Gender and Society (Gender Inequality and it's effect to society )

Gender Inequality and it's effect to society

1. GENDER AND ITS EFFECT TO SOCIETY

2. GENDER The World Health Organization (WHO)  defines gender  as : “ Gender refers to the socially constructed characteristics of women and men, such as norms, roles, and relationships of and between groups of women and men. It varies from society to society and can be changed.” Gender roles in some societies are more rigid than those in others. 2

3. Gender Roles and its Effect on Today’s Society “Gender” is more difficult to define, but it can refer to the role of a male or female in society, known as a gender role, or an individual’s concept of themselves, or gender identity. “Gender roles are learned behaviours by a person as appropriate to their gender, determined by the prevailing cultural norms ’’. Gender roles determine how males and females should think, speak, dress and interact within the context of the society. They are adopted during childhood and normally continue into adulthood. At home, people have certain presumptions about decision making, child-rearing practices, financial responsibilities, and so forth. At work, the presumptions are about power, labour , position and organizational structures. Gender roles influence men and women in almost every aspect of life. The differences between the sexes both real and imagined, are used as a means to justify their existence. Gender inequality arises, from these perceived differences.  This has not helped our society, where we raise boys to be providers, stoic, uncompromising and demanding. Whereas we raise girls to be submissive, passive and to cater to a man’s needs. 3

4. ‘’The problem with Gender Roles is that it prescribes how we should be rather than recognising how we are’’. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie . 4

5. Gender inequality affects everyone Culturally diverse communities Women from culturally diverse communities experience racism and discrimination on top of gender inequality . Rural and regional women Women living outside of metropolitan areas often do not have access to public services.They are at greater risk of poor health outcomes and family violence. Trans and gender diverse people Trans and gender diverse people may feel forced to hide their gender identity when using services, at school or at work. They are at greater risk of mental illness, verbal and physical abuse and social exclusion. Children Gender stereotypes affect children's sense of self from a young age. Young people Gender stereotypes affect behaviour , study choices, ambitions and attitudes about relationships. Men Traditional stereotypes are difficult for many men to live up to. They feel pressure to be a ‘real man’, to be physically and emotionally strong, and be the main income earner. Gender inequality affects everyone, including men. Stereotypes or ‘rules’ about how women and men, girls and boys should be begin in childhood and follow us through to adulthood.Not everyone experiences inequality the same way. The situation is worse, and often different, for people who face more than one type of discrimination. 5

6. How Gender stereotyping affects the enjoyment of human rights Harmful gender stereotypes and wrongful gender stereotyping are one of the root causes for discrimination, abuse and violence in manifold areas and can lead to violations of a wide array of human rights. The following are some examples of how gender stereotyping affects the enjoyment of human rights: 6

7. Access to quality education Gender stereotypes act as a barrier for girls to access quality education. For example, stereotypes about the role of women as confined to the domestic and family sphere underpin all obstacles to girls’ equal access to quality education. Girls are often socialized to assume domestic and care responsibilities, with the assumption that they will be economically dependent on men. The stereotype of men as breadwinners leads to the prioritization of boys’ education. Stereotypes often dictate different expectations for boys and girls, such as completion of education and fields of study to pursue. Stereotypes are also perpetuated in school curricula and materials, which often leads to occupational gender segregation, with girls less likely to study and pursue careers in highly valued professional and traditionally male-dominated fields, such as science, technology, engineering and mathematics. 7

8. Violence against women Harmful gender stereotypes, rigid constructions of femininity and masculinity and stereotyped gender roles are a root cause of gender-based violence against women . To eliminate gender-based violence against women, it would be crucial to transform discriminatory gender norms and stereotypes and to promote non-violent, respectful and equal gender relations between men, women and non-binary persons. Such transformation could be facilitated through a number of measures, including: gender-responsive early childhood education and development; the integration of gender equality content into curricula at all levels of education and scientifically based and age-appropriate comprehensive sexuality education; promoting equal sharing of responsibilities in unpaid care and domestic work, including through parental leave policies and increased flexibility in working arrangements; and dismantling discriminatory stereotypes in sexual and reproductive health. 8

9. GENDER AND INTERSECTIONALITY 9

10. INTERSECTIONALITY Intersectionality refers to the way in which multiple forms of discrimination – based on gender, race, sexuality, disability and class, etc. – overlap and interact with one another to shape how different individuals and groups experience discrimination.

11. Articulated by legal scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw (1991), the concept of  intersectionality   identifies a mode of analysis integral to women, gender, sexuality studies. Within intersectional frameworks, race, class, gender, sexuality, age, ability, and other aspects of identity are considered mutually constitutive; that is, people experience these multiple aspects of identity simultaneously and the meanings of different aspects of identity are shaped by one another. 11

12. In other words, notions of gender and the way a person’s gender is interpreted by others are always impacted by notions of race and the way that person’s race is interpreted. For example, a person is never received as just a woman, but how that person is racialized impacts how the person is received as a woman. So, notions of blackness, brownness, and whiteness always influence gendered experience, and there is no experience of gender that is outside of an experience of race. In addition to race, gendered experience is also shaped by age, sexuality, class, and ability; likewise, the experience of race is impacted by gender, age, class, sexuality, and ability. 12

13. 13 Gender intersects with everything. Understanding how gender intersects with various cultural and social concepts is not only essential to understanding gender studies as a scientific discipline, it is also an important part of moving through and experiencing the world as a human being. Understanding gender and intersectionality can help us understand ourselves and the world and culture we live in. 

14. Gender and society Here are some of the researches that tackles gender and its effect to society 14

15. Understanding the Influence of Race/Ethnicity, Gender and Class on Inequalities in Academic and Non-Academic Outcomes among Eighth-Grade Students Findings from an Intersectionality Approach ( Laia Becares , Naomi Priest)

16. Socioeconomic, racial/ethnic, and gender inequalities in academic achievement have been widely reported in the US, but how these three axes of inequality intersect to determine academic and non academic outcomes among school -aged children is not well understood. Interventions to eliminate achievement gaps cannot fully succeed as long as social stratification caused by gender and racial discrimination is not addressed. 16

17. This study set out to examine inequalities across several eighth-grade academic and non-academic outcome, the intersection of race/ethnicity, gender and socioeconomic status. With the exception of educational assessments, gender and racial/ethnic inequalities within classes are either not very pronounced or in the opposite direction, but differences in outcomes across classes are stark. 17

18. The contrasting outcomes between racial/ethnic and gender minorities in self-assessment and socioemotional outcomes, as compared to standardized assessments, provide supports for the cletrimentak effect that intersecting racial ethnic and gender discrimination have in patterning academic outcomes that predict success in adult life. 18

19. Gender and sex inequalities: Implications and resistance Kelly l. hazel and Kerry s. kleyman

20. Despite gains in some regions and countries for justice and equality, people around the world are still constrained by patriarchal hetero orthodoxy and resultant inequality, discrimination, oppression, and violence. For women in the U.S., progress towards equality has been often met with backlash, stalling and/or rolling back any advances. The same is true for the LGBTQ community. 20

21. Although the world has seen great strides toward gender/sex equality, a wide gap still remains and unfortunately may be widening. The  World Economic Forum  (WEF,  2017 ) annually evaluates the world’s progress toward gender inequality in economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment, health and survival, and political empowerment. In their most recent report, gender inequality continues to be a persistent problem, with the gender gap in economic participation/opportunity; and health/survival actually widening rather than getting better. 21

22. Economic participation and opportunity Across the globe, many women remain economically dependent on men. Women are barred from owning land and their control over household economic resources and spending is limited. Women are more likely to be unemployed and more likely to work in positions in which they don’t get paid (e.g. contributing family worker). When they are employed, women are more likely than men to be concentrated in industries and occupations with low wages, long hours, and no social protections (United Nations Statistics Division,  2015 ). Women are less likely than men to hold management positions. Indeed, women hold only 5.2% of CEO positions and 21.2% of board seats in S&P 500 companies (Catalyst,  2018 ). In regard to wages, women earn between 70 and 90% of what a man earns in most countries (United Nations Statistics Division,  2015 ). 22

23. Education Part of the explanation as to why industry gender segregation persists is that women remain “underrepresented in  Career and Technical Education  (CTE) programs that are nontraditional for their gender” (Institute for Women’s Policy Research,  2013 ). Analyses show women are concentrated in traditionally female and lower paying CTE programs in both secondary and postsecondary educational settings. Further, women are still under-represented in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) programs. Although STEM fields are some of the most in-demand and lucrative, women are less likely than men to pursue a college education in these fields, and even less likely to pursue a graduate degree in STEM (Hill, Corbett, & Rose,  2010 ). Gender stereotypes and bias in education and the potentially hostile climate of academic departments continue to deter women from these lucrative career opportunities. 23

24. Political empowerment Across the globe, women hold a minority of political and institutional decision-making positions. Gender norms and prejudices work to both reduce the number of female candidates (about 30% are women) and contribute to the obstacles faced by women in elections (United Nations Statistics Division,  2015 ). Although the number of women heads of state continues to grow, still only 38% of 146 nations have had a female leader for at least one year (Geiger & Kent,  2017 ). In 2017, women were heads of state in only 15 countries. Additionally, women were a small percentage of cabinet ministers (18.3% in 2017) and parliamentarians (22.8% in 2016) (United Nations Women,  2017 ). The judiciary remains primarily male, especially in the higher levels (United Nations Statistics Division,  2015 ). 24

25. LGBTQ Gender inequalites in employment, education, health/survival and political empowerment aren’t the only ways in which our society’s inability to transcend patriarchal ideologies impacts society. There continues to be persistent and pervasive discrimination against LGBTQ people, including housing discrimination (Friedman, et al.,  2013 ; Johnson, Jackson, Arnette , & Koffman ,  2005 ; Lauster & Easterbrook,  2011 ), workplace discrimination ( Anastas ,  2001 ; Fidas & Cooper,  2015 ; Kattari , Whitfield, Walls, Langenderfer-Magruder , & Ramos,  2016 ; Pizer , Sears, Mallory & Hunter,  2012 ), victimization (Katz-Wise & Hyde,  2012 ; Meyer,  2012 ), and the curtailment of basic human rights such as marriage and family adoption. This discrimination often results in mental and physical health concerns (Pascoe & Richman,  2009 ; Mayer et al.,  2008 ) and estrangement from family members (Beeler & DiProva ,  1999 ; Potoczniak , Crosbie -Burnett, & Saltzburg ,  2009 ), 25

26. It is clear a combination of personal, social, community, organizational, and political change will be needed to address the various ways in which gender discrimination impacts the health and wellness of individuals and communities.

27. “Achieving gender equality requires the engagement of women and men, girls and boys. It is everyone’s responsibility” - BAN KI-MOON 27

28. “Gender Parity is just not good for women – It’s good for societies” - Angelica Fuentes 28

29. “IT IS TIME THAT WE ALL SEE GENDER AS A SPECTRUM INSTEAD OF TWO SETS OF OPPOSING IDEALS” -EMMA WATSON 29

30. “I DON’T WANT OTHER PEOPLE TO DECIDE WHAT I AM. I WANT TO DECIDE THAT FOR MYSELF ” - EMMA WATSON 30

31. 31 THANK YOU!