing ability, and lack of contact with successful women entrepreneurs. Through their diligent work, determination, integrity, and dedication, these ambitious women are making a reputation for themselves and gained wealth. The primary objective of this chapter is to discuss the status and problems along with the solutions of women entrepreneurs in India. It also includes the significance of women's entrepreneurship and analyzes the policies of the Indian government for women in urban and rural areas. It will initiate a dialogue with policymakers on how to foster enhanced innovation in women-owned enterprises in India.