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Female Representation at the World Economic Forum

Nauta, Chloe LU (2015) SIMV73 20151
Graduate School
Department of Political Science
Master of Science in Global Studies
Abstract
The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an influential global actor that in recent years has been criticised for the lack of female representation at their annual Davos summit. The WEF has justified this disparity as simply reflecting the current state of female leadership worldwide. This thesis explores both descriptive and substantive representation within the forum in order to determine whether or not the WEF is restricted in its ability to increase female representation within the organisation, and uses theories of hegemonic masculinity and inequality regimes in order to identify structural limitations to greater substantive participation. The analysis reveals that although female participation at the WEF is reflective of global levels, it... (More)
The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an influential global actor that in recent years has been criticised for the lack of female representation at their annual Davos summit. The WEF has justified this disparity as simply reflecting the current state of female leadership worldwide. This thesis explores both descriptive and substantive representation within the forum in order to determine whether or not the WEF is restricted in its ability to increase female representation within the organisation, and uses theories of hegemonic masculinity and inequality regimes in order to identify structural limitations to greater substantive participation. The analysis reveals that although female participation at the WEF is reflective of global levels, it is not increasing in line with current global trends, which can be attributed to three main factors: the dominance of the Davos Man as an expression of hegemonic masculinity; inequality regimes within the organisation; and the sustained inequality of gender in global power and decision-making. (Less)
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author
Nauta, Chloe LU
supervisor
organization
course
SIMV73 20151
year
type
H1 - Master's Degree (One Year)
subject
keywords
World Economic Forum, Davos Man, Hegemonic Masculinity, Female Representation, Inequality Regimes
language
English
id
5465895
date added to LUP
2015-06-16 10:28:56
date last changed
2015-06-18 14:04:25
@misc{5465895,
  abstract     = {{The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an influential global actor that in recent years has been criticised for the lack of female representation at their annual Davos summit. The WEF has justified this disparity as simply reflecting the current state of female leadership worldwide. This thesis explores both descriptive and substantive representation within the forum in order to determine whether or not the WEF is restricted in its ability to increase female representation within the organisation, and uses theories of hegemonic masculinity and inequality regimes in order to identify structural limitations to greater substantive participation. The analysis reveals that although female participation at the WEF is reflective of global levels, it is not increasing in line with current global trends, which can be attributed to three main factors: the dominance of the Davos Man as an expression of hegemonic masculinity; inequality regimes within the organisation; and the sustained inequality of gender in global power and decision-making.}},
  author       = {{Nauta, Chloe}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Female Representation at the World Economic Forum}},
  year         = {{2015}},
}