Equality and the long road ahead
José Manuel Fernandes
The role of women in luxury
Mónica Seabra-Mendes
Concerning Portuguese women
António Rebelo de Sousa
Economist
If we were to analyse the developments in Portugal, we can immediately recall
that it was only after 1974 that women were able to vote and be elected in a
general and free manner. I do remember, however – and merely as a curiosity –
that when I was an EFTA parliamentarian, in 1977/78, I met the first Swiss
woman to be elected as a member of parliament, and she would go on to be
elected President of the EFTA parliamentarians.
But when I returned to Portugal, (...) in 1976, the husband’s right to open his wife’s mail was abolished and, in 1978, married women no longer had the status of being dependent on their husbands, while the figure of head of the family also disappeared and the residence became the decision of both spouses.
It should also be noted that great progress was made in our country between 1975 and 2014 in various fields, such as maternal and infant mortality, as well as in the illiteracy rate for men and women between 1970 and 2011.
On the other hand, it is interesting to note that the female population is more disparate in terms of educational level than the male population. For example, out of every 100 people with no schooling, 71 are women and 29 are men, while out of every 100 people with higher education, 61 are women and 39 are men.
However, there are problems with women’s adaptation to the information and communication technologies segment, and it should also be emphasised that Portuguese women have so far been unable to overcome the problem of part-time employment (and, more specifically, involuntary part-time employment). (...)
There are many other aspects of gender inequality that we could mention, from the average pay gap between men and women, the risk of poverty rate, women’s participation in leadership positions and cases of gender-based violence. But, as a curiosity, I’m going to talk about endogamy in marriage. In 2012, I visited the Brown University in the USA and met with Professor Putterman, who was studying endogamy in marriage in that country. Professor Putterman challenged me at the time to carry out a similar study in Portugal. And indeed, two years later, (...) I carried out a study on endogamy in Portugal with my friend Professor António Quintino.
The study concluded that there is endogamy in marriage in Portugal, i.e., more than 50% of marriages take place between people of the same income and education level. In other words, when they get married, more than 50% of married people belong to the same socio-cultural background and a reasonable percentage of couples belong to related or adjacent social segments.
Interestingly, when a man has a leading position in the couple (in terms of income or level of education), the woman tends to reach up to his status after ten years. But when the woman is in the lead, there is a significant increase in divorces within ten years.In other words, men find it difficult to accept a woman’s leadership, which can be explained by cultural and psychological factors.
In still other words, men have a lot to learn from women.
Nothing more, nothing less...
But when I returned to Portugal, (...) in 1976, the husband’s right to open his wife’s mail was abolished and, in 1978, married women no longer had the status of being dependent on their husbands, while the figure of head of the family also disappeared and the residence became the decision of both spouses.
It should also be noted that great progress was made in our country between 1975 and 2014 in various fields, such as maternal and infant mortality, as well as in the illiteracy rate for men and women between 1970 and 2011.
On the other hand, it is interesting to note that the female population is more disparate in terms of educational level than the male population. For example, out of every 100 people with no schooling, 71 are women and 29 are men, while out of every 100 people with higher education, 61 are women and 39 are men.
However, there are problems with women’s adaptation to the information and communication technologies segment, and it should also be emphasised that Portuguese women have so far been unable to overcome the problem of part-time employment (and, more specifically, involuntary part-time employment). (...)
There are many other aspects of gender inequality that we could mention, from the average pay gap between men and women, the risk of poverty rate, women’s participation in leadership positions and cases of gender-based violence. But, as a curiosity, I’m going to talk about endogamy in marriage. In 2012, I visited the Brown University in the USA and met with Professor Putterman, who was studying endogamy in marriage in that country. Professor Putterman challenged me at the time to carry out a similar study in Portugal. And indeed, two years later, (...) I carried out a study on endogamy in Portugal with my friend Professor António Quintino.
The study concluded that there is endogamy in marriage in Portugal, i.e., more than 50% of marriages take place between people of the same income and education level. In other words, when they get married, more than 50% of married people belong to the same socio-cultural background and a reasonable percentage of couples belong to related or adjacent social segments.
Interestingly, when a man has a leading position in the couple (in terms of income or level of education), the woman tends to reach up to his status after ten years. But when the woman is in the lead, there is a significant increase in divorces within ten years.In other words, men find it difficult to accept a woman’s leadership, which can be explained by cultural and psychological factors.
In still other words, men have a lot to learn from women.
Nothing more, nothing less...
