Gender and Society

• Gender role


  The actions or responses that may reveal their status as boy, man, girl, or woman
• Sexual Orientation

  • Based on feelings, attractions, and desires
  • Sexual identity is fluid and can change throughout life
• Sex


  Biological and genetically differences of males and females, according to their physiology and reproductive capabilities
• Gender Analysis


  • A collection and analysis of sex-disaggregated information
  • Men and women perform different roles
  • Leads to different experience, knowledge, talents, and needs
  • Facilitates the strategic use of distinct knowledge skills possessed by men and women
• Biological sex


  Attributes such as anatomy, chromosomes, and hormones that are usually assigned at birth and inform whether a person is male, female, or intersex
• Gender Mainstreaming


  • The process of incorporating a gender perspective into policies, strategies, programs, project activities, and administrative functions
  • Importance: Puts people at the heart of policy making
  • Leads to better government (gender neutral)
  • Involves both women and men and makes full use of human resources
  • Makes gender equality issues visible in the mainstream of society
  • Takes into account the diversity among women and men
• Gender Equal Society


  • Both men and women have the opportunity to participate in all kinds of social activities
  • Equally enjoy political, economic and cultural benefits
  • Share responsibilities
  • Human rights of men and women are equally respected
• Gender


  • Represents the economic, social, political, and cultural qualities and opportunities associated with being women and men
  • A socially constructed definition of the relationship between sexes
• Gender identity


  An individual’s internal sense of being, a man, a woman, neither of these, both, and so on. It is one’s inner sense of being and one’s own understanding of how one relates to the gender binary
• Gender expression


  The ways in which a person manifests masculinity, femininity, both, or neither through appearance, behavior, dress, speech patterns, preferences, and more
• Sexologist John Money created the term gender role in 1955
• Gender Equity


  The process of being fair to women and men
• Gender Equality


  • Equal rights, responsibilities, and opportunities that all persons should enjoy regardless of whether one is born male or female
  • In the world of work, includes elements like equality of opportunity and treatment in employment, equal remuneration for work of equal value, equal access to safe and healthy working environments and to social security
• Equality between women and men in the world of work

  • Equality of opportunity and treatment and employment
  • Equal remuneration for work of equal value
  • Equal access to safe and healthy working environments and to social security
  • Equality in association and collective bargaining
  • Equality of obtaining meaningful career development
  • Equal participation in decision-making at all levels
• Gender Inequality


  Unequal treatment or perceptions of individuals based on their gender, arising from differences in socially constructed gender roles
• Basic concept of gender inequality

  • Gender inequality in the workplace
  • Types of Gender Discrimination
  • Sex discrimination or gender inequality is unequal treatment based solely on gender
  • Harassment in the workplace includes bullying and sexual harassment
• Ten extreme examples of gender inequality

  • Forbidden from driving in Saudi Arabia
  • Clothing requirements for Muslim women
  • Right to divorce restrictions
  • Limited access to education in certain areas
  • Restrictions on the right to travel in Egypt and Bahrain
  • Lack of laws to penalize domestic violence
  • Custody rights issues in Bahrain
  • Citizenship rights restrictions in Egypt
  • Criminalization of adult, consensual sex outside marriage
  • Female infanticide issues in China due to the one-child policy
• Gender Concepts and Definitions

  • Sex: Biological and genetic differences between males and females
  • Gender: Economic, social, political, and cultural qualities and opportunities associated with being women and men
  • Gender role: Actions or responses that reveal one's status as boy, man, girl, or woman
  • Gender Analysis: Collection and analysis of sex-disaggregated information
• Gender Equal Society


  A society where both men and women have equal opportunities to participate in social activities, enjoy political, economic, and cultural benefits, share responsibilities, and have their human rights equally respected
• Gender Mainstreaming


  Incorporating a gender perspective into policies, strategies, programs, project activities, and administrative functions
• Gender Equality

  Equal rights, responsibilities, and opportunities for all persons regardless of gender
• Gender Inequality


  Unequal treatment or perceptions of individuals based on gender, arising from differences in socially constructed gender roles
• Importance of gender mainstreaming
• Gender Equity


  The process of being fair to women and men
• Ten extreme examples of gender inequality
• Gender Identity and Expression

  • Biological sex: attributes such as anatomy, chromosomes, and hormones that inform whether a person is male, female, or intersex
  • Gender identity: An individual’s internal sense of being a man, a woman, both, neither, etc.
  • Sexual Orientation: Based on feelings, attractions, and desires
  • Gender expression: Ways in which a person manifests masculinity, femininity, both, or neither through appearance, behavior, dress, speech patterns, preferences, etc.
• Elements of equality between women and men in the world of work

  • Equality of opportunity and treatment in employment
  • Equal remuneration for work of equal value
  • Equal access to safe and healthy working environments and social security
  • Equality in association and collective bargaining
  • Equal opportunity for meaningful career development
  • Equal participation in decision-making at all levels
• Three basic types of sexual orientation

  • Monosexual Sexual Orientations
  • Polysexual Sexual Orientations
  • Asexual Sexual Orientation
• Gender Stereotypes


  Ideas that people have about masculinity or femininity
• Sexual Orientation


  Describes a person’s sexual or romantic attractions, sexual identity, sexual behaviors, and sexual desires
• Polysexual Sexual Orientations

  • Bisexual
  • Pansexual
  • Queer
• Asexual Sexual Orientation


  • Identified as asexual
• Monosexual Sexual Orientations

  • Gay
  • Lesbian
  • Straight
• Heterosexism

  Presumption that everyone is heterosexual or the belief that heterosexual people are naturally superior to homosexual and bisexual people
• Affection Orientation


  Pattern of a person’s romantic attraction or the gender of the people a person falls in love with or desires to partner with
• Gender inequality examples

  • Forbidden from driving in Saudi Arabia
  • Clothing requirements for Muslim women
  • Limited right to divorce for wives
  • Limited access to education for girls in Afghanistan
  • Restricted right to travel in Egypt and Bahrain
  • Lack of laws to penalize domestic violence
  • Custody rights in Bahrain
  • Citizenship rights in Egypt
  • Criminalization of adult, consensual sex outside marriage
  • Female infanticide in China
• The concept of gender was introduced by Simone de Beauvoir in her book "The Second Sex" (1949).
• Patriarchal gender systems that favor male dominance have historically contributed to gender inequality.
• Gender inequality has led to the limitation of women's access to resources and opportunities in society.
• Gender inequality refers to unequal treatment or perceptions of individuals based on their gender identity.