Gender Equality

Lusterio, Vhea Mae | Mangampo, Regina | Manalo, Angelica Joy

Both Men and Women should feel free to be
sensitive.
Both Men and Women should feel free to be
strong.
It is time that we all perceive gender on a
spectrum not as two opposing sets of ideal.

- Emma Watson
2014 UN Women Speech
 What is Gender Equality

Gender equality is also known as sexual equality, is the state of equal

ease of access to resources and opportunities regardless of gender,
including economic participation and decision-making; and the state
of valuing different behaviors, aspirations and needs equally,
regardless of gender.
What does the
evidence tell us?
There is evidence of widespread prejudice against
women and girls from decades of psychological
research. For instance, an experiment was conducted
in which participants watched an entrepreneurial pitch
video of images relating to a new venture, narrated by
the voice of the entrepreneur. Participants were
randomly assigned to a group in which either a male or
female voice narrated the pitch, which was otherwise
identical. When a male voice pitched the venture, 68%
of participants thought it was worthy of funding,
compared to only 32% when pitched by a female
voice.
 Equal does not mean identical
One might object that there are meaningful differences between males and females, and
these in turn are the source of gender inequality. Some believe that equality is the wrong
word to use, because males and females can’t be equal if they are different.

But when feminists refer to gender equality, we are not arguing that males and females
are identical or indistinguishable on all behavior, preferences and abilities. Nor does it
mean all gender differences must be eliminated, or that we must have equal gender
representation in every field.
Equality or Equity
Gender equality also does not mean that males and
females must always be treated the same. Given the
existence of biological sex differences, it is reasonable
for males and females to have different legal rights in
some instances.

Equity means recognizing that differences in ability

mean that fairness often requires treating people
differently so that they can achieve the same outcome.
At times equity is necessary to achieve gender
equality, but there are many instances where this is
not the case.
Common problems/issues:

Society Workplace Friends

Society
 Gender Equality and Evolutionary History
Compared to women, men are more aggressive and enjoy being promiscuous.

What is evolutionary psychology?

Research shows that females and males – including girls and boys, as well as women and men – have many
psychological differences.

For instance, evolutionary psychologists claim that males are more aggressive than females because they
can gain greater access to females by competing violently with other males. Males are thought to be more
willing to engage in casual sex because they can greatly increase their reproductive output by doing so,
whereas females benefit more from being choosy due to the demands of pregnancy and breastfeeding.
Females are more likely to prefer a partner who is taller and of higher
status, because such males are better protectors and providers. Males
are more likely to prefer a physically attractive partner, where the
features considered most attractive in females are signals of higher
fertility, such as youth and physical health.

It is quite possible that psychological, behavioral, and physical sex

differences make men more likely to dominate women, and women less
likely to resist domination from men.

There is no reason to think that the ape Homo sapiens is a special case,
where everything can be explained by culture and nothing by biology.
Finally, twin studies suggest that a large degree of individual differences
can be explained by genetics – and not solely by the circumstances in
which you are raised, and live.

Some feminists might worry that such explanations imply that if gender
inequality is natural then it is inevitable, and perhaps even justifiable.
 NATURAL = NECESSARY?

If you accept the evolutionary explanation for these sex differences, then you
might be inclined to conclude that gender inequality has a biological basis. If this
is your view, then perhaps you could accept that male domination of females is in
some sense “natural” for humans
 Gender Equality and Culture

Culture is an entire way of life that exists in a particular society. It is learned and shared by
members of a society.

Culture is everything that people create - values, norms, and goals. Culture develops as people
interact with one another over time. Culture is external to individuals in the sense that they
learn about it, however, it is also internal as it is made part of human being and bestows
meaning on their lives.
The belief about men and women in our society differs,
while men are culturally believed to be the go-getter,
women are recognized as home managers who give the
men emotional support and care for children in the
home, men thus becoming the breadwinner of the
family.

Culture dictates many of the societal arrangements and

the same is applicable to gender role ideologies. Society
makes a distinction between the roles perform by men
and women and ranks the roles hierarchically. The role of
men has always been an advantage for them because it
enables them to move out of the private sphere to the
public world for employment opportunities. …
 Gender Equality and Democratization
Why does gender equality in elected office tend to go with democracy?
“Men make better political leaders than women”

A key cultural change involves the belief that men make better political leaders than women. This view is still held by a
majority of the world’s population, but it seems to be fading rapidly in advanced industrial societies. Evidence from the
World Values Surveys demonstrates that in less-prosperous countries such as India, China, Brazil, Pakistan, Nigeria or
Egypt, from 50 to 90 percent of the public still believes that men make better political leaders than women But in
advanced industrial societies, an overwhelming majority of the public rejects this idea.

It has important political consequences. Demonstrates, in countries where the public rejects the idea that men make
better political leaders, relatively high proportions of women get elected to parliament.
 Gender Equality and Democratization
This suggests that cultural norms may have even more impact than democratic institutions do, on the percentage of
women in parliament. Moreover, although richer countries have higher proportions of women in parliament than poorer
ones, this is true mainly because economic development leads to cultural changes.
Workplace
Discrepancies
in pay
Behavior/Attitude
 Women Men

Strength Weaknesses Strength Weaknesses

Strong physical
Good listener Too emotional Insensitive
appearance

Long-patience Hot headed Good leader Inconsiderate

Source of gossip in a
Multi-tasking Approachable Hard headed
workplace
Sexual Harassment
The aim of gender equality in the workplace
is to achieve broadly equal outcomes for
women and men.
• Workplaces to provide equal pay for work of equal or
comparable value

• Removal of barriers to the full and equal participation

of women in the workforce

• Access to all occupations and industries, including

leadership roles, regardless of gender; and

• Elimination of discrimination on the basis of gender,

particularly in relation to family and caring
responsibilities.
Peers and Friends
Questions
• Why do other people think that a girl
is flirty when she have many male
friends?
• Why do other people get mad when a
friend admits that he is gay?
• Is it really possible that a guy and a girl
can be just friends?
Key Takeaways
• Differences between “gender cultures” influence the way that people of
different genders communicate. These differences begin at childhood.

• Traditionally, masculine people and feminine people communicate with

people of their own gender in different ways.

• Through communication we learn about what qualities and activities our

culture prescribes to our sex.
 Achieving Gender Equality
Gender equality is seeing males and females as being of equal status and value. It is
judging a person based on their merit, and not viewing them as inferior or superior purely
based on their gender.

Unfortunately, the evidence reviewed above suggests this prejudice is still widespread,
and we often aren’t aware of our own biases. We cannot say that we have gender
equality until this prejudice is overcome and we have eliminated the irrational bias that
people have against somebody just because they are female.

Equal rights are not enough. Inequality exists in our minds, in our biases and prejudices,
and that remains to be fixed.