Gender Discrimination

Meaning
Importance
reasons
Introduction
• Gender inequality, or in other words, gender discrimination refers to
unfair rights between male and female based on different gender roles
which leads to unequal treatment in life.
• The term gender inequality has been widely known in human history
but not until the beginning the 20th century has the transformation of
gender relations become “one of the most rapid, profound social
changes”
Meaning
• Gender discrimination, also known as sexual discrimination, is any action that
specifically denies opportunities, privileges, or rewards to a person (or a group)
because of gender.
• The practice of letting a person's gender become a factor when deciding who
receives a job or a promotion, is gender discrimination. When gender is a factor in
other decisions about employment opportunities or benefits, that too is gender
discrimination.
• While most discrimination charges claim that a woman (or women) was
discriminated against in favor of a man (or men), there have also been cases where
males have claimed that they have been discriminated against on the basis of
gender.
• These cases are usually referred to as "reverse discrimination."
Reasons
• The Indian constitution provides equal rights and privileges for both men and women but
still majority of women across India doesn’t enjoy these rights and opportunities
guaranteed to them. This is because of a number of reasons.
• Some of them are:
• Poverty – This is the root cause of gender discrimination in the patriarchal Indian society
as the economic dependence on the male counterpart is itself a cause of gender disparity. A
total of 30 percent people live below the poverty line and out of this 70 percent are
women.
• Illiteracy – Gender discrimination In India had led to educational backwardness for girls.
It’s a sad reality that despite educational reforms in the country girls in India are still
denied a chance at learning. The mindset needs to be changed and people need to
understand the benefits of educating girls. An educated, well-read woman ensures that
other members especially the children of the house get quality education.
Reasons
• Patriarchal setup in our Indian society – Men dominate societal and
family life in India, this has been the case in the past ages and still
continues to be practiced in majority of the households. Though this
mindset is changing with urbanization and education, still there is long
way to go for a permanent change in the scenario.
• Gender based discrimination across India can only be checked when
girls are not denied their chance to learn and grow in life. Girls like boys
should get a great start in life in terms of education opportunities. This
will help them attain economic independence and will also help them to
be rightly equipped to make a contribution towards their upliftment as
well as that of the society they are part of.
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 indepedence 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.