1.

Gender roles in society

1.1. Gender:

1.1.1. Meaning
Gender is the range of characteristics pertaining to, and differentiating between,
masculinity and femininity.
This, came from Latin genus. It means "kind", "type", or "sort".

1.1.2. Definition

According to American Psychological Association,

Gender refers to the attitudes, feelings, and behaviors that a given culture associates with a persons
biological sex. Behavior that is compatible with cultural expectations is referred to as gender-
normative.
According to WHO,

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.

According to business dictionary,

Culturally and socially constructed difference between men and women (as indicated by
terms such as 'gender affairs' and 'gender politics') that varies from place to place and time to
time. In comparison, 'sex' denotes biologically determined, thus unchangeable, difference
between them.

1.2. Difference between gender and sex

The terms sex' and gender' are closely linked, yet they are not synonyms. Robert Stoller, in
the 1960s, has drawn the distinction between them. He suggested that the word sex' be used
to refer to the physical differences between men and women, while the term gender' be used
in connection to the behaviour and cultural practices of men and women. This distinction is
the basis for all the definitions of sex' and gender' that are provided in the literature
nowadays.

Definition of "Sex"
The term sex' is easy to understand. It simply refers to the natural biological differences
between men and women, for example, the differences in the organs related to reproduction.

Definition of "Gender"
"Gender refers to the cultural, socially-constructed differences between the two sexes. It
refers to the way a society encourages and teaches the two sexes to behave in different ways
through socialisation."
Sex = male and female

Gender = masculine and feminine

So in essence:

Sex refers to biological differences; chromosomes, hormonal profiles, internal and external
sex organs.

Gender describes the characteristics that a society or culture delineates as masculine or

feminine.

So while your sex as male or female is a biological fact that is the same in any culture, what
that sex means in terms of your gender role as a 'man' or a 'woman' in society can be quite
different cross culturally. These 'gender roles' have an impact on the health of the individual.

In sociological terms 'gender role' refers to the characteristics and behaviours that different
cultures attribute to the sexes. What it means to be a 'real man' in any culture requires male
sex plus what our various cultures define as masculine characteristics and behaviours,
likewise a 'real woman' needs female sex and feminine characteristics. To summarise:

'man' = male sex+ masculine social role

(a 'real man', 'masculine' or 'manly')

'woman' = female sex + feminine social role

(a 'real woman', 'feminine' or 'womanly')

Table 1.1: Distinction between Sex and Gender

Sex (Biological difference) Gender (Social difference)

Can be changed since gender identity is
Difficult to change (we are born male or female)
determined by society.
Throughout history and across cultures, sex At different times in history and in different
differences exist. societies, gender roles are different.
Policies respond to sex differences in areas to do Policies can respond to gender stereotype and
with the physical body. traditional gender roles.

In simple words, gender refers to differences in attitudes and behaviour, and these differences
are perceived as a product of the socialisation process rather than of biology. Gender also
includes the different expectations that society and individuals themselves hold as regard to
the appropriate behaviours of men and women.
We should also note that gender does not concern women only, but it relates to both sexes.
Gender issues are not women issues; they are rather issues pertaining to both men and
women.

1.3. Gender roles in society:

Gender roles are based on norms, or standards, created by society.

Gender roles are the social definition of women and men. They vary among different societies and
cultures, classes, ages and during different periods in history. Gender-specific roles and
responsibilities are often conditioned by household structure, access to resources, specific impacts of
the global economy, and other locally relevant factors such as ecological conditions (FAO, 1997).

The tipping of the employment scales due to the recession isn't expected to be permanent, and the
recession wasn't the only catalyst in changing gender roles. Men and women's roles in society have
been changing for decades now. Traditionally, men have worked outside the home and served as the
sole breadwinner for the family. They held some of the most powerful jobs in society, including
doctor, lawyer and politician. Women, on the other hand, governed the domestic sphere. They were
expected to stay home, raise children and have an evening meal waiting for their husbands. If they did
work, it was as a secretary, a nurse or another stereotypically female profession.

Though change is still in the air, there's no doubt that men and women's roles have become less
strictly defined, and many families have made the male and female roles more egalitarian when it
comes to jobs, housework and childcare.

1.3.1. Family:

Gender roles are defined by the socio-cultural norms of any society. In most of the societies
the family systems are based on the gender roles and it is the pre-designed gender roles that
help members of the family to run the family with bound responsibilities. Any disturbance in
the gender role aspect may affect the smooth functioning of the easy-going of any family.

But today, the modern life has very much changed the family structure and the gender
roles have been diverting from the traditional responsibilities and path of
performance. In fact, the gap between different genders has already melted down,
creating an all equal society and more equalized families. Today, there are no
monarchs in families and no bout-to-obey members in families.
All live together, taking decisions together, expressing opinions openly, criticizing
and encouraging mutually and yet being independent and responsible. The society-
defined gender roles may crash with the modern roles of family members and many
families experience the dilemma of the crashing gender roles.
The origin of gender roles can be dated back to the very establishment of the social
life. Ever since man started living in societies, they differentiated between the male
gender and female gender and implicated specific lifestyle, duties and functional areas
for each of these genders. It was quite needed in the then lifestyle of human beings.
Issues of Equality in Family

The modern social structure sees both men and women as equal partners of the society with
equal rights, status and responsibility. This is a sudden change of concepts of a male
dominated society. In the families, people who have observed authoritarian father and
submissive mothers may expect the same when they setup their own families.

The equal status may disturb the husbands as the laid-underneath superiority elements may
require certain amount of time to dissolve themselves and accept the new socio-cultural
setup. The aspect of equality will give rise to certain issues too. Who is to direct and who to
be directed? Who is the authority in family related issues? etc., may put the family in trouble.
If not accepted well and handled appreciably, the family may become like a vehicle steered to
different direction at the same time by many drivers.

Clash in Family Responsibilities

Family is not just an institution of many people living together under one roof; but the union
of similar minded or mutually loving people bound with certain duties and responsibilities.
The gender role structure was deliberately designed by the initial social setups to help the
people accept and realize the specific duties each gender bound to.

But today, both the parents work and earn for the family and both father and mother enjoys
equal social statues and financial independence. At this point, the role of homemaker
becomes no one's responsibility and both the partners may insist the other one to be the
homemaker. Adjustments, understanding and empathy are the advised aspects that may help a
smooth running family. Clinging to the century old concepts and lifestyles may help only to
worsen the situation.

Kids and Gender Roles

Traditional family system had enough time dedicated for the kids as the mother was
responsible for the entire process of childcare and development, when the father had to bring
in the essential food supplies. But modern lifestyle makes both the parents busy working for
the family and earning the amount to meet the demands of life. Kids many a times are left
with caretakers or paid nannies.

Such lifestyles may affect the families badly as children may grow unaffectionate to the
parents. It is quite difficult for any parent to balance between the modern lifestyle and
parenting or homemaker tasks. Kids need to be trained to cop up with the family roles. This
will help them to be more understanding and affectionate to parents.

1.3.2. Caste:
Men and Women in Caste Systems
In many countries, there are certain hierarchies that decide what ones life will be like.
There is rarely any way of movement to get out of your lifestyle, without being punished or
frowned upon by the society. In these kind of systems, not only women, but everyone has
defined roles for their group. Women just happen to get the roles that contain much less
freedom. Within a lot of these systems, a womans job is to listen to and obey her father until
she gets married, and then she listens to and obeys her husband, and after a while she might
end up having to listen to and obey her son. This is kind of unfair male dominance that
dictates a womans life, when it should be that its her life to live. Its possible she can still
follow some of the rules of the system while being able to support and fend for herself
without the help of a man telling her what to do all the time.

The roles and dominance of certain genders in these hierarchies may be different from each
other. There may be caste systems in which the women are superior. In which case, good for
them, but then the issue would be that men are being discriminated against. That is a very
possible issue in any country really; its just not as much of a problem or as harsh. In caste
systems men -and women- can be discriminated by people in higher castes than them and
though it would be perfectly normal, it wouldnt be quite right. Any kind of discrimination
wouldn't be right to have to deal with on a regular basis. That's why people should be
contious enough to recognize that even if a person is less rich than you, or of a different
gender, it doesn't that they're any worse, or any better than you are.

1.3.3. class,
Schools are major contexts for gender socialization, in part because children spend large
amounts of time engaged with peers in such settings.4 For nearly all psychological traits on
which young boys and girls differ (e.g., reading ability, play preferences), the distribution of
the two groups is overlapping. Schools can magnify or diminish gender differences by
providing environments that promote within-gender similarity and between-gender
differences, or the inverse (within-gender variability and between group similarity).

Problems

Schools affect gender differentiation via two primary sources: teachers and peers. Teachers
and peers directly influence gender differentiation by providing boys and girls with different
learning opportunities and feedback. Teachers and peers are also sources of learning about
gender. Teachers present curricular materials that contain gender stereotypic behaviour, and
peers exhibit gender stereotypic attitudes and behaviour. Children internalize gender
stereotypes and prejudices, which in turn guide their own preferences and behaviours.

How do teachers contribute to gender differences?

Many educators endorse cultural gender stereotypes (e.g., math is easier for boys than girls)
and prejudices (show preferences for same-gender individuals).5 These biases can be explicit
(e.g., consciously endorsed) or implicit (unconsciously held), and they influence teachers
classroom behaviours.

Teachers gender stereotypes and prejudices shape their classroom behaviour in at least three
ways. First, teachers often model gender stereotypic behaviour. Female teachers, for example,
often exhibit math phobic behaviours.6 Second, teachers often exhibit differential
expectations for males and females (e.g., creating dress-up and construction centers and
acceptingeven facilitatinggender-differentiated use).7 Third, teachers facilitate childrens
gender biases by marking gender as important by using it to label and organize students.8 In
one study, teachers were asked to use gender to label children and to organize classroom
activities by, for example, greeting children with Good morning, boys and girls and asking
children to line up by gender. Other teachers ignored students gender. Young children
whose teachers labeled and used gender showed higher levels of gender stereotyping than
their peers.9 Preschool teachers labeling and use of gender increases their pupils gender
stereotyping and avoidance of cross-gender playmates.10

How do peers contribute to gender differences?

Like teachers, peers contribute to the socialization of gender difference via multiple
pathways. Upon entering school, children encounter large numbers of peers, many of whom
model traditional gender behaviour, producing and reinforcing the content of gender
stereotypes.

In addition, schools are characterized by gender segregation. When many peers are available,
children tend to select same-sex playmates.11 Childrens gender segregation, in turn, affects
their play experiences, leading them to spend more time in stereotypic play.12 Furthermore,
gender segregation predicts childrens future conformity to gender stereotypes. After
observing preschoolers for six months, researchers found that, as the amount of time that
children played with same-sex peers increased, childrens own behaviour became more
gender stereotypic.11

Peers also contribute to gender differentiation by teaching their classmates stereotypes (e.g.,
Short hair is for boys not girls) and punishing them for failing to conform to stereotypes via
verbal harassment and physical aggression.7 Importantly, intervention programs can teach
young children to recognize and challenge their peers sexist remarks (e.g., You cant say
girls cant play!).1

Conclusions

Schools are important contexts for the socialization of young childrens gender attitudes and
behaviour. Teachers and classmates shape childrens gender attitudes and, in turn, gender
differences in cognition and behaviour. Unfortunately, teachers receive relatively little
training in recognizing and combating gender stereotypes and prejudicestheir own and
othersand, as a consequence, teachers often model, expect, reinforce, and lay the
foundation for gender differentiation among their pupils. Thus, most schools create and
maintainrather than counteracttraditional gender stereotypes, biases, and differences.14
However, educators who adopt a commitment to gender egalitarianism and thus promote
cross-gender interaction, expose pupils to counter-stereotypic models, and discuss and teach
challenges to gender stereotyping and harassment optimize their pupils developmental
outcomes.

1.3.4. Religion:
Sex differences in religion can be classified as either "internal" or "external". Internal
religious issues are studied from the perspective of a given religion, and might include
religious beliefs and practices about the roles and rights of men and women in government,
education and worship; beliefs about the sex or gender of deities and religious figures; and
beliefs about the origin and meaning of human gender. External religious issues can be
broadly defined as an examination of a given religion from an outsider's perspective,
including possible clashes between religious leaders and laity;[1] and the influence of, and
differences between, religious perspectives on social issues. For example, various religious
perspectives have either endorsed or condemned alternative family structures, homosexual
relationships, and abortion.[2] External religious issues can also be examined from the "lens of
gender" perspective embraced by some in feminism and/or critical theory and its offshoots.

As MacInnes (1998) argues, inequality creates masculinity and femininity as ideologies

which serve to mask and legitimate social inequality.

This is not to deny that gender is experienced and constructed differently in different social

and geographical locations, with ethnic, racial and class identifications serving to modify its

influence. Although acknowledgement of such differences undermines the idea of patriarchy

as a single system of oppression of all women by all men, it is compatible with a recognition

that the workplace, the home, the political arena, the legal system, and mass culture are

organised in mutually-reinforcing ways which, through various and ever-changing,

nevertheless result in women being disadvantaged and disempowered relative to men across

the globe.

Some religions, religious scholars and religious have argued that "gender inequality" exists
either generally or in certain instances, and have supported a variety of remedies.

Pierre Chaunu has argued that the influence of Christianity is the main factor leading to
equality for women.

1.3.5. Culture:
How gender roles have evolved in different cultures is largely tied to the core values

of those cultures. What dominates gender roles can be linked directly back to the expressed

values of the home culture, regardless of official religious or political statements about

culture.

Matsumoto (1994) defines culture as a set of attitudes, values, beliefs, and

behaviors shared by a group of people and communicated from one generation to the next

though cultural practices and language.

 If gender roles were based on biology alone it would be natural to assume that gender
roles are universal and based on evolution. For example, women have traditionally
done most of the household work and spent more time on childcare than men, but
does this indicate that housework and child caring is based on womens biology?

If gender roles were based on culture it would be natural to assume that gender roles
vary across cultures according to a specific cultures beliefs and expectations with
regard to men and womens roles (gender role ideology). In most cultures, women
have had the major responsibility for taking care of the children and house work.

Eaglys (1987) social role theory suggests that gender stereotypes arise from the
different roles occupied by males and females. Women and men are seen as best
suited for the roles they occupy respectively and this gives rise to beliefs about how
women and men behave and feel respectively. Some of these stereotypes may become
cognitive schemas, which are resistant to change.

In modern societies, physical strength is no longer the only way to assure bread
winning. Women and men are more likely to have the same jobs and share the
responsibility for the family.

Goffman (1977) predicted that gender roles will shift as societies shift from a belief that
gender roles are based on biological differences to a belief in general social equality.

Support for this could be research on new male gender roles in Western cultures:

Reinicke (2006) found that young fathers in Denmark find childcare important. Being
a father is an important part of their identity and they want to be close to their
children.

Engle and Breaux (1994) found that, if fathers participated in programs on parenting
and child development, they became more involved with their children.
Mead (1935) compared gender roles in three New Guinean tribes.

She argued that masculine and feminine roles are not related to biology but gender role
ideology. Cultural differences in gender roles are more likely to reflect cultural expectations
than biology.

Gender equality may be the road to change in traditional stereotyped gender roles. The

womens movement for social equality started in individualistic societies and ideas of social

equality of men and women have been adopted in most individualist societies.

i. the media

Introduction

Media play important roles in society. They report on current events, provide frameworks for
interpretation, mobilise citizens with regard to various issues, reproduce predominant culture
and society, and entertain (Llanos and Nina, 2011). As such, the media can be an important
actor in the promotion of gender equality, both within the working environment (in terms of
employment and promotion of female staff at all levels) and in the representation of women
and men (in terms of fair gender portrayal and the use of neutral and non-gender specific
language).

Participation and influence of women in the media

Studies have found that although the number of women working in the media has been
increasing globally, the top positions (producers, executives, chief editors and publishers) are
still very male dominated (White, 2009). This disparity is particularly evident in Africa,
where cultural impediments to women fulfilling the role of journalist remain (e.g. travelling
away from home, evening work and covering issues such as politics and sports which are
considered to fall within the masculine domain) (Myers, 2009). The Global Media
Monitoring Project (GMMP) reports that throughout the world, female journalists are more
likely to be assigned soft subjects such as family, lifestyle, fashion and arts. The hard
news, politics and the economy, is much less likely to be written or covered by women.

The level of participation and influence of women in the media also has implications for
media content: female media professionals are more likely to reflect other womens needs
and perspectives than their male colleagues. It is important to acknowledge, however, that not
all women working in the media will be gender aware and prone to cover womens needs and
perspectives; and it is not impossible for men to effectively cover gender issues. Recent
research from 18 disparate countries shows that male and female journalists attitudes do not
differ significantly (Hanitzsch & Hanusch, 2012). Nonetheless, the presence of women on the
radio, television and in print is more likely to provide positive role models for women and
girls, to gain the confidence of women as sources and interviewees, and to attract a female
audience.

Media content and portrayal of men and women in the media

Fair gender portrayal in the media should be a professional and ethical aspiration, similar to
respect for accuracy, fairness and honesty (White, 2009). Yet, unbalanced gender portrayal is
widespread. The Global Media Monitoring Project finds that women are more likely than
men to be featured as victims in news stories and to be identified according to family status.
Women are also far less likely than men to be featured in the worlds news headlines, and to
be relied upon as spokespeople or as experts. Certain categories of women, such as the
poor, older women, or those belonging to ethnic minorities, are even less visible.

Stereotypes are also prevalent in every day media. Women are often portrayed solely as
homemakers and carers of the family, dependent on men, or as objects of male attention.
Stories by female reporters are more likely to challenge stereotypes than those filed by male
reporters (Gallagher et al., 2010). As such, there is a link between the participation of women
in the media and improvements in the representation of women.

Men are also subjected to stereotyping in the media. They are typically characterised as
powerful and dominant. There is little room for alternative visions of masculinity. The media
tends to demean men in caring or domestic roles, or those who oppose violence. Such
portrayals can influence perceptions in terms of what society may expect from men and
women, but also what they may expect from themselves. They promote an unbalanced vision
of the roles of women and men in society.

Attention needs to be paid to identifying and addressing these various gender imbalances and
gaps in the media. The European Commission (2010) recommends, for example, that there
should be a set expectation of gender parity on expert panels on television or radio and the
creation of a thematic database of women to be interviewed and used as experts by media
professionals. In addition, conscious efforts should be made to portray women and men in
non-stereotypical situations.
Participatory community media

Participatory community media initiatives aimed at increasing the involvement of women in

the media perceive women as producers and contributors of media content and not solely as
consumers(Pavarala, Malik, and Cheeli, 2006). Such initiatives encourage the involvement
of women in technical, decision-making, and agenda-setting activities. They have the
potential to develop the capacities of women as sociopolitical actors. They also have the
potential to promote a balanced and non-stereotyped portrayal of women in the media and to
challenge the status quo. In Fiji, women who took part in a participatory video project
presented themselves as active citizens who made significant contributions to their families
and communities. These recorded images improved the status of women in the minds of
government bureaucrats.

There are limitations to participatory community initiatives, however. If unaccompanied by

changes in structural conditions, participation may not be sufficient to foster substantive
social change. Ba (2009) explains that the establishment of a womens radio station (run and
managed by women) in Afghanistan faced constraints in that women engaged in self-
censorship in order to avoid criticism from local male political and religious leaders.

ii. Popular culture:

Gender and Popular Culture presents us with a rich analysis of the ways in which gender
norms, identities and relations are produced in popular culture.

Womens representation in popular culture facilitates the stereotype of the simple-

minded, emotional, and domesticated female. This is perpetuated through various forms
of media, including movies, cartoons, and television.

Popular culture reflects the polarization of womens efforts toward equality, but it also
contributes to it.
iii. law and the state (film, advertisements, songs, etc)

Gender stereotypes disadvantage women in many ways. Over the years, women have strived
for and achieved the recognition and fulfillment of their human rights to equality. Rights to
vote and run for office, own and inherit property and confer citizenship on their children
among others - have more often than not been the result of hard-fought battles by individual
women and womens movements. State institutions have been less proactive.

The Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women

(CEDAW) requires States Parties to eliminate gender stereotypes.

Often, sex stereotypes require women to be chaste and feminine. Social, cultural and
religious norms prescribe modesty for women in dress, conversation and other social
relations. Stereotypes about modesty, femininity and womens sexual roles (including their
unreliability as complainants) pervade police and societal attitudes, laws and court decisions
about rape. Honour killings are common to the customary law of several communities. A girl
or woman may be regarded to disgrace herself and her family by going outside prescribed
norms, particularly as regards female/male relations and thereby be subject to murder in the
name of honour killings. Confronting Stereotyping

A transnational legal approach would encourage the translation of international human rights
treaties such as CEDAW into domestic laws and foster the development of comparative legal
analysis.

Laws and policies need to acknowledge that society sanctions women who do not conform to
stereotypical roles, and take measures to protect them.

CEDAW provides a useful framework for dismantling gender stereotypes, but most states do
not make use of it for this purpose. State organs must refrain from acts or omissions that
preserve or perpetuate stereotypes such as motherhood being a primary role for women. They
must protect women against stereotypes that lead to detrimental practices. They must also
fulfill womens rights by taking measures to abolish gender stereotyping that prescribes, for
example, that women cannot administer property and therefore should not inherit it.

Authorities are rarely proactive in identifying gender stereotypes and prescribing measures to
address them.

1.4. Reasons for gender inequalities

Gender Inequality

We proud Indians of 21st century rejoice in celebrations when a boy is born, and if it is a girl,
a muted or no celebrations is the norm. Love for a male child is so much so that from the
times immemorial we are killing our daughters at birth or before birth, and if, fortunately, she
is not killed we find various ways to discriminate against her throughout her life. Though our
religious beliefs make women a goddess but we fail to recognize her as a human being first;
we worship goddesses but we exploit girls. We are a society of people with double-standards
as far as our attitude towards women is concerned; our thoughts and preaching are different
than our actions. Lets try to understand the phenomenon of gender inequality and search for
some solutions.

Definition and Concept of Gender Inequality

Gender is a socio-cultural term referring socially defined roles and behaviors assigned to
males and females in a given society; whereas, the term sex is a biological and
physiological phenomenon which defines man and woman. In its social, historical and
cultural aspects, gender is a function of power relationship between men and women where
men are considered superior to women. Therefore, gender may be understood as a man-made
concept, while sex is natural or biological characteristics of human beings.

Gender Inequality, in simple words, may be defined as discrimination against women based
on their sex. Women are traditionally considered by the society as weaker sex. She has been
accorded a subordinate position to men. She is exploited, degraded, violated and
discriminated both in our homes and in outside world. This peculiar type of discrimination
against women is prevalent everywhere in the world and more so in Indian society.
Causes and Types of Gender Inequality in India

The root cause of gender inequality in Indian society lies in its patriarchy system. According
to the famous sociologists Sylvia Walby, patriarchy is a system of social structure and
practices in which men dominate, oppress and exploit women. Womens exploitation is an
age old cultural phenomenon of Indian society. The system of patriarchy finds its validity and
sanction in our religious beliefs, whether it is Hindu, Muslim or any other religion.

For instance, as per ancient Hindu law giver Manu: Women are supposed to be in the
custody of their father when they are children, they must be under the custody of their
husband when married and under the custody of her son in old age or as widows. In no
circumstances she should be allowed to assert herself independently.

The above described position of women as per Manu is still the case in present modern day
social structure. Barring few exceptions here and there, women have no power to take
independent decisions either inside their homes or in outside world.

In Muslims also the situation is same and there too sanction for discrimination or
subordination is provided by religious texts and Islamic traditions. Similarly in other religious
beliefs also women are being discriminated against in one way or other.

The unfortunate part of gender inequality in our society is that the women too, through,
continued socio-cultural conditioning, have accepted their subordinate position to men. And
they are also part and parcel of same patriarchal system.

Extreme poverty and lack of education are also some of the reasons for womens low status
in society. Poverty and lack of education derives countless women to work in low paying
domestic service, organized prostitution or as migrant laborers. Women are not only getting
unequal pay for equal or more work but also they are being offered only low skill jobs for
which lower wages are paid. This has become a major form of inequality on the basis of
gender.

Educating girl child is still seen as a bad investment because she is bound to get married and
leave her paternal home one day. Thus, without having good education women are found
lacking in present days demanding job skills; whereas, each years High School and 10+2
standard results show that girls are always doing better than boys. This shows that parents are
not spending much after 10+2 standard on girl child and thats why they lack in job market.

Not only in education, in case of family food habits, it is the male child who gets all the
nutritious and choicest foods while the girl child gets whatever is left behind after the male
members have taken their meals or the food which is low in both quality and nutrition. And
this becomes a major health issue in her later years. One of the main reasons for the high
incidences of difficult births and anemia in women is the poor quality of food which a girl
always gets either in her paternal home or in her in-laws as also is the excessive workload
that they are made to bear from their early childhood.

So the inequality or discrimination against women is at various levels in the society, either in
home or outside home.
Gender Inequality in India: Important Data

Global Indices:

Gender Inequality is also reflected in Indias poor ranking in various global gender indices.

UNDPs Gender Inequality Index- 2014: Indias ranking is 127 out of 152 countries in the
List. This ranking is only above Afghanistan as far as SAARC countries are concerned.
World Economic Forums Global Gender Gap Index- 2014: Indias ranks at 114 in the list of
142 countries of the world. This Index examines gender gap in four major areas:
Economic participation and opportunity.
Educational achievements.
Health and life expectancy.
Political empowerment.

Indias position on these indicators was as follows:

Economic participation and opportunity: 134th

Educational achievements: 126th
Health and Life expectancy: 141st
Political empowerment: 15th

These two important Global Indices show the sorry state of affairs in India as far as gender
equality is concerned. Only in case of Political Empowerment India is doing fine which is a
welcome sign. But other indices are very poor and a lot need to be done to improve the same.

Gender Inequality Statistics

Gender inequality manifests in varied ways. And as far as India is concerned the major
indicators are as follows:

Female Foeticide
Female Infanticide
Child (0 to 6 age group) Sex Ratio: 919
Sex Ratio: 943
Female literacy:46%
Maternal Mortality Rate: 178 deaths per 100000 live births.

These above mentioned indicators are some of the important indices which show the status of
women in our country.

Female foeticide and female infanticide are most inhuman of acts. And it is a shame that in
India these practices are prevailing at large scale.

The data shows that despite the law in place viz Prenatal Diagnostic Techniques
(Regulation and Prevention of Misuse) Act, 1994 sex selective abortion is still on the rise.
One estimate done by MacPherson shows that more than 100000 illegal abortions are being
performed every year in India mainly for the reason that the featus is of girl child.
Due to this, there is an alarming trend which has come to the notice in 2011 census report; the
report shows Child Sex-Ratio (i.e sex-ratio of children between the age group 0 to 6) at 919
which is 8 points lesser than the 2001 data of 927. The data indicates that sex-selective
abortion is increasing in our country.

As far as overall sex-ratio is concerned, its 943 in 2011 report as compared to 933 of 2001
which is 10 points increase. Though it is a good sign that overall sex ratio is increasing but
its still tilted against females.

Female literacy is at 65.46% in 2011 as against 82.14% of male literacy. This gap indicates a
wide gender disparity in India that Indians do not give enough importance to the education of
girls.

All these indicators points towards the sorry state of affairs in India regarding gender justice
and womens human right. Though every year government starts various schemes and
programs apart from existing ones for the benefit and empowerment of women but on the
ground there are not enough visible changes. The change will appear only when the mind set
of Indian society would change; when the society would start treating male and female on
equal footing and when a girl would not be considered as a burden.

Legal and Constitutional Safeguards against Gender Inequality

Indian Constitution provides for positive efforts to eliminate gender inequality; the Preamble
to the Constitution talks about goals of achieving social, economic and political justice to
everyone and to provide equality of status and of opportunity to all its citizens. Further,
women have equal right to vote in our political system. Article 15 of the Constitution
provides for prohibition of discrimination on grounds of sex also apart from other grounds
such as religion, race, caste or place of birth. Article 15(3) authorizes the Sate to make any
special provision for women and children. Moreover, the Directive Principles of State Policy
also provides various provisions which are for the benefit of women and provides safeguards
against discrimination.

Other than these Constitutional safeguards, various protective Legislations have also been
passed by the Parliament to eliminate exploitation of women and to give them equal status in
society. For instance, the Sati (Prevention) Act, 1987 was enacted to abolish and make
punishable the inhuman custom of Sati; the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 to eliminate the
practice of dowry; the Special Marriage Act, 1954 to give rightful status to married couples
who marry inter-caste or inter-religion; Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Regulation and
Prevention of Misuse) Bill (introduced in Parliament in 1991, passed in 1994 to stop female
infanticide and many more such Acts. Furthermore, the Parliament time to time brings out
amendments to existing laws in order to give protection to women according to the changing
needs of the society, for instance, Section 304-B was added to the Indian Penal Code, 1860 to
make dowry-death or bride-burning a specific offence punishable with maximum punishment
of life imprisonment.

So there are varied legislative safeguards and protection mechanisms for women but the
ground reality is very different. Despite all these provisions women are still being treated as
second rate citizens in our country; men are treating them as an object to fulfill their carnal
desires; crimes against women are at alarming stage; the practice of dowry is still widely
prevalent; female infanticide is a norm in our homes.
How we can Eliminate Gender Inequality

The list of legislations as well as types of discriminations or inequalities may go on but the
real change will only come when the mentality of men will change; when the male species of
human beings would start treating women as equal and not subordinate or weaker to them. In
fact not only men but women also need to change their mindset as through cultural
conditioning they have also become part of the same exploitative system of patriarchy and are
playing a supportive role in furthering mens agenda of dominating women.

Therefore, what is needed is the movement for Womens empowerment where women can
become economically independent and self-reliant; where they can fight their own fears and
go out in the world fearless; where they can snatch their rights from the clutches of men and
they dont have to ask for them; where women have good education, good career, ownership
of property and above all where they have freedom of choice and also the freedom to make
their own decisions without the bondages of age old saying of Manu.

Lets hope and wish that our participative democracy, in times to come, and with the efforts
of both women and men, would be able to found solutions to the problem of gender
inequality and would take us all towards our cherished dream of a truly modern society in
both thought and action.

1.5. Gender-just education outside school settings.

A common response from teachers when asked about gender inequity in classrooms is that
they treat all their students the same. There are two problems with this statement. First,
students are diverse and have different learning issues, thus treating all students in the same
way means that some students will have a better learning experience than their peers. Second,
teachers may be ignoring their unconscious gender biases towards their students, their
schools and themselves. If ignored, these gender biases, which may have developed from
cultural norms, may lead to bias in the classroom.

Gender bias occurs when people make assumptions regarding behaviors, abilities or
preferences of others based upon their gender. Because there are strong gender role
stereotypes for masculinity and femininity, students who do not match them can encounter
problems with teachers and with their peers. For example, the expectation is that boys
naturally exhibit boisterous, unruly behavior, are academically able, rational, and socially
uncommunicative, whereas girls are quiet, polite, and studious. Girls are also expected to
possess better social skills than boys and to excel at reading and the language arts. So girls
who present discipline problems for teachers, or quiet, studious boys, may encounter a lack of
understanding from peers and teachers. Within the classroom, these biases unfold in students'
practices and teachers' acceptance of certain behaviors from one student or another based
upon the students' gender. Also, bias due to a person's gender is not mutually exclusive of
other social categories such as race, ethnicity, class, religion, and language. For example,
some teachers may perceive African American or other Black girls as loud and uncontrollable
because the girls do not exhibit the feminine behaviors associated with White women, such as
quiet, self-effacing and malleable.

Gender bias can occur within subject areas and school activities. For example, in subjects
such as mathematics and the sciences, there are different participation patterns for girls and
boys. Gender bias promulgates a myth that boys are naturally better at mathematics and
science than girls. The implications are that if girls succeed in these subjects it is due to their
hard work, not their intelligence, whereas boys' success is credited to their natural talent.
There are some signs that gender bias in schools may be decreasing in some areas. The
percentage of girls participating in science has increased and achieved parity with boys in
biology, chemistry and algebra. However, subjects that are prerequisites for college majors
such as engineering or physics remain dominated by men. Only 25% of high school students
enrolled in physics are female. Moreover, there has been little increase in the percentage of
women in engineering programs.

Males are also more likely than females to be in remedial programs, and students' race also
impacts these patterns. For example, African American males are more likely than White or
female peers to enroll in remedial reading and mathematics courses. And non-White students
have a higher representation in vocational and noncollege preparatory courses than their
White peers. Teachers are critical components in challenging gender bias in schooling, but
they also can be major contributors to it as well, through their pedagogical practices,
curriculum choices, and assessment strategies.

EFFECTS OF GENDER BIAS

Gender bias can impact students' attitudes towards learning and their engagement with the
subject. If affected by gender bias, girls will tend to believe that any success they have is due
to hard work rather than any innate talent or intelligence. Boys may be encouraged to believe
that success in science and mathematics should come easily to them because of their gender.
Some males report dropping out of college science and mathematics programs because they
no longer perceive these subjects as easy. Overall, teachers have lower expectations for girls'
academic success compared to boys, and their attitudes are shown through the type and
quality of the student-teacher interaction. The type and quality of critique teachers give their
students can also have an impact. Teachers' comments on girls' work focuses on its
appearance but with boys' work teachers focus on the content. Girls often do not receive
substantive comments or criticism from teachers from which they could improve their ability
to learn. During the many hours spent in classrooms, girls receive less time and attention
from teachers than their male peers. Teachers usually ask girls easier questions than they ask
boys. Typically, girls receive fewer opportunities to engage in classroom discourse, use
equipment and assert their knowledge in classrooms.

REDUCING GENDER BIAS

Gender bias in education is a series of microinequities whose impact is cumulative and often
ignored. Girls are rewarded and praised for compliant behavior. Teachers do not challenge
girls with questions and rarely offer criticisms of their work. Teachers can reduce and
challenge gender bias through an examination of their pedagogical practices and by posing
simple questions about their practices. For example, which students do they frequently
interact with? Are target students evident in their classroom? If so, how does the teacher deal
with those students? What questioning techniques does the teacher use to engage students?
Does the teacher ask complicated questions to girls as well as boys? Does the teacher use a
variety of pedagogical and assessment practices? Which students are engaged with the
curriculum?
Another way of reducing gender bias would be for teachers to videotape their classes and
review their interactions with the students. Or they could invite a colleague to watch their
teaching and record which students are being asked questions and what type of questions.
However, teachers must also prepare for the consequences of changing their practices. Girls
are conditioned to receiving less of the teacher's attention, and they do not usually cause
discipline problems if they are not receiving their fair share, but boys can react negatively to
losing the teacher's attention, causing disruption to lessons and becoming discipline
problems. Moreover, research has also shown that boys avoid written work and often have
poor communication skills when asked to work in singlesex groups.

However, the gains in reducing gender bias in education may disappear with the requirements
of high-stakes testing required by No Child Left Behind (NCLB). NCLB requires that states
report academic achievement data in most social categories, except gender (Kahle, 2004).
This may result in less attention being placed on gender bias and less data that might reveal it.
Continued monitoring of gender bias is necessary to minimize its impact on students'
opportunities for learning and achievement.