Regressions in Gender Equality, Women's Human Rights, and Empowerment - The Other Side of the Coin

This open-access book highlights recent setbacks that threaten women's human rights and positions achieved through feminist activism and commitment in academia and civil society. Almost three decades after the Beijing Conference and the Platform for Action, this book draws the attention of the international community to the dangerous steps backward, pushbacks, and omissions that continue to characterize the political choices of national governments worldwide. The author, an expert in the field, argues for more stringent intervention to urge governments to implement the plans in the Beijing Platform for Action. The book does not assert the supremacy of one part of the world over another. Instead, it takes a thematic approach and evaluates all aspects of the Beijing Platform for Action. The book adopts an intersectional approach, and considers age, marital status, race and ethnicity, religious beliefs, disability, immigration status, gender identity and expression, etc., in identifying multiple levels of discrimination. It, further, does not confine itself to a critical analysis of the current or already realized setbacks, but instead highlights regulatory gaps that continue to undermine the impact of the Beijing Platform for Action, limiting women's empowerment and agency, and overshadowing their voice. Therefore, it significantly adds to the literature on women's studies by identifying policy areas for intervention. Through this book, aimed at gender and women's studies scholars, policy-makers, activists, and personnel from government organizations and NGOs working with women, the systematic and structured analysis of the current setbacks in gender equality can provide valuable support for education, and enrich the scientific debate on how to make the Beijing Platform for Action a reality.

List of contents

Introduction.- Section I Lessons from the past, and future challenges.- Chapter 1 A glance at the past: Achieved goals, persisting unbalances and discriminations.- Chapter 2 Dangerous pushbacks, emerging challenges and new strategies to cope with them.- Section II Gender equality rights at stake.- Chapter 3 The health rights.- Chapter 4 The rights to long-life learning and education.- Chapter 5 The gender identity and its own expressive dimension.- Chapter 6 The gender identity and its own expressive dimension.- Chapter 7 The right to safe and free movement.- Chapter 8 The right to employment, social inclusion and active citizenship.- Chapter 9 The right to a safe life.-Conclusions and future prospects.

About the author

Fiorenza Deriu, PhD, is a sociologist at the Department of Statistical Science of Sapienza University of Rome. She is currently Delegate of the Rectress for the Erasmus Mundus Program and for the Coordination of the new Erasmus+ Program 2021-2027 at the university level. She is President of the Bachelor's Degree Programme in “Statistics, Economics and Society”, and Director of the second level Master in “Big Data. Statistical methods for the knowledge society”, now in its ninth edition. She teaches “General Sociology”, and leads a “Laboratory in Social Research” in the Bachelor's Degree Programme in “Statistics, Economics and Society”; and lectures a Course on “Social Network Analysis” in the Master of Science programme in "Statistical Sciences" of the Department of Statistical Sciences. Until February 2025 she directed the Jean Monnet Module "SPEAK-UP "SPreading women's Empowerment and AKtive citizenship values to enhance Union Policies combating gender discrimination and violence in a globalized world, funded by the European Commission. Since 2017, Fiorenza has been a member of the Scientific Council of the interdisciplinary research Laboratory on diversity and gender inequalities "Minerva", of the Department of Statistical Sciences (DSS) of Sapienza University of Rome. In 2019 she lectured courses on statistics and survey methodology on violence against women at the Eastern Africa Statistical Training Centre (EASTC) In Dar Es Salaam (Tanzania).  She is a member of a research group on gender studies, that includes scholars from the Universities of Lujan, La Pampa and Comahue in Argentina; and the University of Queretaro in Mexico. She has been a visiting professor at the following higher education institutions: The Academia Sinica in Taiwan, at the Institute of European and American Studies (IEAS); the University of Lujan, Argentina; the International Business College of Mitrovica (IBC-M) and the University of Peja in Kosova.  She is a member of both the scientific Committees and Editorial boards of relevant National and International scientific Journals. At an international level, she is currently independent expert on gender studies for ÖSB Consulting, within the project on “Mutual Learning Programme in Gender Equality”. Fiorenza has written essays and scientific articles on gender studies and violence against women; on active population aging and social policies for older people; and on poverty and social exclusion. In her 22-year career she has to her credit numerous publications in terms of monographs; curatorship of volumes; essays/chapters in volumes; articles in scientific journals; articles in conference proceedings; reviews and editorials.

Summary

This open-access book highlights recent setbacks that threaten women’s human rights and positions achieved through feminist activism and commitment in academia and civil society. Almost three decades after the Beijing Conference and the Platform for Action, this book draws the attention of the international community to the dangerous steps backward, pushbacks, and omissions that continue to characterize the political choices of national governments worldwide. The author, an expert in the field, argues for more stringent intervention to urge governments to implement the plans in the Beijing Platform for Action. The book does not assert the supremacy of one part of the world over another. Instead, it takes a thematic approachand evaluates all aspects of the Beijing Platform for Action. The book adopts an intersectional approach, and considers age, marital status, race and ethnicity, religious beliefs, disability, immigration status, gender identity and expression, etc., in identifying multiple levels of discrimination. It, further, does not confine itself to a critical analysis of the current or already realized setbacks, but instead highlights regulatory gaps that continue to undermine the impact of the Beijing Platform for Action, limiting women’s empowerment and agency, and overshadowing their voice. Therefore, it significantly adds to the literature on women’s studies by identifying policy areas for intervention. Through this book, aimed at gender and women’s studies scholars, policy-makers, activists, and personnel from government organizations and NGOs working with women, the systematic and structured analysis of the current setbacks in gender equality can provide valuable support for education, and enrich the scientific debate on how to make the Beijing Platform for Action a reality.

Product details

• Authors: Fiorenza Deriu
• Publisher: Springer, Berlin
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Release: 16.12.2025
• EAN: 9783032099624
• ISBN: 978-3-0-3209962-4
• No. of pages: 340
• Illustrations: X, 340 p. 3 illus.
• Subjects: Social sciences, law, business > Sociology; Kulturwissenschaften, Gender Studies, Sociology, Soziale und ethische Themen, Sociology of Culture, Gender Studies: Gruppen, Open Access, Gender-based Violence, Social Justice, women’s rights, Gender education, Backwards in gender equality, Beijing Platform for action, pushbacks in gender equality