Journal of Advanced Research in Women’s Studies

Challenges Faced by Women Journalist in Himachal Pradesh

Madhuri Gaur — 2025-12-29

Women have always struggled and face challenges to achieve equal status, position and recognition compared to the male counterpart in every profession. Their entry into the professional world has been a journey of struggle as the issue of their status is connected to the historical perspective as some of the norms and values which affect women even today have their roots in the past. The aim of the study is to explore the professional challenges confronted by women journalists. Based on survey, the study is conducted with 30 women journalists working in print and electronic media in Himachal Pradesh. The findings of the study reveal that media organisations are progressive, less biased and provide opportunities to women journalists at workplace. Male dominance environment is also not much there. Despite such progressiveness, challenges of harassment, gender discrimination, conventional mindset of the organisations are the existing issues in the media industry though not majorly experienced. Research concludes that media organisations need to address the financial issues, workplace challenges to ensure women journalists feel secure and respected while supporting their career growth and leadership potential.

Strengthening Female Representation in STEM and Promoting Gender Equality for Inclusive and Sustainable Development in Nigeria

Adekemi Titilayo Adesulu-Dahunsi — 2025-12-29

Developing a successful STEM career requires more than luck. Globally, a substantial gender disparity persists in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). Despite progress in women’s education, Nigeria still faces underrepresentation of women in STEM. Ensuring equal access to science for women and girls is vital for fostering inclusivity. This review highlights the importance of diversity and equal opportunities in STEM. Key factors for women’s success include identifying personal strengths, continuous development, effective mentoring, and networking. Women scientists can drive positive change, champion gender equality, and promote sustainable development. Breaking barriers to STEM education and leadership enhances visibility and opportunities. Creating profiles of women researchers for leadership roles, decision-making, and policy formulation is recommended. Successful women mentors should support younger ones. Mentorship, support networks, and role models are essential in increasing women’s participation in STEM, fostering inclusivity, and driving progress toward a gender-balanced scientific community.

Rebalancing the Economy of Care: Policy Pathways to Reduce Gendered Poverty

Pallavi Mahajan — 2025-12-29

Gendered poverty persists as a systemic and global inequity rooted in the disproportionate burden of unpaid care work shouldered by women. Worldwide, women perform over 76% of unpaid care work, contributing an estimated $10.8 trillion annually in invisible economic value (Oxfam, 2022). This invisible labour constrains women's access to formal employment, limits social and economic mobility, and reinforces poverty cycles, especially among single mothers and low-income households. This paper examines how comprehensive and accountable childcare and equitable parental leave systems and policies can redistribute care responsibilities, enhance women’s labour force participation, and reduce gendered poverty. Employing secondary research, the study draws on labour market data, policy frameworks, and literature review from three welfare economies—Sweden, Norway, and Canada—to explore the socioeconomic impacts of care-supportive policy ecosystems. Findings reveal that in countries with universal childcare access and non-transferable, paid parental leave for both parents, women’s labour force participation exceeds 75%, gender wage gaps fall below 12%, and child poverty rates are markedly lower. The paper advocates for the urgent integration of unpaid care work into national accounting and economic policymaking and agendas. It supports the global adoption of care-centred policies as a foundational strategy for achieving SDG-1 (No Poverty) and SDG-5 (Gender Equality). Ultimately, acknowledging and funding the care economy is not only imperative for gender equity, but it is an economic necessity.

Women at the Crossroads Between Welfare and Poverty

Silvia Varbanova — 2025-12-29

The data presented in the paper is drawn from a more extensive study examining the cultural repertoires, attitudes, and beliefs of young people in relative poverty. This article focuses on women’s attitudes towards life goals, professional appearances, and educational aspirations. Findings are based on data from semi-structured interviews and a survey conducted with part-time employed and unemployed women, as well as young women transitioning from education to work or to further education, and women receiving unemployment benefits or other types of financial aid. The analysis identified significant differences among women based on their educational level and economic autonomy. The results revealed that financially independent women often state clear goals for the future and have the confidence to continue their education. Conversely, financially dependent women exhibited a stronger correlation with reluctance to plan the future and uncertainty regarding educational aspirations. They also indicated much stronger expectations to get/receive help to fulfill their desires and to start a business. Additionally, women with higher education demonstrated fewer hesitations and greater satisfaction and motivation toward professional endeavors than women with inferior education. The findings highlight a set of attitudes among women that can contribute to vulnerability and increased risk of poverty.

Comparative Multimodal Discourse Analysis of Functional Roles of Technology in Barbie 2023

Hok Yin Lau — 2025-12-29

This paper conducts a comparative multimodal discourse analysis of technology in Barbie (2023) by examining its roles in the feminist Barbieland and patriarchal Kenland to uncover the functional relationship between technology and gender ideologies. Guided by Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) and Feminist CDA, the study employs Iedema’s (2001) film genre analysis for layering technological representations across scenes for data collection and Van Leeuwen’s (2008) Toy Social Actor Network for data analysis to assess how technologies signify gendered power structures. Through visual discourse coding, the research reveals three key findings. First, Barbieland’s technologies—used for careers, daily routines, and humanitarian purposes—promote inclusivity, collaboration, and feminist empowerment, reinforcing social equality. In contrast, Kenland’s technologies serve masculine exclusivity, domination, and competition, perpetuating hegemonic patriarchy. Second, while Barbies employ technology carefully for communal benefit, Kens weaponize it violently to assert sovereignty, masking underlying male insecurity. This distinction reflects how technology mediates gendered power: feminist collectivity versus patriarchal aggression. Third, aesthetic differences reinforce ideological divides. Barbieland’s pink, plastic, and smooth-textured technologies signify fantasy and benevolence, aligning with matriarchal ideals, whereas Kenland’s darker, concrete, and functional designs embody realism, rejecting Barbie’s utopianism. Additionally, naming practices reveal deeper ideological contrasts. Barbies’ generically labeled "dream houses" and vehicles signify inclusivity, while Kens’ specifically named "Mojo Dojo Casa House" and race car enforce exclusion. The renaming of vehicles to “K.B” signals feminist reconfiguration toward coexistence rather than reversed oppression. The study concludes that technology in Barbie operates as a semiotic tool to both reinforce and challenge gendered hierarchies.

Age Moderates the Association of Body Image Dissatisfaction and Depression in African Women

Nkemdilim Queendaline Aliozor — 2025-12-29

Depression is a plague that is decimating humanity. Some risk factors have been implicated in depression, but little is known about the moderating role of Age in the association between body image dissatisfaction and depression. This cross-sectional study examined 220 African women, 18 to 71 years. Data were collected using the Body Shape Questionnaire and the Patient Health Questionnaire. Results showed that body image dissatisfaction positively predicted depression. Age negatively predicted depression. Age moderated the association between body image dissatisfaction and depression. According to the findings of this study, dissatisfaction with one's body image is a risk factor that can increase depression in women, and the tendency for body image dissatisfaction to increase the likelihood of depression is stronger for younger women. Interventions could target protective factors that increase body image satisfaction, especially for younger women.

Gender Gap in Academic Research

Nora Taravari — 2025-12-29

North Macedonia scored 62 points in 2019 and 64.5 points in 2022 on Gender Equality Index. More significant changes can be observed in the domains of Power (+6.0), Knowledge (+2.8) and Money (+2.2). No progress in the domain of Time due to lack of new data and only an insignificant change. In the domain of Health (+0.1). If this pace is continued, the country will need ~57 years to achieve full gender equality. This paper aims to analyze gender disparities in academic research, comparing North Macedonia's progress to global trends and benchmark countries. Using mixed-methods approach, primarily quantitative, to analyze the gender gap in academic research in North Macedonia, the findings derive from secondary data, statistical trends, representation analysis, and cross-referencing. Key research constraints include limited data availability and disciplinary differences, as some academic fields may experience greater gender disparities than others, necessitating further sector-specific studies. Findings show that North Macedonia has made significant progress in closing gender gaps in education, with women surpassing men in tertiary enrollment and postgraduate degrees. However, disparities persist in academic research, particularly in leadership roles and STEM fields. While North Macedonia has made great strides towards gender equality in education and research, sustainable efforts are needed to eliminate structural barriers. Entrenching gender-sensitive policies, fostering inclusive research cultures, and granting equal access to funding and leadership roles will be crucial in bridging the gender gap and furthering real equality in academic research.

The Cultural Body and its Changing Discourse: A Case of the Kirat Rai Women of Sikkim

Sunaina Rai — 2025-12-29

The body as a marker of culture remains inherent to the process of social construction across time and space. The body ideal that is curated at the cultural level often designates individuals to fit into the socially institutionalised bodily norms. The socio-cultural worldview of the Kirat Rai community strongly idealises the women and their bodies on the contours of traditional portrayal visualising the traditional ornaments dhungri, bulaki and chapteysuun and ethnic dress as similar to that of their female guardian deity Sumnina. However, with the advent of modernity and its accelerated influence, the ethno-cultural traits of visualising Rai women in present context have come in conflict with the body ideal endorsed in the dominant media. Consequently, Rai women at present are observed as negotiating with their traditional body images and their identity as mongoloid women which contradicts the global body ideals. This paper draws on the phenomenological approaches to understand the changing socio-cultural connotation of the body and unveil the negotiations carried by women of Kirati Rai ethno-group of the North-East Indian State of Sikkim in terms of their body image. The paper also attempts to analyse the way women are navigating through their cultural identity as Rai women amidst the structural influences of globalisation, modernisation, media and consumer culture on the body and its presentation. Thus, its ontological framework takes cognizance of both the structural contingencies reflected in the bodily choices and practices of the women and the subjective agency of the actors in carrying out various forms of negotiations at the micro level; thereby redefining the macro body discourse.

Breaking Barriers through Law: A Constitutional Perspective on Menstrual Health Rights in India

Shubhangi Baranwal — 2025-12-29

Menstrual health is more than just a health issue. It is a matter of human dignity, equity, and justice. Yet, in India, the absence of clear legal protections perpetuates stigma, discrimination, and systemic barriers. Despite the Indian Constitution's promises of equality, non-discrimination, and the right to live with dignity under Articles 14, 15, and 21, menstruators in workplaces and public spaces face persistent challenges. This paper adopts a doctrinal approach to analyse menstrual health through the lens of the Indian Constitution,. By examining key case laws and constitutional jurisprudence, it highlights the disconnect between legal ideals and the lived realities of menstruators. The absence of menstrual leave provisions, inadequate workplace hygiene infrastructure, and lack of awareness initiatives are revealed as critical gaps that violate constitutional values and hinder India's progress toward achieving Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 3 and SDG 5. This research reframes menstrual health as both a constitutional and human rights issue, bridging the gap between legal theory and advocacy. The study contributes to the broader movement for reproductive justice and equality, advocating for a future where menstrual health is embraced as a fundamental right essential to dignity and gender equity.

Breaking Boundaries: A Feminist Perspective on Work-Life Balance and Women’s Empowerment in Emerging Economies

Tayyaba Kiran — 2025-12-29

Work-life balance (WLB) has evolved from personal concern to a critical socio-political issue intersecting with gender, labor, and empowerment discourses, especially within emerging economies. This paper advances a feminist perspective on WLB, emphasizing its role as a structural determinant of women’s agency and social change. Focusing on young professional women in Pakistan, the study reveals how the erosion of boundaries between work and life perpetuates gendered inequalities, emotional labor, and cultural expectations. Drawing on qualitative narratives, the research highlights women’s resilience and agency in reconfiguring their roles amidst systemic constraints. The findings advocate for gender-sensitive policies and organizational reforms that recognize WLB as a feminist imperative for sustainable empowerment. The paper contributes to feminist HRM literature by emphasizing collective agency, ethical workplace practices, and policy interventions aligned with social justice goals.