Genderwise
From Policy to practice: Peer Review Exchange workshops and case studies
One of the basic aims of this project is to undertake three Peer Review and development Workshops to promote the exchange of practices between the transnational partners. Each workshop brought together a delegation of participants from the Local Development Group that each partner had established at the outset of the project. These LDGs are cross sectoral, and connect into regional, national and local actors and ensure involvement of participants who would bring direct experience into the exchange process. National perspectives as well as specific case studies are therefore outlined in this chapter.
First Peer Review Exchange workshop, Barcelona, 17-21 May 2006
Second Peer Review Exchange workshop, Enna, 5-8 October 2006
Third Peer Review Exchange workshop, Brussels, 30 November - 1 December 2006
First Peer Review Exchange workshop, Barcelona , 17-20 May 2006
The First Transnational Peer Review Workshop of the project took place in Barcelona from 17-20 May 2006. The specific focus theme of the workshop was Socialisation and Education. This section aims at describing the case studies presented by several project partners based on different perspectives at European, national and local level.
The Hungarian case
The presentation of the Hungarian perspective was divided into two parts. The first part dealt with the issue of socialisation. It stressed an idiosyncrasy in Hungary in which the current population follows a modern behaviour pattern yet still holds on to traditional attitudes and values. This trend can be summarized with the slogan "from cosmopolitan woman to maternity" and explains how socialisation is a mechanism through which familism is reproduced from generation to generation. The example of the media is striking: the results of a study comparing the editions of a Hungarian weekly dating from 1970 and 1990 to analyse the evolution of the sexist content showed that the scales were negative insofar as throughout the twenty years the stigmatised image of working women and feminism had worsened. Again, a recently-administered survey aimed at measuring the degree of trust inspired by a variety of night-time television newscasters showed that, unlike the previous case, this one offered a more positive outlook in favour of women, as the viewers expressed greater confidence in the female newscasters than the male ones. In this way, public opinion spoke out against the television station's sexist policy.
The second part analyzed the case of education as an agent for transmitting and reproducing these traditional values present in the attitude of modern-day Hungarian society. The analysis of political discourse and the labour situation within academia served to illustrate the lack of gender sensitivity in Hungarian educational policies. The first issue spotlighted was the high politicisation of education and the Hungarian political class's lack of interest in including the gender perspective. In terms of academia in Hungary, examples included the shortcomings in teacher training and centres devoted to women's studies and gender sensitivity. The main obstacle to overcoming these shortcomings is the strict hierarchy in the educational structure, which has a twofold consequence: women are not given power, and any individual initiative is inadequate. The two case studies presented - the gender perspective in history and equal opportunities at the Miskolc University - served to illustrate this lack of focus on gender within the national curriculum, as well as the workplace segregation between men and women in the occupational structure of higher education.
The French case
The French case was focused on the general political framework and was centered on services providing care for children and young people.
In terms of national policies, France is one of the European countries with the most favourable legislative contexts on family policies. The Conférence de la famille - organised by the Ministry of Health and Solidarity - is the body through which the objectives and avenues of action of these public family policies are defined. Since 1997, one of its top priorities has been the issue of reconciling professional and family life. The social changes in recent years have led to greater political concern for the education and socialisation of children with the goal of ensuring their social integration.
The Association des Crèches d'Aix en Provence (ACA), a non-profit association aimed at managing childcare centres, was presented. It is currently the largest entity of its type in all of France. Specifically, it manages 25 nursery schools, with 380 people on staff and an average of 1,100 children cared for per week. Based on its experience, the current situation presents three problems which require reflection: care, professional adaptation and social prejudices.
- Care: despite the changes in the legislative framework aimed at adapting and improving the use of resources, the number of places is insufficient for the current demand by families, which harms mothers' job opportunities.
- Professional adaptation: the increasing flexibility in the use of places requires new professional skills.
- Social prejudices: many mothers and fathers mistrust the men working in this sector who take care of their children.
Mention is to be made about the training of social workers. This is a sector that for many years has inverted the gender balance: although historically speaking the majority of students were men, currently it is a female-dominated field. The arguments used to explain this change in trends pointed to differential gender-based socialisation. This process places men and women at two totally opposing extremes of reality: men are taught that they have to control reality, while women are taught to be aware of their limits. When these attitudes are transferred to the domain of education, we can understand why women are more successful than man at dealing with problematic children. Thus, the experience accumulated from training in social work has enabled them to note the inefficacy of education through physical force, as a male strategy, and the efficacy of education based on the principle of reality, as a female strategy.
L'Association Maison d'Enfant pour la Culture et l'Education (AMECE) was created in 2000. Its main goal is to promote socio-educational, cultural and intercultural activities to support young people and their families in their integration and socialisation. One of the activities held to achieve the association's goals is the parents' forum. These are monthly gatherings amongst Moroccan families (parents and children) to share experiences about different issues, to create support networks and to provide solutions to specific problems. One of the issues examined at these gatherings is the role of Moroccan men as husbands and fathers. Moroccan culture still preserves traditional patterns in terms of the sexual division of labour between men and women: men spend a great deal of time at work and women are in charge of raising the children. Despite this division of labour, the power within the family falls to the man. For example, women do not have the independence to deal with bureaucratic issues related to the household, and men are in charge of conveying the culture to their children. Within this context, the forum seeks to promote spaces for constructing a new model of family that combines respect for the traditional culture with more equal opportunities. Since its launch, it has learnt the importance of taking into account two key strategic factors:
- the role of children as mediators between the families and Western society,
- the role of elderly men as a good means for spreading a new model of family.
The English case
The English perspective was presented from the local dimension. Leeds was the spotlight, and the Shantona Women's Center was the specific experience framing the need to work on the gender perspective with ethnic minorities. The city of Leeds is one of the neediest areas in England in terms of health care, housing, education, formation and employment. As for its population, it is characterised by encompassing a vast diversity of ethnic minorities.
Within this context, in 1998 the Shantona Women's Center was created as a centre to empower women from Bangladesh. The centre was started with the help of the entire community - both men and women- but the services it provides are exclusively addressed to women, young people and children. Specifically, it offers jobs placement services and personal care through different projects: family support; activities to promote healthy habits and reduce health-based inequalities; education, training and employment; specific programmes for the young population; childcare services; household chore clubs; and support for community cohesion and small groups. Some of these projects work in conjunction with other services, such as the Primary Care Trust project.
An Italian case study
Il Cerchio Degli Uomini was spontaneously started in 1998 by a group of men in order to share their personal experiences and emotions. In 2004 it was set up as an association with the goal of acting as an interlocutor between institutions and the social reality. Its main goal is to share experiences about the meaning of being a man today, within a context in which some of the traditional patriarchal structures are changing. For many men, divorce or job loss entails a loss of identity and a lack of male role models. To this end, the purpose of the organisation is threefold:
- provide group support to avoid isolation, solitude and violence in these men
- to help them face their new situation by recovering self-confidence and changing their household behaviour patterns
- to promote social action that enables them to express the changes in direction and contents of the male experience.
The working method involves sharing, within a small group, experiences with other men on a variety of issues, including: fatherhood, relations with women, knowledge of oneself, one's emotions, one's sexual orientation, etc. The overall assessment of the men participating in this group is positive. In general, their relationships within their families improve, and they have a greater capacity to share the household work and a better relationship with their wives and children. What is more, they stress the importance of feeling supported by the group at difficult times.
The case of men's groups in Europe
Men's interest in the issue of gender is relatively recent. The first experiences emerged during the 1970s in Scandinavian countries and the United States. From the theoretical realm, Men's Studies emerged, an avenue of research focused on studying the changes in men's social roles. From civil society, men's groups have been organised to reflect on the male condition in a changing society, gender discrimination and different forms of sexism. These groups all start from the same premise: personal and social changes are not possible without an increased awareness of what is happening in one's immediate environment. During the 1980s, the movement spread around many different countries in Europe and America. Currently, the European Union has three avenues of work underway along these lines: the Arianne projects (projects on educational innovation, gender and masculinity), the Daphne programme (White Ribbon Campaign*, promoted by men to combat violence against women) and the EQUALprogramme (projects centring on men as change agents).
* For further information, please see: www.eurowrc.org http://europa.eu.int/comm/sg/daphne/en/
In Italy, EQUAL has co-funded interesting projects such as S.O.S Il Casalingo (SOS Male-Household) which invited men to improve their skills in household management) and Fiocco Rosa, Fiocco Celeste based on the Italian tradition of decorating the front door of the house with a pink or a blue ribbon when a baby is born.
In France, where kindergartens or schools are rarely meeting points for parents, new neighbourhood centres were well received by both women and men. Users appreciated the idea of transferring the discussion on task sharing away from their homes to a neutral space. In several regions, EQUAL provided opportunities for men and women to meet and talk shop with or without the support of professionals. Some examples are L'Ecole des parents (workshops where parents learned about practical solutions to task sharing between mothers and fathers) and Parents' cafés (men and women meetings to give voice to what they feel and think about old and new gender roles)
In Spain, the Health and Gender delegation of the Jerez Council has already launched the Hombres por la Igualdad (Men for Gender Equality) programme, with the goal of facilitating men on the road towards egalitarian gender relations. Specifically, it helps them to share family responsibilities, work, child-rearing, etc. Based on this project, different men's groups have arisen within the Andalusian community: the Asociación de Hombres por la Igualdad de Género (Association of Men for Gender Equality - AHIGE) in Malaga; Al-Garaia in Granada focuses on the exchange of experiences, reflection and mutual respect for undertaking social initiatives that condemn sexism; and the Grupo de Hombres de Sevilla*, a group aimed at analysing the out-of-date features of male models.
*For further information, please see : http://www.arrakis.es/~jcasado/hombres/hombres.htm
A Spanish case study
This project arose within the European TEMPORA programme, from axis IV, Equal Opportunities for Men and Women. Specifically, it falls within the thematic area I, focused on reconciling family and professional life. It is part of the Educació en Valors (Education in Values) programme run by the Barcelona Council's Education Institute. This programme has a twofold goal: to make visible the values existing in any educational practice, and to recover some values from the perspective of social justice. To achieve these goals, the project is based on three vantage points: interculturality, sustainability and gender equality. The last vantage point is the one guiding the project entitled Learning household knowledge and chores.
The main goal is to promote new models of behaviour with respect to the sexual division of labour within the school and family life, while the specific goals are:
- to introduce aspects of female culture into educational systems
- to legitimize women's knowledge
- to break the "female versus male" dichotomy
- to promote respect for women's work
- to promote social responsibility amongst men and women
- to promote personal autonomy
- to encourage both men and women to be present in both the workplace and domestic realms
The method used is innovation in teaching, and the methodological perspectives include constructivism, action research, the dialectical relationship between different kinds of knowledge and conflict resolution.
The project was implemented in one primary school in a cross-curricular fashion, that is, in all the subjects, and in four secondary schools through the subjects of chemistry, technology and tutoring.
The main difficulties and obstacles encountered when implementing the practice entail the work overload for the teachers involved in the experience, which is just added to their everyday responsibilities. In terms of the impact on students, the youngsters became more aware of their differences in terms of how they expressed their feelings. However, shifting this awareness to the realm of practice was not accomplished. In this sense, there is a clear need to build new models of masculinity amongst boys through education.
Other educational projects on a European level
Some member States combined Community Action Programmes for Equal Opportunities of Women with strategies that addressed young people and children in order to challenge stereotypes during those crucial stages when gender roles are being formed. Training and further education developed by EQUAL partners in many countries enabled kindergarten and primary school teachers to let boys and girls explore existing gender differences and to break with stereotyped perceptions of men and women. And some national projects, like Netherlands and Spain, prepared didactic material.
- In Spain, besides the case of Barcelona, there are other cities where EQUAL has created and tested innovative curricula for primary and secondary schools which challenged traditional gender roles and also the subtle integration of the related stereotypes into science and technology: Cordoba, Cartagena and Alicante. (
For further information, please see: http://www.dipucordoba.es/mujer/dmuj_f5c60.htm and http://www.ayto-cartagena.es/educacionnueva/educacion.htm
- The Dutch EQUAL has also been building on research indicating that young men at the beginning of their career have a more egalitarian vision than the previous generation when it comes to sharing care responsibilities with their wives or partners. Through an internet tool a partnership encouraged men to make the barriers visible and also proposed practical solutions to remove them. Moreover, a group of engineers who are actually combining work and care was trained as ambassadors of a new male role model. They acted as visiting lecturers and passed on their experience to the students. All these positive experiences were synthesised and integrated into teaching materials and tools, including a training module as part of technical education programmes at universities, which are now in demand in a growing number of educational institutions .
- One of the most significant EQUAL media campaign has been implemented in the Netherlands by the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs with the slogan of Men Taking the Lead . It was shaped like a marketing strategy for a new commercial product. Taking account of pecific life styles and characteristics of a given target group, such strategies are intended to build a critical mass of people that would, after having received the message, adopt the new product as the most suitable. Similar to a nuclear chain reaction, that critical mass triggers an on-going process of multiplication and eventually creates sustainable change.
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Second Peer Review Workshop, Enna 5-8 October 2006
The second Peer Review Workshop took place in Enna ( Sicily, Italy) from 5-8 October 2006. The theme of this workshop was Gender equality in the workplace and it included presentations of case studies from several project partners based on different perspectives.
The perspective of a Family-responsible employment or the family-friendly workplace
Some of the case studies focused on family-responsible employment or family-friendly workplace. The Barcelona (ITD IESE) case and the Budapest (Jol-Let, Budapest) case describe the challenges of the 'humanly sustainable companies'. The introduction of the 'Family-Responsible Employer Certificate' and the 'Family Friendly Workplace Award' were developed in cooperation with management and gender research centres. They implemented a certification process that was carried out by independent certificating organisations and supervised by government boards that were responsible to promote gender equality. An important element of these practices is the close relationship between the activities of analysis, implementation, certification, monitoring, research and the dissemination of best practices.
The problem of the reconciliation of work and private life is more and more in the foreground in other EU countries, but as yet, not so much in Hungary. The whole terminology of work-life balance is practically missing from the public discourse. In the meantime, the concept of the "family-friendly workplace" has spread somewhat, thanks to the family-friendly workplace (családbarát munkahely) award, which has been presented to companies and organisations in both the private and public sectors since 2000. However, the concept of family-friendly workplace has a varied and a rather blurred interpretation among entrepreneurs and corporate leaders. According to a representative survey of 400 enterprises in 2005*, most people identified "family-friendliness" with the organisation of family programmes, and with flexible working arrangements. The perception of "family friendliness:
- Organising family programmes at the workplace 27%
- Flexible working hours 23%
- Helping employees, taking their problems into account 18%
- Benefits for the employees (e.g. supporting schooling) 16%
- Taking individual interests into account 13%
- Taking individual interests into account when choosing days-off 12%
- Financial and social support 10%
- Familial atmosphere at the workplace 8%
- Supporting the return of mothers from child care leave 8%
- Financial support for the holidays 6%.
* Gallup survey prepared for the European Social Fund
Other elements of the definition has been: part-time work as an option, support for recreation, employment for other family members, health protection, insurance, medical screening programmes, competitive salaries, food vouchers, salary for an extra month, meeting for pensioners, employment of elderly people and employee-friendly management methods. According to most of the respondents, the concept is targeted at women with small children, possibly at larger families. In this perception of the family-friendly workplace the most critical aspects of the Hungarian work-life balance are marginal: only 8% of the respondents reflected on the problem of the return of mothers from child-care leave while the issue of paternity leave was completely neglected.
The perspective of a Work-life balance approach
Another group of cases focus on the experiences of the gender roles in the workplace from the point of view of the work-life balance approach. The case studies of La Cicogna Association in Torino, the Torino City Time and Motion Department and the Shantona Women's Centre in Leeds reveal the importance of the work-life balance approach. The Italian time use survey point to the fact that although in the last 25 years spare time has been strongly reduced for everybody, the paid work of women increased significantly more (by about 1 hour) than the participation of men in family work (only by half an hour). Thus the double burden of mother in Italy is incontestable - similar to that one described in the Lithuanian case studies, see: Reingardiene and Tereskinas (2006). The Italian case showed an alternative way of nursing to support the harmonization of work-life balance for women, meanwhile the Leeds case proves the importance of public awareness campaigns for promoting the equal opportunity idea in the frame of work-life balance. However, at least in Italy, the involvement of men in the micro-nursery projects also reveal various perceived 'losses': the reduction of spare and personal times and the inconveniences of sharing places with the children of the micro-nursery.
The perspective of Gender roles in the workplace
A third group of cases show the everyday difficulties of practicing unconventional gender roles in daily life at the workplace. The case studies of ACCEDO in Marseille as well as of CESIS in Enna illustrate the daily integration problems of women in different workplaces (a driver conductor at a large public company, a master house painter at a small family-based enterprise) and the existing hidden discrimination mechanisms. These cases clearly support the core ideas of the introductory lectures, namely, that besides the formal (legal) changes, a comprehensive cultural transformation (a definite shift from the traditional ideology of patriarchy) must happen as well.
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Third Peer Review Workshop, Brussels 30 November-1 December 2006
The third Peer Review Workshop took place in Brussels from 30 November to 1 st December 2006. The theme of this workshop was Sharing of domestic responsibilities and it included presentations of case studies from Hungary, the UK, France and Spain. In each of the presentations (some) general information was given about conciliation of work and family life, either in the country as a whole, or in the region or locality of participants. The cases presented included pilot actions at both meso and micro levels.
The Hungarian case
The Hungarian case focused strongly on the attitudes of men and women concerning the sharing of tasks, on the background for these attitudes and possible methods and strategies to promote dual parenting. A concrete initiative to help young fathers taking a more active role in the household was also presented.
According to European statistics, the employment rate (% of 15-65 years old) for Hungarian women increased from 45% in 1995 to 51% in 2005. For men this rate increased in the same period from 60% to 63%. As in other countries, Hungarian women spend many more hours per week on domestic tasks than men do: 27.7 hours per week for women, 11 hours for men. There are differences linked to the employment situation of men and women, but in all cases women spend more time for the household than men. The acceptance of inequality is particularly strong among Hungarian women. The majority of them beliefs in traditional gender roles. There is clearly a strong negative impact of the state socialist propaganda, i.e. a soviet-type of emancipation. Also, the gap between the planned and actual number of children is one of the measurable consequences of the unbalance between working life and private and family life. This gap grows with the level of education.
The presentation on civil initiatives to promote dual parenting showed that sharing of domestic responsibilities does not appear as a problem in Hungary at all, while it is a crucial issue for several reasons, probably providing the clue to gender equality:
- in practical terms, it affects the chances and degree of women's employment as well as their performance at the workplace;
- in symbolic terms, it shapes gender roles and thus indirectly affects women's capacity as employees in particular, and the gendered division of labour in general: both the horizontal and the vertical segregation of the labour market is a function of the division of labour at home; it is in accordance with, and legitimated by, the conservative family model;
- in political terms: it is the ultimate criterion of gender equality (women are more readily involved in paid employment than men in household tasks).
It was underlined that in Hungary there is a moderate liberalisation going on: gender roles are now diversified and appear somewhat malleable. But there is a striking asymmetry: the range of roles available for women is expanding, while men's repertoire looks more constrained. Thus the relative disadvantage of women persists. Indeed, women's competences and availability as employees are now less questioned (though their career opportunities are still significantly worse), while there are serious doubts concerning men's competences and availability in doing household work: men are considered psychologically dependent on work and career, and inept at most domestic tasks, including childcare. (Vajda, 2006)*
*"Project Stere/o" - Results of Research in Hungary IN: Nem-Allapot: Sztereotipiak a munka vilabol (Gender Situation: Stereotypes From the Realm of Employment) Jol-Let, 2006
The case study on the "Fathers' club", a training group for fathers expecting their first child, showed that the leading principle behind it is the importance of dual parenting. Research shows that emotional preparation to fatherhood is crucial and with the birth of a first child, the family is born. The family structure that is created at that moment will greatly influence the development of the child(ren). The "Fathers' club" deals with different matters, such as anxiety and fears for the new, unknown situation; necessary change of lifestyle; change of roles; the emotional availability of the father. The results of this training have been studied and it's been possible to observe a clear positive change in social skills and initiatives, a positive change in the sense of responsibility and in motivations of care giving and emotional reactivity.
The United Kingdom case
The presentation from Leeds gives some facts and figures about Leeds and the UK in relation to gender equality. General figures: in 2001, 91.8% of Leeds' population was white, 4.5% were Asian and 1.4% black. As to religion: 68.9% is Christian and 3% is Muslim.
Some research findings on men and caring in the UK:
- 23% of British fathers spend more than 28 hours a week with their children, compared to 16% in Germany; 10% in France; 4% in Greece 4% and 41% in Denmark.
- UK Fathers do a third of parental childcare, i.e. 2 hours per day. This is eight times more compared to 30 years ago.
- Three quarter of mothers (77%) felt their partner was as confident as they are for taking care of the children.
- Nine in ten new fathers (87%) feel as confident as their partner at caring.
- Half of new mothers (48%) say they would like their partner to be more involved in the care of the children.
- Over two thirds of new fathers (70%) say they would like to be more involved in the care of the children then they currently are.
- Three in five new mothers (62%) and 58% of all new fathers reject the idea that a dads main role is that of breadwinner.
The French case
The French case included presentations by the Regional Group of Action and Information of Women (GRAIF) in the region Provence Alpes Côte d'Azur and an organisation supporting single fathers [dads = moms]. It focused on sharing and on domestic tasks, childhood and education. It showed that demands around equal sharing of responsibilities are very strong in France, but that it is important to note that if the domestic roles are solidly established since the nineteen eighties, they are questioned and do become the object of bitter negotiations within couples.
A presentation on the specific situation of a single parent was provided to show the link between divorce and (dual) parenting, as follows: Élodie is a social worker. Her couple split up just before the birth of Salomé. The father refused to recognise the child and to see her. Élodie took a parental leave. Through the association she managed, little by little, to create a good bond between the father and her daughter so that they made a request for organising alternated residence for Salomé and share the educational responsibility. With the help of the association, Élodie discovered the sufferings of paternal exclusion and had to face some misogyny insinuations. Now, she is a member of the Board of Directors, and she offered pictures of Salomé for the external communication of the association [dads = moms].
The issue of institutional resistance to dual parenting was also discussed as part of the case study. For instance, while the current legislation tends to facilitate the procedures of divorce or to facilitate unions other than marriage, the same legislation does not take into account fathers who abandon their educational role, nor protect it fathers who seek to keep the relation with the children (95% of impunity in case of no respect of visit right, Ministry of Justice, 1996 and 2003). 30% of the children don't see their father any more 2 years after divorce. Indeed, legal steps can be launched only with regard to pensions or allowances. It seems that the state is involved most in issues of domestic violence and allowances, and leaves the issue of sharing responsibility for children and the management of conflicts to private initiatives.
The Spanish case
One of the Spanish case studies concerned the policy plan for reconciliation of work, private and family life in the autonomous region of Castilla-La Mancha. It showed that the agreement on conciliation of professional, family and private life in the region takes as point of departure what is called "a new social need". This is based on the following facts:
- Women took up professional responsibilities without diminishing family and domestic responsibilities. 92.2% of women devote 4.45 hours a day and 69.6% of men devote 2.4 hours a day to household tasks.
- 98.24% of women make use of maternity leave. Only 1.52% of men make use of paternity leave.
- Women wait longer before having their first child.
- Women encounter invisible barriers to employment and a professional career. 15% of women feel discriminated.
This led to the conviction that there was a new field for public intervention to be developed, with new concepts of flexibility and special attention for diversity. On this basis, the agreement has been designed and implemented.
Measures were therefore taken to implement the agreement. Among them, the following can be found: Grants to promote reconciliation in Business Enterprise, Grants to Workers for reconciliation and Training, Information and Awareness-raising measures.
The experiment of tele-work in the municipality of Castelldefels (near Barcelona) gave a good example of the role that (local) authorities can play at a meso level, giving the good example to other employers in their region. Tele-work was presented as a - not the - solution for better conciliation of work and family life, knowing also that conciliation is not the only (often even not the most important) argument for introducing tele-work.
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