The Cultural Geography of Gender

Cultural Influences on Gender Roles Cultural norms can control the advancement or subjugation of women and their status in certain regions of the world. Culture and society has an enormous impact on gender roles in America. Americans receive thousands of cultural messages each week concerning gender roles, including advertisements, movies, TV, music, magazines and family influence. People evaluate these messages to understand expectations for their gender and how they should operate within society. While many people and organizations challenge these traditional gender roles, the influence of mainstream culture remains evident.

The Traditional Role of the Woman

The Traditional Role of the Man

Gender and Development The development of a culture/society is closely tied to how they view women. In developed countries, the role of the woman in society has changed. We use several measurements concerning gender in determining how developed a culture/society/country actually is. It all goes back to how they treat women.

Development by gender: How is it measured? Gender-Related Development Index 2. Gender Empowerment Measure 3. Child Marriage (CM) Who creates these indexes? UNHD

Gender-Related Development Index Economic: average income 2. Social Indicators: -literacy levels -education (school attendance) 3. Demographic: Life expectancy

Gender-Related Development Index

-The rank of the Netherlands remained the same. (0) -The rank of Belgium is #7 but the HDI rank is #6. (-1) -The rank of Iceland is #6 but the HDI rank is #7. (1) -The rank of Japan is #12 but the HDI rank is 9. (-3) Why would a country drop in rank from the HDI?

Nepal: GDI 59.4 59.9 26.4 61.6 55 67 891 1,776 -4 What can you tell about women in Nepal? -Women and men have the same life expectancy. Why? -Only a small % of women can read compared to their enrollment in school. Why? -Women make less money than men. Why? -What does the last figure mean?

China: GDI What can you tell about the women in China? 94 73.2 68.8 86.5 95.1 64 69 3,571 5,435 5 What can you tell about the women in China? -Life expectancy is more consistent with the global trend -Almost equal numbers of each sex attend school, although low -Literacy rate is high but lower for females compared to males -Males have a higher income compared to women, consistent with the global pattern

Gender Empowerment Measure How is it measured? The GEM demonstrates the ability of women to participate and determine the power structure of a country 2 Economic indicators: -% of women in professional and technical jobs -income level 2 Political indicators: -% of women in admin or managerial jobs -% of women holding elected positions

Gender Empowerment Measure

Gender Empowerment Measure

Women in Subsaharan Africa Populate much of the rural areas, as men migrate to cities for work Produce 70% of the region’s food Small percentage of women have legal title to their land

Dowry Deaths in India Murders of brides (often by burning) when a dispute arises over a dowry Difficult to “legislate away” the power relationships that lead to dowry deaths Female infanticide also tied to the disempowerment of women

Nepal: GEM No data .50 1951 1951 1952A 14.8 6 5.9 Due to lack of data on the GEM, Data was found on the Political Participation Index

China: GEM 20.2 .66 1949 1954E 5.1 21 20.2 Data for China can be combined from the GEM and the Political Participation index to discuss the political power of women compared to men in China.

GDI and GEM of an MDC: Sweden 2 0.946 82.5 77.5 100 100 124 104 23,781 28,700 - 2 0.854 45.3 31 50 0.83 When comparing Nepal and China to Sweden, what differences can you detect?

Child Marriage

Prevalence of Child Marriage – Top 20 Countries

Child Marriage (CM): Constraints to Health & Development Worse reproductive health outcomes Wasted investment in development efforts At a societal level, child marriage constrains health and devt Get numbers for first point

Maternal Mortality by Age

Infant Mortality Rates by Age of the Mother

Poor Health Outcomes Outcomes of Child Marriage Reasons for Outcomes Maternal mortality Maternal morbidities Low birth weight & prematurity Infant mortality Dowry Deaths-refers the deaths of young women who are murdered or driven to suicide by continuous harassment and torture by husbands and in-laws in an effort to extort an increased dowry. Dowry death is considered one of the many categories of violence against women, alongside rape, bride burning and acid throwing. It is widespread in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka and some regions of Africa. Pakistan has the highest reported rates of dowry-related deaths per 100,000 women in the world. In India, alone, there were 8,233 dowry deaths in 2012. Reasons for Outcomes Still growing First birth Inadequate prenatal care Low socioeconomic status

Child Marriage and Rank on Human Development Index (HDI) The Human Development Index (HDI) is a composite index measuring average achievement in three basic dimensions of human development: 1) A long and healthy life, as measured by life expectancy at birth; 2) Knowledge, as measured by the adult literacy rate (two-thirds weight) and the combined primary, secondary and tertiary gross enrollment ratio (one-third weight); and 3) A decent standard of living, as measured by GDP per capita (in PPP US$). The HDI rank is determined using HDI values to the sixth decimal point.

Reasons: Why Does Child Marriage Persist? Gender roles Families see girls as financial and social burdens Lack of socially acceptable alternatives for girls Family and community honor tied to early marriage Reinforce ties between families and communities Desire to protect girls Lack of political will Cultural norm If there are laws, and if the world is aware of the extent of the problem, then why does it persist?

Conclusions -Just like the HDI, the GDI and GEM divide countries into high, medium, and low areas of development. --Gender inequality in income, education, and political power is a global problem. BEGIN GLOBAL STATUS OF WOMEN SCAVENGER HUNT…