Editing Gender equality (section)

====Gendered arrangements of work and care====
{{Main|Women's work|Gender role}}
Since the 1950s, social scientists as well as feminists have increasingly criticized gendered arrangements of work and care and the male breadwinner role. Policies are increasingly targeting men as fathers as a tool of changing gender relations.<ref>{{cite journal|year=2014|title=Changing men, changing times; fathers and sons from an experimental gender equality study|url=http://www.margunnbjornholt.no/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Changing-men-changing-times-fathers-and-sons-from-an-experimental-gender-equality-study.pdf|journal=[[The Sociological Review]]|volume=62|issue=2|pages=295–315|doi=10.1111/1467-954X.12156|last1=Bjørnholt|first1=M.|s2cid=143048732|author-link1=Margunn Bjørnholt|access-date=2014-09-11|archive-date=2018-10-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181021020857/http://www.margunnbjornholt.no/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Changing-men-changing-times-fathers-and-sons-from-an-experimental-gender-equality-study.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>
[[Shared earning/shared parenting marriage]], that is, a relationship where the partners collaborate at sharing their responsibilities inside and outside of the home, is often encouraged in Western countries.<ref name="Vachon">{{cite book|title=Equally Shared Parenting|last=Vachon|first=Marc and Amy|publisher=Perigree Trade|year=2010|isbn=978-0-399-53651-9|location=United States|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/equallysharedpar0000vach}}; {{cite book|title=Halving It All: How Equally Shared Parenting Works|url=https://archive.org/details/halvingitallhowe00deut|url-access=registration|author-link1=Francine Deutsch|last=Deutsch|first=Francine|date=April 2000|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=978-0-674-00209-8}}; {{cite book|title=Love Between Equals: How Peer Marriage Really Works|last=Schwartz|first=Pepper|date=September 1995|publisher=Touchstone|isbn=978-0-02-874061-4}}</ref>

Western countries with a strong emphasis on women fulfilling the role of homemakers, rather than a professional role, include parts of German speaking Europe (i.e. parts of Germany, Austria and Switzerland); as well as the Netherlands and Ireland.{{Refn|In 2011, [[Jose Manuel Barroso]], then president of the [[European Commission]], stated "Germany, but also Austria and the Netherlands, should look at the example of the northern countries [...] that means removing obstacles for women, older workers, foreigners and low-skilled job-seekers to get into the workforce".<ref group=upper-roman>{{cite web |url=http://www.dw.com/en/germanys-persistently-low-birthrate-gets-marginal-boost/a-15325123-0 |title=Germany's persistently low birthrate gets marginal boost |date=18 August 2011 |website=Deutsche Welle |access-date=14 November 2017 |archive-date=15 November 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171115082907/http://www.dw.com/en/germanys-persistently-low-birthrate-gets-marginal-boost/a-15325123-0 |url-status=live }}</ref>|group=lower-roman}}{{Refn|The Netherlands and Ireland are among the last Western countries to accept women as professionals; despite the Netherlands having an image as progressive on gender issues, women in the Netherlands work less in paid employment than women in other comparable Western countries. In the early 1980s, the Commission of the [[European Communities]] report ''Women in the European Community'', found that the Netherlands and Ireland had the lowest labour participation of married women and the most public disapproval of it.<ref group=upper-roman>{{cite web |quote=It is in the Netherlands (17.6%) and in Ireland (13.6%) that we see the smallest numbers of married women working and the least acceptance of this phenomenon by the general public |page=14 |url=http://aei.pitt.edu/4560/1/4560.pdf |title=Women in the European Community |date=1984 |access-date=2016-04-08 |archive-date=2015-11-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117014109/http://aei.pitt.edu/4560/1/4560.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>|group=lower-roman}}{{Refn|In Ireland, until 1973, there was a [[marriage bar]].<ref group=upper-roman>{{cite web|url=https://martindale.cc.lehigh.edu/sites/martindale.cc.lehigh.edu/files/Patterson.pdf|title=Martindale Center – Lehigh Business|website=Martindale.cc.lehigh.edu|access-date=14 November 2017|archive-date=8 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151008154655/https://martindale.cc.lehigh.edu/sites/martindale.cc.lehigh.edu/files/Patterson.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>|group=lower-roman}}{{Refn|In the Netherlands, from the 1990s onwards, the numbers of women entering the workplace have increased, but with most of the women [[part time job|working part time]]. As of 2014, the Netherlands and Switzerland were the only OECD members where most employed women worked part-time,<ref group=upper-roman>{{cite web |url=http://www.oecd.org/els/soc/LMF_1_6_Gender_differences_in_employment_outcomes.pdf |title=LMF1.6: Gender differences in employment Outcomes |website=OECD - Social Policy Division |access-date=April 25, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304071301/http://www.oecd.org/els/soc/LMF_1_6_Gender_differences_in_employment_outcomes.pdf |archive-date=March 4, 2016}}</ref> while in the United Kingdom, women made up two-thirds of workers on long term sick leave, despite making up only half of the workforce and even after excluding maternity leave.<ref group=upper-roman>{{Cite news|title=Women make up two-thirds of workers on long-term sick leave|last=Watts|first=Joseph|date=11 February 2014|work=[[London Evening Standard]]|page=10}}</ref>|group=lower-roman}} In the computer technology world of [[Silicon Valley]] in the United States, ''[[New York Times]]'' reporter [[Nellie Bowles]] has covered harassment and bias against women as well as a backlash against female equality.<ref name=twsNYTimes11>{{cite news |first=Nellie |last=Bowles |date=September 23, 2017 |website=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/23/technology/silicon-valley-men-backlash-gender-scandals.html |title=Push for Gender Equality in Tech? Some Men Say It's Gone Too Far |quote=...Silicon Valley has for years accommodated a fringe element of men who say women are ruining the tech world.... backlash against the women in technology movement ... surveys show there is no denying the travails women face in the male-dominated industry ... |access-date=April 25, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170923161814/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/23/technology/silicon-valley-men-backlash-gender-scandals.html |archive-date=September 23, 2017}}</ref><ref name=twsWillamette101>{{cite web |first=Thacher |last=Schmid |date=March 12, 2018 |website=Willamette Week |url=http://www.wweek.com/technology/2018/03/12/while-startups-increasingly-move-to-portland-a-new-york-times-reporter-warns-that-theres-a-gender-problem-in-tech/ |title=While Startups Increasingly Move to Portland, a New York Times Reporter Warns That There's a "Gender Problem" in Tech |quote=...Bowles has written a number of groundbreaking stories on the "gender problem" in tech, including a profile of a "contrarian" fringe element of men leading a backlash against women asserting their rights.... |access-date=April 25, 2021 |archive-date=March 12, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210312095939/https://www.wweek.com/technology/2018/03/12/while-startups-increasingly-move-to-portland-a-new-york-times-reporter-warns-that-theres-a-gender-problem-in-tech/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Females are underrepresented in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) at all levels of society. Fewer females are completing STEM school subjects, graduating with STEM degrees, being employed as STEM professionals, and holding senior leadership and academic positions in STEM. This problem is exacerbated by the gender pay gap; family role expectations; lack of visible role models or mentors; discrimination and harassment; and bias in hiring and promotion practices.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Ward |first1=Jodie |last2=Johnson |first2=Rebecca N. |last3=Wilson-Wilde |first3=Linzi |date=2019-07-29 |title=Gender equity: how do the forensic sciences fare? |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00450618.2019.1568556 |journal=Australian Journal of Forensic Sciences |language=en |volume=51 |issue=sup1 |pages=S263–S267 |doi=10.1080/00450618.2019.1568556 |s2cid=86587238 |issn=0045-0618|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

A key issue towards insuring gender equality in the workplace is the respecting of [[maternity rights]] and [[reproductive rights]] of women.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.fawcettsociety.org.uk/Handlers/Download.ashx?IDMF=a40b96ed-8bf4-4db1-9ceb-71ca2d6fada4 |title=Modern workplaces, maternity rights, and gender equality |access-date=2016-04-26 |url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160509134200/http://www.fawcettsociety.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Modern-Workplaces-Policy-Position-November-2012.pdf |archive-date=2016-05-09 |publisher = Fawcett Society |date = November 2012 }}</ref> Different countries have different rules regarding [[maternity leave]], paternity leave and [[parental leave]].{{Refn|In the [[European Union]] (EU) the policies vary significantly by country, but the EU members must abide by the minimum standards of the [[Pregnant Workers Directive]] and [[Parental Leave Directive]].<ref group=upper-roman>{{cite web|url=http://ec.europa.eu/justice/gender-equality/rights/work-life-balance/index_en.htm|title=Professional, private and family life – European Commission|website=Ec.europa.eu|access-date=14 November 2017|archive-date=22 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171122183759/http://ec.europa.eu/justice/gender-equality/rights/work-life-balance/index_en.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>|group=lower-roman}} Another important issue is ensuring that employed women are not ''[[de jure]]'' or ''[[de facto]]'' prevented from having a child.{{Refn|For example, some countries have enacted legislation explicitly outlawing or restricting what they view as abusive clauses in [[employment contract]]s regarding reproductive rights (such as clauses which stipulate that a woman cannot get pregnant during a specified time) rendering such contracts [[void (law)|void]] or [[voidable]].<ref group=upper-roman>{{cite web |url=http://www.maastrichtuniversity.nl/web/file?uuid=d01c336a-95bd-4b7d-b291-59623c7918be&owner=8318a38b-02db-4343-8ee4-c81474278688 |title=Private Law and Fundamental Rights: a sceptical view |last=Smits |first=Jan |date=October 2006 |publisher=University of Maastricht |access-date=April 25, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160509070119/http://www.maastrichtuniversity.nl/web/file?uuid=d01c336a-95bd-4b7d-b291-59623c7918be&owner=8318a38b-02db-4343-8ee4-c81474278688 |archive-date=May 9, 2016}}</ref>|group=lower-roman}} In some countries, employers ask women to sign formal or informal documents stipulating that they will not get pregnant or face legal punishment.<ref>For example, {{cite web|title=Law n. 202/2002, Art. 10 (4) and Art. 37|url=http://www.dreptonline.ro/legislatie/legea_egalitatii_sanse_femei.php|website=Romanian Law Online|language=ro|access-date=2016-04-26|archive-date=2016-05-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160509000153/http://www.dreptonline.ro/legislatie/legea_egalitatii_sanse_femei.php|url-status=live}}</ref> Women often face severe violations of their reproductive rights at the hands of their employers; and the [[International Labour Organization]] classifies [[forced abortion]] coerced by the employer as [[Exploitation of labour|labour exploitation]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/@ed_norm/@declaration/documents/publication/wcms_105035.pdf|title=Details of indicators for labour exploitation|website=Ilo.org|access-date=14 November 2017|archive-date=20 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171020153412/http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/@ed_norm/@declaration/documents/publication/wcms_105035.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>{{Refn|Being the victim of a forced abortion compelled by the employer was ruled a ground of obtaining [[political asylum]] in the US.<ref group=upper-roman>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6729339.stm|title=US asylum rule on forced abortion|website=News.bbc.co.uk|access-date=14 November 2017|archive-date=15 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171115022913/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6729339.stm|url-status=live}}</ref>|group=lower-roman}} Other abuses include routine [[virginity test]]s of unmarried employed women.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dw.com/en/hrw-calls-on-indonesia-to-scrap-virginity-tests-for-female-police/a-18082547|title=HRW calls on Indonesia to scrap 'virginity tests' for female police|website=Dw.com|access-date=14 November 2017|archive-date=15 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171115082713/http://www.dw.com/en/hrw-calls-on-indonesia-to-scrap-virginity-tests-for-female-police/a-18082547|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.igfm-muenchen.de/tibet/Phayul/2006/TWA-CEDAWReport_Aug2006_form.pdf|title=THE CONVENTION ON THE ELIMINATION OF ALL FORMS OF DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN (CEDAW)|website=Igfm-muenchen.de|access-date=14 November 2017|archive-date=20 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171020153408/http://www.igfm-muenchen.de/tibet/Phayul/2006/TWA-CEDAWReport_Aug2006_form.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

{{See also|Parental leave#Effects on gender equality|l1=Effect of parental leave policies on gender equality}}