Report CG5 Geneva Conference - Draft:10/21/2018
COST A-34 Action
Gender and Well-Being: Work, Family and Public Polices
Report by Core Group 5
Social Movements and Well-Being
for
Final Symposium of Cost Action A-34
Genève 3 rd -6th September 2009
Introduction
This report aims to display the main achieved research outcomes and to assess the progress of the Action A-34 in the context of the activities developed by working group 5 under the leadership of Marcel van der Linden (International Institute of Social History, The Netherlands) and including Jean-Michel Bonvin (University of Applied Sciences Western Switzerland), Mercè Renom (Universitat de Barcelona, Spain) and Alison Woodward (Vrije Universiteit, Brussel, Belgium) .[1]
The fifth thematic symposium explored the impact of political and social action on gendered well-being. The intent was to investigate how collective action has been important in framing claims for well-being, in changing the conditions of well-being, and in empowering individual actors and thereby changing their potential to achieve well-being.
To this end, the organizers called for papers that would focus on the causes and consequences of social pressure to improve living conditions. Why, how and to what extent did social mobilization contribute to the development of human capabilities? Particular attention was paid to the role of feminist movements and of women active in other social movements and social protest, and to implicated notions of femininity and masculinity, both in the past and present.
In line with previous symposia, authors were encouraged to engage with the capabilities approach developed by Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum. The organizers suggested that social mobilization (social protest and social movements) is based on three necessary pre-conditions: (1) a social group’s dissatisfaction with certain social, economic, political or cultural circumstances; (2) the availability of material and symbolic resources, including organizational means and a cognitive frame; and (3) the opportunity structure (class relations, state interventions, social norms, etc.) enabling, restraining or steering forms of mobilization.
In combination the three preconditions produce (4) a capacity for social action, which can result in (5) collective action and lead to certain (6) outcomes, including material results and larger (or sometimes smaller) capabilities during the life-course. These outcomes influence in turn the original conditions of mobilization (level and content of dissatisfaction, etc.) and may stimulate further social mobilization.
The symposium attracted papers on a variety of kinds of social movements and actions. Papers came from authors with a historical perspective, but also from economists, sociologists and political scientists. This produced both historical and contemporary case studies analyzing the development of capabilities through gendered social mobilizations.
Organisation
The symposium took place in Amsterdam at the International Institute of Social History on March 4-7 2009. The Symposium included seven paper-sessions, one round table discussion and opening and concluding sessions. For the full conference program please refer to the web-site of the action where the majority of scientific papers are also posted.
Social Movements and Well-Being
The previous symposia have focused on gender and well-being. This final thematic symposium adds social movements in a very broad perspective, both in time and conception, including many kinds of collective actions and organizations. Both national and global implications of these movements have been explored. The contributions of Temma Kaplan and Wendy Harcourt both in their ways illustrated the connections between local action and the global perspective.
The cases in the symposium indicate that dissatisfaction, this first step towards a collective action, is gendered, the complaints differ between men and women. The second element is resources to be able to carry out actions. Again papers in this symposium about economic and political resources demonstrate that access to resources is also gendered. The third element is an opportunity structure, where the contributions here demonstrated that these structures are increasingly transnational, such as the EU. A fourth element is whether there is ‘capacity’ for collective action and how capacities (such as shared identities) are built. A fifth step in the model focuses on collective action itself, what actually occurs. The building of organizations, the choice of action such as a demonstration, or a petition, or being embedded in government, networking, using the internet are all elements in strategies to reach goals that make up part of a repertoire. Many of the contributions looked at these aspects, and considered the extent to which gender is involved, even if contentious repertoires were not really a focus.
Most important was the final step- what does this action of social movements mean in terms of outcomes (particularly for the needs of well-being mentioned above?) Were there substantive, procedural or contextual outcomes? Here we can think back to the previous symposium that focused on the role of the state and public policy in well-being. Social movements can be seen in this context as claims on public authorities. These claims are carried out by citizens.
Conclusions and policy implications of the sessions
Opening session:
Temma KaplanAlternating currents: Gender and the democratic control of water
Temma Kaplan’s paper focused on the issue of water and the impact of social movements of poor urban women in this field. In developing countries, clean running water is a main issue. At the same time, water has become a commodity that can be sold. As a consequence, individual rights introduced by capitalism have to some extent destroyed collective rights.
Women activists have significantly contributed to the political awareness of this issue. They indeed took the lead in political action and mobilisation when water accessibility was at stake. Despite women’s political mobilisation, the demands for water have failed to receive appropriate attention. First, there were problems of representation. Most social movements are indeed men-based, while feminist movements, who have taken up the question of women, are mainly made up of women. Second, there were also problems of visibility of women’s movements, which made connections with other social movements difficult. Many acts of civil disobedience could be observed in the social, political and cultural field, encompassing a variety of opinions, as is illustrated by the example of provisioning of water. Other non political networks, mostly based on a regional or local level, were involved in such actions. However, women had difficulties in connecting with these movements.
The session has demonstrated the huge contribution of women’s movements in the field of well-being. With regard to the key issue of water, women’s mobilisation has made a big difference both in terms of consciousness-raising and in terms of defining well-being. As such, the example of water shows that well-being is a deeply gendered issue and that the adequate representation of women is needed in order to get a more encompassing view of well-being.
The session also emphasised the prerequisites of women’s efficient mobilisation in the social and political sphere. Symbolic issues such as recognition and visibility are as important as strategic questions related to coalition-building and the like. With regard to this, it is important to insist on the specificity of the contribution of women’s movements and to underline the fact that questions of strategy and efficiency should help in promoting the political agenda and gendered views of well-being advocated by women’s movements.
Session 1: Competing claims for Well-Being
All three papers presented here emphasized the importance of the resource and opportunity structure for enhancing the efficiency of women’s movements. The session demonstrated that this issue needs to be tackled at all levels: transnational, national and local (or neighborhood). But the methods mobilized to improve the resource and opportunity structure vary along these levels: at EU level, transversal and intersectional coalition-building (across borders and issues) seems to be the key challenge, while at local level ways to better integrate women’s social capital (as defined by Gidengil and Stolle) into decision- and policy-making need to be found. At all levels, however, the key issue is to effectively integrate various stakeholders (NGOs and all kinds of social movements), topics (race, class, intimate citizenship, etc.), and forms of social capital and social participation into the arenas where collective and political decisions are made. As a result, promoting gendered well-being requires other, more inclusive, ways of doing politics allowing competing claims to confront themselves in genuinely democratic fora.
The three papers presented in this session also demonstrated that there is no “one-fit-all” solution, but that differences in historical trajectories and in present circumstances matter, as well as differences within gender groups themselves. Women are not a homogenous group, but there are differences in class, race and sexuality which can lead to conflict in collective action. In such a context, the concept of intersectionality developed in Roth’s paper as well as her notion of the ‘politics of rainbow identities’ are important issues for women’s contemporary social movements.
Session 2: Comparing impacts of gendered social movements
Assessing the impact of gendered social movements in terms of well-being is a complex issue. Anthropometrical data or empirical surveys such as the European Social Survey certainly provide important insights, but they focus on particular dimensions of well-being and fail to provide an encompassing view of gendered well-being. In contrast, and it is maybe one of its major strengths, the capability approach provides an extensive view of well-being, including the key issues of a) how is well-being defined (what dimensions are taken into account by policy-makers and activists? what dimensions are left out?), and b) what resources and opportunity structures are available to the various stakeholders? In particular, what cognitive, strategic and symbolic tools can be efficiently mobilized by women’s movements when framing and pushing a gendered view of well-being? Hence, both in normative and analytical terms, the capability approach offers a more encompassing perspective. However, it fails to appropriately integrate some sociological and political dimensions. The complex idea of intimate citizenship, developed by Roseneil et al., could be helpful in this respect.
Session 3: Social movements, sexualities and health
The session has highlighted the huge contribution of women’s and LGTB movements to integrate issues related to sexuality and health in the definition of well-being. Thanks to women’s activism, a gendered and more holistic view of well-being has been advanced and increasingly adopted in policy agendas. However, significant efforts are still needed in order to further question and de-construct prevailing social norms regarding sexualities, gender identity, relationships between providers and patients in healthcare systems, and intimate citizenship at large. Differences between feminist and LGTB movements can be observed in this respect. All the same, more real democracy, i.e. more capabilities for all citizens – whatever their gender identity, sexuality, etc. - to voice their concerns and make them count in the policy-making processes, is certainly a prerequisite for a more equitable and encompassing definition of well-being that could constitute the basis for a renewed political action.
Session 4: War and political transformation: impacts on social movements
War and political transformation affect social movements in a gendered way and shape women’s collective attitude and political participation to neutralize the negative effects, develop new opportunities, enlarge capabilities and achieve better levels of personal, familiar and communal well-being. The effects of war and changes are not the same for all men and women, and the responses aren’t homogenous in terms of gender and in terms of class.
In the past as well as today women’s collective action for well-being, formal and informal, adapts comportment to changing needs and circumstances in different ways, with appropriate strategies and from socially distinct positions and perceptions.
Women’s movements incorporate specific claims and proposals into political target and open ways to design better solutions for counteracting the negative effects of extraordinary episodes. Women’s participation and empowerment are key values in the political arena. Dialogue and collaboration cause positive effects.
Session 5: Engendering democracy and work
Democracy and work have been a gendered constructs. Women’s collective action in the past and today fight to break exclusions and to reduce differences with regard to men in economical, political and social rights without abandoning the space assigned in the sexual division of labour. In the meantime, feminine functions of producing and caring for life and human well-being have been re-valued in understanding a satisfactory human development throughout the life cycle, from infancy to old age, a conclusion with which men could agree.
The agenda of women’s collective demands has included obtaining equal rights and capabilities to exercise their own development and choices; but women’s movements have taken different forms, priorities and strategies in the long run: economic claims, the suffragist movement, specific women’s associations, collaborations in gender-unequal organizations like unions, direct action in the streets are all examples here.
Session 6: Care, well being and collective action
This session provided reflection on various aspects related to care, well-being and collective action. Two papers focused on the transformation of social and family programs and childcare services in Eastern Europe between the communist regime and the current neo-liberal regime, and emphasize the feminine response and the movements that take on this issue. The third paper analysed the process to increase the quantity and quality of childcare services at the Modena local level thanks to feminine collective action.
Women’s action in Modena provided a successful example of interaction between social movements, political institutions and other agents. It resulted in achieving childcare services of good-quality that also operated as a social integration platform for migrant families and constituted spaces for public learning and institutional innovation. Furthermore it affected the laws regulating the diffusion and availability of childcare services at national level. The case study shows the positive effects that interaction, mutual recognition, and individual capabilities have in constructing a framework and achieving priority targets for municipal resources. It shows how collective action can produce positive results.
Movements and issues are shaped by ideas and theories. The papers point out the differences between communist and liberal targets, the effects of the idealization of the family’s role, or the disadvantage of the assignment of women to domestic tasks.
All contributions stress that social and family policies impact on women’s political participation and on the effects of their collective action.
Session 7: Frames of empowerment
All four of the papers in this session in very different ways demonstrated that empowerment can mean different things in different settings, but that activism in most cases leads to benefits for women. This has been true both in the past, where strategies directed at financing crucially shaped the agendas of women’s groups in Sweden, and also in the complicated present. The papers also illustrated some of the significant changes in considering social movements in terms of empowerment, when taking into account new cultural situations, as in Central and Eastern Europe, and new cultural voices, as is the case with Islamic women in Western Europe. The requirement that movements communicate across borders is somewhat different than in first wave feminist movements and is also an important new factor. The implications of this work for further research include the value and necessity of comparative informed research which allows us to ‘see’ frames, and the need to bring into the account transnational organizations when studying local conditions to see how they interact with visions, goals and frames locally. Especially important is to explore the situations which give openings for women’s voices or alternatively keep gendered claims from being heard.
Final session:
Wendy Harcourt Care economies and well-being in the global age
Harcourt’s engaged speech with its personal reflections on the role of an activist and academic in working for the improvement of well-being through social movements gave an excellent insight into the transnational linkages of women and men through family and work. In building awareness and making claims, social movements can be important in improving well being and making policy makers aware. A gender and nation perspective with an eye for economics has potential for expanding our understanding.