GENDER AND SOCIETY

SOCIETY BEFORE THE GENDER AND DEVELOPMENT

WOMEN MEN

supposed to have “clean jobs” such as secretaries, men do “dirty jobs” such as construction and
teachers, and librarians mechanics

women are never in charge are supposed to make men are in charge; they are always at the top
less money than men
it’s always men who work in science, engineering,
are responsible for raising children and other technical fields

are supposed to cook and do housework submissive as husbands, men tell their wives what to do

men are lazy and/or messy

dominant

GAD-HISTORICAL FRAMEWORK

40’s -60’s
• United Nation Charter (1945) and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) - first official
recognition of women’s equality and non-discrimination on the basis of sex.
• focus on women’s reproductive roles
• women were seen as wives and mothers
• access to food, contraceptives, nutrition and healthcare.
• INCREASE WOMEN’S POLITICAL PARTICIPATION & HARNESS THEIR LABOUR
CAPACITIES TO MEET NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT GOALS
70’s – 80’s
• First World Conference for Women (1974)
• UN Decade for women “76-85”
• addresses reproductive, productive and community politics
• promotion of the Women in Development (WID)
• DEVELOPMENT SHOULD EMPOWER WOMEN AND MEN TO GREATER SELF- RELIANCE
AND ASSERTION OF OWN CAPABILITIES
LATE 80’s – 90’s ON GOING
• shift towards Gender and Development mainstreaming
• GAD approach is concerned with the way a society assign roles, responsibilities, and
expectations to both men and women.
• GAD focuses primarily on two major frameworks: Gender Roles and Social Relations
Analysis
• removing disparities in socio-economic and political balances between women and men
 • INTEGRATE GENDER AWARENESS AND COMPETENCE INTO MAINSTREAM
DEVELOPMENT

GAD – GENDER AND DEVELOPMENT

GENDER ROLES
• It focuses on social construction of identities within the household; reveals the expectations from
‘maleness and femaleness’ in their relative access to resources.
SOCIAL RELATIONS ANALYSIS
• It exposes the social dimensions of hierarchical power relations imbedded in social institutions; determines
influence on the relative position of men and women in society.

GENDER

GENDER ROLES
• A social construction which resulted from the sociocultural influences along the process of an individual's
development (Schneider, Gruman and Coutts, 2005).
GENDER IDENTITY
• May appear different from one society to another
• can be influenced from the ethnic origin of the group (tradition, practices, mores, and beliefs).

GENDER vs. SEX

GENDER
• One’s personal orientation
• We learn gender
SEX
• Biological distinction of being male and female
• We inherit sex

PREJUDICE vs. DISCRIMNATION

PREJUDICE
• A set of unreasonable attitudes more likely unfavorable, towards members of a particular group.
DISCRIMINATION
• Overt negative behaviors toward a person based on his/her membership in a group.

SEXISM vs. STEREOTYPES

SEXISM
• Refers to any bias against an individual based on the individual's/group's sex.
STEREOTYPES
• Baseless assumptions about the characteristics, attributes, and behaviors of members of certain groups.
 ➢ Gender is more than a mental construct but a tangible structural feature of society, which provides
sociological significance to society to device appropriate social controls among its members.
➢ The idea of social construction of gender sees society, not biological sex differences, as the basis of
gender identity.
✓ FAMILY – First agent of socialization and learning gender identity.
✓ SCHOOL
✓ MEDIA

FORMS OF SEXISM

BENEVOLENT SEXISM
• Characterized by positive but stereotypical views of women.
HOSTILE SEXISM
• Characterized by negative stereotypical views of women.
AMBIVALENT SEXISM
• Holds views of both hostile and benevolent sexism simultaneously.

SOCIETY

MEANING OF NATURE OF SOCIETY

• emerged in the 15th century, derived from the French word société -- from the Latin word
• societas, a “friendly association with others”
• socius, “companion, associate, and comrade”
• Society - a complex whole with interdependent parts
• Culture - an attribute characteristic of a community

TYPES OFSOCIETY

4 LEVELS OF SOCIETY (GERHARD LENSKI, SOCIOLOGIST)

1) Hunters and Gatherers
2) Simple agricultural
3) Advanced agricultural
4) Industrial
4 LEVELS OF SOCIETY (MORTON H. FRIED, A CONFLICT THEORIST, AND ELMAN SERVICE, AN
INTEGRATION THEORIST)
1. Hunter-gatherer bands: generally egalitarian (unrestricted/free)
2. Tribal societies: there are some limited instances of social rank and prestige
3. Chiefdoms: stratified structures led by chieftains
4. Civilizations: with complex social hierarchies and organized, institutional governments

COMMON TYPES OFSOCIETY (MARGARET MEAD)

1. Band - the simplest form of human society

 a) Generally, consists of a small kinship group
b) have very informal leadership
c) band customs are transmitted orally
d) religion is generally based on family tradition, individual experiences, counsel.
2. Clan
a) a group of people united by kinship and descent defined by perceived descent from a
common ancestor
b) members recognized a founding member or “apical ancestor”
c) “totem” -when the ancestor is not human
d) most easily described as sub-groups of a tribe
3. Tribe
a) a social division within a traditional society consisting of a group of interlinked families or
communities sharing a common culture and dialect
b) more permanent than bands
4. Ethnic Group
a) a human population whose members identify with each other, usually based on a
presumed common genealogy or lineage; a cultural community
b) have common cultural, behavioral, linguistic or religious practices
5. Chiefdom
a) community held by an individual known as a chief
b) more complex than a tribe but less complex than a state or civilization
c) a relatively unstable form of social organization
6. State
a) a political association with effective dominion over a geographic area.
b) usually includes a set of institutions that claim the authority to make the rules that govern
the people of the society.
c) its status as a state often depends on being recognized by other states as having internal
or external sovereignty over it.

SOCIETY IN DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES

1. Evolutionary – people from being isolated to being nomadic to having their own territory.

2. Political - is an inevitable activity of people which is also intertwined with other social systems.

3. Economical - the acceleration of production is imperative to answer the increasing demand of

the society.

GENDER
 • A socially-constructed notion of and relationships between men and women –
• it is a concept that describes how societies determine and manage sex categories; the
cultural meanings attached to men’s and women’s roles and how they understand their
identities.

SOCIOLOGY OF GENDER

• Examines how society influences our understandings and perception of differences between
masculinity and femininity.
• Sexuality - is about sexual attraction, sexual practices and identity.

SOME COMMON GENDER DEFINITIONS

TRANSPEOPLE

• A broad term used to refer to either transsexual/transgender. It refers to when a person

identifies with the opposite gender
TRANS-SEXUAL
• Individuals who identify as the opposite gender to their biological sex. Physical
transformations e.g. genital reassignment surgery or hormonal replacement therapy may be
undertaken to change sex
TRANSGENDER

• It is used to describe non-traditional gender behaviors or identities.

INTERSEX
• It refers to a range of conditions where a person’s sex is not strictly male or female. This may
be due to the presence of both male and female sex characteristics or the underdevelopment
of primary sex characteristics.

SEXUAL ORIENTATION

• refers to each person’s capacity for profound emotional, affectional and sexual attraction to,
and intimate and sexual relations with individuals of a different gender or the same gender or
more than one gender -the expression of desire/attraction.

FORMS OF SEXUAL ORIENTATION

HOMOSEXUAL

• It refers to a person who is emotionally, physically, and sexually attracted to those of the same
sex/gender.
HETEROSEXUAL
 • It refers to a person who is emotionally, physically, and sexually attracted to those of the
opposite sex/gender.
BISEXUAL

• It refers to a person who is emotionally, physically, and sexually attracted to individuals of

more than one gender
PANSEXUAL
• It refers to a person who is emotionally, physically, and sexually attracted to anyone regardless
of their biological sex and gender identity.
ASEXUAL
• It refers to a person who is not physically and sexually attracted to anyone but has the same
emotional needs as everybody.

GENDER EXPRESSION

• Is an external manifestation of person’s gender identity, expressed through one’s name,

pronouns, clothing, voice, and body characteristics.
MASCULINE
• A person who has qualities and characteristics which are traditionally associated with a man
FEMININE
• A person who has qualities and characteristics which are traditionally associated with a
woman.
GENDER NEUTRAL
• A person who has qualities and characteristics differ from those which are traditionally
associated with a man or a woman.
ANDROGYNOUS
• A person who has qualities and characteristics are combination of those traditionally
associated with a man or a woman.

GENDER SOCIALIZATION

• Is the process of learning the social expectations and attitudes associated with one’s sex.
• An “agent” of gender socialization is any person or group that plays a role in the childhood
gender socialization process.

MAJOR AGENTS OF SOCIALIZATION

➢ Parents / Family
➢ Teachers / School
 ➢ Peers
➢ Media
➢ Church/Religion

GENDER STEREOTYPES

• Are generalizations about the roles believed as exclusive to each gender

• Simply inaccurate generalizations of the male and female attributes.

COMMON STEREOTYPES

• Racial Profiling
• Gender Profiling
• Cultures
• Groups of Individuals
• Sexual Stereotypes

IMPLICATIONS OF STEREOTYPES (UN COMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT)

a) Violence against Women

b) Culture Gaps

GENDER INEQUALITY

• Can be defined as allowing people different opportunities due to perceived differences based
solely on issues of gender.

IDENTIFIED GENDER INEQUALITY

a) Lack of mobility
b) Freedom of marriage
c) Discriminatory Divorce Rights
d) Citizenship
e) Custody Rights
f) Violence
g) Professional Obstacles
h) Restricted Land Ownership
i) Access to Education

GENDER AS SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION

SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION
 • Comes out of the general school of thought entitled social constructionism. It implies on how
people see “reality” or how they react to it or response to any social situation is attributed if
not entirely by one’s gender.
• Gender is maintained as a category through a socially constructed displays of gender.
• Gender is interactional rather than individual - social relationships.
• Gender is also omnirelevant-people are always judging our behavior to be either male or
female.

SOCIOLOGICAL THEORIES OF GENDER

FUNCTIONALISM
• Gender exists in society which is expected to promote social stability and shared public values;
gendered division of labor
• men filled instrumental roles while women filled expressive roles in the society
• when one part of the system is dysfunctional, it affects all other parts and creates social
problems.
SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONALISM
• Relies on the symbolic meaning that people develop and rely upon in the process of social
interaction
• subjective meanings that people impose on objects, events, and behaviors which believe an
expression of their gender orientation
CONFLICT THEORY
• Society is a struggle for dominance among social groups (like men vs women) that compete
for scarce resources.
FEMINIST THEORY
• Is a type of conflict theory that examines inequalities in gender related issues.
a) Radical Feminism - consider the role of the family in perpetuating male dominance.
b) Patriarchal Societies - men’s contributions are seen as more valuable than those of
women.
c) Liberal Feminism - highlighted creation of equal opportunities for women as product
of legal reforms.
d) Marxist Feminism - anchored on Conflict Theory, it emphasized that capitalism as the
enemy and must be toppled to build an equitable society;
e) Socialist Feminism that views shared oppression of women;
f) Radical Feminism - merely looks gender as the reason of women ' s oppressive status,
it places interest on developing capacities of women to address subordination;
 g) Cultural Feminism - believes that women have special qualities and experiences that
can be utilized to overcome sexism; and
h) Ecofeminism - provides a link on exploitative treatment of men to the environment
and its same treatment on women (Masilungan, 2003).

GENDER ROLE

• Set of societal norms dictating what types of behaviors are general, considered acceptable,
appropriate, or desirable for a person based on their actual or perceived sex.
SANDRA LIPSITZ BEM (1981)
• Developed gender schema theory to explain how individuals come to use gender as an
organizing category in all aspects of their life.
TALCOTT PARSONS
• Developed a model of the nuclear family in 1995.
JOHN MONEY
• Developed the use of gender to describe one’s feelings about oneself
ROBERT STOLLER
• Focused on gender identity rather than gender role.
JUDITH BUTLER
• Asserted that gender is fluid rather than dichotomous, that gender was an activity rather than
a trait one has.

GENDER SENSITIVITY

• Is the ability to recognize gender issues and especially the ability to recognize women’s
different perceptions and interest arising from different social location and different gender
roles.

GENDER DIFFERENCES

COGNITIVE ABILITIES
• Boys are good at Math
• Girls are good at English
PERSONALITY TRAITS & SELF ESTEEM
• Women tend to score higher in anxiety and neuroticism , but also in extraversion
• Men have higher self- esteem
ATTITUDES
• Women tend to be more liberal than men on social issue.
 • BEHAVIOR

• Men are more interested in things; women are more interested in people.

GENDER NEUTRALITY

• The idea that policies, language, and other social institutions should avoid distinguishing roles
according to people’s sex or gender, in order to avoid discrimination.

GENDER AND DEVELOPMENT (GAD)

• Philippine Plan for Gender and Development, 1995-2025, is a National Plan that addresses,
provides and pursues full equality and development for men and women. Approved and
adopted by former President Fidel V. Ramos as Executive No. 273, on September 8, 1995, it is
the successor of the Philippine Development Plan for Women, 1989-1992 adopted by
Executive No. 348 of February 17, 1989.

RATIONALE FOR GAD

• COMPLIANCE – General Appropriations Act (GAA) states that our government should have a
GAD Program to which at least 5% of an agency’s total budget should be allotted.
• COMMITMENT - The Philippines is committed internationally by virtue of being a signatory in
the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) or otherwise
known as the International Bill on Rights of Women. As a signatory to this international law,
which was signed by 179 countries, the Philippines is committed for Gender and
Development.
• COMMITMENT - Nationally, the 1987 Philippine Constitution, Article II. Section 14 states that
“The State recognizes the role of women in nation building and shall promote the
FUNDAMENTAL EQUALITY before the law of women and men. ” As well as the Magna Carta
of Women (MCW) – R.A. 9710 establishes the Philippine government’ s pledge of commitment
to the CEDAW. It is the local translation of the provisions of the CEDAW, particularly in defining
gender discrimination, state obligations, substantive equality, and temporary special
measures. (Republic Act 9710).