Language diversity for all – but how to accommodate multilingualism?
Sarah Stephan is a researcher at the ÅIPI and also functions as the Project Manager for the project Open Doors that is focusing on gender equality, empowerment and participation in Azerbaijan. Sarah’s research interests include European and Public International Law, in particular post-conflict governance and multilevel governance in the European Union and beyond. Sarah holds an LL.M. in Public International Law from Helsinki University and a Bachelor’s degree in European and Comparative Law from the Hanse Law School of the Universities of Bremen and Oldenburg. South Tyrol, Italy, June 2013 During the past three years I have had the pleasure to make a minor contribution and follow with great interest the FP7 project “European Language Diversity for All”. In mid-June the University of Vienna hosted the project’s closing conference, where for the first time all case-studies as well as the overall project results were presented. Minority languages, Finno-Ugric minority languages to be more precise, were the subject of the ELDIA studies. The aim of the consortium was not only to study the use and maintenance of the languages in question and to map the political and socio-economic situation of the respective language communities. We also undertook to look at language minorities from […]
What is equality?
STOP FOOLING AROUND, PELLE, YOU’RE NOT GAY, ARE YOU?
Can little boys play with dolls? Is it encouraged? Is there anyone who gives them dolls and shows them how to play with them?
Is playing with dolls a way for a boy to practice child-care in order to one day share parental responsibilities in an equal family?
Does playing with dolls make boys gay? Is it dangerous to be homosexual? Who feels threatened by it?
Can a girl play with “boys'” toys? Will that make her a lesbian? Is it more OK for a girl to play with “boys'” things than the other way around? Is the “masculine” then valued higher?
What is equality?
TELL MUMMY THAT TOMORROW SHE NEEDS TO SEND RUBBER BOOTS WITH YOU TO KINDERGARTEN!
Is it mothers or fathers who most often fill in the vacation lists and schedules at kindergarten, make sure that there are extra clothes, and that the kindergarten staff are informed of time schedules and illnesses? If staff is not informed, who is to blame?
Who does the staff approach with important information? Are fathers declared incompetent and over-looked, that is, do people think that they are unable to take responsibility for coordinating kindergarten life, work life, family life and free time?
Or are they actually incompetent? Do fathers suffer from learned helplessness? Have they never been taught to take responsibility for others? If so, how can they manage leading multinational cooperation or fill positions as heads of staff?
What is equality?
TODAY: WAGE NEGOTIATIONS
Should salaries depend on gender? Do women have to be more “masculine” in order to earn more? Are women to blame themselves if choosing low-paid jobs? Do women have to abandon traditionally female professions in order to get higher salaries? Who should then take care of service and care for elderly, ill, and children? Would it be smarter to pay more for “female” professions? Do “male” professions have higher status than “female” ones?
What happens with salaries if women enter “male” professions? When women enter “male” professions, do they have to adjust to a “masculine” culture, or can they bring their “feminine” qualities and change the structure?