Elizabeth Heger Boyle

Abortion Liberalization in World Society, 1960-2009.

Controversy sets abortion apart from other issues studied by world society theorists, who consider the tendency for policies institutionalized at the global level to diffuse across very different countries. The authors conduct an event history analysis of the spread (however limited) of abortion liberalization policies from 1960 to 2009. After identifying three dominant frames (a women’s rights frame, a medical frame, and a religious, natural family frame), the authors find that indicators of a scientific, medical frame show consistent association with liberalization of policies specifying acceptable grounds for abortion. Women’s leadership roles have a stronger and more consistent liberalizing effect than do countries’ links to a global women’s rights discourse. Somewhat different patterns emerge around the likelihood of adopting an additional policy, controlling for first policy adoption. Even as support for women’s autonomy has grown globally, with respect to abortion liberalization, persistent, powerful frames compete at the global level, preventing robust policy diffusion.

Theorizing the form of media coverage over time

Because the media plays a critical role in cross-cultural communication, bias in the portrayal of particular cultures is an important issue. In this article, we use the form of newspaper articles over time to arbitrate between two competing theories of media coverage: Is the media primarily driven by self-interest, that is, the need to sell newspapers, or is it driven primarily by the same principled ideas that fuel international activism? Analyzing international newspaper articles on female genital cutting from 1978 to 1998, we find a close correspondence to international activism. Tracing the strategies of “transnational advocacy networks,” most articles are primarily devoted to leverage and accountability themes. Further, the ultimate decrease in articles on female genital cutting was not preceded by a decrease in articles designed to shock readers but rather by a peak in stories that emphasized the accountability of governments to eradicate female genital cutting. Over time, perhaps as the appropriateness of action became more taken for granted, there were fewer news stories on proposed solutions but relatively more news stories on success and implementation.

Movement Frames and African Women's Explanations for Opposing Female Genital Cutting

This article addresses how people account for their beliefs and what social factors affect or determine those accounts. Considering the explanations women in five African countries give for their opposition to female genital cutting (FGC), we empirically examine the link between movement adherence and frame resonance. Although international anti-FGC activists employ medical and human rights frames to combat the practice, we find most of the women surveyed do not use these frames to account for their opposition to FGC. Rather, they tend to explain their opposition simply by stating female genital cutting is a ‘bad tradition.’ Based on descriptive statistics and the results of HGLM analyses, we conclude that 1) the importance of frame resonance for movement adherence varies across groups, 2) frame resonance is less important to ‘adherents’ whose supportive attitudes predate mobilization, 3) personal factors, such as being circumcised, exposure to western influence, and independence, increase the likelihood that adherents will link into international activist frames, and 4) the medical frame is more persuasive than the human rights frame for African anti-FGC adherents.

GENDER AND PROFESSIONAL PURITY Explaining Formal and Informal Work Rewards for Physicians in Estonia

How does gender affect work rewards for professionals in a state-run economy? Using surveys from physicians in Estonia in 1991, the authors first found that the gender of the physician did not affect the level of formal rewards. However, because the state allocated formal rewards on the basis of professional purity, which was negatively correlated with feminization, specialties that had the greatest proportion of women also had the lowest formal rewards. These findings contrast with the authors findings for the level of informal “black market” rewards. Women were less likely to receive informal rewards than men, especially if they worked in subfields high in professional purity. The authors conclude that the link between professional purity and feminization is critical in explaining pay differences informal work rewards while gender itself is the critical factor in explaining informal reward differences.

Age discrimination in earnings in a dual-economy market.

Age discrimination in earnings has been difficult to establish because of the confounding effects of human capital variables that deteriorate as workers grow older. To assess the extent to which declining earnings result from discrimination, this study examines the age-earnings relationship for a panel of older workers in 1966 and 1976, simultaneously controlling for human capital variables and other variables related to both age and earnings. In addition, following literature that suggests that the economic sector in which employed influences this relationship, interactions by core/periphery sector are examined. Age-based discrimination is found for core sector workers, and as expected, becomes more prevalent as the workers grow older. These findings are discussed in light of claims that older workers, especially in the core sector, have lost power in the work place.

Is human fecundity changing? A discussion of research and data gaps precluding us from having an answer

Fecundity, the biologic capacity to reproduce, is essential for the health of individuals and is, therefore, fundamental for understanding human health at the population level. Given the absence of a population (bio)marker, fecundity is assessed indirectly by various individual-based (e.g. semen quality, ovulation) or couple-based (e.g. time-to-pregnancy) endpoints. Population monitoring of fecundity is challenging, and often defaults to relying on rates of births (fertility) or adverse outcomes such as genitourinary malformations and reproductive site cancers. In light of reported declines in semen quality and fertility rates in some global regions among other changes, the question as to whether human fecundity is changing needs investigation. We review existing data and novel methodological approaches aimed at answering this question from a transdisciplinary perspective. The existing literature is insufficient for answering this question; we provide an overview of currently available resources and novel methods suitable for delineating temporal patterns in human fecundity in future research.

Success in Reducing Female Genital Cutting: A Multilevel Framework of Social Change

Female genital cutting (FGC) practices, which affect nearly 100 million girls and women worldwide (Yoder PS, Wang S, and Johansen E, Stud Family Plann 44(2):189–204, 2013), cause immediate and long-term suffering. Fortunately, there has been a dramatic reduction in FGC in recent decades, and the downward trend is continuing, alleviating pain and negative health consequences for future generations of girls. The lessons learned from the successful case of FGC reduction have implications for reducing other types of suffering. We begin this essay with some background on FGC: what it is, where it occurs, its health consequences, why and how it is perpetuated, and changes in its prevalence over time. We then elaborate how reductions in FGC became possible, first, in terms of social policies adopted at the international level and, second, in terms of health, development, and education programs at the community level. Finally, we outline the ways in which the characteristics of FGC overlap with the characteristics of many forms of suffering, making FGC change a promising model for successful reforms in other areas.

Why the Underutilization of Child Rights in Global Mobilization? The Cases of Female Genital Cutting Practices and User Fees for Education

Support for child rights is widespread, and the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child is the most widely ratified treaty ever. Surprisingly, however, we find that child rights discourse is not integrated as a core element of mobilization around either the eradication of female genital cutting practices or the provision of free primary education. Analyzing history and the content of child rights claims related to these issues, we unpack this puzzle. In the process, we illuminate the constraints on mobilizing strategies in general and some difficulties inherent in using child rights discourse in particular.

The Global Adoption of National Policies Protecting Children from Violent Discipline in Schools and Homes, 1950-2011: Policies Protecting Children from Violent Discipline

With a focus on the relationship between womens and childrens rights and theories of globalization, we conduct an event history analysis of more than 150 countries between 1950 and 2011 to assess the factors associated with policies banning corporal punishment in schools and homes. Our research reveals that formal condemnation of corporal punishment in schools is becoming a global norm; policies banning corporal punishment in the home, in contrast, are being adopted more slowly. We find that the percentage of women in parliament is associated with the adoption of anti-corporal punishment policies in both schools and homes, suggesting a nexus between womens and childrens issues. Countries with more ethnic diversity are slower to adopt home policies, however. We propose that groups in these countries may be resistant to laws because of the risk of selective or prejudicial enforcement. In terms of globalization, more aid is associated with both school and home policies, and countries that have ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child are more likely to adopt home policies. Surprisingly, international nongovernmental organizations are not significantly associated with either type of policy adoption.

Female Circumcision: Multicultural Perspectives

Abusharaf, Rogaia Mustafa, ed. (2007). Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 296 pp.,