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2012

[Type the author name]

[TYPE THE DOCUMENT TITLE] [Type the abstract of the document here. The abstract is typically a short summary of the contents of the document. Type the abstract of the document here. The abstract is typically a short summary of the contents of the document.]

Divine Word University PNG Studies Department

Gender, Women and Employment

A case study of changing women’s professions in Madang Teachers Collage, Lutheran School of Nursing and Madang Technical Collage.

By: Benita Bagasel

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Benita Bagasel

Bachelor in Arts (PNG Studies) Year 4

PG 416 Major Research Project

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Gender, Women and Employment

A case study on women’s changing professional career paths in Madang

Technical Collage, Madang Teachers Collage and Lutheran School of

Nursing. Women venturing into traditionally male oriented profession

A research paper submitted to Dr. Jerome Semos in completion of course code name PG 416

Major Research project and also in fulfillment of the Bachelor in Arts (PNG Studies) Program.

Divine Word University

October 12th

, 2012

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Study Abstract

Gender issue is a cross cutting issue in Papua New Guinea and the government is try tirelessly

to work through its arms to address the issue of gender equality. In the past 10 years policies

have been drawn up to address gender equality in all sectors of the society. One of the areas

that the government is targeting is equality in the workplace. This is to promote equal

participation and equal opportunity for women to actively participate and be given the same

opportunity as males to develop themselves as human beings and to contributing meaningfully

to the development of PNG. The policies include Gender Equality in Education, Gender Equality

in the Workplace and many other policies.

With the being put into place, women are now venturing into traditional male oriented jobs/

profession. In the past, women’s work were centered domesticated duties and were not

encouraged to apply for jobs that required long hours, travelling, and any other activity that will

take up their too much time away from home and less time with their families, or jobs that

require skills that are in line with or demonstrate masculinity traits. However, this trend is

changing in PNG as women are breaking this barrier and moving into professions that were

once thought of as male oriented. With the implementation of the policies and more awareness

on the issue, people’s mindsets are changing thus women are now being empowered through

education by being given more opportunity to make their own choice in regard to choosing

their career paths.

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Statement of Sources and Declaration

I declare that this Major Research is my own work and has not been submitted in any other form for another degree or diploma at any other university or other tertiary institution. Information and ideas derived from published and unpublished works have been acknowledged and is in the text and list of bibliography is provided for authenticity. ________________________ _________________

Benita BagaselDate

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Acknowledgement

I would to firstly thank out Heavenly Father for his endless love and guidance

throughout the course of this research and especially for his protection throughout

my four years of studies in Divine Word University.

I would also like to thank my parents Mr. & Mr. Bagasel for the love and tireless

support and sacrifices and for always believing in me and always supporting me

financially and ever encouraging me to keep going at times I feel like giving up.

And to my other siblings for their help in cash and kind as well.

A special mention also to my research group mates Nathan Matbob, Geraldine

Lokain and Fidelis Sukina. Thank you for your time, help and critics in the course

of writing up this paper. An not forgetting all the others that have in one way or

another contributed to this research paper

A word of thanks also to the students and staff of Lutheran School of Nursing,

Madang Technical Collage and the Madang Teachers Collage. Thank you for your

time and participation.

And last but not the least a big thank you to my Mentor Dr. Jerome Semos for his

mentorship and guidance during the course of my research. Thank you very much.

Without all your cooperation and support, I would never have completed my

research report. Thanks a million and God Bless us all.

Benita Bagasel

Bechelor in Arts PNG Studies

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Abbreviation or glossary of terms

Decent Work Policy- is a guiding document to policing and issues standards on employment.

Gender – Gender refers to the range of socially structured roles and relationships, personal

traits, attitudes, behaviors, values, relative power and influence that society ascribes to the two

sexes on a differential basis. (Esplan, Jolly, 2006)

Gender Equality – Gender equality is the measurable equal representation of women and men.

Gender equality does not imply that women and men are the same, but that they have equal

value and should be accorded equal treatment. The United Nations regards gender equality as

a human right. Equal pay for equal work is one of the areas where gender equality is rarely

seen. All too often women are paid less than men for doing the same work.

Employment – Work that is done by someone for the condition of pay. Empowerment - means to gain knowledge and understanding and motivation to do something

for you own good or giving help to another.

Equality – having the same treatment regardless of sex, race, religion, status.

Profession - A profession refers to an occupation that requires specialized education,

knowledge, training and ethics. Although professionals make their living in what they do, this

paid work is often more than just a job or occupation alone. Whether the profession is law,

medicine, plumbing, writing, interior design or baseball, those who are in it are expected to

meet and maintain common standards.

Women – Plural female adult (working age)

The Gender Equity in Education Strategic Plan (2009-2014) has been developed to support,

assist and facilitate implementation of the Gender Equity in Education Policy.

Abbreviations PNG Papua New Guinea ILOInternational Labor Organization PNG V2050Papua New Guinea Vision 2050

UNUnited Nations

PNGGEW Papua New Guinea Gender Equality in Workplace GEEPIGender Equality in Education Policy on Implantation NSBNational Statistics Bureau GWPDecent Workplace Policy

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Table of Content

Title page ..................................................................................................... ii

Study Abstract ............................................................................................ iii

Statement of Source and Declaration ...........................................................iv

Acknowledgement ........................................................................................ v

Abbreviations and Glossary of Terms ..........................................................vi

Table of Content ......................................................................................... vii Chapter 1. Introduction

1.1 Background ...................................................................................... 1

1.2 Statement of the Problem ................................................................. 2

1.3 Research question ............................................................................ 2

1.4 Specific Questions ............................................................................ 2

1.5 Research Aims and Objectives .......................................................... 2

1.6 Research Assumptions ..................................................................... 3

1.7 Significance and Benefits .................................................................. 3

1.8 Scope and Limitation ........................................................................ 3

Chapter 2. Literature

2.1 Traditional PNG Culture ..............................................................4

2.1.1 Societal structure and gender relations ......................................... 4

2.1.2 Tradition Gender Roles .................................................................. 5

2.2 Education (Modernization) ..........................................................7

2.2.1 Education ..................................................................................... 8

2.2.3 Employment .................................................................................. 8

2.3 Globalization (Globalizing Gender Culture) ....................................9

2.3.1 Social Decolonization ................................................................... 10

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2.4 Gender equality ......................................................................... 11

Chapter 3. Methodology

4.1 Location of the study ...................................................................... 12

4.2 Target Group .................................................................................. 12

4.3 Research Design ............................................................................. 12

4.3.1 Qualitative .............................................................................. 12

4.3.2 Quantitative ........................................................................... 12

4.3.3 Mixed Method ......................................................................... 13

4.4 Data Collection ............................................................................... 13

4.4.1 Interview................................................................................. 13

4.4.2 Questionnaire ......................................................................... 13

4.4.3 Document Review ................................................................... 13

4.5 Timing ............................................................................................ 13

4.6 Budget ............................................................................................ 13

4.7 Conceptual Framework ............................................................. 14

Chapter 4: Findings and Explanation

4.1 Introduction ................................................................................... 16

4.2 Question 1 ............................................................................... 17

4.2.1 Table 1 ........................................................................................ 17

4.2.2 Graph 1 & 2 ................................................................................ 17

4.2.3 Explanation ................................................................................. 18

4.3 Question 2 .............................................................................. 18

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4.3.1 Table 2 .......................................................................................... 18

4.3.2 Graph 1 &2 ............................................................................... 18

4.3.3 Explanation ............................................................................... 19

4.4 Question 3 ............................................................................... 19

4.4.1 Table 3 ........................................................................................ 19

4.4.2 Graph 1&2 .................................................................................. 19

4.4.3 Explanation ................................................................................. 20

4.5 Question 4 ............................................................................... 20

4.5.1 Table 4 ........................................................................................ 20

4.5.2 Graphs 1&2 ................................................................................. 20

4.5.3 Explanation ................................................................................. 20

4.6 Conclusion ................................................................................ 21

5. Chapter 5: Discussion and Analysiss

5.1 Introduction ................................................................................... 22

5.2 Education and Westernization ........................................................ 22

5.3 Money and globalization ................................................................. 23

5.4 Opportunity .................................................................................... 24

5.5 Empowerment ................................................................................ 25

5.6 Conclusion ..................................................................................... 26

6. Chapter 6: Summary and Recommendation

6.1 Introduction ................................................................................... 27

6.2 Education ....................................................................................... 27

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6.3 Opportunity .................................................................................... 27

6.4 Empowerment ................................................................................ 27

6.5 Recommendation ............................................................................ 28

Reference ..................................................................................29- 30

Appendices .................................................................................31-35

1. Introduction

1.1 Background

In the recent years Gender issues in PNG have been put under the limelight for the need to be

addressed at all levels of the government. These issues are now cross cutting issues that affect

all aspects of development. In Papua New Guinea, the government is working with Non-

governmental organizations to address the need for gender equality as well as trying to address

issues such as gender based violence, and many other issues that come about as a result of

gender differences.

Women in the past were considered “belonging to the house”. Their main role was to bear

children and take care of their homes. In Papua New Guinea, culture plays a major role in

influencing what men and women do. This traditional way of thinking is still common in PNG;

however, “Community education on gender equity has to break into cultural barriers to unlock

certain mindsets that do not accept that women and girls are capable of taking on male roles

and vice versa. Gender equity education will free people from some culturally repressive

practices that impede development and progress, not only of the female members, but also of

the weaker and minority groups in our society. Changing people’s mindsets and attitudes that

are culturally engraved will take a long time. The experiences of extending education to the

community can become the catalyst for bringing the community and school to closer and better

working relationships with each other” (Passingan 2005).

In Papua New Guinea, culture is a strong factor affecting female student enrolment in tertiary

institutions, if the responsible authorities break through the cultural barriers affecting female

enrolment we can have equal number of students in tertiary education, in that: “gender

equality is now widely recognized as a critical step to achieving sustainable development,

eradicating poverty, improving health and enhancing economic growth and democratic

governance1. Countries that fail to promote equality between men and women have slower

economic growth and persistent poverty. The consequences of overlooking gender equity in

education include serious negative impacts on health and social relations.” (National

Department of Education 2009).

NDOE 2009 Report goes on to say that, “The Constitution of Papua New Guinea states the right

to equality for both women and men within their family, community and society. It promotes

integral human development, which encourages every person to be dynamically involved in the

process of freeing himself or herself from every form of oppression. This allows each man or

woman to have the opportunity to develop as a whole person in relation to others” (National

Department of Education 2009).

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Culture has strong connections in each society in the world Papua New Guinea may not have

the same experience with other countries but as an example to what extent culture has an

impact towards female enrolment, is the purpose for this article, other concerns of safety

maybe the case of females not enrolling away from their families.

Definition of research topic: The main research question is: How has women’s profession

changed since independence? In the past, women were considered to be domestic workers;

however, in PNG, this is changing. Women are now venturing into traditionally male dominated

jobs, taking up professions that were once only considered male oriented and so on. Today,

females are taking up studies or courses that leads up to them being in the field that were once

male dominated. There are women plumbers, mechanics and others in the trade fields.

Females are also being encouraged to apply for positions that were traditional reserved for

males. This research is going to be conducted to analyze the change of women’s professional

career paths from three institutions in Madang Province and they are Madang Technical Collage

and Madang Teachers Collage and the Lutheran School of Nursing.

1.2 Problem Statement

Since independence, lot has been done to bring out to the awareness of many Papua New

Guineans the importance of women and equal participation. The main concept of focus in this

study is women and employment. In traditional Papua New Guinean societies, women were

considered second class and inferior to men. This has prompted me to analysis women and

employment, in particularly and the changing professional career paths. Many women are now

venturing in once male dominate professions thus this research is going to analyses how this

gradual shift is taking place and what are the factors that are causing that.

1.3 Research Questions

The main research question that this research is asking is:

How is women’s profession career path changing in PNG?

1.4 Specific Research Questions

The specific questions have been designed to help answer the main research question.

1.What is the driving force behind the shift in women’s professional career path?

2.How has the shift in women and employment contributing the status of women in PNG?

(V2050)

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1.5 Research Aims and Objectives

The aim of this research is to analyses the changes in women’s professions and how it has

changed over time. The objective of this research is to find out how these changes have

occurred and what factors contributed to these changes in terms of the themes education,

westernization and globalization. The major themes have been identified and will be used in

this analysis on gender and women employment. The objectives of this research are aimed at:

a)Finding out what is driving this change of women’s profession in contemporary PNG.

b) Find out how the shift in women’s profession is contributing to the general status of

women in PNG?

1.6 Research Assumption

This research assumes that there is a major shift in women’s profession over the years in PNG.

A case study analysis into the phenomena is going to be carried out in particular the Modilon

General Hospital, Madang Technical College and Madang Teachers College. The three concepts

that are going to be used to analyses the case are education, westernization, and globalization.

1.8 Research Significance and Benefits

The significance of this research is that it will help contribute to achieving the first pillar of

Papua New Guinea’s Vision 2050’s pillar number one, which is Human development, gender,

youth and people empowerment. It will help policy makers to come up with policies that will

include improving women’s participation in the socio-economical growth of not only Madang

but PNG as a whole. In addition to that, it will explain to the general public and as well as those

on the academic field that women are now choosing other fields to work and build their career.

Contribute to the body of knowledge providing information in a form of a case study about the

phenomena of the changing profession of women.

1.9 Scope and Limitation

This research is going to be conducted in Madang Province in four institutions. This institutions

deal with different areas of profession. These institutions are Modilon General Hospital,

Madang Teachers College and Madang Technical College. The participants are students in the

institutions, who are currently studying in the specialized field’s courses like carpentry,

mechanics, nursing, teaching and others.

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2.Literature Review

2.1 Traditional PNG Culture (Gender)

Gender used here is defined as inequalities, divisions, and differences socially constructed

around assumed distinctions between female and male. Gender is a basic organizing principle in

social life, a principle for allocation of duties, rights, rewards, and power, including the means

of violence. Gender is a factor in organizing daily life for individuals, families, communities, and

societies as large structures. Women are usually disadvantaged in terms of power and material

and status rewards. Gender is neither an essential attribute of individuals nor a constant in

social life, but consists of material and symbolic aspects of existence, constantly produced and

reproduced in the course of ongoing social activities and practices. Gender necessarily involves

bodies of actual people and the ways that they see and experience themselves, their identities.

2.1.1 Societal Structure and gender relation

PNG is a land with diverse cultures. The agent that plays a major role in the way people live and

how they do things is the type of societal structure that a particular society is constructed.

These social constructions shapes gender and the roles of men and women in the society thus

this is reflected to the outer world by the way men and women do things respectively.

Gender relations are the socially determined relations that differentiate the male and female

situations. People are born biologically male and female, but acquire a gender identity. Gender

relations refer to the gender dimensions of the social relations structuring the lives of individual

men and women, such as the gender division of labor and the gender division to excess to

control over resources (Elson, 1995:1)

Before independence, the women of PNG were not very much aware of the issue of gender

differences. The difference in gender roles where considered a norm to each society and were

accepted by women. Women were perceived to be ‘belonging to the house’, while men were

free to do what they wished as well as being given first preference when it came to matters

involve education and other benefits. For example in a patrilineal society where man were the

owners of land and were the decision makers, women’s say was not considered, as well as

women were not to attend the meeting that concerned man.

Women were regarded as “belonging to the house” thus their primary job was to look after the

household chores and bare and rare children. In Papua New Guinea, people often used

historical events as markers from which to view major changes to lifestyle. These changes have

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played a major role in the status of women in PNG and can be viewed from two angles,

internally and externally and have occurred at different periods, reflecting geographic isolation,

socio and economic development. These can be better understood if we look at it from these

three eras: the first contact with the Australian and German administrators, missionaries and

traders: the development of school, health services, roads cash crops and wages and other

activities that were influenced by the outside world and finally the period since independence

and the function of institutions that established by the colonizers.

The fact that different societies have a wide range of different ideas about appropriate ways for

women and men to behave should make it clear just how far removed gender roles are from

their origins in our biological sex (ibid.:4). Comparative and cross cultural analysis (labeled

‘anthropology of women’) pioneered by feminist anthropologists has shown that there are

significant similarities as well as differences within and between societies. Kessler, 1976:

Moore, 1988). The basis of these similarities is their biological sex whilst their differences are

determined by their varied socio-economic and political contexts (Moore, 1988).

2.1.2 Traditional Gender Roles

The view in PNG that women are seen as the second class or their status being reduced is due

to the outside influences. This started at the time of the colonial administrators and

missionaries. The entrepreneurs were mainly men. They made their initial contact with male

leaders and made decisions and men were taken to work in and even be employed as

entrepreneurs and go-betweens. The differential impacts of these contacts as reflected the

variation in the existing cultural attitudes towards women’s roles and the degree to which their

productivity and resources management activities were considered subordinated to men.

(Sexton, 1984)

Although culturally women played their role in domestic services and less or minor roles in the

interpretation of languages during the time of the missionaries and the traders, the newcomers

were not aware of their contribution to or involvement in the economic production and the

resource management. Formal involvement of women as individual leaders and representatives

of their lineages has diminished over the period of a hundred years. State organization of local

politics has historically excluded women thus men now mediate all female interests. (Wolfgang

2004: p 2)

Most of those who came from other countries brought with them the patrilineal mind-sets

from which they analysis the kinship of those they met. The major emphasis was on male

control over decision making and resource management with unequal opportunities for women

in education and employment. This meant that the introduction of organized structure with the

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exclusive emphasis on make authority further weakened the position of women in the society.

As one Papua New Guinea educator noted:

‘The expansion of education and occupational opportunities in the 1960s did little to alter the

subsistence economic structures or traditional political systems in favor of women. On the

contrary, western patriarchy, through its colonial education system, reaffirmed the view of

women as inferior, isolating them even further from their agriculture and domestic bases of

power and influence.’ (Martin, 1985: p. 110)

After independence, many of the colonial administrative structures continued almost

unchanged. Males were still given exclusive consideration over women. The development of

projects came about after community consultation, however, women were given very little

consultation and in-put. During the course of the first United Nations Decade for Women, the

issue for women in politics and decision making did not receive the fanfare of attention. In

many societies in Papua New Guinea, gender inequality in the employment opportunity is a

result of the patriarchal society which men are of more importance to women thus has more

power.

Power relations in the present Papua New Guinea maintains that gender inequality is a

phenomenon in the contemporary PNG which is dialectic of pre-contact and western mode of

social existence. The relation between class status and power is summarized by Encel as: Class-

refers to superior and inferior to control over the processes of production and distribution of

material goods. Status- refers to superior and inferior positions in an accepted and established

hierarchy of social roles and functions and power- refers to superior and inferior access to

control over the political legal and coercive mechanisms of influence and authority. As a result

women were considered to be the backbone of the house. Their task were limited to domestic

duties such as cleaning, gardening, looking after pigs, gathering fruits and vegetables and

rearing children.

With the notion being that men are superior then women, they tend to look down on them in

sectors, whether it be private, government, economic social and political. Such perceptions only

serve to marginalize the majority of women. However, women who are still living a pre-

dominantly agricultural may not be part and partial of this perceptions because according to

Cox and Aitsi (1988: 24) “ In traditional Papua New Guinea society, women are to some extent

influential since they play a central role in the economic, social and cultural aspects of the

society. Men’s sense of political security rests on the effectiveness and the success of women in

executing their responsibilities. Yet women do not see this as a bargaining power with which

they can challenge the superiority of men in contemporary PNG.’ That superiority of men

referred to is situated within contemporary PNG.

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This power relation that has enforced the superiority of men in the contemporary PNG is the

idea of the “West” where according to a Cox and Aitsi (1988: 43) ‘available evidence suggests

that the traditional role of PNG women is changing…” with the changing world. Women in the

rural areas of PNG may not be speaking out for themselves on the issues that are affecting

them but the minority that are aware and well informed about the issues are speaking or

writing about them. This is done in order to get the voices of the silent to be heard.

2.2. Education (Empowerment)

The task of defining empowerment is a problematic one. In order to understand the process of

empowerment we therefore need to be aware that power can take many different forms.

However, in this case we are looking at empowerment in the form of power to; which is

generative and productive power… which creates new possibilities and actions without

domination. (Rowland’s, 1997: 13). However, with modernization coming in with the flow of

economy and improvement of health and education, people started to change to adapt to what

was happen around them in-order to survive. This in-turn saw the beginning girls being

encouraged to go to school. This began with church run, by the missionaries. However, this was

not easy as parents were not very keen with the idea of sending their girl child off to school as

they believed that it was a waste of time and resource, which in the end the girl would drop out

of school half way or run off and marry a boy from another tribe or clan. This was the common

practice in most of PNG’s culture. In the early 1970s, which was the moving away from the

exclusive ‘women work’? In many case at that time meant tension and conflict in their personal

relations and partial alienation by their communities.

Feminist theories evolved from the feminist movements in the western countries. Most

western feminist historians assert that all movements that work to obtain women's rights

should be considered feminist movements. However, the movement came in three waves, the

first being for the right to vote, the second to be give equal rights and the third come about

because of the failure of the second not being achieved. With the flow of missionaries and the

entrepreneurs in to the Pacific in the early 1990’s, they brought with them their ideas and

started imposing them on the cultures that they came in contact with in Papua New Guinea.

Although issues for PNG vary over the past two decades there has been a progressive

strengthening of the national PNG women’s movement. This has lead to the implementation of

national policies and machinery to address the needs of women.

The theory of modernization looks at the internal factors of a country while assuming that, with

assistance, "traditional" countries can be brought to development in the same manner more

developed countries have (Wolfgang Zapf, 2003). A more dynamic definition is given by

8

Johannes Berger: "Modernization is the internal achievement of a society; the particular

processes of modernization support each other in combination; the leading nations do not

impede the followers; the processes of modernization are converging in a common goal"

(modern society) (Berger 1996: 46). Modernization theory attempts to identify the social

variables which contribute to social progress and development of societies, and seeks to explain

the process of social evolution. Modernization theory not only stresses the process of change

but also the responses to that change. It also looks at internal dynamics while referring to social

and cultural structures and the adaptation of new technologies.

…“in the origins of the theory with the concept that technological advancements and

economical changes can enable changes in moral and cultural values. The first to make the

economic-social development connection and that there can be continuous progress and

improvement in human affairs. With that said, new advancements and improvements would

need to keep pace with a constantly changing world”. (Wolfgang, 2003: p. 4)

With this change, participation was given more attention in development. In addition to social

structure and the evolution of societies, the French sociologist Émile Durkheim developed the

concept of functionalism which stresses the interdependence of the institutions of a society

and their interaction in maintaining cultural and social unity. His most famous work is The

Division of Labor in Society, which described how social order was to be maintained in a society

and how primitive societies might make the transition to more economically advanced

industrial societies. Durkheim suggested that in a capitalist society, with a complex division of

labor, economic regulation would be needed to maintain order. He stressed that the major

transition from a primitive social order to a more advanced industrial society could otherwise

bring crisis and disorder. Durkheim furthermore developed the idea of social evolution, which

indicates how societies and cultures develop over time. (Silva, 2010)

2.2.1 Employment

With improved education for women in the past three decades, women are certainly more

likely to be working outside the home than ever before. Between the 1950s and the end of the

1990s, the proportion of women aged 20–59 who were in the labor force increased from

around one-third to one-half. However, women’s participation in the labor force increased

particularly in the 1980s and 1990s—the era of globalization.

More women must now work to ensure family survival in the face of declining real wages and

the increased monetary cost of subsistence resulting from cutbacks in public services and

subsidies (Pearson 1999). But a further cause of the increase in women’s labor force

participation is that there has been greater demand for women workers in particular sectors of

9

the economy, particularly in export sectors that have in some countries experienced

considerable growth. Female employment in developing countries that has received relatively

little attention in recent years, even within the gender literature, partly because it is not seen as

“export-oriented” (and hence valuable according to the dominant neoliberal worldview), and

partly because it is considered to be (and is) an area of traditional female work. This is female

employment within the public service in general, and more specifically within the public welfare

services, such as teaching and nursing. It is very difficult to find reliable sex-disaggregated

statistics to show how women have fared in this process and whether or not the new, more

commercialized education and health services are better employers of women in the

developing countries.

There are, however, some excellent micro level studies on this subject; Deniz Kandiyoti’s (2002:

512) work on Uzbekistan shows how large numbers of highly educated female teachers and

nurses have reverted to working in the agricultural sector and/or in the over-crowded informal

economy. Moreover, what likely affects do the new conditions of female employment in

teaching and nursing have on incentive structures for girls to complete secondary school and

maybe even enter higher education? In the 1950s and 1960s the likelihood of finding a

government job, with a descent wage and good welfare entitlements, for example, constituted

a powerful set of incentives for young women to remain in secondary school.

2.3 Globalization (Globalizing Gender Culture)

In the west, especially in the north, the term gender has played a key role in feminist theory

and politics since the late 1960’s. In order for gender to be understood in a culture, translation

was needed. The complex linguistic history of gender in European language indicates that

translating that term from English to other languages will always be difficult. Language plays a

role in the interpreting of such theories and concepts. The story of the term gender travelling to

China is different. Different cultures have different names for things. Anxiety about translations

issues looking for the right word noticing language barriers in current international feminist

dialogue.

“To put it crudely: because the language of the third world societies- including, of course

the societies that social anthropologies have traditionally studied- are weaker in relation

to western languages (especially to English today), they are more likely to submit to

forcible transformation in the translation process than the other way around.” (Asad

1986: 157-158)

The production and reception of feminist ideas in transnational exchanges illustrates some

power relationships in the’ travelling theory’ and cultural translation.

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Within the modern PNG values placed on women as mothers could be seen to exclude women

from other roles by placing positive values on the traditional domain and devaluing the

contributions women make in other spheres. However, with globalization many ideas and

information, capital and economic activities flow freely. With economic changes there is greater

prestige attach to new forms of wealth, knowledge and status. Western goods and life-style

have in place replaced the valued goods of traditional life. In some areas money and consumer

goods have been substituted for valuables in customary exchange, such as bride price. This shift

in value system has a deleterious effect on women’s status.

2.3.1 Social Decolonization

In some Papua New Guinean societies, women’s rights have been depleted negated by negative

attitudes, and the distorted impact of colonial and modern development of on the existing

social structure, that women do indeed feel powerless. In order, to address problems relating

to low status of women it as notes courier strategy note 1997- 2001 that the government and

NGO’s “recognize that partnership between man and women is vital and have started to

undertaking their mainstreaming of gender issues and gender training” (UNDP/ GoPNG: 1995,

p. 10). The aim was to realize the second constitutional goal, that all citizen, men and women,

‘have an equal opportunity to participate in and benefit from, the development of our country’

(Constitution of the Independent of Papua New Guinea 1975, National Goals and Directive

Principles)

The process of development all happens at a gradual speed. As for PNG, the issues of women

has only recently being picked out of the basket as a separate issue that needs to be addressed

as an issue that affects or has an effect as a result of development. There are laws now in place

especially to protect women from all forms of violence and discrimination. The policy for

Women and Gender Equality was launched in 1991, with the aim was to establish or strengthen

systems and women’s mechanisms in the country. The Policy achieved its overall objectives

with one of the major achievement being the establishment of the Office for the Development

of Women. These changes will only occur is all citizens of this country change their mindset and

their views on the way women are treated and given the same recognition in terms of their

rights in equal participation for the development of this country. The changing of the mindset

of people

2.4 Gender equality

Gender inequality is a sensitive and persistent problem, especially in developing countries. We

model gender discrimination as the complete exclusion of females from the labor market or as

the exclusion of females from managerial positions. The distortions in the allocation of talent

11

between managerial and unskilled positions, and in human capital investment, are analyzed. It

is found that both types of discrimination lower economic growth.

As stated in the document was Policy for Women and Gender Equality 2010 – 2015, the

government of PNG is committed to the development and empowerment of all citizens

including women and girls through the National Constitution specifically under the National

Goals and Directives. The National Goals and Directives uphold both Human Integral

Development and Equality and Participation.

“Current indicators reveal that the literacy status of women is lower than that in other

Melanesian countries. In employment, there has been increased number of women occupying

managerial positions but the percentage is quite small. Majority of young women does not

receive adequate training either to participate in formal sector or to function productively in

their own villages” (Klapat, 2010: p5)

In the PNG Vision 2050 it provides a 40 year frame work to improve the quality of life for the

population of PNG through effecting service delivery as well as to create opportunity for people

to contribute to the achieve its goals set. The first pillar of the vision is Human Capital

Development, Gender and People Empowerment which embraces the five National Goals and

Directive Principle and enshrined in the National Constitution as its guiding principle which

include Human Integral Development and Equality and Participate (PNG Vision 2050). Women

are being empowered through media to make their voices be heard.

Women are not well represented in the decision making arena in the Papua New Guinea and

this has always been blamed on the cultural fabrics of the societies in this diverse cultured

country. In the 2012 National General Election, three women have been elected into

parliament. This can be seen as an indication that people are now realizing and believe that

women are capable of taking up leadership roles. The way forward for women to make a

change is for them to be treated equally in terms of being given that opportunity or the chance

to prove that they can do what men can.

12

3. Methodology

3.1 Location of Study (Refer to appendix)

This research is going to be conducted in Madang Province, in five institutions and they are

Modilon General Hospital, Madang Teachers College, Madang Technical College, Divine Word

University, and the Lutheran School of Nursing. All these institutions are located in the urban

area of Madang and thus are will be more appropriate to conduct the research in these

institutions because it is the town areas that women’s changing roles are seen in terms of them

venturing into employment opportunities.

3.1.1 Target Group (Age group, specific group that will be studied)

This research is going to focus on women that are already in the workforces as well as those in

their final year of their studies in the tertiary institution. These is so that the research can

analyze what has caused the women who are in the workforce already to have chosen the

profession they are in at the moment and what is the motivation of the women still studying to

have chosen the area of study that they are studying. There will be ten women being

interviewed or will participate in these research from each institute.

3.2 Research Design

The research is going to us three methods of research. This method includes both the

qualitative and the quantitative methods respective and mixed method to compare and

contrast. The methods will be further explained below.

3.2.1 Qualitative Method

Qualitative method is the research method whereby Qualitative research seeks out the ‘why’,

not the ‘how’ of its topic through the analysis of unstructured information – things like

interview transcripts, open ended survey responses, emails, notes, feedback forms, photos and

videos. It doesn’t just rely on statistics or numbers, which are the domain of quantitative

researchers.

3.2.2 Quantitative Method

Quantitative research is a formal, objective, systematic process in which numerical data are

used to obtain information about the researched topic. This research method is used: to

describe variables; to examine relationships among variables; to determine cause-and-effect

interactions between variables.' (Burns & Grove 2005:23)

13

3.2.3 Mixed Method

This method is the combination of the two research methods that are stated above. In the

mixed method, the information that has been obtained is through applying the methods of

both qualitative and quantitative. This is a better method as it will help the researcher to

analyze the phenomena from various angles.

3.3 Data Collection

These refer to the how the data needed for the research will be collected by the researcher. In

this research, it is going to adapt the research method known as the mixed method which

means that the data is going to be collected using the methods required in the qualitative and

quantitative.

3.3.1 Qualitative

3.3.1.1 Questionnaire

Questionnaires will be given out to the research participants contain questions relating to the

topic.

3.3.1.2 Document Review

These refer to the researching and reviewing of policies that the government has put in place

regarding the issue of gender in the Papua New Guinea as well as other relating documents that

relate to addressing this issue of women and gender.

3.4 Timing

The time that is allocated for this research to be carried out and compiled and completed is six

months. Two week will be for the collection of data while the four weeks will be for document

review and thereafter will be for data analysis.

3.5 Budget

The budget that will be needed to carry out this research is going to cover the cost of printing

questionnaires, purchasing recording instrument for interview purposes and logistics and

transport. (Refer to appendix)

14

3.6 Conclusion

The method that was used in this research is the mixed method. The data was collected using

four different instruments including questionnaires, document reviews, internet search, and

interviews. The data was analyzed using the thematic method were the themes were identified

from the responses and were classed into themes, while the Qualitative data was analyzed

through quantification and represented on the graphs.

15

3.7 Conceptual Framework

The conceptual framework is used to illustrate the how the issues of gender, women and

women employment have changed over time from traditional PNG to the modern

contemporary PNG. Gender is defined as the social construction of males and female according

to how the societal structure. Women have always been looked as inferior and of lower class

thus they are looked down on by their male colleagues. This conceptual framework will help

explain how the shift in women and profession has changed in the last ten years. This is going

to be done in terms the shift from traditional PNG to Westernization through to the global era

and how all these three contributes back to the development of PNG in terms of achieving its

Vision 2050.

Fig. 1. Conceptual Framework showing how gender, women and employment have shifted

over time and how this is going in the path of achieving the Vision 2050.

Gender, Women and Employment

Traditional PNG

Westernization

Globalization

Education (Opportunities)

Gender equality (Empowerment)

Changing

Gender roles

Adaptation of

laws, changing

cultures

Vision 2050: Pillar

#1, Human Capital

Development,

Gender, Youth and

People

Empowerment

Introduce to formal

education (More Girls)

16

Chapter 4: Findings and Explanations

4.1 Introduction

In this chapter the findings will be presented with explanations. The method used in collecting

the data that is going to be presented in this chapter is questionnaires. The main questions that

were drawn up from the findings are, is there a shift in the in women’s profession? And the

second question is, is gender plays an important role when it comes to women’s profession in

the employment sector. The third question is what variable is influencing that shift and the

fourth question is enabling women to make that shift. A total number of twenty participants

took part in the research. The research was conducted in Madang Teachers College and the

Lutheran School of Nursing. Twenty questionnaires were given out to ten males and ten

females from two of the respective institutions. In the nursing field ten students participated,

five male and five females likewise the Madang Teachers College. However not all

questionnaire were returned. For the males all questionnaire were collected where as for the

females only 17 questionnaires were collected.

Question

#

Males Total Total

13/15 10/15

Strongly

agree

Agree Disagree Strongly

agree

Agree Disagree

Q 1 6 5 2 7 3 -

Q 2 3 7 3 4 4 2

Q 3 8 4 1 5 4 1

Q 4 10 3 - 10 - -

Q 5 9 4 - 8 2 -

Q 6 9 4 - 10 - -

Q 7 9 3 1 7 3 -

Q 8 4 8 1 8 2 -

Q 9 5 6 3 9 1 -

Q 10 10 2 - 8 1 1

Table 1: Results from the total number of respondents according to 30 questionnaires handed

out.

The table presents the total number of students that participated in the research. This is the total number from the three institutions 10 from each institutions with five from the two genders respectively.

17

4.1. Is there a shift in women’s professional employment?

The first question was asked to find out if the student think there is a shift in women’s

employment. The results presented on the table below shows that out of the 13 male students

5 of them strongly agree, 6 agree and 3 disagreed that there is a shift in the women’s career

path, while the females had a slightly stronger view on the question with 9 strongly agreeing

with 1 simply agreeing to it with nil disagreement.

Males Females

Strongly agree 5 9

Agree 6 1

Disagree 2 0

Total 13 10

Table 1: Number of despondence that thinks that there is a shift in women’s professional

employment.

Figure 1: Graph showing the percentage of respondence by gender regarding the first

question.

4.1.1

The findings are presented on two separate graphs according to gender. It presents the finding

separately thus comparisons can be made to what each gender has to say about the issue that

is at hand. The findings presented on the table shows the number of students that think that

there is a shift in women’s professional employment. The two graphs in figure 2 shows that out

of the 13 male despondence 85% either strongly agree of simply agree that there is a shift while

30 % disagreed. The graph on the right shows that out of the 10 females almost all either

strongly agree or simply agreed that there is a shift in women’s professional employment. This

18

questions is aimed at finding out if both gender has the same view or share the same opinion

on the phenomena. The two graphs also show that for the males, 15% disagree that there is a

shift where as for the females they agree in one way or another that there is a shift in woman’s

professional employment.

4.2 Are women given the same opportunity as men when it comes to applying for a job/

course?

The second question that was asked is aimed at finding out if the shift in women profession

employment was due to women being given the same/ equal opportunity as the males when it

comes to applying for jobs. This when late asked in the open handed questions what it was so,

many pointed out that this was due to women being that companies are encouraging women

to apply as well regardless.

Males Females

Strongly agree 3 4

Agree 7 4

Disagree 3 2

Table 2: results from the question 2. Women are given the same opportunity as men when

it comes to applying for jobs/ courses.

Fig 2: shows the percentage of respondence according to gender regarding equality

opportunity being women when it comes to employment opportunities.

19

4.2.1

The figures above show the results of the second question. The pie graph presents the findings

in percentage according to gender. The first one presents the findings for the males, it shows

that 70% strongly agree, 20% simply agreeing, while only 10 % disagree of the total

despondence think that women are given equal opportunity in employment. The second graph

presents the female response, showing that 57 % of the agrees to the question only to a certain

degree, while 29% show strong feeling by strongly agreeing to the question, while the other

14% disagree to the question.

4.3 There are women taking up jobs that were traditionally considered male oriented, what

do you think is the driving factor that is causing women to take up these jobs?

Driving factor Females Males

Money If the pay is good, why not?

I chose to study in this field because I

see that graduating from a field

that is of a trade field that you get

good salary.

I think why most women are moving

into this field is because they want

to prove to themselves and other

that they can do anything and be as

competitive as men.

Driving factor is to achieve better living

standards in their

families

Education (M Teachers C)..More females are given opportunities to further their

education that is why they are

choosing other jobs including jobs

that were only for men in the past.

Trade student in the carpentry (MTC)… We can do what men

can do. We are as competitive as

the males in our class.

‘Education’ the goal at which a women sets

during her process of

learning and how she is

capable of handling the

job

Because women are going on to high level of

schooling, they are

choosing other

professions for later on

in life when they go out

into the workforce

Table 3: Factors that are driving the shift in women’s employment.

20

4.3 Table 3 presents the responses of some of the participants on the third question which is

trying to find out what factors are causing these change or shift in women’s employment. The

table above is divided into two sections according to the responses from both genders. The two

main factors that kept popping up from many of the responses were money (salary/ pay) that

the education. The responses that are presented on table three have not been altered but are

exact words from the respondents on what they think are the driving factors of women moving

into traditionally male oriented jobs.

4.4 What does this shift portray of the image and status of women in Papua New Guinea

today?

This question came about after reviewing the National Statistical Office of Papua New Guinea’s

Labor Status Census 2000. This document gave the percentage distribution of employed urban

citizens by occupation, type of employment and sex in the 2000 census. The table below

illustrates the citizen population aged 10 years and over by labor force status and sex.

2000 1990 Labor Force

Status Persons Males Females Persons Males Females

Total 3, 691, 933 1, 903,119 1,788,814 2,514,924 1,320,417 1,194,507

In the labor

force 2, 413,357 1,256,887 1,156,470 1,715,330 1,002,891 712,439

Employed 2,344,734 1,203,233 1,141,501 1,582,518 912,124 670,394 Unemployed 68,623 53,654 14,969 132,812 90,767 42,045 Not in the

Labor force 1,160,229 581,704 578,525 777,241 305,131 472,110

Not stated 118,347 64,528 53,819 22,353 12,395 9,958

Table: 4. Citizen population aged 10 years and over by labor force status and sex

4.4.1 According to the table presented above by the 2000 census, it shows that the number of

people in the labor force increased from the 1990’s to 2000. However, we can see that the

number of females in the workforce has also increased in from the 1990’s to 2000. The number

of women being employed has also increased as more women are going into the workforce to

earn. The table also shows that unemployment of the female decreased however this is only in

the urban areas and that has been recorded. Women in the urban areas are now shifting more

into the economic world to, make careers, earn a living and prove to themselves and others

that they can make it in this competitive world.

21

4.5 Conclusion

To conclude, the four questions above tries to look into the factors that are causing this shift in

women’s employment career. From the findings, from the first questions aims to find out if

there is a shift in women’s changing profession while the second and third questions were

focusing more on what factor that was causing this shift. The final question was to find out

what all this shift is happening. The first three questions were done through questionnaires and

the last question was from the document review which aims to find out the number of women

participating in the work force and is employed.

22

Chapter 5: Discussion and Analysis

5.1 Introduction

In this chapter, the findings and explanations will be discussed to help the researcher explain

what the research found out. It is very important as this will present what this research is all

about. The discussion will be discussed in themes according to what aspects of the research the

research is trying to find out and present to the body of knowledge. The first theme will

explains the response to the first question which was agreed upon that there is a shift in the

changing women’s employment. The findings have proven that there is a shift in women’s

changing professional employment and the factors that have enabled this shift to take place are

used as the signposts to discuss and analyze the phenomena. The first theme is education,

followed by the opportunities that are now available through varies policies that are put in

place and finally empowerment.

5.2 Education and Westernization

Westernization has changed a lot of things in Papua New Guinea and education was the tool

that the westerners have used to drive the ideas into the minds of people to shape them to

what they (westerners) want them to be and how they wanted things to be done. The

introduction of formal education has been the most influential system that has helped to break

down the cultural fabric within a person. The system that was introduced in PNG was mainly to

train people to get a job after they finish.

From the first findings it is clear that women’s professional employment is shifting. Women are

now venturing into traditionally male dominated jobs. This shift is a result of many factors

however in these research, education came out as the main influencing factor that is causing

this shift. With an increasing number of women going into traditionally male dominated

profession, girls realize that a very effective way to pursue traditional, non-female career

pathways is to compete with boys was through good and quality education. For many, this has

been difficult, in a male dominated society. Despite this barrier, girls have worked hard,

sacrificed their families, and withstood the test of traditional stereotypes to excel academically

and move into jobs that were once almost impossible to get. By overcoming all odds,

stereotypes, and cultural barriers, many girls have successfully repositioned themselves and

taken up and competently performed in male-oriented jobs. Girls have to take up education

and training in male oriented courses and done well enough to guarantee themselves a career,

after graduation

23

More and more girls (female) are sent to school as well as to furthering their education on to

higher tertiary institutions. In that way many are choosing what they want to do or became in

the future having being exposed to the wider community and see realizing that there is more

that they can do. In addition to that with the help of the government and the introduction of

the “Gender Equality in Education Policy”, this was developed so that no student in the

education system of Papua New Guinea is disadvantaged on the basis of gender. With this

policy in place, there is no discrimination in school thus encourages girls to be educated as

equally as a male child.

There is no doubt that career choices and opportunities for girls have expanded during the past

ten years because of government policy interventions and gender equity workplace policies and

practices. These policies and practices support the training and development of girls in male-

centered career pathways. Many girls have made good use of these opportunities by pursuing

careers in areas where no females have gone before.

5.3 Money and globalization

In Papua New Guinea, with globalization and the increase in technology and fast movement of

goods and services as well as new ideas coming in to the country. With globalization comes the

need for money. For the services that are being provided for by either government or private

companies, money is needed to have excess to these goods and services. This in tend has made

people to look for employment and women tend to realize that they do not need to sit and wait

for men to provide for them. The need to improve their lives and also for the well being of their

families due to the increase in the living standard, which is also a result of globalization, has

also caused women into employment. For this to take place, women realized that they need

education to be able to have that same opportunity as the males to be able to compete with

them and prove that they can also do it in the world out there. With this training gain from the

specific field that they are interested in is believed to have lend them a jobs that they are

interested and are likely to perform well.

The other factor that has contributed to the shift in women’s professional employment is

money. Money has become the root of survival in the urban areas. Without money you cannot

live. It is used to pay for the basic needs and service that people in the urban areas need for

their survival. Women are now taking the responsibility to look after their families and

employment is becoming the way into the future and for a better living and survival. In order to

have a good life one must have a good job that pays well. This has caused people to pursue

careers that will pay good money so that they can afford a decent life. As one of the respondent

in the research has stated… “If the pay is good, why not? (Respondent 4). The pull factor that is

causing women to shift professional employment in this case we can also say that money.

24

Money is also one of the biggest influences in the employment sector. If a certain sector pays

well people will obviously be directed to where the green pasture is. This is the case in PNG

today as more women are changing professions as they feel that if this job is not paying better

than they might as well move to do something else that will pay better something While

respondent 2 stated that…”I chose to study in this field because I see that graduating from a

field that is of a trade field that you get good salary”. And the 8th respondent stated that… “I

think why most women are moving into this field is because they want to prove to themselves

and other that they can do anything and be as competitive as men.” With the stereotype thing

of women and what they are not capable of doing, many of those who have ventured into the

male dominated field of employment are doing it out of self worth.

5.4 Opportunity

As the result has shown in the second question, the shift in the employment opportunity for

women come about as a result of the policies that the government as put in place. In the

Gender Equity in Education Policy, it outlines the guidelines for the implementation of the

policy where there is a lot of opportunity now available to girls/females to be equally included

in the education system. These provide a huge opportunity for girls to be enrolled and receive

the same education as a male child and develop as a whole human being. In addition to that,

the policies that are created by the government to fight gender discrimination and at work

place have contributed enormously to the shift in women’s employment. Policies such as the

decent workplace policy and the gender equity in Education policies and Non Discrimination Act

and National Women’s Policy and the development of the 2010-2015 National Policy for

Women and Gender Equality as well as the 1979 National Council of Women’s Act, have all in

one way or another have contributed to the this not so fast shift in women’s professional

employment.

In addition to that, for girls to make use of expanded career opportunities, they had to

reposition themselves by acquiring relevant knowledge and skills. This in turn pushes them to

return to schools to acquire skills that will help build them And their professional careers.

Companies and organisations at the presentation time openly invite /encourage women to

apply for jobs that were traditionally reserved for men. Women’s labor is a resource for capital,

as documented in the very large literature on women and development and gender and

economic policy. These companies are also sponsoring women to further their education or get

more training in a field that they want to or the jobs that they undertake. This opportunity that

are made available to them makes them empowered to do more for themselves as well as to

prove that they a capable of handling anything if only they are given that opportunity.

25

Today there are more opportunities in the education system that is allowing students to go on

to further studies to become what they aspire to become. Also with the booming economic

activity in the country, there are job opportunities that come with it as spinoffs and thus this

allows for the companies to employ skilled people and with that women are redirecting their

attention to skilled profession such as carpentry, mechanic, pilots, engineering and so on.

5.5 Empowerment

The Papua New Guinean Constitution provides the legal and political framework for the

involvement of women and girls in all aspects of development. The Constitution forbids

discrimination on the basis of gender and recognizes women as equal partners in development.

The National Goals and Directive Principles provide a significant policy framework for the

involvement of women in the development process. Government has developed policies based

on these principles, international conventions on women’s rights, and input from development

partners, and civil society to enable women and girls to participate in, and make use of, a

variety of opportunities which contribute to nation building and improving their own

livelihoods. Girls’ career choices were expanded as a result of direct policy intervention by the

government and pressures from a variety of support and interest groups, including our

development partners.

This situation led to girls repositioning themselves to pursue career opportunities that were

seen as “the job market for men”. This meant competing with, and excelling, beyond their male

counterparts to show that they were worthy of consideration. For girls, competing against boys

for careers in male domains was not only for recognition, but more profoundly, for self-

definition, self-worth, and legitimacy. This silent struggle for recognition and legitimacy in a

male-centered world has seen many girls accelerating academically and outperforming boys in

many areas of academia and in workplaces. This has enabled girls to move across and pursue

careers that were once the preserve of males.

With more girls being enrolled into primary schools as well as making it into the tertiary levels,

it is evident that they are venturing into the field of studies that were once thought of as males

field of study. According to the findings presented on table 4, majority of the respondents

responded by say that education was one of the two factors that caused this shift. As one of the

respondent stated ‘…More females are given opportunities to further their education that is

why they are choosing other jobs including jobs that were only for men in the past.’

(Respondent from Madang Teachers College). The other from the Madang Technical Collage

stated that ‘through education she was able to show to the males in her class that she was as

26

capable them and competitive and can compete with them in class. With education they are

empowered to take on the challenges that they are faced with to prove that they can do what

is present at hand regardless of their gender or what the society think.

5.6 Conclusion

To conclude there are many factors that has pushed women into male dominated professions.

The four factors that this research has found out are education (westernization), money

(globalization), empowerment (westernization: government policies) and discussed in

opportunity. These factors have in one way or another influence one another causing that shift

to take place. Westernization brought in the education system that training people for

employment (pay). This shift is well and truly taking it course in PNG employment sector,

however, not many people are taking note of it and accepting that the trend will continue to

greater height in the next ten years or so.

This shift is the way forward for PNG as men will be able to see what the women are doing in

terms of venturing into professions that were once thought of as male dominated and be

treated with respect and equality. Females having more opportunity to go to schools and in

furthering their studies with the help of the policies in place is seen as an agent of

empowerment. Giving a girl the same education as a male student will empower her to take on

professions that were once thought of by the society that only men can do it.

27

Chapter 6: Summary and Recommendation

6.1 Introduction

The main aim of this paper was to find out if there was a shift in women’s professional

employment and what factors were contributing to theses shift and how this shift is

contribution to the status of women on PNG and its development.

There is shift in women’s professional employment and the factors that are causing this shift

are education, money, opportunity and empowerment. These four factors influence each other

which have contributed to the shift in one way or another.

6.2 Education

From the first findings it is clear that women’s professional employment is shifting. Women are

now venturing into traditionally male dominated jobs. This shift is a result of many factors

including education, more opportunities, money and empowerment. Empowering women with

education with the help of the government policies in place has really contributed to more

getting jobs as well as having a deeper knowledge and understanding of what they want to do.

With that they are able to expend their choices to other fields of study and professions as well.

6.3 Opportunity

The shift in the employment opportunity for women come about as a result of the policies that

the government as put in place. In the Gender Equity in Education Policy, it outlines the

guidelines for the implementation of the policy where there is a lot of opportunity now

available to girls/females to be equally included in the education system. These provide a huge

opportunity for girls to be enrolled and receive the same education as a male child and develop

as a whole human being.

6.4 Empowerment

The Papua New Guinean Constitution provides the legal and political framework for the

involvement of women and girls in all aspects of development. The Constitution forbids

discrimination on the basis of gender and recognizes women as equal partners in development.

The National Goals and Directive Principles provide a significant policy framework for the

involvement of women in the development process. With this in place women feel empowered

in the sense that they are protected against and discrimination and thus they can try out new

things when the opportunity is presented to them.

28

6.5 Recommendation

6.5.1 Education

Gender education in schools at an early age, especially if it addresses both girls and boys, can

be a positive force for creating gender equality in modern society. It seeks to change the roles

that girls and boys and women and men play in private and public life. By reducing gender

stereotypes, gender education assists children in building a genuine civic equality where males

and females live in relationships of cooperation and in mutual respect.

Gender education starts with building gender awareness. This means recognizing the negative

impacts of gender stereotypes and addressing the inequalities that arise from them. The

outcome of gender education for girls is greater self-confidence, assertiveness, independence

and engagement in the public sphere. The outcome for boys is overcoming fear of failure,

learning to be less aggressive, becoming more sociable and responsible and engaging more in

the private sphere. An important function of gender education is to distinguish between facts

and beliefs or opinions. By analyzing stories or their own activities, children can quickly accept

as normal that girls can be boyish and boys can be sensitive and vulnerable. All children need to

accept themselves as complex and unique individuals with a wide range of characteristics.

Stereotypes and rigid gender expectations can hinder individual development and the

realization of the full potential of both girls and boys. Gender education is an ongoing process

that cannot be limited to specific educational activities.

6.5.2 Awareness

I would like to recommend that more awareness should be done in the rural areas on gender

equality and gender equity because this is the place where culture and traditions are deeply

rooted. The only way that I see the achievement of gender equality it’s the changing of peoples

mind sets. It we can change the way someone see things at different angels only than we can

see people excepting that women are as capable of doing what man can do in the workforce or

take up the jobs performed by men. PNG has some good policies in place, however if the

mindset of the people is still with their traditions and culture than the policies will sit there and

collect dust.

29

References

Burns N, Grove SK (2005). The Practice of Nursing Research: Conduct, Critique, and Utilization. (5th Ed.). St. Louis, Elsevier Saunders.

Johnson, P. L. (1993). Education and the New Inequality in Papua New Guinea. Anthropology & Education Quarterly, vol. 24, no. 3, pp. 183- 204.

http://www.jstor.org/stable/3195641 (Accessed 19th September 2011)

Kane, W. E, Kyyron, E. K. (2001), ‘For Whom Does Education Enlighten? Race, Gender, Education, and Belief about Social Inequality’. Gender and Society. Vol. 15, No. 5, Pp. 710-733.

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Shahra Razavi. (2003). Women’s changing roles in the context of economic reform and globalization: Gender and Education for All: THE Leap to Equality. Background Paper prepared for the Education for All Global Monitoring Report. Geneva, Switzerland.

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Appendix

Map of the location of Madang on the PNG map.

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DIVINE WORD UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF ARTS

DEPARTMENT OF PNG STUDIES

Topic: Gender Women & EMPLOYMENT

A case study of changing women’s profession in Divine Word University, Madang Teachers Collage, Lutheran School of Nursing and Madang Technical Collage

This questionnaire is solely for research purposes and the information collected will be treated with confidentiality. The data collected from this questionnaire will be of contribute in a very big way to my research and I would really appreciate you participation and time.

Research Question (Sample)

Age: ________ Sex: _________ Occupation: __________________________________

Home Province: _____________________ Marital status: _________________________

1.What is your level of education?

Grade 10: Grade 12: Diploma: Degree:

Other: ________________________________________________________________________

2.How many women hold higher positions than men in this institution?

1: 2: 3: 4: More 5:

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3.Do you see or have experience any forms of gender discrimination in the workplace?

No? Why is that:

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

Yes? State the type of discrimination:

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

4.How many women are in recruited to study into the institute annually?

5.How money senior positions in the institution are occupied by women?

1: 2: 3: 4: More than 5:

6.Is there a gender policy in the institute?

Yes: No:

7.What do you think is the driving factor behind more women applying to this institution

for studies?

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

8.What does you culture say on women and employment?

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

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________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

9.What do you think is the driving force behind women venturing in the male dominated

field of work?

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

10.In what ways do you see you relationship affect your aspiring ambitions for job promotion or

further studies?

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

35