essay about gender sensitivity

5 Powerful Essays Advocating for Gender Equality

Gender equality – which becomes reality when all genders are treated fairly and allowed equal opportunities –  is a complicated human rights issue for every country in the world. Recent statistics are sobering. According to the World Economic Forum, it will take 108 years to achieve gender parity . The biggest gaps are found in political empowerment and economics. Also, there are currently just six countries that give women and men equal legal work rights. Generally, women are only given ¾ of the rights given to men. To learn more about how gender equality is measured, how it affects both women and men, and what can be done, here are five essays making a fair point.

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“Countries With Less Gender Equity Have More Women In STEM — Huh?” – Adam Mastroianni and Dakota McCoy

This essay from two Harvard PhD candidates (Mastroianni in psychology and McCoy in biology) takes a closer look at a recent study that showed that in countries with lower gender equity, more women are in STEM. The study’s researchers suggested that this is because women are actually especially interested in STEM fields, and because they are given more choice in Western countries, they go with different careers. Mastroianni and McCoy disagree.

They argue the research actually shows that cultural attitudes and discrimination are impacting women’s interests, and that bias and discrimination is present even in countries with better gender equality. The problem may lie in the Gender Gap Index (GGI), which tracks factors like wage disparity and government representation. To learn why there’s more women in STEM from countries with less gender equality, a more nuanced and complex approach is needed.

“Men’s health is better, too, in countries with more gender equality” – Liz Plank

When it comes to discussions about gender equality, it isn’t uncommon for someone in the room to say, “What about the men?” Achieving gender equality has been difficult because of the underlying belief that giving women more rights and freedom somehow takes rights away from men. The reality, however, is that gender equality is good for everyone. In Liz Plank’s essay, which is an adaption from her book For the Love of Men: A Vision for Mindful Masculinity, she explores how in Iceland, the #1 ranked country for gender equality, men live longer. Plank lays out the research for why this is, revealing that men who hold “traditional” ideas about masculinity are more likely to die by suicide and suffer worse health. Anxiety about being the only financial provider plays a big role in this, so in countries where women are allowed education and equal earning power, men don’t shoulder the burden alone.

Liz Plank is an author and award-winning journalist with Vox, where she works as a senior producer and political correspondent. In 2015, Forbes named her one of their “30 Under 30” in the Media category. She’s focused on feminist issues throughout her career.

“China’s #MeToo Moment” –  Jiayang Fan

Some of the most visible examples of gender inequality and discrimination comes from “Me Too” stories. Women are coming forward in huge numbers relating how they’ve been harassed and abused by men who have power over them. Most of the time, established systems protect these men from accountability. In this article from Jiayang Fan, a New Yorker staff writer, we get a look at what’s happening in China.

The essay opens with a story from a PhD student inspired by the United States’ Me Too movement to open up about her experience with an academic adviser. Her story led to more accusations against the adviser, and he was eventually dismissed. This is a rare victory, because as Fan says, China employs a more rigid system of patriarchy and hierarchy. There aren’t clear definitions or laws surrounding sexual harassment. Activists are charting unfamiliar territory, which this essay explores.

“Men built this system. No wonder gender equality remains as far off as ever.” – Ellie Mae O’Hagan

Freelance journalist Ellie Mae O’Hagan (whose book The New Normal is scheduled for a May 2020 release) is discouraged that gender equality is so many years away. She argues that it’s because the global system of power at its core is broken.  Even when women are in power, which is proportionally rare on a global scale, they deal with a system built by the patriarchy. O’Hagan’s essay lays out ideas for how to fix what’s fundamentally flawed, so gender equality can become a reality.

Ideas include investing in welfare; reducing gender-based violence (which is mostly men committing violence against women); and strengthening trade unions and improving work conditions. With a system that’s not designed to put women down, the world can finally achieve gender equality.

“Invisibility of Race in Gender Pay Gap Discussions” – Bonnie Chu

The gender pay gap has been a pressing issue for many years in the United States, but most discussions miss the factor of race. In this concise essay, Senior Contributor Bonnie Chu examines the reality, writing that within the gender pay gap, there’s other gaps when it comes to black, Native American, and Latina women. Asian-American women, on the other hand, are paid 85 cents for every dollar. This data is extremely important and should be present in discussions about the gender pay gap. It reminds us that when it comes to gender equality, there’s other factors at play, like racism.

Bonnie Chu is a gender equality advocate and a Forbes 30 Under 30 social entrepreneur. She’s the founder and CEO of Lensational, which empowers women through photography, and the Managing Director of The Social Investment Consultancy.

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About the author, emmaline soken-huberty.

Emmaline Soken-Huberty is a freelance writer based in Portland, Oregon. She started to become interested in human rights while attending college, eventually getting a concentration in human rights and humanitarianism. LGBTQ+ rights, women’s rights, and climate change are of special concern to her. In her spare time, she can be found reading or enjoying Oregon’s natural beauty with her husband and dog.

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• Gender Equality Essay

Introduction to Gender Equality

In a society, everyone has the right to lead his/her life accordingly without any discrimination. When this state is achieved where all individuals are considered to be equal irrespective of their caste, gender, colour, profession, and status, we call it equality. Equality can also be defined as the situation where every individual has the same rights and equal opportunity to grow and prosper. 

Every individual of society dreams for equal rights and access to resources available at their disposal, but there is a lot of discrimination. This discrimination can be due to cultural differences, geographical differences, the colour of the individual, social status and even gender. The most prevalent discrimination is gender inequality. It is not a localised issue and is limited to only certain spheres of life but is prevalent across the globe. Even in progressive societies and top organisations, we can see many examples of gender bias. 

Gender equality can only be achieved when both male and female individuals are treated similarly. But discrimination is a social menace that creates division. We stop being together and stand together to tackle our problems. This social stigma has been creeping into the underbelly of all of society for many centuries. This has also been witnessed in gender-based cases. Gender inequality is the thing of the past as both men and women are creating history in all segments together.

Gender Equality builds a Nation

In this century, women and men enjoy the same privileges. The perception is changing slowly but steadily. People are now becoming more aware of their rights and what they can do in a free society. It has been found that when women and men hold the same position and participate equally, society progresses exclusively and creates a landmark. When a community reaches gender equality, everyone enjoys the same privileges and gets similar scopes in education, health, occupation, and political aspect. Even in the family, when both male and female members are treated in the same way, it is the best place to grow, learn, and add great value.

A nation needs to value every gender equally to progress at the right place. A society attains better development in all aspects when both genders are entitled to similar opportunities. Equal rights in decision making, health, politics, infrastructure, profession, etc will surely advance our society to a new level. The social stigma of women staying inside the house has changed. Nowadays, girls are equally competing with boys in school. They are also creating landmark development in their respective profession. Women are now seeking economic independence before they get married. It gives them the confidence to stand against oppression and make better decisions for themselves.

The age-old social structure dictated that women need to stay inside the home taking care of all when men go out to earn bread and butter. This has been practised for ages when the world outside was not safe. Now that the time has changed and we have successfully made our environment quite safer, women can step forward, get educated, pursue their passion, bring economic balance in their families, and share the weight of a family with men. This, in a cumulative way, will also make a country’s economy progress faster and better.

Methods to measure Gender Equality

Gender equality can be measured and a country’s growth can be traced by using the following methods.

Gender Development Index (GDI) is a gender-based calculation done similar to the Human Development Index. 

Gender Empowerment Measure (GEM) is a detailed calculation method of the percentage of female members in decision-making roles. 

Gender Equity Index (GEI) considers economic participation, education, and empowerment.

Global Gender Gap Index assesses the level of gender inequality present on the basis of four criteria: economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment, political empowerment, health and survival .

According to the Gender Gap Index (GGI), India ranks 140 among 156 participating countries. This denotes that the performance of India has fallen from the previous years, denoting negative growth in terms of closing the gender gap. In the current environment where equality and equal opportunities are considered supreme, this makes India be at a significant disadvantage.

Roadblocks to Gender Equality  

Indian society is still wrecked by such stigmas that dictate that women are meant to manage the home and stay indoors. This is being done for ages, leading to neglect of women in areas like education, health, wealth, and socio-economic fields. 

In addition to that, the dowry system is further crippling society. This ill practice had led to numerous female feticides. It has created a notion that girls are a burden on a family, which is one of the primary reasons a girl child cannot continue her education. Even if they excel in education and become independent, most of them are forced to quit their job as their income is considered a backup source, which is not fair. New-age women are not only independent, but they are confident too. The only thing they demand from society is support, which we should provide them.  

Along with dowry, there is one more burning issue that has a profound impact on women's growth. It is prevalent in all kinds of society and is known as violence. Violence against women is present in one or another form in public and private spaces. Sometimes, violence is accompanied by other burning issues such as exploitation, harassment, and trafficking, making the world unsafe for women. We must take steps to stop this and ensure a safe and healthy place for women.  

Poverty is also one of the major roadblocks towards gender equality. It has led to other malpractices such as child marriage, sale of children, trafficking and child labour, to name a few. Providing equal job opportunities and upliftment of people below the poverty line can help bring some checks onto this.

Initiative Towards Gender Equality

Any kind of discrimination acts as a roadblock in any nation’s growth, and a nation can only prosper when all its citizens have equal rights. Most of the developed countries has comparatively less gender discrimination and provide equal opportunity to both genders. Even the Indian government is taking multiple initiatives to cut down gender discrimination. 

They have initiated a social campaign called “Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao Yojana” to encourage the education of girl children. Besides this, the government runs multiple other schemes, such as the Women Helpline Scheme, UJJAWALA, National Mission for Empowerment of Women, etc., to generate awareness among the people. Moreover, as responsible citizens, it is our responsibility to spread knowledge on gender discrimination to create a beautiful world for wome n [1] [2] .

FAQs on Gender Equality Essay

1. What Makes Women Unequal to Men?

The social stigmas and beliefs that have been running deeply in the veins of all families make women unequal to men. Women are considered to be a burden by many families and are not provided with the same rights men enjoy in society. We are ill-informed regarding women’s rights and tend to continue age-old practices. This is made worse with social menaces such as the dowry system, child labor, child marriage, etc. Women can gather knowledge, get educated, and compete with men. This is sometimes quite threatening to the false patriarchal society.

2. How can We Promote Gender Equality?

Education is the prime measure to be taken to make society free from such menaces. When we teach our new generation regarding the best social practices and gender equal rights, we can eradicate such menaces aptly. Our society is ill-informed regarding gender equality and rights. Many policies have been designed and implemented by the government. As our country holds the second position in terms of population, it is hard to tackle these gender-based problems. It can only be erased from the deepest point by using education as the prime weapon.

3. Why should Women be Equal to Men?

Women might not be similar to men in terms of physical strength and physiological traits. Both are differently built biologically but they have the same brain and organs to function. Women these days are creating milestones that are changing society. They have traveled to space, running companies, creating history, and making everyone proud. Women are showing their capabilities in every phase and hence, they should be equal to men in all aspects.

4. Mention a few initiatives started by the Indian Government to enable gender equality.

The Indian government has initiated a social campaign called “Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao Yojana” to encourage girls’ education. Besides this, the government runs multiple other schemes, such as the  Women Helpline Scheme, UJJAWALA, National Mission for Empowerment of Women, etc., to generate awareness among the people.

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What is Gender Sensitivity?

Gender sensitivity is the act of being aware of the ways people think about gender, so that individuals rely less on assumptions about traditional and outdated views on the roles of men and women. In language and the humanities, this is often expressed through people’s language choice. People can choose more inclusive language that doesn’t define gender, and many new words that are gender neutral have entered languages like English to substitute for more gender specific terms.

For centuries, many words referring to all people were specifically masculine. Terms like “man,” and “mankind,” which are used to describe all human beings, exclude females. While some people argue that such terms do include women, it’s been argued that these words have a belittling effect on women. True gender sensitivity, it is said, moves past these terms to include all and exclude none.

It is further contended by experts that the use of such terms is by no means innocent, and they have a negative cultural effect felt beyond the words. By making women either absent or non-apparent in terms like “mankind,” they become worth less and society will see them as possessing less value. This societal view in extreme forms is of detriment and corresponds to discrimination and even, arguably, things like greater violence against women.

In language and the humanities, this argument is accepted and a number of substitute words like “humankind,” express the gender sensitivity of the present. In the late 1980s, when Star Trek: The Next Generation began to air, a noted and more gender sensitive substitution differed from the original series. The opening narration changed so that “where no man has gone before,” become “where no one has gone before,” with a great deal of emphasis on the word “one.”

Some feminists suggest changing basic words with a masculine element to those with a specifically feminine element. Terms like “herstory” have been proposed for “history.” This substitution merely transfers the power from masculine to feminine, however, disregarding the male gender. A common compromise is to use gender-neutral terms so that males and females are both included.

Such terms can be obvious, like firefighter and police officer, in place of fireman or policeman. Pronouns are often considered carefully, too, and writers may take several tactics to remain gender neutral. They may oscillate back and forth between male and female pronouns, use plural pronouns that lack gender bias, or they use terms like “one.” Being gender sensitive with pronoun choice often takes work.

At the core of gender sensitivity in language is the goal of stripping away assumptions about limits of gender, and this benefits men and women. A stay at home parent isn’t automatically a mom, but can be a dad too. Such sensitivity from a language basis offers more choice and gives people the opportunity to view each other as individuals with different capacities, shedding assumptions about the traditional roles men and women may fill.

Tricia has a Literature degree from Sonoma State University and has been a frequent LanguageHumanities contributor for many years. She is especially passionate about reading and writing, although her other interests include medicine, art, film, history, politics, ethics, and religion. Tricia lives in Northern California and is currently working on her first novel.

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Discussion Comments

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• By: sneksy13 Gender sensitivity means getting rid of commonly held assumptions, such as a stay-at-home parent always being a woman.
• By: Ingus Evertovskis Gender sensitivity might suggest "firefighter" instead of "fireman."
• By: aijohn784 Gender sensitivity encourages people to rely less on traditional, outdated views of women's roles.
• By: Mat Hayward Some feminists suggest changing basic words with a masculine element to those with a specifically feminine element.

Gender Equality Essay for Students and Children

500+ words essay on gender equality essay.

Equality or non-discrimination is that state where every individual gets equal opportunities and rights. Every individual of the society yearns for equal status, opportunity, and rights. However, it is a general observation that there exists lots of discrimination between humans. Discrimination exists because of cultural differences, geographical differences, and gender. Inequality based on gender is a concern that is prevalent in the entire world.  Even in the 21 st century, across globe men and women do not enjoy equal privileges. Gender equality means providing equal opportunities to both men and women in political, economic, education and health aspects.

Importance of Gender Equality

A nation can progress and attain higher development growth only when both men and women are entitled to equal opportunities. Women in the society are often cornered and are refrained from getting equal rights as men to health, education, decision-making and economic independence in terms of wages.

The social structure that prevails since long in such a way that girls do not get equal opportunities as men. Women generally are the caregivers in the family. Because of this, women are mostly involved in household activities. There is lesser participation of women in higher education, decision-making roles, and leadership roles. This gender disparity is a hindrance in the growth rate of a country. When women participate in the workforce increases the economic growth rate of the country increases. Gender equality increases the overall wellbeing of the nation along with economic prosperity .

How is Gender Equality Measured?

Gender equality is an important factor in determining a country’s overall growth. There are several indexes to measure gender equality.

Gender-Related Development Index (GDI) –   GDI is a gender centric measure of Human Development Index. GDI considers parameters like life expectancy, education, and incomes in assessing the gender equality of a country.

Gender Empowerment Measure (GEM) – This measure includes much detail aspects like the proportion of seats than women candidates hold in national parliament, percentage of women at economic decision-making role, the income share of female employees.

Gender Equity Index (GEI) – GEI ranks countries on three parameters of gender inequality, those are education, economic participation, and empowerment. However, GEI ignores the health parameter.

Global Gender Gap Index – The World Economic Forum introduced the Global Gender Gap Index in 2006. This index focuses more on identifying the level of female disadvantage. The four important areas that the index considers are economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment, political empowerment, health, and survival rate.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

Gender Inequality in India

As per the World Economic Forum’s gender gap ranking, India stands at rank 108 out of 149 countries. This rank is a major concern as it highlights the immense gap in opportunities in women with comparison to men. In Indian society from a long time back, the social structure has been such that the women are neglected in many areas like education, health, decision-making areas, financial independence, etc.

Another major reason, which contributes to the discriminatory behavior towards women in India, is the dowry system in marriage.  Because of this dowry system, most Indian families consider girls as a burden.  Preference for son still prevails. Girls have refrained from higher education. Women are not entitled to equal job opportunities and wages. In the 21 st century, women are still preferred gender in home managing activities. Many women quit their job and opt-out from leadership roles because of family commitments. However, such actions are very uncommon among men.

For overall wellbeing and growth of a nation, scoring high on gender equality is the most crucial aspect. Countries with less disparity in gender equality have progressed a lot. The government of India has also started taking steps to ensure gender equality. Several laws and policies are prepared to encourage girls. “Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao Yojana ” (Save girl, and make girls educated) campaign is created to spread awareness of the importance of girl child.  Several laws to protect girls are also there. However, we need more awareness of spreading knowledge of women rights . In addition, the government should take initiatives to check the correct and proper implementation of policies.

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Gender-Sensitive Education and Equality Essay

Introduction, summary of the articles, critique of the articles, recommendations.

Gender-sensitive education is very important in the current society. In order to achieve this, researchers have a pivotal role to play in the process of promoting education justice. Researchers have made it clear that the battle for educational justice should involve all stakeholders. All stakeholders must be involved in this fight in order to achieve the expected outcome in this war, because if any form of resistance were to be met in this war, then it would probably come from the stakeholders who are ignored. By involving them, the rate of resistance is reduced. In fact, this scholar says that their involvement in this war would turn the resistance into support for educational justice. It is important to ensure that researchers remain active in this field as policymakers. This is because they are in the best position to determine the level of success that has been achieved, and what could be impeding the achievement of this equality. They are also able to recommend some of the best approaches that can be taken to eliminate some of the challenges met in the quest for educational justice. The following two articles talk about gender-sensitive education.

The need to have gender-sensitive education and gender equality has been in existence for some time now. According to Raewyn (2010), this can be traced back to several years ago when a number of women came out strongly to fight for their rights, and the need to offer them equal opportunities in education. This article talks about Kartini, a young Indonesian woman who tried to push for girl-child education about 100 years ago. Kartini was living in an Islamic society where men were largely considered as being superior to women. During this time, Indonesia was under the colonial rule of the Netherlands. The colonial government had offered an opportunity for the locals to go to a few colonial schools that were established to help the locals know how to read, write, and speak the foreign language. However, most parents were keen on taking their sons to school other than their daughters. Girls would stay at home to attend to household chores. They would then be married at a tender age, making them inferior to their husbands. In her quest to fight this vice, Kartini wrote a number of letters to her friend Stella, explaining the importance of rethinking gender education in this country. She decided to start a school, but she got no support from the colonial government. She was married but unfortunately died while giving birth to her first child. However, her letters have been used to fight stigmatization towards girl child education.

Raewyn (2010) says that it is a pleasant fact that governments around the world have come to appreciate the importance of girl child education. They have realized that it is a part of Millennium Development Goals and that it should be achieved for the growth of the welfare of the society to be realized. Kartini was denied the opportunity to start schools where girls would get equal opportunity as their male counterparts in acquiring education. However, many governments around the world have come to appreciate her concept, and are now using it to enhance gender-sensitive education.

In the quest to achieve gender-sensitive education in the society, there have been policies put in place to help achieve this objective. However, a number of assumptions have been made that affect the course of achieving this equality. One such assumption is that policies on gender always put girls and women against boys and men. There has been a massive interpretation that when talking about the need for equality, the focus is on empowering women and girls over men and boys. This wrong notion has been propelled by some individuals in various countries, who are responsible for the implementation of policies meant to create gender balance in education. This has created some form of resistance from men and boys who feel that they may be the victims of this policy if they do not come out and fight for their rights.

Another assumption that has been made is that education is good, and it empowers people. For this reason, implementers of policies meant to empower women and girls have overemphasized the provision of education for women and children. They have ignored other means of empowering women other than offering them education. The third assumption has been that men and boys are the measuring rod against which policy implementers can gauge success in empowering women. This means that in the process of empowering women, these policymakers use men as a measuring rod, and not as people who should be getting similar treatment as women in the quest to gain a good education. This has affected the process of achieving the desired goals in educating the girl child. Although gender-sensitive education has become globally recognized as being important, in many countries around the world girls are still trailing boys in accessing quality education.

While conceptualizing gender on a world scale, this scholar appreciates that there are some facts that have been ignored. For instance, people have considered globalization to mean the world society is universal. They assume that what is taking place in the United States would be the same as the activities taking place in the Indian community. This is not true. World societies have different societal structure, and in different countries, women’s position in the society differs. For instance, in Saudi Arabia, women are still restricted from undertaking some activities without express permission from their husbands or fathers. The Saudi Arabian women who want to seek further education abroad would need to seek permission to travel from their husbands, their fathers, or even their first-born sons. This gives a clear picture of the position of women in this country. This is very different from what is happening in the United States, the United Kingdom, and various other Western countries where women have as many rights and freedom as men.

Raewyn (2010) gives an example of the report given by Fortune Magazine in 2007 about the leading world chief executives. This scholar notes that about 98% of the leading chief executives in the world are men. This means that the war against male dominance in the society that was started over 100 years ago is yet to achieve the expected goals. This scholar says that a number of feminist theories have been developed to help explain the need to promote girl child education. This scholar notes that a number of theories have been developed, but most of them have failed in giving a conceptualized framework under which girls can attain the much-needed education. For this reason, there is a need to understand that these theories can no longer be held as a monologue. The stakeholders in this field must come to understand the context under which feminism can be promoted without making it appear to be a fight against male dominance. This should be made to appear as a struggle to achieve equality for all. Both men and women should have access to quality education without emphasizing on their gender difference.

The path towards achieving justice in education may take long. However, with good approaches taken by the policy implementers and goodwill from the responsible stakeholders, this is something that can be achieved. A good education should be just and not that which favors one group while ignoring another group. It is also important to note that achieving quality education that is gender-sensitive can only be realized if the outcome of that education system translates to equal opportunities in life. This means that emphasis should not be overexerted on the need to ensure that women get an education. However, it should focus on education that would lead to equitable opportunities in life after schools. This means that the Fortune Magazine should not have 98% of its leading chief executives in the world being men. Women should also find their position in the corporate world. That is when it will be considered that gender-equal education has been achieved.

Kellie (2008) focuses on issues about globalization, imagination, and some of the emerging models of ‘girl citizen’. This scholar says that around the globe, there has been a strong movement to achieve a gender-sensitive society. Kellie says, “‘Equality’ was not achieved through policies that held the state responsible (economically and/ ideologically) for social injustices, but rather through the implementation of policies, and practices that defined the state as the great equalizer of economic opportunities.” (p. 344). This statement was made in reference to the perceived relatively better girl child educational achievements in the Western countries. This scholar says that those who are fighting for achieving gender equality should stop focusing on pressurizing the government. This scholar says that this will make little or no effort in achieving gender-sensitive education because most governments around the world have learned the art of ignoring such pressures. These governments are concerned about various other issues considered more basic. Putting hopes on such governments to lead this fight would be risking the fight towards achieving a gender-sensitive education. On the contrary, the focus should be on policies that would give both genders equal opportunity towards attaining education. This brought the massive change that has been experienced in the developed world.

Kellie (2008) talks about the neoliberal reforms and the power of imagination in enhancing girl-child education. The neoliberal reforms have focused on promoting achievements of all genders not only in school but also in the social life after school. A culture of equality should be inculcated in the society right from the time a person is taken to school until he or she comes out to look for opportunities in life. This scholar brings in the power of imagination as a tool for empowering women in the corporate world. This scholar says that men have outsmarted women in the corporate world, because of their power of imagination. In management, imagination is the main technology that will differentiate a successful firm from a poorly performing one. In order for a firm to manage the market competition, there is a need to come up with creative ideas, and this can only be achieved through imagination. Girls should use this mind tool to assert themselves as an authority in various fields and in education.

They should not wait for affirmative action or other policies that are meant to favor them in order to achieve what they need in life. They should come out strongly using the power of imagination and demonstrate to the world that they have the capacity to change the world through their policies. This scholar believes that women lost their position to men through imagination. He believes that as evolution was taking place, men became more powerful through their strong imagination capacity. It is through this image that women were dismissed as being inferior to men. If women are to gain a prestigious position in the global society just as their male counterparts, then they have to use the same tool that was used to bring them down. They have to use the power of imagination. They must be creative in their activities, and be able to come up with policies that would gain them the much-needed attention. They must take an active role in the global world as agents of positive change. Constantly using state powers to gain favor would not help in this fight for justice in education.

The scholar also focuses on globalization as one of the forums through which some activists have used to attain gender-sensitive education. However, this scholar warns that globalization has very little to offer to the fight against gender inequality. Globalization only brings what is already in existence, and unless the responsible players appreciate their role in bringing this much-needed change, it may be difficult to achieve this change in the end. Kellie (2008) argues that in every society in the current world there is equal opportunity for all people irrespective of gender. Both girls and boys are offered the opportunity to go to school, and they are exposed to a similar learning environment. This scholar, therefore, wonders why the performance of boys should surpass that of girls. In real-life scenarios, various opportunities exist, and it always depends on the creativity of an individual in order to be able to achieve the much-needed objectives in life. It is not about making a lot of fuss about the need to bring equality in all sectors of the economy. It is about the individual stakeholders making a conscious move towards achieving this equality.

Theory of homogeneity in the globalized world has been perceived as a force that tries to impose the Western culture into other parts of the world. The concept of a global village has always been considered as having a world where people have similar cultural practices, economic opportunities, and are able to speak a universal language. Although some consider this as a possibility that will soon be achieved, others have been skeptical towards it, saying that the possibility of achieving this homogeneity may take centuries to be realized. However, both the proponents and critics of this homogeneity theory agree that there has been a rapid rise of a borderless world where people can easily interact with others from different parts of the world and share cultural practices. There has been a massive immigration from third world countries to the first world countries, because of the general belief that they have better opportunities to offer.

This borderless world has had a massive impact on the cultural practices of various people around the world. It has helped redefine the position of women in the society. It has helped various stakeholders in various countries realize that women can be important in helping in the development of the society. This is what this scholar describes as globalization governance. This means that as the world is globalized, there has been an increasing concern that some of the practices in some parts of the world are retrogressive. Allowing a borderless society and avoiding oppressive culture against women is the best way of achieving economic freedom in the society in order to create an environment where both men and women can develop together. It is important to note that this is not a process of enabling women to fight men in whichever forum. It is the process of enabling women to develop alongside men in a society where discrimination against women does not exist. Again, this scholar emphasizes on the fact that women should not seek special support from men or government in order to achieve what they want in life. This will be an appreciation of the fact that they are inferior to men, and therefore have to be protected if they are to achieve their goals.

The article by Raewyn has managed to demonstrate the need for equality in the society irrespective of gender differences. The use of the story of Kartini, a young Indonesian girl who fought against discrimination of girls in education, helps to bring out the point. The message is even more powerful when Kartini dies based on her being a woman. This is revolutionary. It calls for action to be taken to achieve this equality. This article also gives statistics that help in understanding the current situation. This will help implementers of these policies avoid some of the rigid approaches they take towards achieving gender equality in education. However, the scholar failed to give a detailed count of the role of religion in achieving the much-converted justice in education. It is a fact that religion plays a big role in defining positions of men and women in the society.

The article by Kellie focused on how to become a global-girl citizen. It emphasized the need for the women to struggle on their own without any support from other forces to achieve the equality that they need. This argument is very true given that women have not been able to use their inner-self’s capacity to achieve this equality. I agree with the fact that the more protection women get from the government, the weaker they will become. I also agree with this article in its argument that it is through imagination that women became a weaker gender, and therefore, it will be through this image that women will become stronger. The article has, however, given the limited focus on how men should participate in the process of ensuring gender equality in the society.

The issue of gender education should receive a completely new shift from what it is perceived to be today. The following are some of the recommendations that I propose when dealing with gender in education.

• Stakeholders should not make gender-sensitive education appear to be a fight for women against men.
• It is important to appreciate the fact that women have the capacity to achieve their desires in life just as men.
• Women should not depend on affirmative action to be able to rise in the corporate ladder. This is because overprotection makes them even weaker.
• The focus of gender education should not just be on getting formal education. It should also look at ways of molding both men and women who are able to succeed in life after school.
• Women should use their power of imagination to achieve equality in the social and corporate life.

Becoming a global girl citizen has been the focus of some of the champions of justice in education as a way of empowering women. In this forum, the focus is on empowering women to become more responsible and powerful people in the world. The focus is on how to make a girl-child change from being a naive girl during her early education to being active and responsible women ready to take leadership in the society once they complete their education. To achieve this, the focus has been on nurturing leadership skills, entrepreneurial capabilities, and people who are self-sufficient economically, and flexible towards various issues in life. This can be achieved by empowering their ability to imagine.

Kellie, B. (2008). Imagining the global, rethinking gender in education. Discourse, Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education , 29(3), 343-357.

Raewyn, C. (2010). Kartini’s children: on the need for thinking gender and education together on a world scale. Gender And Education , 22(6), 603-615.

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IvyPanda. (2020, July 24). Gender-Sensitive Education and Equality. https://ivypanda.com/essays/gender-sensitive-education-and-equality/

"Gender-Sensitive Education and Equality." IvyPanda , 24 July 2020, ivypanda.com/essays/gender-sensitive-education-and-equality/.

IvyPanda . (2020) 'Gender-Sensitive Education and Equality'. 24 July.

IvyPanda . 2020. "Gender-Sensitive Education and Equality." July 24, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/gender-sensitive-education-and-equality/.

1. IvyPanda . "Gender-Sensitive Education and Equality." July 24, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/gender-sensitive-education-and-equality/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Gender-Sensitive Education and Equality." July 24, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/gender-sensitive-education-and-equality/.

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Importance of Nurturing Gender Sensitivity Through Education

Gender inequality is treated as a punishable offence as per laws of most of the countries. It is important for parents and teachers to make the children sensitive towards the other gender, writes Hema Kalakoti , Principal, APS Academy, Lucknow, for Elets News Network (ENN) .

Gender inequality refers to unequal treatment or perceptions of individuals based on their gender. It arises from differences in socially constructed gender roles. Gender systems are often dichotomous and hierarchical, gender binary systems may reflect the inequalities that manifest in numerous dimensions of daily life. Discrimination based on gender is a common civil rights violation that takes many forms including sexual harassment, pregnancy –discrimination, unequal pay for women who do the same jobs as men and discrimination in employment and education.T o overcome gender inequality we need to have gender sensitive society.

What is Gender Sensitivity?

Gender awareness is more analytical and critical since it clarifies issues about gender disparities and gender issues. It pertains to one’s effort to show how gender shapes the role of women and men in society including their role in development and how it affects relations between them. Our education system needs to be gender sensitive and gender friendly. One of the best possible strategies to minimise gender discrimination in society is to promote gender awareness at all levels of society.

Gender Issues In Homes

We can promote gender awareness in parents by

• School-parent partnership needs to be strengthened to identify gender issues in homes
• Promoting girl education in rural areas
• NGOs awareness training and counseling

Parents should be advised to treat both their sons and daughters as equals. Instead of telling their daughters to behave properly, mothers should teach their sons to respect all women as equal. It is important that children should grow up seeing women in their homes being respected by the men in the family. All household females should stop telling the young girls of their families that they need to learn how to cook, serve the husband and in-laws, and always adjust. And whatever else says to make a growing girl feel like she has less access to choice of freedom than her male counterpart.

Schools can play an important role in inculcating gender sensitivity in etiquettes and manners of students. It is necessary to create a gender responsive school in which the academic, social and physical environment and its surrounding community take into account the specific needs of girls and boys. A detailed action plan with a definite road map is required in the school curriculum to achieve gender equality.

Gender Sensitivity among Teachers

Teachers play a very important role in the early upbringing of a child. Their idea and beliefs can change the thought processes of young children. Children in the formative years easily nurture values and virtues taught to them. Gender sensitivity training should be mandatory for teachers. The training will enable them to disseminate the desirable attitude based on mutual respect and trust between girls and boys.

We all know that the teachers sometimes “inadvertently” make disparaging remarks about capabilities or characteristics of either gender, so we need to cope with knowledge, attitude, skills and methodologies that promote gender equality.

With growing concern over the lack of gender sensitization among youth, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has developed “a kit on gender sensitivity” for teachers to enable them to ensure unbiased participation of both boys and girls in the learning process.

Gender Sensitive Classrooms

Classrooms need to be gender sensitive. We have to take care of few do’s and don’ts for making classroom interaction gender sensitive.

• Encourage both males and females to be class leaders (perhaps one of each sex). Appoint two monitors in each classroom, a boy and a girl
• Address and call on girls and boys equally. Do not segregate boys and girls in the classroom in primary classes
• Make mixes groups for group activities and games
• Try to ‘switch role’ for breaking down gender barriers and stereotyping of gender roles
• Make both boys and girls share activities like cleaning, moving furniture, to the chalkboard during a lesson.
• Plan and conduct activities that give opportunity to all children accepting one another as equals.

Gender Sensitivity in Curriculum and text

Academic contents with lessons on gender sensitivity and moral traditions will unconsciously mould the character of the tender mind. It is time to transform all text reading materials and books which should be free of notion of gender equality as bias is embedded in textbooks and lessons. In this connection, our government has started taking initiatives regarding gender concerns have been included in the curriculum and in the textbooks drawn up by the National Council of Educational Research and Training(NCERT). (Views expressed by author are personal).

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The Impact of Respecting Another Person's Gender

Respecting gender can save a life. here's how..

Posted August 30, 2021 | Reviewed by Devon Frye

• Gender is a social construction, and someone's gender may not match their sex.
• Everyone is capable of adjusting their language to respect the transgender people in their life (including using "they" pronouns).
• Gossiping and judging individuals who are transgender, genderfluid, or gender non-binary can exacerbate prejudice and lead to violence.
• Respecting an individual's gender, name, and pronouns can significantly positively impact mental health.

It's often said that love is a choice. Hate, too, is a choice.

Gender, on the other hand, is a social construction. According to the World Health Organization, “gender refers to the characteristics of women, men, girls and boys that are socially constructed,” and may or may not correspond to the person’s physiology at birth (2021).

Your gender is yours. It’s not mine. It’s not mine to choose, to comment on, or to judge. What's more, someone's gender identity does not cause harm to another person.

I am a cisgender woman, a psychotherapist, and an individual who cares deeply about other individuals, some of whom are transgender.

My own experience of gender aligns with the physiology of the body I was born into. But not every person has that privilege. Some people have a gender identity that does not align with their biological sex , or that does not fit within a gender binary of male or female. I recognize that my privilege has limitations in understanding the lived experience of someone who identifies outside the gender binary created by our society, or whose gender differs from the gender they were assigned at birth.

Here are a couple of things to keep in mind if someone you care about has transitioned (or is in the process of transitioning):

• If this is a loved one you have known with a different gender identity previously, you may feel grief at the loss of the identity you knew. Note: Your emotions are valid. Also note: The previous gender identity of your loved one may not be their true self, and what may feel like a loss to you may be a life-affirming (even life-saving) gain for them.
• Using different pronouns or a different name may feel uncomfortable at first. Using “they” pronouns may feel uncomfortable at first. Have you ever learned a woman’s new last name after she got married, or integrated a new word into your vocabulary? You are capable of changing your language. And your discomfort is likely small fries compared to the discomfort (and in many cases, outright lack of safety) experienced by an individual who is experiencing gender dysphoria .
• Addressing internal biases may be uncomfortable; for that, I absolutely recommend connecting with a therapist. We all need a therapist at times (myself included!), and good therapists provide safe spaces in which we can grow.

Why Respecting Gender Matters

To pass judgment on another person’s gender identity may feel easy, casual—a slight comment here, or a bit of gossip or speculation there. But that comment or gossip or judgment or speculation in a group conversation can cause significant harm to the recipient—and not just emotional harm.

There may be someone in the group who identifies differently than the speaker, or is contemplating coming out, or has a family member who is transgender, genderfluid, or gender non-binary. Making an offhand comment, or outing a person’s gender, belittles the personhood of the individual and decreases their safety. Doing so emboldens acts of hatred and violence

And there are acts of violence. Forty-four individuals in the U.S. were murdered because of their gender identity in 2020, and as of this May, 27 individuals have been murdered so far in 2021 (Factora, 2021).

On the flip side of perpetuating violence, respecting the name and pronouns of an individual can have a huge positive impact on their mental health. Transgender and non-binary youth whose pronouns were respected by all the people they lived with attempted suicide at half the rate of those whose pronouns were not respected by anyone they lived with. Those who were able to change their name on legal documents and change their birth marker on legal documents also reported lower levels of suicide (The Trevor Project, 2021). This means that by merely using an individual’s preferred name and pronouns, you have the ability to help save a life.

Learning to say “they,” “he,” or "she," or to use a different name for someone, is an easy way to bolster your relationship and help contribute some good to the world at large, without expecting anything in return. If you mess up a pronoun or a name for someone who is transitioning, apologize and move on. Show respect for the deep internal work the person in front of you has engaged in. Read a book about how to show this respect, like The Person YOU Mean To Be by Dolly Chugh, or dive into a poetic description of the lived experience of being transgender in The Thirty Names of Night , by Zeyn Joukhadar.

Bottom line: Your gender is not mine to judge. Someone else’s gender is not yours to judge. And if it’s not yours, that means it’s also not your story to tell.

Every person has the power to pile on weight to another person’s burden by prioritizing their own personal discomfort. Every person has the ability to lessen that same burden through the respect for another individual’s personhood. Our ability to harm is matched by our ability to heal.

I’ll repeat: Love is a choice. Hate is a choice. Gender is a social construct.

Chugh, D. (2018). The person you mean to be: How good people fight bias. HarperBusiness.

Factora, J. (2021 May 25). 27 Trans people have been killed less than halfway through 2021. them. https://www.them.us/story/27-trans-people-have-been-killed-in-2021

Joukhadar, Z. (2020). The thirty names of night. Atria Books.

See the Genderbread Model to learn more about the differences between gender identity, gender expression, and biological sex: Killermann, S. (2017). Genderbread Person v4.0. Genderbread. https://www.genderbread.org/resource/genderbread-person-v4-0

The Trevor Project. (2021). 2021 National Survey on LGBTQ Youth Mental Health . https://www.thetrevorproject.org/survey-2021/?section=ResearchMethodolo…

World Health Organization. (2021). Gender. https://www.who.int/health-topics/gender#tab=tab_1

Johanna Bond is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor in private practice at Perspectives Mental Health Counseling, PLLC.

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source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Gender-Sensitive Language

What this handout is about.

This handout will explain some of the current thinking on gender issues and writing and will provide suggestions to help you appropriately express gender relationships as you write.

What is "gender-sensitive language" and why should I use it?

English speakers and writers have traditionally been taught to use masculine nouns and pronouns in situations where the gender of their subject(s) is unclear or variable, or when a group to which they are referring contains members of both sexes. For example, the US Declaration of Independence states that " . . . all men are created equal . . ." and most of us were taught in elementary school to understand the word "men" in that context includes both male and female Americans. In recent decades, however, as women have become increasingly involved in the public sphere of American life, writers have reconsidered the way they express gender identities and relationships. Because most English language readers no longer understand the word "man" to be synonymous with "people," writers today must think more carefully about the ways they express gender in order to convey their ideas clearly and accurately to their readers.

Moreover, these issues are important for people concerned about issues of social inequality. There is a relationship between our language use and our social reality. If we "erase" women from language, that makes it easier to maintain gender inequality. As Professor Sherryl Kleinman (2000:6) has argued,

[M]ale-based generics are another indicator—and, more importantly, a  reinforcer —of a system in which "man" in the abstract and men in the flesh are privileged over women.

If you're reading this handout, you're probably already aware that tackling gender sensitivity in your writing is no small task, especially since there isn't yet (and there may never be) a set of concrete guidelines on which to base your decisions. Fortunately, there are a number of different strategies the gender-savvy writer can use to express gender relationships with precision. This handout will provide you with an overview of some of those strategies so that you can "mix and match" as necessary when you write.

A pronoun is a word that substitutes for a noun. The English language provides pronoun options for references to masculine nouns (for example, "he" can substitute for "Tom"), feminine nouns ("she" can replace "Lucy"), and neutral/non-human nouns ("it" stands in for "a tree"), but no choice for sex-neutral third-person singular nouns ("the writer," "a student," or "someone"). Although most of us learned in elementary school that masculine pronouns (he, his, him) should be used as the "default" in situations where the referent (that is, the person or thing to which you're referring) could be either male or female, that usage is generally considered unacceptable now. So what should you do when you're faced with one of those gender-neutral or gender-ambiguous situations? Well, you've got a few options . . .

1. Use "they"

This option is currently much debated by grammar experts, but most agree that it works well in at least several kinds of situations. In order to use "they" to express accurately gender relationships, you'll need to understand that "they" is traditionally used only to refer to a plural noun. For example,

Sojourner Truth and Elizabeth Cady Stanton  were famous "first-wave" American feminists.  They  were also both involved in the Abolitionist movement.

In speech, though, we early twenty-first century Americans commonly use "they" to refer to a singular referent. According to many grammar experts, that usage is incorrect, but here's an example of how it sounds in our everyday speech:

If  a student  wants to learn more about gender inequality,  they  should take Intro to Women's Studies.

Note that in this example, "a student" is singular, but it is replaced in the second sentence by "they," a plural pronoun. In speech, we often don't notice such substitutions of the plural for the singular, but in writing, some will find such substitutions awkward or incorrect. Some people argue that "they" should become the default gender-neutral pronoun for English writing, but since that usage can still sound awkward to many readers, its best to use "they" only in plural situations. Thus, one other option the gender-savvy writer may choose to employ is to make her/his sentence plural. Here's one way that can work:

Many people accept the negative stereotype that  a feminist's  beliefs are based on  her  hatred of men.

Many people accept the negative stereotype that  feminists  base  their  beliefs on hatred of men.

2. Use  she or he  or  she/he .

Another, simpler option the gender-savvy writer can use to deal with situations in which the gender of the referent is unknown or variable is to write out both pronoun options as "she or he" or "she/he". For example,

Each  student  who majors in Women's Studies major must take a course in Feminist Theory.  She or he  may also get course credit for completing an internship at a local organization that benefits women.

Each  student  who majors in Women's Studies major must take a course in Feminist Theory.  She/he  may also get course credit for completing an internship at a local organization that benefits women.

3. Alternate genders and pronouns

You may also choose to alternate gendered pronouns. This option will work only in certain situations, though—usually hypothetical situations in which the referent is equally likely to be a male or a female. For example, both male and female students use the Writing Center's services, so the author of our staff manual chose to alternate between masculine and feminine pronouns when writing the following tutoring guidelines:

• Respond as a reader, explaining what and how you were/are thinking as you read her texts so that she can discover where a reader might struggle with her writing.
• Ask him to outline the draft to reveal the organization of the paper.
• Ask her to describe her purpose and audience and show how she has taken them into account in her writing.
• Explain a recurring pattern and let him locate repeated instances of it.

Of course, this author could also have included both pronouns in each sentence by writing "her/his" or "her/him," but in this case, alternating "he" and "she" conveys the same sense of gender variability and is likely a little easier on the reader, who won't have to pause to process several different options every time a gendered pronoun is needed in the sentence. This example also provides a useful demonstration of how gender-savvy writers can take advantage of the many different options available by choosing the one that best suits the unique requirements of each piece of writing they produce.

4. Eliminate the pronoun altogether

Finally, you can also simply eliminate the pronoun. For example,

Allan Johnson  is a contemporary feminist theorist. This  writer and professor  gave a speech at UNC in the fall of 2007.

Note how the sentence used "this writer and professor" rather than "he."

Many people accept the negative stereotype that if a person is a feminist,  she  must hate men.

could become

Many people accept the negative stereotype that  feminist beliefs  are based on hatred of men.

Note how the second version of the sentence talks about the beliefs. By avoiding using the pronoun "she," it leaves open the possibility that men may be feminists.

Gendered nouns

Like gendered pronouns, gendered nouns can also provide a stumbling block for the gender-savvy writer. The best way to avoid implications these words can carry is simply to be aware of how we tend to use them in speech and writing. Because gendered nouns are so commonly used and accepted by English writers and speakers, we often don't notice them or the implications they bring with them. Once you've recognized that a gender distinction is being made by such a word, though, conversion of the gendered noun into a gender-savvy one is usually very simple.

"Man" and words ending in "-man" are the most commonly used gendered nouns, so avoiding the confusion they bring can be as simple as watching out for these words and replacing them with words that convey your meaning more effectively. For example, if the founders of America had been gender-savvy writers, they might have written " . . . all people are created equal" instead of " . . . all men are created equal . . .."

Another common gendered expression, particularly in informal speech and writing, is "you guys." This expression is used to refer to groups of men, groups of women, and groups that include both men and women. Although most people  mean  to be inclusive when they use "you guys," this phrase wouldn't make sense if it didn't subsume women under the category "guys." To see why "you guys" is gendered male, consider that "a guy" (singular) is definitely a man, not a woman, and that most men would not feel included in the expression "you gals" or "you girls."

Another example of gendered language is the way the words "Mr.," "Miss," and "Mrs." are used. "Mr." can refer to any man, regardless of whether he is single or married—but women are defined by their relationship to men (by whether they are married or not). A way around this is to use "Ms." (which doesn't indicate marital status) to refer to women.

Sometimes we modify nouns that refer to jobs or positions to denote the sex of the person holding that position. This often done if the sex of the person holding the position goes against conventional expectations. To get a sense of these expectations, think about what sex you would instinctively assume the subject of each of these sentences to be:

The doctor walked into the room. The nurse walked into the room.

As you work on becoming a gender-savvy writer, you may find it helpful to watch out for the following gendered nouns and replace them with one of the alternatives listed below. Check a thesaurus for alternatives to gendered nouns not included in this list.

Proper nouns

Proper nouns can also give gender-savvy writers pause, but as with common nouns, it is usually very easy to use gender-neutral language once you've noticed the gendered patterns in your own writing. And the best way to avoid any confusion in your use of proper nouns is to use the same rules to discuss of women subjects as you already use when you're writing about men. In the examples below, notice how using different conventions for references to male and female subjects suggests a difference in the amount of respect being given to individuals on the basis of their gender.

1. Refer to women subjects by only their last names—just as you would do for men subjects.

For example, we would never refer to William Shakespeare as just "William;" we call him "Shakespeare" or "William Shakespeare." Thus, you should never refer to Jane Austin simply as "Jane;" you should write "Jane Austen" or "Austen."

2. In circumstances where you're writing about several people who have the same last name, try using the full name of the person every time you refer to him/her.

For example, if you're writing about George and Martha Washington, referring to him as "Washington" and her as "Martha" conveys a greater respect for him than for her. In order to express an equal amount of respect for these two historical figures, simply refer to each subject by her/his full name: "George Washington" and "Martha Washington." This option may sound like it could get too wordy, but it actually works very well in most situations.

3. Refer to women subjects by their full titles, just as you would refer to men subjects.

For example, you wouldn't call American President Reagan "Ronald," so you wouldn't want to refer to British Prime Minister Thatcher as "Margaret." Simply call her "Prime Minister Thatcher," just as you would write "President Reagan" to refer to him.

Sex versus gender

In many women's studies classes, one of the fundamental concepts students are expected to master is the difference feminists see between an individual's sex (which feminists understand as one's biological makeup—male, female, or intersexed) and that person's gender (a social construction based on sex—man/masculine or woman/feminine). Because this distinction is so fundamental to understanding much of the material in many Women's Studies courses, expressing the difference between sex and gender is an important element in many writing assignments given by women's studies instructors.

Essentially, all you need to express sex vs. gender distinctions accurately in your writing is a clear understanding of the difference between sex and gender. As you are writing, ask yourself whether what you're talking about is someone's biological makeup or something about the way that person has been socialized. If you're referring to biology, use "male" or "female," and if what you're talking about has to do with a behavior or social role someone has been taught because of her/his biology, use "woman" or "man."

Thinking about the different answers to these two questions might help clarify the distinction between sex and gender:

What does it mean to be male? What does it mean to be a man?

Checklist for gender revisions

• Have you used "man" or "men" or words containing one of them to refer to people who may be female? If so, consider substituting another word. For example, instead of "fireman," try "firefighter."
• If you have mentioned someone's gender, was it necessary to do so? If you identify someone as a female architect, for example, do you (or would you) refer to someone else as a "male architect"? And if you then note that the woman is an attractive blonde mother of two, do you mention that the man is a muscular, square-jawed father of three? Unless gender and related matters—looks, clothes, parenthood—are relevant to your point, leave them unmentioned.
• Do you use any occupational stereotypes? Watch for the use of female pronouns for elementary school teachers and male ones for scientists, for example.
• Do you use language that in any way shows a lack of respect for either sex?
• Have you used "he," "him," "his," or "himself" to refer to people who may be female?

Works consulted

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Harris, Muriel. Prentice Hall Reference Guide to Grammar and Usage. 3rd Ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1997.

Kleinman, Sherryl. (September, 2000). Why sexist language matters. The Center Line, a newsletter of the Orange County Rape Crisis Center, pp. 6-7.

Kolln, Martha. Rhetorical Grammar: Grammatical Choices, Rhetorical Effects. 2nd Ed.

Lunsford, Andrea and Robert Connors. The St. Martin's Handbook. 3rd Ed. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1991.

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Gender Sensitivity and Its Relation to Gender Equality

• Living reference work entry
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• Juana Figueroa Vélez 7 &
• Susana Vélez Ochoa 7  

Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals ((ENUNSDG))

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Gender awareness ; Gender sensitization

Gender sensitivity encompasses the ability (skills, knowledge, and attitudes) to acknowledge and make existing gender differences, issues, and inequalities visible (UNIFEM 2007 ). This capacity is reflected through an awareness applied to everyday life situations, policies, projects, institutions, and a variety of contexts. It includes an understanding of how gender roles have been socially constructed, and how those social constructions often presuppose the existence of inequalities or unfair distribution of opportunities (UNIFEM 2007 ). Gender sensitivity incorporates a cross-cultural analysis to raise awareness of obstacles for gender equality and focuses on how inequalities take place on the grounds of gender. It can also be read as a part within an awareness spectrum, ranging from gender negative to gender transformative (Christodoulou 2005 ; Zobnina 2009 ). Within this spectrum, gender sensitivity lies in the middle, between...

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Figueroa Vélez, J., Vélez Ochoa, S. (2020). Gender Sensitivity and Its Relation to Gender Equality. In: Leal Filho, W., Azul, A.M., Brandli, L., Lange Salvia, A., Wall, T. (eds) Gender Equality. Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-70060-1_46-1

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Gender Sensitivity and Its Relation to Gender Equality

2020, Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals

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Springer, Cham

EMERSON A JACKSON

According to Sharma (2014), the word gender sensitivity, also synonymous with gender sensitization, is the modification of behavior through awareness of gender equality concerns. Such an approach seems to have made topical headline in the global community, which is said to be achieved through various sensitization endeavors like campaigns, trainings, and workshops led by both national and international institutions across the world. Kutateladze (2015) provided a linguistic approach to the concept to mean the examination of the language and selection of forms, which are unbiased and neutral. This has thrown a more sensitive approach to the political correctness of the word, particularly in the public domain, where the presence of left-wingers/heterodox thinkers like feminists has sought to make their presence in ensuring empowerment toward gender equality is made a global concern. Reeves and Baden (2000: pp 2 and 10), on the other hand, provided a dichotomy between the two synonymously used words gender equity and gender equality; in their definitions, gender equity signifies the equivalence in life outcomes for women and men, recognizing their different needs and interests and requiring a redistribution of power and resources, while, on the other hand, gender equality means women availing equal opportunities in life as men, including the ability to participate in public fora. In these definitions, a dichotomy seems to have been drawn between the two concepts, thereby reflecting differing contemplation of gender issues, which thereby makes it possible for addressing appropriate strategies as a way of addressing issues associated with SDG16.

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Gender sensitization presides over gender sensitivity which refers to the modification of behavior by raising awareness of gender equality concerns. Gender sensitization may be seen as “the awareness informed disposition or propensity to behave in a manner which is sensitive to gender justice and gender equality issues. This paper attempts to explain the parameters of Gender Equity and Equality through consideration of which levels of Gender Sensitization and its interlinkage with sustainable development for a society can be reached. First conceptualization of Gender Sensitization and Sustainable Development is emphasized and mentioned and further explained how these are complementary and inseparable to each other. A basic preview of Gender Biasness and its factors along with stereotypes responsible for its presence are mentioned. Development as a process of transformation exemplifies world over the significance of Gender Sensitization and takes us to conclusion that fruits of development cannot ripen unless equal status to half of the population comprising females is granted on the one hand and without Development , particularly Social which generally succeeds Economic Development , Gender Sensitization seems hard on the other hand. The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of gender sensitization to attain considerable levels of Development and the Issues and Challenges confronting to reach such equitable world of Humanities.

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Gender sensitisation and inclusion is an important subject from educational and social point of view. This paper seeks to provide innovative strategies for gender sensitisation at three places-home, educational institutions and workplace. Data was collected through a questionnaire having 4 open ended questions. In this qualitative study, 27 participants had participated who were selected through purposeful sampling. The study is based on the premise that people from different cultures experience gender issues like gender biasness, gender discrimination, gender stereotyping, gender inclusion etc. differently. Therefore, the strategies suggested by the participants stem from their experience and observations in real life. The data was corroborated with findings from previously published studies. Some of the strategies suggested include-use of gender-neutral language, adequate representation in both pictorial and texts in books, provision of child care leave for both parents, financial education for women among many others. It was also observed that participants had treated gender as binary despite a lot of awareness about LGBTQ community. Most strategies aimed at bringing equity to the feminine gender.

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Gender analysis methodology is increasingly being considered as essential to health research because 'women's social, economic and political status undermine their ability to protect and promote their own physical, emotional and mental health, including their effective use of health information and services' {World Health Organization [Gender Analysis in Health: a review of selected tools. 2003; www.who.int/gender/documents/en/Gender. pdf (20 February 2008, date last accessed)]}. By examining gendered roles, responsibilities and norms through the lens of gender analysis, we can develop an in-depth understanding of social power differentials, and be better able to address gender inequalities and inequities within institutions and between men and women. When conducting gender analysis, tools and frameworks may help to aid community engagement and to provide a framework to ensure that relevant gendered nuances are assessed. The capacities and vulnerabilities approach (CVA) ...

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Sense and sensitivity | parents argue over gender roles.

Our daughter is only 6 years old, and she adores her father. However, she’s starting to notice the disparity in our roles. Recently, she asked me why Daddy doesn’t help with her hair or help pick out her outfits with her. I want our daughter to grow up knowing that both of her parents are capable of caring for her in every way. How can I help him understand the importance of breaking these outdated notions and being an equal partner in parenting? — Gender Roles

DEAR GENDER ROLES: Talk to your husband about his ideas on who does what in a family. I’m sure he grew up in an environment where the lines were clearly drawn as to what was appropriate for men and women to do. He is likely following the blueprint he learned from his family. Encourage him to reconsider his restrictive approach to your family. Point out that the two of you can make new rules that apply to your household, regardless of what life may have been like when he was growing up. Tell him that your daughter has asked why he won’t help with her hair. Invite him to watch while you do her hair so that he can observe the closeness that can be cultivated during that intimate ritual.

The reality is that people do gravitate toward different duties in a family. Your husband may never choose to do all the things that he considers “women’s work,” but perhaps you can get him to reconsider being limited by traditions that have no place in your home.

DEAR HARRIETTE: I am a freelance web designer, primarily working with small businesses. My cousin and I established a partnership where we agreed to split earnings 60-40, with me handling tasks and him managing client communication and acquisition. Based on my understanding, our last client paid $22 per hour, resulting in me earning $13.20 and him $8.80. While using his laptop at his place, I discovered their conversation, which revealed a rate of $26 per hour, with him earning $12.80. Despite his promise to refrain from such behavior in the future, I am contemplating whether it is still viable to continue working with him. — Unethical Partnership

DEAR UNETHICAL PARTNERSHIP: Doing business with family can be tricky, but doing business with anyone who is dishonest is not a good idea. You caught your cousin in a lie: Ask him why he chose to do that. Is your 60-40 split due to the amount of work you put into the jobs? Does your cousin understand that? Perhaps he is against the split and that’s why he crafted a way around it. Whatever the case, you cannot trust him. If you can’t walk away from him right away, change the terms, requiring two signatures on all contracts so that you are able to review each agreement. It may be tedious, but it’s necessary — at least for now.

Harriette Cole is a lifestylist and founder of DREAMLEAPERS, an initiative to help people access and activate their dreams. You can send questions to [email protected] or c/o Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.

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