Session 3

GENDER Institutions &

GENDER as a Social Construct

Presented by:

Annabelle G. Maglasang,RGC
 GENDER as a Social Construct

This session will aim at deepening our

understanding and appreciation of GENDER.

We have defined GENDER as a socially learned behavior.

We shall look further into the
DIFFERENT SOCIAL STRUCTURES
that influence our GENDER
BELIEFS and PRACTICES
 Gender roles are highly
resistant to change.

Why?
Due to continuous
•exposure

•reinforcement

of Gender Differentiation
Once internalized,
Gender Roles are:

•Further reinforced
•Maintained
•Sanctioned

through the pervasive

mechanism of social/
control.
 Socialization Process and
Social Control Mechanisms

Includes ways by which society ENCOURAGES

and makes people CONFORM to its norms and
expectations:
- it could be a social mechanism by which a
group or community exercises its dominion over
component individuals and enforces conformity to
its norms.
- it could consist of institutions such as laws,
customs, folkways, and fashion that strongly
influence individual behaviors so that these would
conform to group demands.
 Internalized Social Control

Far from involving only EXTERNAL REGULATION of the

person’s conduct , social control is in fact
INTERNALIZED so that society’s moral demands and
standards become constitutive elements of the individuals
personality.

Social control mechanisms ensure that most

individuals in most situations like to do the things
they have to do.
 Mechanisms of
SOCIAL CONTROL

• Family
• Language
• School
• Church
• Media
 Four Processes in A Child’s Learning of
Gender Bias

FAMILY socialization starts when baby is born,

influential in formative years
Socialization - the process by which an individual
learns to conform to the norms of the group: one
-is born with
-internalizes these norms
-to acquire status
-to plan corresponding roles
 MANIPULATION

First Stage - where people treat boys and girls

differently
Manifested in the ways infants are
handled differently

Female infants more delicately

handled than males.
 CANALIZATION

SECOND Stage - people direct children’s attention

to gender-appropriate objects -
exemplified by choice of TOYS

Association - teach them prescribed

roles in life in the future
 VERBAL APPELLATION

THIRD PROCESS - Words used to tell children

what they are:
- “brave boy”
- “pretty girl”
-Words used in what are
expected of them:
-“boys don’t cry”
-“girls do not climb trees”
 ACTIVITY EXPOSURE

FOURTH - children familiarized with gender

appropriate TASKS:
- Girls expected and encouraged to:
- help mother in household tasks
- taking care of younger siblings

- Boys are allowed and encourage to

play or work outside the home
 EDUCATION/SCHOOLS

Schools reinforces sexist concepts:

- TEXTBOOKS depict stereotype roles
- females as mothers,housewives, or
well-behaved girls,
- males as fathers, workers or naughty
adventurous little boys
- COURSES: females: cooking,sewing
males : carpentry, gardening

Education - steered field of study for:

- Females - nursing, secretarial, hotel manage
ment, banking & finance
- Males - politics, science, engineering,
 Gender Sensitive Language
Language to communicate thoughts or ideas is the
most pervasive institution of socialization.

Sexist terms, no matter how subtle, very easily maintain

gender ideology. Most common usage:
- Using male “man” (whether by itself or
as prefix/suffix) and “he” to refer to both sexes
- Typecasting women in certain roles/occupations e.g.
“housewife”
- Associating women in certain derogatory terms
- treating women as appendages of men (e.g.President
Ramos and wife Ming)
 CHURCHES/RELIGION

Religious teachings depicting women as

- Martyrs
- Self-sacrificing and conservative
- Present them from fully discovering
themselves & their other characteristics
- Reinforces the belief that “women’s place
is in the home” & women’s primary obliga-
tion is to be good mothers and wives.
Thus limits women’s right to shape their destiny.
 MASS MEDIA

PRINT media (newspapers, magazines, comics)

Broadcast media (radio and TV)
Most effective socializing agent - subtle & often subconscious
way plus long amount of time people expose themselves to media
Stereotype images in Advertising,Soup Opera
Women:
1) as housewife who has to buy products to lighten her burden
2) as loving mother and wife who servers her husband and
children
3. As a beautiful woman who has to attract the
attention of men or hold her husbands attention
through the use of advertised products;
4. As Sex Objects whose body is used as a come-
on for men to buy products

MEN - are shown as:

- courageous, principled, determined, and
assertive
- but also portrayed as violent, engaged in
sports, professions, wars
- camaraderie with other men
- the conquest of women
 Women and Media
The Beijing Platform for Action devoted
one whole section (Section J) to Women
and Media: Two main thrusts:

•the participation & access of women to

expression and decision-making
in and through the media and new
communication technologies

•a balanced and non-stereotyped portrayal of

women in media.
 Stereotyping
1. GENDER ROLES. Are traditional gender roles
reinforced?

2. SUPERWOMAN STEREOTYPED. Are active,

independent women represented as if
they are “superwomen”?

3. NATURAL WOMAN STEREOTYPE. Are the

stereotypes of women (as innately
docile, emotional, technically inept, etc.)
reinforced?
4 . SEX OBJECT OF STEREOTYPE. Are women
represented primarily as objects of desire?

5. PRESENCE. Count the women and the subject

area in which they appear. Are they evenly
distributed or imbalanced?

6. WOMEN SPEAKING. Do they speak with

dignity and authority?

7. THE BEAUTY MYTH. What physical attributes

apply to males and females, e.g., in relation
to age, weight, skin tone, clothes?
8. VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN. Does the material
normalize violence or suggest that women
accept or enjoy violence?

9. MULTI-DIMENSONALITY. Are women shown

to have many dimensions in terms of
personality, tastes, capabilities,
preferences, etc?

10. DIVERSITY. Does the material reflect the

diversity of age groups, social classes,
ethnic groups, physical characteristics of women
and men in the community as a whole?
(Adapted from Margaret Gallagher,
GENDER SETTING, 2001)
 Advertising

Guilty of stereotyping.

Excused offered by Advertisers:

ads are short and the characters they
present have to be of the type
immediately familiar to the audience.

Advertising also accused of sexual exploitation,

Commodification, objectification &
other sins.
 Women in the News
Factual media world wide have many of the same sexual
biases as fictional media. Also women are practically
invisible in the world’s news media – developed
country or not.

In 1995, women were just 17% of the world’s News

subjects – meaning the people whom the news is
about or who are interviewed.

In 2000, 18%; 2005, 21%.

 Summary of Survey of Global Media
Monitoring Project:

Women rarely appear as subjects or central focus of

news stories, & when they do , they are rarely
authority figures or spokespersons.

Females in the news often have no stated occupation,

and are usually defined in terms of their family
relationships.

When women are in the news, they are likely to be

celebrities or victims or ornamental figures
on tabloid front pages.
Female presenters and reporters are much
younger than their male counterparts,
but retire (or are made to retire) from the
news much earlier.

Sad to note that while the numbers of

Women reporters and presenters have
steadily increased, the reporting of women
in the news has not improved significantly.
Blatant stereotyping is still alive and well
in news all around the world.
WHY?
Is it because fewer women are managers
and owners of media companies?

Or because of traditional values of what

we consider as news?

Or are there really less women in

the public sphere?
 Women In Politics
Media portray male and female politicians
differently.

Male: media emphasize their political

record and experience.

Female: focus on their family situation

and their appearance (including
their wardrobe and hairstyle!
 Media watching
Aside the major issues of STEREOTYPING,
SEXIST ADVERTISING & WOMEN’S REPRE
SENTATION IN THE NEWS, INCLUDING
WOMEN IN POLITICS – more issues related to
media and gender:

impact of violence and sensationalism

in the media,
pornography, and the
lack of women’s access to media, including
new media technology, either because of
illiteracy, poverty or discrimination.
 Media activists:
Strengthen media literacy

Encourage/organize active audiences

(e.g. Media watch groups)

Initiate a dialogue with media professionals

Widen women’s space in the media

Conduct research on relevant issues on
media and gender and challenge media
with the findings.
Pursue development of communication policy or
media reform
 GENDER DIVISION OF LABOR

the assignment of tasks and roles

to men and women on account sex
 Roles of Women and Men
WOMEN MEN
Reproductive • Childbearing and child rearing •No clearly defined role
Role • Organizing of households
Productive • Rural Areas: often disguised in subsistence • Often “primary” income
Role economy or domestic work earners
• Urban Areas: many in small scale enterprises • Often organized around
(“informal sector: mainly in household (often this role i.e., workers‟
disguised) and neighborhood level) organization/trade
• As „secondary‟ income earners, make a critical unions
contribution to income of poor households
• Female headed may be sole income earner
Community managing: Community politics:
Community- • Is an extension of reproductive role into • Organized at formal
level Role community action political level i.e.,
• Because services they need in reproductive traditional decision-
role not/badly provided making structures;
Community politics: • Leaders (often paid)
• Tend to be leaders by virtue of relationship with
other men
• Rank and file (voluntary)
 Impact of Gender Roles on
Women and Men

•Culturally-
learned
behaviors
and
Gender Gender Gender
expectation
Stereotype Prejudice Discrimination
•Culturally-
assigned
roles
 Impact of Gender Roles
on Women and Men
Social & political
status
•Culturally-
learned Opportunities
behaviors (education, training
and employment
expectation Inequality in
Access to resources
•Culturally-
assigned Control of resources
roles
Share of
output/benefit
 The Care Economy
unpaid care economy paid economy

human capabilities & social framework

social & economic social & economic

household & infrastructure infrastructure
community public private
care sector sector sector

consumption & investment commodities

The interdependence of the paid and unpaid economies

Source: Diane Elson, 1997
 The Economy Sectors

Sector Characteristics
Private Sector Produces market-oriented goods & services for profit
Commodity Economy
Public Sector • Produces social & physical infrastructure for
Economy consumption & investment
• Employees are paid wages
• Financed through taxation, user charges & borrowing
• Many services are free at point of consumption
The Care Economy • Produces family & community-oriented goods &
services as part of the process of caring for people
• Work is not paid – relatively intensive in its use of
female labor
• Contributes to commodity economy and the public
service economy by supplying human resources and
by maintaining the social framework
 Challenging the Stereotype
Assumptions About the
Household Made by Planners
ASSUMPTIONS EMPIRICAL CHALLENGE
The structure Nuclear High proportion of other household
of low
income structures e.g. extended families, women-
households headed households
The The man is the Double role of men i.e. production &
organization community politics
of tasks in breadwinner
the Triple role of women i.e. reproduction,
The woman is a production & community managing/
household
housewife community politics
The control Equal access to Often there is unequal access to resources
of resources resources by different household members
and decision- Gender relations are conflictive
making in the Harmonious gender
relations in the
household household
Household is therefore Need for disaggregation of the household
treated as a unit
 GENDER ISSUES

Problems that women and men

experience as a result of

societies definitions and expectations

about

feminine and masculine

Roles rights and capacities

 GENDER ISSUES

 problems that stem from the way women and men

have been socially constructed

 commonly shared experiences brought about by

structural/societal causes

 recognized as undesirable and unjust

 have to do with gender inequality, with practices that

marginalize, discriminate and violate women‟s rights.
 However,

the good news is

Gender Roles

do change.
 What is

so good about Gender

Roles

changing?
 Gender Roles and Housekeeping

Childbearing will always fall on

the female.

However, child rearing

and house keeping
need not.

In reality, there is a female

monopoly of the housekeeping role.
 Gender differentiation keeps women in
occupations deemed culturally appropriate.

Filipino women are…

*nurses *nutritionists
*teachers *accountants

Gender tracking of professions

continue the:

household socialization
assignment of nurturant
tasks to women.
 Even in higher professions….

Areas of medical specialization

more open to women are:

 Pediatrics
 Obstetrics

 Gynecology
 Occupational ghettoes:

Semi-profession - where
we find large clusters of
women

As a consequence, these
jobs receive:

Less recognition
Are assigned lower value
Commonly lower wages
At lower levels, women work not from
choice but from necessity.

Women are found in

households that are not their
own.
Traditional gender roles divide men and women from each
other.

Deny women access to the

public world of:
*Work *Power

*Achievement *Independence
Deny men access to:
*The Nurturant *Emotive
Other oriented world
of domestic life.
 Therefore,
traditional gender
roles limit the
psychological and
social potentials of
human beings.
 GENDER as a
Social Construct

Gender roles are deep-seated in the

culture as well as belief and value
systems of the society. Pervasive social
control further reinforce, maintain and
sanction the gender roles.
 Three Minute Self-Reflection

As
Teachers and Mentors,
how do you see these beliefs
influence the way you carry out your
work?
 Organize Your Reflection

A. What was the situation (e.g. problems,

project, case) that I found myself in at that
time?
B. What was the task that I needed to do?
C. What action did I take? How was this
action influenced by social institutions on
what they perceive to be
masculine/feminine?
D. What was the result of the action I
took?
 Share with someone (five minutes)

Please only write in the meta-strip:

1. The particular traditional belief about what

is masculine/feminine that influenced my
action

2. The action taken which was influenced by

that belief.
THEREFORE….

All of us need to be conscious of our

BELIEFS and ASSUMPTIONS
as these often impede the attainment of
of our full potential as human beings
and of those for which we are
responsible.
“My work has nothing to do with
gender!!! Because...

1. “Policies introduced by us are equal for

men and women.

2. Our work relates to economic or technical

expertise, not women.”
Any development intervention has potential
Gender Concerns and Issues
BECAUSE….
All development work aim at servicing people, men and
women
Each activity of a development plan or project can have
an impact on the different roles of women and men …thus
have different impacts on women and men
Development interventions can change gender relations
by creating (the same/different) opportunities and
conditions for women and men.
Projects that ignore 50% of the economically active
population will not lead to development, much less
equitable development
 GENDER SENSITIVITY

It is the ability to recognize

 gender issues
 women‟s and men‟s different
perceptions and interests arising from
their social location and different role
 GENDER SENSITIVITY

SEEING – women and men, what they actually

do,rather than relying on assumptions

HEARING – women and men, their needs,

priorities and perspectives

COUNTING – the value of women’s work

RESPECTING – full dignity of women and men

CARING – about women and men and what

happen to them
 GENDER SENSITIVITY

- Not a war of the sexes

- Not an anti-male stance
- Both women and men are victims,
although women are affected more
than men.
In practically all cultures women have
a lower status than men.
GENDER SENSITIVITY
- renaming and reimaging wo/men
relationships to bring about mutuality
and partnership.
GENDER AWARENESS

is the ability to identify and respond

to problems arising from gender
equality and discrimination
 To be gender responsive is:
• To realize that social norms have led to
differences in the roles and expectations of
women and men, resulting in discriminatory
practices against women and men, especially
women.

• To believe that human relationships should be

guided by the principles of equality, equity and
active non-discrimination in all spheres of
interaction.

• To work for the eventual elimination of these

sources of discrimination in the home, the
workplace , the community and the society as a
whole.
 Gender Equality or Equality
Between Women and Men:
• Both women and men are free to develop their
personal abilities and make choices without the
limitations set by stereotypes, rigid gender
roles and prejudices.

• Different behavior, aspirations and needs of

women and men are considered, valued and
favored equally.

• Their rights, responsibilities and opportunities

will not depend on whether they were born
female or male.
 Gender Equity:

• Fairness of treatment for women and men

according to their respective needs.

• May include equal treatment or treatment that

is different but is considered equivalent in
terms of rights, benefits, obligations and
opportunities.
Thank you very much