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This report on voice and agency, which builds on the 2012 World Development Report, focuses on several areas key to women's empowerment: freedom from violence, control over sexual and reproductive health and rights, ownership and control of land and housing, and voice and collective action. It explores the power of social norms in dictating how men and women can and cannot behave, deterring women from owning property or working even where laws permit, for example, because those who do become outcasts. The report distills vast data and hundreds of studies to shed new light on constraints facing women and girls worldwide, from epidemic levels of gender-based violence to biased laws and norms that prevent them from owning property, working, and making decisions about their own lives. It highlights promising reforms and interventions from around the world and lays out an urgent agenda for governments, civil society, development agencies, and other stakeholders. Among its keys findings: girls with little or no education are far more likely to be married as children, suffer domestic violence, live in poverty, and lack a say over household spending or their own health care than better-educated peers, which harms them, their children, and communities.

This chapter contains sections titled: Reproduction‐Related Problems in Finfish Aquaculture Introduction to Sex Determination and Differentiation Genotypic Sex Determination Environmental Sex Determination Evolution of Sex Determining Systems Sex Differentiation Approaches to Study Genomics of Fish Sex Determination and Differentiation Growth‐Sex Differentiation Relationships Contribution of Epigenetics Concluding Remarks and Future Prospects Acknowledgments References

Cancer gender disparity in incidence, disease aggressiveness and prognosis has been observed in a variety of cancers. Thyroid cancer is one of the fastest growing cancer diagnoses worldwide. It is 2.9-times more common in women than men. The less aggressive histologic subtypes of thyroid cancer are more common in women, whereas the more aggressive histologic subtypes have similar gender distribution. The gender disparity in incidence, aggressiveness and prognosis is well established for thyroid cancer but the cause of the disparity is poorly understood. The aim of this article is to evaluate the current evidence on the cause of thyroid cancer gender disparity. Dietary and environmental factors do not appear to have a significant role in thyroid cancer gender disparity. Common somatic mutations in , rearranged in transformation/papillary thyroid carcinomas ( ) and neurotrophin receptor-tyrosine kinase ( ) also do not account for the gender disparity in thyroid cancer. While reproductive factors would seem a logical hypothesis to account for the gender disparity, there appears to be no conclusive effect on the risk of developing thyroid cancer. Recent studies on estrogen receptor status in thyroid cancer show a difference in the receptor subtypes expressed based on the histology of thyroid cancer. Moreover, the response to estrogen is dependent on the specific estrogen receptor expressed in thyroid cancer cells. However, what determines the tumor-specific sex hormone receptor expression is unclear. No established molecular factors appear to explain gender differences in thyroid cancer. Therefore, the application of high-throughput genomic and proteomic approaches to the study of thyroid cancer gender disparity could be helpful for better understanding the molecular basis for gender differences in thyroid and other cancers.

Psychological resilience refers to the ability to adapt effectively in the face of adversity, which is closely related to an individual’s psychological and physical health and well-being. Although previous behavioural studies have shown sex differences in psychological resilience, little is known about the neural basis of sex differences in psychological resilience. Here, we measured amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF) via resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging to investigate the sex-linked neurofunctional basis of psychological resilience in 231 healthy adolescents. At the behavioural level, we replicated previous findings indicating that males are more resilient than females. At the neural level, we found sex differences in the relationship between psychological resilience and ALFF in the right orbitofrontal cortex (OFC). Specifically, males showed a positive correlation between psychological resilience and ALFF in the right OFC, while females showed a negative correlation in this region. The sex-specific association between psychological resilience and spontaneous brain activity might be dependent on differences in hormonal systems and brain development between male and female adolescents. Taken together, the results of our study might provide the first evidence of sex-specific neurofunctional substrates of psychological resilience in adolescents, emphasizing the vital role of sex effects in future psychological resilience-related studies.

In the state policies of European Union (EU) member countries, gender issues have become one of the main priorities since the 1990s, and independent Ukraine and Ukrainian non-governmental organisations have also gradually joined this agenda. Over the past three decades, Ukraine has engaged in efforts to restructure its educational institutions and processes on the basis of democratic principles free from any form of discrimination, including gender-related discrimination. These efforts have been promoted through joint projects with UN Women and other international organisations. While gender equality improvement strategies are now reflected in Ukrainian legislation, they are not yet fully implemented on the ground. In the context of presenting their concept of a pedagogy of freedom as a viable basis for the implementation of gender equality in Ukraine’s educational institutions, the authors analyse research literature devoted to addressing freedom and gender equality in educational policies. They conclude that individual learners’ free self-determination, self-development and self-realisation can only be an effective factor in realising gender equality if pedagogical activity and learning spaces are designed to support the development of learners’ full potential.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a chronic neurological disorder that affects millions of people worldwide. A common motor symptom associated with PD is gait impairment, leading to reduced step count and mobility. Monitoring and analyzing step count data can provide valuable insights into the progression of the disease and the effectiveness of various treatments. In our study, the generalized additive model (GAM) was used to identify statistically significant variables for step counts. Additionally, a web application was developed as an interactive visualization tool. The GAM model shows that the following variables are statistically significant for daily step counts: sex (  = 0.03), handedness (  = 0.015), PD status of father (  = 0.056), COVID-19 status (Yes No,  = 0.008), cohort (PD Healthy,  < 0.0001), the cubic regression spline with three basis functions of age by cohorts (  < 0.0001), and the random effect of individual age trajectories (  = 0.0001). Based on the PPMI data, we find that sex, handedness, PD status of father, COVID-19 status, cohort, and the smoothing functions of age are all statistically significant for step counts. Additionally, a web application tailored specifically for step count analysis in PD patients was developed. This tool provides a user-friendly interface for patients, caregivers, and healthcare professionals to track and analyze step count data, facilitating personalized treatment plans and enhancing the management of PD.

Trainable Gaussian-based activation functions for sensor-based human activity recognition—by Javier Machacuay and Mario Quinde—proposes two Trainable Gaussian-based Activation Functions (AFs) for Multilayer Perceptron neural networks on sensor-based human activity recognition (HAR), namely, the Four-Parameter Activation Gaussian Radial Basis Function (T4GRBF) and the Weighted Gaussian Radial Basis Function (WGRBF). On the one hand, it is to make an early reliability analysis in the development cycle before the implementation to reduce the cost associated with discovering and rectifying failures later in IoT architectures. Performance evaluation of a video surveillance system using stochastic petri nets for license plate detection on highways—by Carlos Brito, Vandirleya Barbosa, Luiz Nelson Lima, José Wanderlei Rocha, José Miquéias Araújo, Lucas Lopes, Paulo A. L. Rego, Michel Sales, Gustavo Callou, Iure Fé and Francisco Airton Silva—proposes a performance model based on stochastic Petri networks for the evaluation of video surveillance systems dedicated to the detection of license plates on highways.

We present a method for the statistical modeling of the displacements of wrist bones during the performance of coordinated maneuvers, such as radial-ulnar deviation (RUD). In our approach, we decompose bone displacement via a set of basis functions, identified via principal component analysis (PCA). We utilized MRI wrist scans acquired at multiple static positions for deriving these basis functions. We then utilized these basis functions to compare the displacements undergone by the bones of the left versus right wrist in the same individual, and between bones of the wrists of men and women, during the performance of the coordinated RUD maneuver. Our results show that the complex displacements of the wrist bones during RUD can be modeled with high reliability with just 5 basis functions, that captured over 91% of variation across individuals. The basis functions were able to predict intermediate wrist bone poses with an overall high accuracy (mean error of 0.26 mm). Our proposed approach found statistically significant differences between bone displacement trajectories in women versus men, however, did not find significant differences in those of the left versus right wrist in the same individual. Our proposed method has the potential to enable detailed analysis of wrist kinematics for each sex, and provide a robust framework for characterizing the normal and pathologic displacement of the wrist bones, such as in the context of wrist instability.

Gender archaeology approaches to Iberian late prehistory have experienced a significant growth in the last two decades. However, much of the work undertaken has focused on specific aspects of the archaeological record (rock art, burial practices), particularly from the Bronze Age and Iron Age periods for which the evidence is more readily available. In addition, it has tended to be regional or local in scope. Here, we attempt an empirically robust multi-proxy approach to the development of early gender inequalities in Neolithic Iberia. Inspired by Gerda Lerner's ideas on the origins of patriarchy and based on a systematic collection of data analysed by means of significance testing, we present the first comprehensive study of gender dissymmetries in Iberian prehistory. Our conclusions suggest that, first, the multi-proxy method used has potential for the systematic study of gender inequalities on the basis of archaeological data and, second, that the Neolithic witnessed emerging gender inequalities that set the basis for male domination in later periods. Au cours des deux dernières décennies on a pu observer une croissance considérable dans les approches envers la problématique homme/femme en archéologie préhistorique récente dans la péninsule ibérique. Cependant, les travaux ont en grande partie porté sur des aspects spécifiques (pratiques funéraires, art pariétal), surtout de l’âge du Bronze et du Fer, époques pour lesquelles les données sont plus facilement disponibles. De plus, ces études ont surtout été conduites à une échelle régionale ou locale. Ici nous avons tenté de suivre une démarche solidement empirique et basée sur de multiples sources d'information dans le but d’éclairer l’évolution de l'inégalité entre les sexes à travers l'Ibérie néolithique. Inspirés par les idées de Gerda Lerner sur les origines du patriarcat et sur la base d'une récolte systématique des données analysées au moyen de tests de signification statistique, nous présentons la première étude exhaustive concernant les dissymétries entre les sexes en préhistoire ibérique. Nous en concluons en premier lieu qu'une approche multidimensionnelle présente des avantages potentiels pour l’étude systématique des inégalités entre les sexes sur la base de données archéologiques et, en second lieu, que c'est à l’époque néolithique que ces inégalités ont émergé et que se sont établies les fondations d'une domination masculine ultérieure. Translation by Madeleine Hummler Die archäologische Geschlechterforschung in der späteren Urgeschichte Iberiens ist in den letzten zwei Jahrzehnten stark gewachsen. Die Untersuchungen haben sich aber meistens auf spezifische Aspekte (wie Grabsitten oder Felskunst) konzentriert, vor allem in der Bronze- und Eisenzeit, also in Bereichen, wo die Beweise leichter erhältlich sind. Außerdem sind diese Studien eher auf einer regionalen oder lokalen Basis durchgeführt worden. In der vorliegenden Arbeit verfolgen wir einen empirisch soliden Multi-Proxy Ansatz zum Verständnis der Entwicklung geschlechtsspezifischer Ungleichheiten im ganzen neolithischen Iberien. Inspiriert von den Ideen von Gerda Lerner über den Ursprung des Patriarchats und auf der Basis einer systematischen Sammlung von Daten, die mit Signifikanztestverfahren untersucht wurden, stellen wir hier die erste umfangreiche Studie in der iberischen Urgeschichte über die Missverhältnisse zwischen den Geschlechtern vor. Daraus schließen wir, erstens, dass eine Multi-Proxy Methode potenziell nützlich für die systematische Untersuchung von geschlechtsspezifischen Ungleichheiten im archäologischen Rahmen ist und, zweitens, dass diese Ungleichheiten sich im Neolithikum entwickelten und die Grundlagen für die spätere männliche Dominanz legten. Translation by Madeleine Hummler

Objective: This study is the first to analyze the global extent of national legislation to prevent workplace discrimination against adults with caregiving responsibilities. Background: Studies indicate the existence of substantial discrimination based on pregnancy and family status. Research has also demonstrated that laws against workplace discrimination can reduce disparities in hiring, job retention, and pay. However, little is known about the extent to which countries legally prohibit discrimination against caregivers. Method: This article describes a novel database of national laws against workplace discrimination on the basis of marital status, pregnancy, breastfeeding, and family status in 193 United Nations member states. The study examines protections against discrimination in hiring, promotion and/or demotion, access to employer-provided vocational training, compensation, and termination as well as protections against indirect discrimination, testing whether any specific work dimension or aspect of caregiving has received particular attention in legislation. Results: A large majority of countries world-wide protect against sex-based workplace discrimination in all five work dimensions under study, but only about one third protect against discrimination on the basis of pregnancy status, family responsibilities, and marital status, and a negligible proportion protect against discrimination on the basis of breastfeeding status. Protections also vary across dimensions of work. Conclusions: These findings indicate that only a minority of countries guarantee caregivers some level of legislative protection from workplace discrimination, which disproportionately leads to job or pay loss for women with caretaking responsibilities. More and better-targeted laws and policies to combat the discrimination that women with family responsibilities face at work are needed worldwide.