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    How policewomen's experiences of 'male construct' interact with sustainability of career development and promotion practices : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Psychology at Massey University, Manawatū, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2019) Mace, Stephanie Jane
    Women in today’s New Zealand Police organisation work across almost all roles and ranks, including 14 percent representation at commissioned and non-commissioned officer level. Disparities relating to women and men’s access to senior and high-level roles and workgroups continue to challenge police, despite new policy and performance initiatives for cultural reform. Understanding how policewomen’s experiences of police as a gendered organisation interact with sustainability of career development and promotion practices exposes the rules of formation that permit the conditions and outcomes of structural processes and practices that engender women in police as they negotiate their career progression strategies. 28 policewomen at commissioned and non-commissioned officer ranks were interviewed in a semi-structured conversational style about their experiences. A Foucauldian discourse analysis was applied, attending to the gendered social power relations that define and delimit social practice and the governance of women, both within and outside the workplace. The analysis showed that dominant heteronormative discourses regulate policewomen’s practices of gender coherence within a hegemonic socio-cultural discourse of masculinist rationalisation that differentiates male / female, masculine /feminine as contingent subject positions and investments in compliance and/or resistance to social institutions of work and family. Furthermore, women were positioned within and through discourse as neoliberal active gendering agents whose subjection to, and mastery of, masculinist ideals for leadership shape career progression as the strategic navigation of work and family commitments in accordance with a duplicitous and inegalitarian system. Alternate realities were also presented as reproducing and re-producing masculine values and the gender order for progression in the police hierarchy. This research contributes to the paucity of scholarship attending to the career progression experiences of senior-ranking policewomen in a gendered organisation that function to reproduce dominant discourses as social power relations that intervene in the practices of women and men in police. It may also provide understanding for what may be required to transform and/or vanquish relations of power in order to effect meaningful long-term organisational transformation.
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    Gender awareness in Japan International Cooperation Agency's development assistance : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Development Studies, Massey University
    (Massey University, 1999) Matsui, Junko
    In the past, development efforts have failed to bring about genuine women's development which concerns both women's well-being and their status in the Third World. In order to achieve women's development, thorough understanding of the causes of women's underdevelopment, sound conceptualisation of women and development and strategies to bring about women's development are required. States and development agencies have specific perception on women and conceptualise women and development in various ways. From the different concepts we could expect different outcomes. In this research I look at implications of Japan International Cooperation Agency's women in development policy concerning women's development in the Third World. In the first part of this research, I discuss concepts and strategies for women's development. The earlier thought on women and development, emerged in 1970s, attributes failure of past development efforts bringing about women's development, to preconceptions policymakers and planners have about women's roles in their families communities and nations. However, women's issues and women's projects were often continued to be marginalised within the development efforts which is informed by the perspective. Another perspective identified women's subordination to men as the fundamental cause of women's disadvantages they face. Strategies for women's development are suggested based on the perspective problematising women's subordination in this research. The strategies must involve the improvement of women's immediate conditions and the change of unequal gender relations. Women's needs to achieve their well-being and ones derived from their tasks need to be identified and addressed. It is recognised that improvement of women's status is necessary to achieve their well-being. Women's needs could be addressed through both women specific projects and mainstream projects. In order to alter women's subordination to men transformative intervention was suggested. The transformative intervention seeks to address women's interests in transforming gender relations in a project addressing women's material needs. Moreover, in order for women to become agents of their development and to alter power within gender relations, women's self­ empowerment process must be encouraged. Self-empowerment is regarded as complementary to the strategies. Self-empowerment includes conscientisation about oppressive structure, and mobilisation of women to meet their own needs. JICA concerns about women's participation in development projects, identification of gender division of labour and improvement of women's well-being in the Third World. However, JICA's concept of Women in Development is grounded on the perspective advocated in 1970s and is not informed by the failures of attempts made during 1970s and 1980s. JICA fails to problematise unequal gender relations and to develop strategies to transform gender relations. Hence, self-empowerment and transformative intervention are not recognised. JICA also lacks awareness toward marginalisation of women's issues and women's projects in development operation. Women's subordination in planning procedures reflects in the number of WID-related projects implemented and the kinds of needs addressed through development projects.
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    Transport and women's social exclusion in urban areas in Pakistan : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Development Studies at Massey University, Manawatu, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2018) Ahmed, Waheed
    This thesis explores women’s everyday experiences of transport-related social exclusion, factors responsible for this, and how women negotiate restrictions on their mobility in urban areas of Pakistan. Although there is an emerging realization in the transport literature about the importance of studying social exclusion and marginaliation, little research has been carried out focusing on women’s social exclusion in transport, especially with regards to urban areas in developing countries. The present study fills this research gap by analysing the case studies of Islamabad and Rawalpindi, in Pakistan. These cities have been selected to explore how the highly contrasted urban form of planned and unplanned cities, as well as socio-cultural norms and institutional arrangements, impacts on women’s mobility and transport choices. The theoretical framework combines rights-based and empowerment approaches to identify constraints and opportunities for change to women’s mobility. The right-based and empowerment approaches have been selected over other theoretical lenses because they see women as active agents of change rather than portraying them as passive victims. In doing so, the emphasis is placed on rights, accountabilities, and structural injustices in society, which are imperative to study women’s transport issue in developing country contexts. The design of the research is largely qualitative in nature, thus methods such as in-depth interviews, life stories, and structured observations have been used. Fifty-two in-depth interviews exploring the life stories of low-income women, business women, administrators and professional women in Rawalpindi and Islamabad, were particularly illuminating. Besides interviewing women as users of transport system, the viewpoints of males including drivers and conductors of public transport, and a range of stakeholders, were also considered. Enriched by stories of the everyday experiences of women in Islamabad and Rawalpindi, the findings of this study highlight that women do face structural and social barriers to their mobility in the shape of: stereotypical norms about women’s travel; negative attitudes of men about women in public spaces; difficulty in accessing walkways, bus stops, and public transport; safety and security concerns; and gender insensitive policies and projects. The findings also highlight that, despite these problems, women are seen to be coming out of their homes and shattering stereotypes. Although few in numbers, these women can be regarded as success stories as far as women’s empowerment through mobility is concerned. The present research develops new insights into women, gender and transport issues within cities of developing countries by finding that transport is a development issue where patriarchal attitudes, fear and safety concerns, and quality of transport service are highly relevant to women’s capability to travel, yet there are cases in which women have been able to negotitiate highly gendered power relations in order to gain greater freedom of movement.
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    Gender, migration and politics : pre- and post-migration experiences of Iranian women in New Zealand : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Politics, Massey University, Albany, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2019) Kooshesh, Parisa
    Islam and Muslim women have become objects of considerable political controversy in countries such as Australia, France, and the USA, although less so in New Zealand. The dress-codes, customs and political allegiances of Muslim women are all debated for political reasons, and yet the diversity among these women is commonly overlooked. However, this study of women who have come to New Zealand from an orthodox Islamic regime shows quite different political orientations and issues in regards to migrant females from Muslim countries in the West. The main aims of this study are to examine the motivations of Iranian females to emigrate from Iran to New Zealand, and to investigate how they redefine their individual and social identities in the new country. The researcher involved semi-structured interviews with 34 Iranian females who migrated to New Zealand between 1979 and 2012. Their lived experiences (pre- and post-migration) are interpreted in the context of wider political ideologies, institutions, laws, social norms, and practices (of Iran and New Zealand) to show how political context influences what people can or cannot do in everyday life. In terms of the women’s motivations for migration, the study shows considerable variety. The participants’ stories reveal how the prevailing political ideology and gender-related policies of the Islamic Republic of Iran affected their daily lives, and how these policies influenced decisions to emigrate. These decisions are both ‘political acts’ and personal choices, involving personal aspirations as well as resistance to Iran’s political ideology and gender discrimination. In terms of post-migration experiences, this study illustrates how New Zealand’s social and political context has influenced the participants’ self-perceptions, their social roles as women, and the ways they relate to public institutions. The study also explores how these changes have affected power-relations within their families. Migration for Iranian females can involve a mixture of gains and losses to quality-of-life. Most commonly, however, these women find that adjusting to a new society and its more liberal, gender-equal environment means greater autonomy and agency. This study also investigates how participants redefine their post-migration social identities. The large majority of participants create a secular social identity after migration. They report being judged according to stereotypical expectations of Muslims, and they use diverse strategies to redefine who they are.
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    Working with boys and men for a change : lessons from Fiji : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Developmental Studies at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2005) Romanos, Annie
    Male involvement in sexual and reproductive health and anti-violence interventions are two of the more common entry points in working with men to achieve gender equality. The most promising interventions are those that challenge gender norms, questioning men's views of themselves and stimulating their interest about gender equality in different ways. Although most interventions inevitably alter gender norms in an effort to change the behaviour of project recipients, if not executed in a gender-sensitive fashion, these interventions may exacerbate rather than alleviate existing inequalities. One important issue therefore is when, and to what extent, programming involving men should compromise on feminist goals. The Men as Partners pilot programme and Women's Crisis Centre in Fiji worked with similar groups of men in two distinct ways. The former adopted a locally and culturally appropriate style of addressing men about gender issues and sexual and reproductive health, and the latter took a more radical, feminist, 'rights' stance in workshops with men regarding violence. Through consultation with project participants, family members, project staff, and affiliated NGOs, the research raises questions and discusses the implications for on-going work with men in the field of gender and development. It draws some conclusions about the extent to which each intervention contributed to the transformation of attitudes among men towards equality, and emphasises the need for new 'men in development' strategies to be unapologetically feminist in their focus.
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    An evaluation of in-service training : women in management 1978-1980 : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Education at Massey University
    (Massey University, 1981) Steele, Jill
    This report is an evaluation of the National In-Service training courses for Women in Education Management, run by the Department of Education from 1978 to 1980. Five courses were held during this time, but the first course had a follow up with the same membership, so for evaluation purposes these first two courses are considered as one. The study used the Stake model for evaluation. This model provides a systematic framework for collecting data about a programme and further suggests how the various sections of data should be matched against the others. Interviews, discussions, a mailed questionnaire, attendance at a Course and observations were methods used to obtain this data. 1975 was International Womens' Year and during this year the Department of Education co-sponsored with the Committee on Women at Victoria University, a conference entitled, "Education and the Equality of the Sexes". Following this Conference interest and awareness of the anomalies and unequal distribution of women in positions of education administration became more widely recognised. An Interim Committee on Women and Education was set up. This body made representation for special courses for women in education management training. In 1979 this committee was recognised as a National body and became inaugurated as the National Committee on Women and Education (NACWE). One way to redress the imbalance of women in education management positions was thought to be to have special women - only management courses to train women in education management skills. Women needed to learn these skills in a supportive atmosphere and because of this, it was felt that an all-women course would be more useful and supportive than one where women had to 'compete' with the men as well as learn their new management skills. The courses had three specific objectives: (1) To train women in specific management skills (2) To study issues particular to women as managers (3) To prepare a group of women to become resource personnel in education management programmes in their own regions and districts. This study examines the rationale for the Women in Management courses, looks at the three course objectives and examines the outcomes of the courses. Discussion of these outcomes follows and recommendations for future development are given.
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    Women policing : a contemporary study of women's experiences in the Royal Thai Police : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Women's Studies at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2014) Siriwato, Sasiphattra
    In line with international trends, in Thailand there are significantly fewer women than men who work at the senior level in public service and law enforcement occupations, especially in the police and armed forces. Utilizing the Royal Thai Police (RTP) as a case study, this research aims to identify the opportunities and barriers for promotion that impact women in the RTP and to analyze why few women work at the senior level for both police and administration or office-based work. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to gather information on women’s experiences. Thirty-seven intended participants were interviewed. Thirty-four participants are female police officers who work either in the Technical Support Unit or in the Field Operation Unit and another three participants are significant public authority figures who work with the RTP. Although many participants reported that they feel they have been ‘accepted’ in the RTP as police officers, there is evidence that they have not been fully accepted in the workplace. ‘Acceptance in the workplace’ has varied meanings according to which section of the organization those female police officers work within. This research shows that organizational and cultural barriers still exist that limit opportunities for promotion. Theoretical frameworks provided by Butler and Foucault help to provide tools for understanding why this might be the case in this and other case studies. One difficulty that emerged from the research is that having insider status as a researcher in relation to gendered cultural norms has impacted on the level of separation from critical analysis of the issues being studied, because the researcher is the product of these same gendered cultural norms.