Preface

*Gender Inequality – Issues, Challenges and New Perspectives* brings together scholarly contemporary research on the developments and empirical studies on gender (in) equalities from different parts of the world.

The five sections of the book highlight the contemporary issues relevant to gender inequalities and contribute significantly to the understanding of gender (in)equalities across the world. A clear message of the book is the need for inclusive and participatory processes for the development of policies and programmes for gender equality. If women's voices are not heard and their local contexts are not understood, being successful in attaining gender equality at the global level will take a very long time.

The initial section of the book focuses on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Chapter 1 provides a brief global and regional overview of progress in gender equality in education, health, the labour market, and legislation over the last decade. Chapter 2 focuses on the regional- and country-level state of SDGs in South Asia and explains the social, economic, and cultural reasons behind why progress is stagnating in most of the countries. Chapter 3, utilizing a longitudinal study with participatory action research with women from poor communities in Uganda, shows and argues that women, although being central actors in achieving SDGs concerning gender equality, have not heard about the SDGs and have not had their voices heard because they are not included in the processes of developing policies and programmes. In Chapter 4, which highlights the gender equality of businesses led by women and men in access to land, finance, use of ICTS, and exposure to corruption, the authors argue for the decolonization of the idea of women's empowerment through Ubuntu, which can take the idea of empowerment from being a contested place to a place that creates an alternative space of knowing for African communities.

Section 2 focuses on higher education in high-income countries. Chapter 5 uses a desk review and intersectional approach to investigate the reasons why women from minority groups are underrepresented in STEM fields in higher education. Chapter 6 uses semi-structured interviews with women enrolled in IT degrees in Germany to explore the motivations of women entering the IT field. Chapter 7, on the other hand, explores the experiences of women from lower socioeconomic backgrounds who faced adversities during their studies at UK universities, indicating how policies might not translate into practices.

Section 3 focuses on enablers of gender equality, including politics and legislation. Chapter 8 shows the gaps in planning and implementation of gender-responsive planning in twenty-one Colombian municipalities along with the importance of advocacy through grassroots organizations and political will for implementation of plans. Chapter 9 stresses the connections between formal and informal female political organizing to build parity democracy to amend prevailing gender inequalities in

Mexico. Chapter 10 investigates how gender stereotypes attached to political parties and topics affect individuals' perceptions of male and female capability of handling different issues in the United States. Chapter 11 focuses on family legislation and poverty alimony during divorce under Turkish law and suggests alternative interpretations for the existing criticism.

Section 4 focuses on gender issues at the time of crisis. Chapter 12 explores living conditions in temporary accommodation centers and the existing social relationship structures in refugee centers in Greece. Chapters 13 and 14 focus on violence against women. Chapter 13 focuses on conflict-related sexual violence, more specifically traumatic vaginal fistula, to reinforce the links between violence, conflict, and health insecurities for women. Chapter 14 brings together the causes and consequences of toxic masculinity and proposes the HeForShe movements in Lesotho and Mexico as a strategy for preventing violence against women.

The last section focuses on the portrayals of women in language and movies. Chapter 15 explores the sexist proverbial expressions on women by the Assamesespeaking people of the Barpeta district of the state of Assam in India. Chapter 16 investigates the contemporary deviations in depictions of women in Indonesian action movies and, based on two movies and four characters, shows the positive changes and reduces gender stereotyping of women as marginalized and obedient.

This book is a useful resource for students, teachers, and researchers in social sciences and humanities, as well as professionals, employers, and practitioners working with women and on gender issues.

> **Feyza Bhatti** Faculty of Business, Girne American University, Kyrenia, North Cyprus

**Elham Taheri** Faculty of Business and Economics, Eastern Medditeranean University, Famagusta, North Cyprus Section 1
