Editing Gender equality (section)

===Social and ideological===

====Political gender equality====
Two recent movements in countries with large Kurdish populations have implemented political gender equality. One has been the Kurdish movement in southeastern Turkey led by the [[Democratic Regions Party]] (DBP) and the [[Peoples' Democratic Party (Turkey)|Peoples' Democratic Party]] (HDP),<!-- The apostrophe is correctly placed. The party is pro-minority, and the name is also translated as Democratic Party of the People{{uu|s}} --> from 2006 or before.
The mayorships of 2 metropolitan areas and 97 towns{{citation needed|date=January 2018|reason= The citation was to [[2014 Turkish local elections]]. See [[WP:CIRC]] and [[Talk:Gender equality#new section Political Gender Equality|Political Gender Equality]].}} are led jointly by a man and a woman, both called co-mayors. Party offices are also led by a man and a woman. Local councils were formed, which also had to be co-presided over by a man and a woman together. However, in November 2016 the Turkish government cracked down on the HDP, jailing ten of its members of Parliament, including the party's male and female co-leaders.<ref name=Nordland>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/07/world/middleeast/turkey-kurds-womens-rights.html |title=Crackdown in Turkey Threatens a Haven of Gender Equality Built by Kurds |last=Nordland |first=Rod |date=2016-12-07 |work=The New York Times |access-date=2018-01-23 |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=2019-02-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190227131020/https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/07/world/middleeast/turkey-kurds-womens-rights.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

A movement in northern Syria, also Kurdish, has been led by the [[Democratic Union Party (Syria)|Democratic Union Party]] (PYD).<ref name=Mogelson>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/11/06/dark-victory-in-raqqa|title=Dark Victory in Raqqa|last=Mogelson|first=Luke|date=2017-10-30|magazine=The New Yorker|access-date=2018-01-23|issn=0028-792X|archive-date=2018-04-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180414174302/https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/11/06/dark-victory-in-raqqa|url-status=live}}</ref> In northern Syria all villages, towns and cities governed by the PYD were co-governed by a man and a woman. Local councils were formed where each sex had to have 40% representation, and minorities also had to be represented.<ref name=Mogelson />

====Gender stereotypes====
{{Further|Gender role}}
[[File:Bettie Page driving.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|alt=Series of photographs lampooning women drivers|1952 portrayal of stereotypes about women drivers, based on the stereotype that women cannot drive well. Features [[Bettie Page]].]]
Gender [[stereotype]]s arise from the socially approved roles of women and men in the private or public sphere, at home or in the workplace. In the household, women are typically seen as mother figures, which usually places them into a typical classification of being "supportive" or "nurturing". Women are expected to want to take on the role of a mother and take on primary responsibility for household needs.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Women Voices and Feminist Visions|last=Shaw and Lee|first=Susan and Janet|page=450|quote=Women are expected to want to be mothers}}</ref> Their male counterparts are seen as being "assertive" or "ambitious" as men are usually seen in the workplace or as the primary breadwinner for his family.<ref name="auto">{{cite web|url=https://www.geteverwise.com/human-resources/how-does-gender-bias-really-affect-women-in-the-workplace/|title=How Does Gender Bias Really Affect Women in the Workplace?|date=2016-03-24|language=en-US|access-date=2016-09-23|archive-date=2017-11-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171115015212/https://www.geteverwise.com/human-resources/how-does-gender-bias-really-affect-women-in-the-workplace/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Due to these views and expectations, women often face discrimination in the public sphere, such as the workplace.<ref name="auto"/> Women are stereotyped to be less productive at work because they are believed to focus more on family when they get married or have children.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Durbin |first1=Susan |title=Gender inequality in employment: Editors' introduction |journal=Equality, Diversity and Inclusion |date=2010 |volume=29 |issue=3 |pages=221–238 |doi=10.1108/02610151011028831}}</ref>
A [[gender role]] is a set of societal [[norm (social)|norms]] dictating the types of behaviors which are generally considered acceptable, appropriate, or desirable for people based on their sex. Gender roles are usually centered on conceptions of [[femininity]] and [[masculinity]], although there are [[Third gender|exceptions]] and [[genderqueer|variations]].

====Portrayal of women in the media====
{{Main|Exploitation of women in mass media}}
The way women are represented in the media has been criticized as perpetuating negative gender stereotypes. The [[exploitation of women in mass media]] refers to the criticisms that are levied against the use or objectification of women in the [[mass media]], when such use or portrayal aims at increasing the appeal of media or a product, to the detriment of, or without regard to, the interests of the women portrayed, or women in general. Concerns include the fact that all forms of media have the power to shape the population's perceptions and portray images of unrealistic stereotypical perceptions by portraying women either as submissive housewives or as sex objects.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/etudes/join/2013/474442/IPOL-FEMM_ET%282013%29474442_EN.pdf|title=Women and Girls as Subjects of Media's Attention and Advertisement Campaigns : The Situation in Europe, Best Practices and Legislations|website=Europarl.europa.eu|access-date=14 November 2017|archive-date=18 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171118182934/http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/etudes/join/2013/474442/IPOL-FEMM_ET(2013)474442_EN.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> The media emphasizes traditional domestic or sexual roles that normalize violence against women. The vast array of studies that have been conducted on the issue of the portrayal of women in the media have shown that women are often portrayed as irrational, fragile, not intelligent, submissive and
subservient to men.<ref name="Acevedo 2010">Acevedo et al. 2010. 'A Content Analysis of the Roles Portrayed by Women in Commercials: 1973 – 2008', Revista Brasileira de Marketing Vol. 9. Universidade Nove de Julho, São Paulo.</ref> Research has shown that stereotyped images such as these have been shown to negatively impact on the mental health of many female viewers who feel bound by these roles, causing amongst other problems, self-esteem issues, depression and anxiety.<ref name="Acevedo 2010"/>

According to a study, the way women are often portrayed by the media can lead to: "Women of average or normal appearance feeling inadequate or less beautiful in comparison to the overwhelming use of extraordinarily attractive women"; "Increase in the likelihood and acceptance of sexual violence"; "Unrealistic expectations by men of how women should look or behave"; "Psychological disorders such as body dysmorphic disorder, anorexia, bulimia and so on"; "The importance of physical appearance is emphasized and reinforced early in most girls' development." Studies have found that nearly half of females ages six–eight have stated they want to be slimmer. (Striegel-Moore & Franko, 2002)".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.westminstercollege.edu/myriad/index.cfm?parent=...&detail=4475&content=4795|title=The Myriad: Westminster's Interactive Academic Journal|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160428172944/http://www.westminstercollege.edu/myriad/index.cfm?parent=...&detail=4475&content=4795|archive-date=2016-04-28}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/gretchen-kelly/the-thing-all-women-do-you-dont-know-about_b_8630416.html|title=The Thing All Women Do That You Don't Know About|first=Gretchen|last=Kelly|work=[[Huffington Post]]|date=November 23, 2015|access-date=14 November 2017|archive-date=20 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171020152712/https://www.huffingtonpost.com/gretchen-kelly/the-thing-all-women-do-you-dont-know-about_b_8630416.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

====Statistics on women's representation in the media====
* Women have won only a quarter of [[Pulitzer Prize|Pulitzer prizes]] for foreign reporting and only 17 per cent of awards of the [[Martha Gellhorn Prize for Journalism]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2016/03/women-foreign-correspondents/472596/|title=Why Don't Female Journalists Win More Awards?|last=Asquith|first=Christina|date=2016-03-07|website=The Atlantic|language=en-US|access-date=2019-08-21|archive-date=2019-01-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190126024723/https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2016/03/women-foreign-correspondents/472596/|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2015 the [[African Development Bank]] began sponsoring a category for [[Women's rights|Women's Right]]s in Africa, designed to promote gender equality through the media, as one of the prizes awarded annually by [[One World Media]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.afdb.org/en/news-and-events/african-development-bank-promotes-gender-equality-in-the-media-through-womens-rights-in-africa-award-14447|title=African Development Bank promotes gender equality in the media through 'Women's Rights in Africa' Award|date=2019-02-13|website=African Development Bank – Building today, a better Africa tomorrow|language=en|access-date=2019-08-21|archive-date=2019-08-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190821083615/https://www.afdb.org/en/news-and-events/african-development-bank-promotes-gender-equality-in-the-media-through-womens-rights-in-africa-award-14447|url-status=live}}</ref>
* Created in 1997, the [[UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize]] is an annual award that honors a person, organization or institution that has made a notable contribution to the defense and/or promotion of press freedom anywhere in the world. Nine out of 20 winners have been women.<ref name=":22">{{Cite book|title=World Trends in Freedom of Expression and Media Development Global Report 2017/2018|publisher=UNESCO|year=2018|url=http://www.unesco.org/ulis/cgi-bin/ulis.pl?catno=261065&set=005B2B7D1D_3_314&gp=1&lin=1&ll=1|page=202}}</ref>
* The [[Poynter Institute]] since 2014 has been running a Leadership Academy for Women in Digital Media, expressly focused on the skills and knowledge needed to achieve success in the digital media environment.
* The [[World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers|World Association of Newspapers and News Publisher]]s (WAN-IFRA), which represents more than 18,000 publications, 15,000 online sites and more than 3,000 companies in more than 120 countries, leads the Women in the News (WIN) campaign together with UNESCO as part of their Gender and Media Freedom Strategy. In their 2016 handbook, WINing Strategies: Creating Stronger Media Organizations by Increasing Gender Diversity, they highlight a range of positive action strategies undertaken by a number of their member organizations from [[Germany]] to [[Jordan]] to [[Colombia]], with the intention of providing blueprints for others to follow.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.wan-ifra.org/reports/2018/05/28/winning-strategies-creating-stronger-news-media-organizations-by-increasing-gende|title=WINning Strategies – Creating Stronger News Media Organizations by Increasing Gender Diversity (2018 update) – WAN-IFRA|website=www.wan-ifra.org|access-date=2019-08-21|archive-date=2020-09-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200921082454/https://www.wan-ifra.org/reports/2018/05/28/winning-strategies-creating-stronger-news-media-organizations-by-increasing-gende|url-status=dead}}</ref>

====Informing women of their rights====
While in many countries, the problem lies in the lack of adequate legislation, in others the principal problem is not as much the lack of a legal framework, but the fact that most women do not know their legal rights. This is especially the case as many of the laws dealing with women's rights are of recent date. This lack of knowledge enables to abusers to lead the victims (explicitly or implicitly) to believe that their abuse is within their rights. This may apply to a wide range of abuses, ranging from domestic violence to employment discrimination.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/law-crime-and-justice/criminal-justice/bc-criminal-justice-system/if-victim/publications/hsh-english-domestic-violence.pdf|title=Help is available if you or someone you know is a victim of Domestic Violence|website=2.gov.bc.ca|access-date=14 November 2017|archive-date=8 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181108030110/https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/law-crime-and-justice/criminal-justice/bc-criminal-justice-system/if-victim/publications/hsh-english-domestic-violence.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.maternityaction.org.uk/2015/01/know-your-rights-get-your-rights/|title=Know your rights – get your rights!|website=Maternityaction.org.uk|access-date=14 November 2017|date=2015-01-14|archive-date=2018-11-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181103014001/https://www.maternityaction.org.uk/2015/01/know-your-rights-get-your-rights/|url-status=live}}</ref> The United Nations Development Programme states that, in order to advance gender justice, "Women must know their rights and be able to access legal systems".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/ourwork/crisispreventionandrecovery/focus_areas/gender_equality_andwomensempowerment/eight_point_agendaforwomensempowermentandgenderequality.html|title=Eight Point Agenda for Women's Empowerment and Gender Equality|website=Undp.org|access-date=14 November 2017|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170509195554/http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/ourwork/crisispreventionandrecovery/focus_areas/gender_equality_andwomensempowerment/eight_point_agendaforwomensempowermentandgenderequality.html|archive-date=9 May 2017}}</ref>

The 1993 UN [[Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women]] states at Art. 4 (d) [...] "States should also inform women of their rights in seeking redress through such mechanisms".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.un-documents.net/a48r104.htm|title=A/RES/48/104 – Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women – UN Documents: Gathering a body of global agreements|first=United Nations General|last=Assembly|website=Un-documents.net|access-date=14 November 2017|archive-date=4 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180804222717/http://www.un-documents.net/a48r104.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> Enacting protective legislation against violence has little effect, if women do not know how to use it: for example a study of Bedouin women in Israel found that 60% did not know what a [[restraining order]] was;<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/study-most-bedouin-victims-of-domestic-violence-believe-it-s-a-decree-from-god-1.427190|title=Study: Most Bedouin Victims of Domestic Violence Believe It's a 'Decree From God'|first=Jack|last=Khoury|date=30 April 2012|newspaper=Haaretz|access-date=14 November 2017|archive-date=15 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171115143740/https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/study-most-bedouin-victims-of-domestic-violence-believe-it-s-a-decree-from-god-1.427190|url-status=live}}</ref> or if they do not know what acts are illegal: a report by Amnesty International showed in Hungary, in a public opinion poll of nearly 1,200 people in 2006, a total of 62% did not know that marital rape was an illegal (it was outlawed in 1997) and therefore the crime was rarely reported.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.refworld.org/pdfid/465bfa162.pdf|title=Hungary : Cries unheard : The failure to protect women from rape and sexual violence in the home|website=Refworld.org|access-date=14 November 2017|archive-date=20 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171020153402/http://www.refworld.org/pdfid/465bfa162.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6643727.stm|title=Hungary law 'fails rape victims'|date=10 May 2007|work=[[BBC]]|access-date=14 November 2017|archive-date=26 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171026004038/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6643727.stm|url-status=live}}</ref> Ensuring women have a minimum understanding of health issues is also important: lack of access to reliable medical information and available medical procedures to which they are entitled hurts [[women's health]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.who.int/gender/women_health_report/full_report_20091104_en.pdf|title=Women and health : today's evidence tomorrow's agenda|website=Who.int|access-date=14 November 2017|archive-date=25 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181125163944/http://www.who.int/gender/women_health_report/full_report_20091104_en.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

====Gender mainstreaming====
{{Main|Gender mainstreaming}}
Gender mainstreaming is described as the [[public policy]] of assessing the different implications for women and men of any planned [[policy]] action, including [[legislation]] and [[Program (management)|programmes]], in all areas and levels, with the aim of achieving gender equality.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Booth | first1 = C. | last2 = Bennett | year = 2002 | title = Gender Mainstreaming in the European Union | journal = European Journal of Women's Studies | volume = 9 | issue = 4| pages = 430–46 | doi = 10.1177/13505068020090040401 | s2cid = 143702617 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ilo.org/public/english/bureau/gender/newsite2002/about/defin.htm|title=Definition of Gender Mainstreaming|website=International Labor Organization|access-date=14 June 2015|archive-date=21 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181021172809/http://www.ilo.org/public/english/bureau/gender/newsite2002/about/defin.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> The concept of gender mainstreaming was first proposed at the 1985 Third World Conference on Women in [[Nairobi]], [[Kenya]]. The idea has been developed in the [[United Nations]] development community.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.jeanmonnetprogram.org/papers/00/000201-03.html |title=II. The Origins of Gender Mainstreaming in the EU |website=Harvard Law School |access-date=April 25, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010708124202/http://www.jeanmonnetprogram.org/papers/00/000201-03.html |archive-date=July 8, 2001}}</ref> Gender mainstreaming "involves ensuring that gender perspectives and attention to the goal of gender equality are central to all activities".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.un.org/womenwatch/osagi/gendermainstreaming.htm|title=Gender Mainstreaming|website=UN Women|access-date=14 June 2015|archive-date=20 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180920124801/http://www.un.org/womenwatch/osagi/gendermainstreaming.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

According to the Council of Europe definition: "Gender mainstreaming is the (re)organization, improvement, development and evaluation of policy processes, so that a gender equality perspective is incorporated in all policies at all levels and at all stages, by the actors normally involved in policy-making."<ref name="coe.int"/>

An integrated gender mainstreaming approach is "the attempt to form alliances and common platforms that bring together the power of faith and gender-equality aspirations to advance human rights."<ref name="unfpa.org3">{{cite web|url=http://www.unfpa.org/publications/gender-heart-icpd|title=Gender at the Heart of ICPD: The UNFPA Strategic Framework on Gender Mainstreaming and Women's Empowerment|website=United Nations Population Fund|date=2011|access-date=14 June 2015|archive-date=17 August 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150817033015/http://www.unfpa.org/publications/gender-heart-icpd|url-status=live}}</ref> For example, "in Azerbaijan, [[UNFPA]] conducted a study on gender equality by comparing the text of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women with some widely recognized Islamic references and resources. The results reflect the parallels between the Convention and many tenets of Islamic scripture and practice. The study showcased specific issues, including VAW, child marriage, respect for the dignity of women, and equality in the economic and political participation of women. The study was later used to produce training materials geared towards sensitizing religious leaders."<ref name="unfpa.org3"/>