Understanding the gendered world
Gender is an important consideration in development. It is a way of looking at how social
norms and power structures impact on the lives and opportunities available to different
groups of men and women. Globally, more women than men live in poverty. Women are also
less likely than men to receive basic education and to be appointed to a political position
nationally and internationally. Understanding that men and women, boys and girls experience
poverty differently and face different barriers in accessing services, economic resources and
political opportunities helps to target interventions.
What is gender and why does it matter?
Before undertaking a gender analysis, it is important to understand the concept of ‘gender’.
According to the World Development Report (WDR) 2012, gender is defined as socially
constructed norms and ideologies which determine the behaviour and actions of men
and women. Understanding these gender relations and the power dynamics behind them is a
prerequisite for understanding individuals’ access to and distribution of resources, the ability
to make decisions and the way women and men, boys and girls are affected by political
processes and social development.
Compared with men, women control fewer political and economic resources, including land,
employment and traditional positions of authority. Acknowledging and incorporating these
gender inequalities into programmes and analyses is therefore extremely important, both from
a human rights perspective and to maximise impact and socioeconomic development. Gender
equality is also important for sustainable peace, and there is a growing body of empirical
evidence suggesting that a higher level of gender inequality is associated with higher risks of
internal conflict.
Transgender: refers to those trans people who live permanently in their preferred gender,
without necessarily needing to undergo any medical intervention/s. Transsexual: refers to
people who identifies entirely with the gender role opposite to the sex assigned to at birth and
seeks to live permanently in the preferred gender role. Transsexual people might intend to
undergo, are undergoing or have undergone gender reassignment treatment (which may or
may not involve hormone therapy or surgery).
Inequalities in political power and representation: Women are often underrepresented in
formal decision-making structures, including governments, community councils, and policy-
making institutions.
Inequalities in economic participation and opportunities: In most countries, women and men
are distributed differently across sectors. Women are receiving lower wages for similar work,
are more likely to be in low-paid jobs and unsecured work (part-time, temporary, home-
based) and are likely to have less access than men to productive assets such as education,
skills, property and credit.
Educational attainment: In most countries women have lower literacy rate, lower level of
enrolment in primary, secondary and tertiary education.
Sexual and domestic violence: Women tend to be more often victims in a form a domestic
violence by woman’s intimate partner, sexual exploitation through trafficking and sex trade,
in wars by an enemy army as a weapon of attempted ‘ethnic cleansing’ etc.
Differences in legal status and entitlements: There are many instances in which equal rights
to personal status, security, land, inheritance and employment opportunities are denied to
women by law or practice.
A stereotype is a widely held, simplified, and essentialist belief about a specific group.
Groups are often stereotyped on the basis of sex, gender identity, race and ethnicity,
nationality, age, socioeconomic status, language, and so forth. Stereotypes are deeply
embedded within social institutions and wider culture.
In social psychology, a stereotype is a fixed, over generalized belief about a particular group
or class of people. By stereotyping we infer that a person has a whole range of characteristics
and abilities that we assume all members of that group have.
When it comes to the world of athleticism and sports, women have often been considered the
inferior sex due to our feminine body types.
As a result of higher testosterone levels, it is biologically easier for men to gain more muscle
mass, usually making them taller and wider than most women.
When a woman becomes pregnant, she is often seen as even more fragile. Although a woman
carrying a baby is responsible for a life other than hers, it does not necessarily imply that she
has to limit herself unreasonably and cut-out exercise.
Important references:
https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/Documents/Issues/Women/WRGS/OnePagers/
Gender_stereotyping.pdf
