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UNIT 1 GENDER ANALYSIS: SCOPE AND IMPORTANCE

Structure
1.1 Introduction
1.2 Objectives
1.3 What Is Gender?
1.4 Status of Women
1.5 Gender Status of India as Per Gender Gap Index (GGI)
1.6 Gender Discrimination
1.7 Practical Gender Needs and Strategic Gender Needs
1.8 Gender Mainstreaming
1.9 Women and Reproductive Work
1.10 Gender Equality
1.11 Gender Equity
1.12 What Is Gender Analysis?
1.13 Process of Gender Analysis
1.14 Universal Areas of Women‟s Lives and Societies can be Taken for Analysis
1.15 Particular Differences That Gender Analysis Recognize:
1.16 Why Do We Need To Look At Particular Differences Among Communities For Gender
Analysis?
1.17 Gender Analysis Recognizes That
1.18 Let Us Sum Up
1.19 Glossary
1.20 References
1.21Questions for reflections and practice
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1.1 INTRODUCTION

The concern for gender equality is been a subject of understanding within development
discourse. Such intervention has helped in the evolution of various development policies,
approaches, and frameworks in prioritizing gender justice, efficiency and empowerment as
concepts. Within the gender framework, gender analysis tools are often used to develop
analytical concepts and to capture both women and men‟s experience with development and
policy intervention. Gender analysis as an analytical tool has enabled to incorporate the
dimensions of concepts and methodologies within its application. Further, it has contributed
to the development of feminist methodologies and approaches in understanding the struggle
for gender equality at regional and local levels. This unit starts with explaining gender and
analyzing women‟s position by using various data which would helpful in understanding the
need for gender analysis.
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1.2 OBJECTIVES

After going through this you would be able to

 Define Gender Analysis,
 Distinguish the concepts of sex and gender,
 Describe the status of women by using various indicators;
 Explain the various concepts related to Gender analysis.

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1.3 WHAT IS GENDER?

Gender is a term being frequently used and heard these days. Government
organizations, voluntary organizations, developmental organizations, national and
international developmental programmes, donor organizations, UN organizations – all these
talk about gender, analyze programmes from a gender perspective and do gender budgeting.
What is this gender? Why we should talk about gender – we realize that this is an importance
issue, which has deep roots in our society, in our families and in our lives. Let us see what it
is.
Men and women are different. Society too treats them differently. These differences are
evident in their way of dressing, in their work, in the roles they perform and in their behavior.
However, men and women are both human beings. Both have lot of similarities. Men and
women may have different reproductive organs but both have other similar organs like heart,
brain, liver, digestive system etc. While some of the reproductive organs are present outside,
others are present inside the body.

Apart from these differences men and women do not have any differences by birth. This
physical difference is called ‘sex’ we call men as „male sex‟ and women as „female sex‟
however this is not ‘gender’.
Gender is the change brought about socially in women and men as they grow. This is a
term used to understand the socially constructed differences between men and women.

This is not the same as the differences related to different reproductive organs. Boys and girls
are brought up in a different way in the society as they grow. Parents, relatives, neighbours,
every institution in the society like schools, police, courts etc have a fixed opinion about how
men and women should be. So, gender refers to the socially constructed and culturally
variable roles that women and men play in their daily lives.

These are traits and characteristics. What are these social traits? For example women are
supposed to be slender, shy, sensitive, traditional, home bound, not to run or jump around,
not to laugh loudly etc. Men are supposed to be bold, strong, tough, confident, talk loudly,
not to be shy, not to cry etc. Men and women are not born with these traits. We bring up boys
and girls in such a way that they acquire these traits. These are gender related traits.

Sex Gender

Physical difference Socially constructed Difference

Related to body biological Related to society

Natural Not natural

Can’t change Can be changed

Same everywhere/ Universal Changes according to place

Culture, religion, class

And caste
ACTIVITY TO UNDERSTAND GENDER
ACTIVITY: 1
Choosing the sex of the baby Meet a few expecting mothers and their spouses. It would be
really good if they are expecting their first child. They should be asked: Do you want a male
child or a female child? Give two reasons for your answer.
List down the answers on chart paper: two columns - male and female – should be made. The
answers of the respondents should be written under the respective columns. The number of
„male‟ responses and „female‟ responses should be counted. Each of the reasons given by the
respondents for their choice should be analysed.

For example, the typical responses could be as follows:

Girl Child Boy Child

Takes care of parents Takes forward family name
Listens to parents and others Takes care in old age
Can be nicely dressed up Performs the last rites for parents
„Light of the family‟ „Heir of the family‟

Each of these reasons should be analysed. For example of a girl child is supposed to be light
of the family does it mean that she has to dress up, bring good luck to the family etc? In
reality, how many can afford to „dress up‟? Can the child be held responsible for ill fortune in
family business?
In our society instead of educating girls and making them stand on their feet, they are made to
take up household chores. At the same time, women are also looked down as inferior beings
intellectually and that they are only interested in clothes and ornaments, which mean that
society forces girls to be brought up in a way which again makes them inferior in society.

In the case of men, it is believed that they take forward the family name. What is family?
Should women change their surname after marriage? Don‟t they have a personality and
recognition of their own? How can we assume that only a son would grow up to be a worthy
human being to take forward the family name and take care of parents? Aren‟t there many
sons who grow up to be thieves and other anti-social beings? Are they worthy of inheriting
the family name? At the same time aren‟t there many daughters who grow up to be
successful, well-educated persons who take care of their parents in their ole age? Aren‟t they
true inheritors then?

Now it should be clear that many of our misconceptions and misguided notions result in
subjugation and suppression of girls and women and that these opinions could be changed.

These are all socially and culturally constructed differences between male and female which
have very negative impact on women and girls, which ultimately leads into discrimination
against them.

Check Your Progress Exercise 1

1. Answer whether the following statements belong to sex or gender:

 Women are soft and men are tough

 Women can conceive, men cannot
 Women breastfeed their babies, men feed milk in bottles
 Childrearing is the responsibility of mothers
 men take decisions
 Men are rational, women are emotional
 Men have moustaches and beards, women do not
 Women can earn only 70% of what men earn
 Women give birth and men don‟t
 Women cry easily, men do not cry
 Women menstruate every month
 Boy‟s voice breaks in adolescence
 Men are breadwinners/head of the house

2. Are you now clear that sex is biologically determined, whereas gender is a social
construct?

Let us look into certain important concepts in gender studies before we get into the details of
elements of Gender Analysis and Approaches to Gender Analysis.
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1.4 STATUS OF WOMEN

Status is a state, condition, or situation. Sociologically speaking, Social status is the honor or
prestige attached to one's position in society (one's social position). It may also refer to a rank
or position that one holds in a group, for example son or daughter, playmate, pupil, etc.
Social status, the position or rank of a person or group within the society, can be determined
in two ways. One can earn their social status by their own achievements, which is known as
achieved status. Alternatively, one can be placed in the stratification system by their inherited
position, which is called ascribed status. Ascribed statuses can also be defined as those that
are fixed for an individual at birth. Ascribed statuses that exist in all societies include those
based upon sex, age, race, ethnic group and family background. For example, a person born
into a wealthy family characterized by traits such as popularity, talents and high values will
have many expectations growing up. Therefore, they are given and taught many social roles
as they are socially positioned into a family becoming equipped with all these traits and
characteristics. Achieved statuses meaning also what the individual acquires during his or her
lifetime as a result of the exercise of knowledge, ability, skill and/or perseverance.
Occupation provides an example of status that may be either ascribed or achieved, it can be
achieved by one gaining the right knowledge and skill to become socially positioned into a
higher position of that job; building a person‟s social identity within the occupation.
Let us have a look at the position of women in our society in various fields.

 Sex Ratio: For 1000 men we have only 933 women on an average in India.
 Male Literacy Rate in India is 75.85% as per 2010 data whereas the female literacy
rate is 54.16%.
 1 to 3% executive positions only are occupied by women
 9% of women in executive bodies of political parties
 3% of women as Judges
 7% of women in civil services
 6% of Women in unions
 Rural women are paid 60% of what men are paid
 Urban women are paid 80% of what men are paid
 Less that 50% of the women are involved in decisions related to their own health care
 Only 22% of women in rural India were recorded as workers
  Only 32% of the female labour force of the total labour force is accounted for
 In rural India, agriculture and allied industrial sectors employ as much as 89.5% of the
total female labour.

Look around the different social sectors like farming, small scale industries, organised work
force, bureaucratic positions at higher administrative levels, politics and so on and try to
understand the present status of women in comparison with men.

The following table shows you present picture of women‟s position. Look into the number,
but try to visualize the situation and assess where we are today.
Table No: 1.1 Select Social Indicators
Social Indicator India
Infant Mortality Rate, per 1000 live births 73
Maternal Mortality Rate, per 100,000 live births 570
Female Literacy, % 58
Female School Enrolments 47
Earned Income by females, % 26
Underweight Children, % 53
Total Fertility Rate 3.2
Women in Government, % 6
Contraception usage, % 44
Low birth weight babies, % 33
Source: Census of India, 2001 and National Family Health Survey, 2006.
The above table gives us an understanding that we still have a long way to go to achieve
gender just society. Isn‟t it?

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1.5 GENDER STATUS OF INDIA AS PER GENDER GAP INDEX1 (GGI)

The World Economic Forum‟s Gender Gap Index for the year 2007, ranks India 114th among
128 countries. The index comprises economic, political, educational and health parameters.
India has overall 59.4 per cent gender equality. In „economic participation and opportunity‟,

th
*Engendering 11 Five Year Plan- removing challenges and creating opportunities, NAWO, New Delhi
India‟s position is 122, in the bottom 10, at 39.8 per cent. The Report examines four critical
areas of inequality between men and women:
1. Economic participation and opportunity – outcomes on salaries, participation levels
and access to high-skilled employment;
2. Educational attainment – outcomes on access to basic and higher level education;
3. Political empowerment – outcomes on representation in decision-making structures; and
4. Health and survival – outcomes on life expectancy and sex ratio.
The Gender Gap Index assesses countries on how well they are dividing their
resources and opportunities among their male and female populations, regardless of the
overall levels of these resources and opportunities. By providing a comprehensible
framework for assessing and comparing global gender gaps and by revealing those
countries that are role models in dividing these resources equitably between women and
men, the Index serves as a catalyst for greater awareness as well as greater exchange
between policymakers.
India is arguably amongst the most complex democracies in the world, with a long
history of commitment to women‟s welfare and empowerment through Constitutional
provisions, legislation, policies and plans even while deep levels of structural gender
bias persist within families, societies and economies.
There are formidable opportunities and challenges, including continued high rates of
economic growth in the face of a declining sex ratio, decreasing energy and natural
resources, increasing income inequality and an urban-rural divide. An informed and
purposive approach to addressing the inequities of women‟s social, political and economic
exclusion, particularly amongst excluded groups, can no longer be viewed in terms of
„women‟s issues‟. Rather, gender equality is a core prerequisite for sustainable and equitable
economic growth.
No discussion on women, gender, planning and policy can happen without addressing the
context in which Indian women live and die. The links between women‟s economic
empowerment and the declining sex ratio is more important than at first glance. The
constant undervaluing of women‟s worth in economic and social terms and statistical
ability to measure the differences has brought the issue to a head.
Activity:

Think aloud how many of your junior classmates continued their high school with you? How
many in higher secondary? How many joined colleges? Find out the male – female difference
and probe into the reasons for dropping out of both boys and girls.

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1.6 GENDER DISCRIMINATION

All of us have deep rooted opinions about how men and women should behave. What is
wrong about such ideas? Why should we change these? When we think of these questions we
realize that such thinking leads to stereotyping of male and female roles.

For example, we believe that women should be delicate and soft spoken. These are
considered to be feminine traits. Women are supposed to eat less to maintain this trait. But
then, does it mean that fat women are not females? Does it imply that those who speak
harshly, loudly, and boldly are not women? This particular stereotyping constraints women.
Women feel that if they gain weight they should go on a crash diet to reduce. Their health
gets affected and they become delicate. They will become less immune to infections. They
will not be able to do tough jobs. Because women are considered to be delicate they get paid
less than men or they would be considered for only decorative and beauty related jobs. Isn‟t
this discrimination?

On the other hand men are supposed to be strong and sturdy. They are given larger quantities
of food. They are encouraged to play energetic games and sports. They are considered to be
stronger with more stamina than women and hence are paid more in jobs/wages. All of us
endorse this stereotyping and discrimination and allow it to happen in our families and
society. These differences do not come by birth. It is we, as parents, relatives, neighbours
who bring about this discrimination. As these are not natural they can be changed.
Discrimination is a sociological term referring to the prejudicial treatment of an individual
based solely on their membership (whether voluntary or involuntary) in a certain group or
category. Discrimination is the actual behavior towards members of another group. It
involves excluding or restricting members of one group from opportunities that are available
to other groups. The United Nations explains: "Discriminatory behaviors take many forms,
but they all involve some form of exclusion or rejection." Discriminatory laws such as
redlining have existed in many countries. In some countries, controversial attempts such as
racial quotas have been used to redress negative effects of discrimination. This is also called
as positive discrimination today.

Discrimination can be direct or indirect and intended or unintended as defined in the

CEDAW Convention. This definition spells out in detail the meaning of discrimination
against women. It highlights three ways in which different treatment on the grounds of
gender can constitute discrimination. Intentional or unintentional disadvantaging treatment
that could be classified as follows:
1. Different treatment leading to non-recognition of human rights of women both in the
private and public sphere (direct discrimination), for example, the nationality law
prohibits women from transmitting citizenship to their children but men can.
2. Different treatment preventing women from exercising their human rights both in the
private and public spheres (direct discrimination), for example, only women in a
particular country are prohibited from going abroad to work because of the risk of
exploitation of foreign workers in many countries.
3. Same treatment preventing women from exercising their human rights in the private
and public spheres (indirect discrimination). For example, in a particular institution,
playing golf is given a certain number of points for promotion irrespective of whether
they are women or men. However, this gives men an advantage as it is mainly men
who play golf.
As a result, any act of restriction, exclusion or distinction, whether intentional or
unintentional, that impedes the recognition of women‟s human rights or denies women the
exercise of any such right is discrimination. (Source: International Women’s Rights Action
Watch Asia Pacific. 2001. Building Capacity for Change: A Training Manual on the
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women).
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1.7 PRACTICAL GENDER NEEDS AND STRATEGIC GENDER NEEDS

Practical gender needs are the needs women identify that do not challenge their socially
accepted roles. These needs relate to fulfilling their productive, reproductive and community
managing roles and responsibilities. They are practical needs that include basic living
commodities such as shelter, employment and food. While practical gender needs are related
to existing gender roles, strategic gender interests challenge those roles in favour of equity
and equality for women. Strategic gender interests begin with the assumption that women are
subordinate to men as a consequence of social and institutional discrimination against
women.
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1.8 GENDER MAINSTREAMING

Gender mainstreaming makes a gender dimension explicit in all policy sectors. Furthermore,
a gender mainstreaming approach does not look at women in isolation, but looks at women
and men – both as actors in the development process, and as its beneficiaries. Significantly,
gender mainstreaming differs from a “women in development” (WID) approach in that it
takes as its starting point a thorough and rigorous analysis of the development situation,
rather than a-priori assumptions about women‟s roles and problems. Experience has shown
that gender issues differ by country, region and concrete situation. At the same time,
experience has also shown that rigorous, gender-sensitive analysis invariably reveals gender-
differentiated needs and priorities, as well as gender inequalities in terms of opportunities and
outcomes.

Gender mainstreaming seeks to redress these problems. Given the above, it is clear that a
“gender mainstreaming” approach does not necessarily make the need for specific policies,
programmes or projects on gender equality obsolete. The level of intervention (from basic
“gender sensitivity” to comprehensive, targeted gender programmes) will depend on the
specific needs and priorities revealed by a gender-sensitive situation assessment. Finally, as a
comprehensive strategy, gender mainstreaming should also address the environment
(corporate, office) in which policies and programmes are developed and implemented. Thus a
strategy to integrate gender concerns into programming must be accompanied by a strategy to
ensure that the working environment is gender-sensitive, guaranteeing equal opportunities
and treatment to both men and women.
Gender mainstreaming, by definition, involves integrating a gender perspective and gender
analysis into all stages of designing, implementing and evaluating projects, policies and
programmes. The 10 steps for Gender Mainstreaming include:

1. A Mainstreaming Approach to Stakeholders: Who are the Decision-Makers?

2. Mainstreaming a Gender Agenda: What is the Issue?
3. Moving Towards Gender Equality: What is the Goal?
4. Mapping the situation: What Information do we Have?
5. Refining the Issue: Research and Analysis
6. Formulating Policy or Project Interventions from a Gender Perspective
7. Arguing your case: Gender Matters!
8. Monitoring: Keeping a (Gender-Sensitive) Eye on Things
9. Evaluation: How Did We Do?
10. En-gendering Communication
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1.9 WOMEN AND REPRODUCTIVE WORK

For the purposes of economic valuation, value is synonymous with market value. This has led
to a separation between productive work and reproductive work. Reproductive work, or
activity that does not have any market value attached it per se-i.e. much household and
community work-, remains unvalued in national accounting systems. The result is an
underestimation of the total “product” of society, and a failure to recognize and reward the
contribution of those people responsible for reproductive work.

In most societies, women bear the overwhelming responsibility for reproductive work, which
can include child care, care for the infirm and elderly, meal preparation cleaning and other
household tasks and community services (volunteer work). Reproductive work thus becomes
a “gender issue” because much of women‟s contributions do not show up in national income
accounting, creating either the false impression that women are not as economically active
(when they are), or that male and female economic activity is equal.

Reproductive work is an important consideration for macroeconomic policy and analysis not
only in terms of national income accounting, but also in terms of structural adjustment or
other major policies that hope to stimulate growth. When reproductive work is not
recognized, the burdens that are placed on the reproductive sector due to macroeconomic
policy reorientation are not taken into account. This in term can lead to dramatically
increased hardship at the micro level. For example, cut-backs in the area of social services or
the introduction of fees for social services both mean that the burden will be shifted to the
reproductive sector to care for the sick or elderly. This increases the contribution of
reproductive labourers, but fails to reward or recognize this contribution. For those
shouldering these responsibilities, this also restricts the options and potential for activity and
earnings in the productive sector. The end result may likely be decreased overall efficiency.

A problem arises, however, when attempting to attach value to reproductive work for much
of its significance cannot measure in market terms. While it may be possible to attribute
market value to some by-products of reproductive work (meals made, dishes washed, diapers
changed), the human value of social relationships and time spent with family, for example,
has no price tag. At the same time, however, its value must be explicitly recognized.
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1.10 GENDER EQUALITY

Gender equality is based on the premise that women and men should be treated in the same
way. This fails to recognize that equal treatment will not produce equitable results, because
women and men have different life experiences.
In other words, to make it more clear, one can say that Gender equality does not mean that
women and men, girls and boys become the same, but that their rights, responsibilities, and
opportunities will not depend on whether they are born female or male.
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1.11GENDER EQUITY

Gender equity takes into consideration the differences in women's and men's lives and
recognizes that different approaches may be needed to produce outcomes that are equitable.
One should recognize that different approaches may be needed to produce equitable
outcomes by taking account of and addressing the differences between and amongst the lives
of women and men, girls and boys and the diversity of different groups of women/girls and
men/boys.
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1.12WHAT IS GENDER ANALYSIS?
Every individual has his/her own gendered patterns of feeling, thinking and relating which is
intrinsically woven into the institutional structure, which he/she belongs to as culture,
whether it is the Institution of family, school, religion, marriage or the organization of
business, social service, academic institution, state department, etc. This masculine or
feminine culture of these institutions influence, the approach to their goals, objective,
structures, systems and issues they deal with. Understanding and analyzing the gender culture
of these institutions can be revealing and make oneself to engage in any kind of social action
process, which would emancipate or empower the oppressed towards equality.
The term 'gender' refers to the social construction of female and male identity. It can be
defined as 'more than biological differences between men and women‟. It includes the ways
in which those differences, whether real or perceived, have been valued, used and relied upon
to classify women and men and to assign roles and expectations to them. The significance of
this is that the lives and experiences of women and men, including their experience of the
legal system, occur within „complex sets of differing social and cultural expectations'.
Gender analysis provides a basis for robust analysis of the differences between women's and
men's lives, and this removes the possibility of analysis being based on incorrect assumptions
and stereotypes. Gender analysis examines the differences in women's and men's lives,
including those which lead to social and economic inequity for women, and applies this
understanding to policy development and service delivery. It is concerned with the
underlying causes of these inequities and aims to achieve positive change for women.
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1.13PROCESS OF GENDER ANALYSIS

Gender Analysis is a process in which the inequalities and discriminations identified in any
given set up by using various participatory tools and research methods. Since gender is a
social construct, the method used for gender analysis is mostly subjective in nature. It‟s more
analyzing the relationship of men and women in terms of access to resources and also
obtaining better standard of life, education, empowerment, etc. Gender Analysis is
predominantly being used for development policy making process, project planning,
implementation and evaluation. Hence, it has its own research method for such purposes.
Further, Gender construct has a historical background and some amount of universal nature
despite different contexts and realities. The origin of sub-ordination of women to men in
history is based on female productivity of birth, survival based on fulfillment of basic needs
like food, shelter, etc. Men are kept in more advantageous position and considered superior
human being. In this way, entire society is constructed in an unequal platform, which makes
women in many ways socially excluded.

This system of social exclusion makes women more vulnerable to exploitative conditions of
hard labor, mental stress and manifested in extreme form of violence like female infanticide,
feticide, suicide, dowry deaths, etc.
Social exclusion obviously keeps women in subordinate position in all realms of society,
culture, economy, politics, ideology, ethics, etc. There is a universal phenomenon of man,
woman difference in terms of living condition, experience, needs and priorities. In addition,
gender construct also has particular difference based on the existence of Caste, Race,
Geographical situations. It‟s like not all women are equal or equally positioned. Women from
lower caste or community group face different or multiple burdens due to their socio-cultural
status, recognized by the society.
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1.14 UNIVERSAL AREAS OF WOMEN’S LIVES AND SOCIETIES CAN BE TAKEN
FOR ANALYSIS

 Women‟s productive or labour power

 Women‟s power to reproduction
 Women‟s sexuality
 Women‟s mobility
 Property and other economic resources
 Social, cultural, caste and political institutions
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1.15PARTICULAR DIFFERENCES THAT GENDER ANALYSIS RECOGNIZE

This is very relevant in Indian Context, which has multiple caste system in existence to
determine Gender in families, communities and public spheres. Hence, historical background
of that particular community (which has taken as target group for gender analysis) has to be
taken into consideration.
Here all women are not equal. Gender analysis has to cover how role of women constructed
between different communities. Inter-caste marriage, Inter-caste occupation, Inter-caste
cultural ceremonies, difference in access to resources among upper caste and lower caste
groups, etc. will have to be taken into focus.

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1.16 WHY DO WE NEED TO LOOK AT PARTICULAR DIFFERENCES AMONG
COMMUNITIES FOR GENDER ANALYSIS?

 The perception here is of womanhood depends on her socio-economic and cultural

background. The status of women from marginalized and the advantaged has wide
range of difference in reality.
 Women‟s life experiences, needs, issues and priorities are different for different
ethnic groups.
 The life experiences, needs, issues, and priorities vary for different groups of women
(dependent on age, ethnicity, disability, income levels, employment status, marital
status, sexual orientation and whether they have dependants).
 Different strategies may be necessary to achieve equitable outcomes for women and
men and different groups of women.
Hence Gender Analysis is more aim towards the principle of equity. Gender analysis provides
a basis for sound analysis of the differences between women's and men's lives in the given
context, and this removes the possibility of applying only logical or methodical conclusions.
Gender in this context is seen either as a structural category or as a social construct. The first
is more interested in social inequality resulting from gender (differences), the latter more in
doing gender and how social distinctions of genders are constructed in every day and
institutional practices.
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1.17GENDER ANALYSIS RECOGNIZES THAT

 Women‟s and men's lives and therefore experiences, needs, issues and priorities are
different.
 Women‟s lives are not all the same; the interests that women have in common may be
determined as much by their social position or their ethnic identity as by the fact they
are women.
  Women‟s life experiences, needs, issues and priorities are different for different
ethnic groups.
 The life experiences, needs, issues, and priorities vary for different groups of women
(dependent on age, ethnicity, disability, income levels, employment status, marital
status, sexual orientation and whether they have dependants).
 Different strategies may be necessary to achieve equitable outcomes for women and
men and different groups of women.
Gender analysis aims to achieve equity, rather than equality.
Gender analysis refers to the variety of methods used to understand the relationships between
men and women, their access to resources, their activities, and the constraints they face
relative to each other. Gender analysis provides information that recognizes that gender, and
its relationship with race, ethnicity, culture, class, age, disability, and/or other status, is
important in understanding the different patterns of involvement, behaviour and activities that
women and men have in economic, social and legal structures.

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1.18LET US SUM UP

Gender analysis is an essential element of socio-economic analysis. A comprehensive socio-

economic analysis would take into account gender relations, as gender is a factor in all social
and economic relations. An analysis of gender relations provides information on the different
conditions those women and men face, and the different effects that policies and programs
may have on them because of their situations. Such information can inform and improve
policies and programs, and is essential in ensuring that the different needs of both women and
men are met.

At the local level, gender analysis makes visible the varied roles women, men, girls and boys
play in the family, in the community, and in economic, legal and political structures. A
gender perspective focuses on the reasons for the current division of responsibilities and
benefits and their effect on the distribution of rewards and incentives.
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1.19 GLOSSARY
Androgyny:
Greek word from “andro” (male) and “gyn” (female) signifies the fluidity in the assignation
of gender-linked characteristics. Feminists have consistently laid claim to androgyny as a
potentially liberating concept.
Autonomy:
Self determination and independence. In women‟s studies, it refers to a healthy sense of self
direction and self determination that develops a sense of affiliations and connections with
others.
Discrimination:
The biased treatment of men and women usually unfavourable to women. This unfavourable
treatment usually arises out of patriarchal belief on the supposed inferiority of women.
Matriarchy:
A type of society where the women are leaders of the families and may inherit ancestral
properties.
Sexism/ Sexes / Patriarchy:
An attitude in which one sex denigrates the other. In its early use, this term referred to
certain tribes or groups or families or societies characterized by a dominant male ruler or
patriarch who assumed control over the group. Today, men look upon Patriarchy as an
organised system historically reproduced from generation to generation to maintain the
subordination of women and domination of men.
Personal is political:
This slogan sums up the way in which male power is exercised and reinforced through
“personal” institutions such as marriage, family, child- rearing and sexual practices. The
social image of a woman is constructed through her roles in the personal sphere.
Sex and Gender:
Sex is biological and gender is socially constructed. Sex is anatomical in origin while gender
is acquired through a process of sexual differentiation; the biophysical difference. Feminists
would argue that upon this natural difference, society has constructed an elaborate structure
differences clustered together as “gender” to classify power relations in society.
Sexual Politics:
Term coined by Kate Millett who argues that the relationship between men and women are
based on power and that unless the clinging to male supremacy as a birthright is finally
foregone, all systems of oppressions will continue to function.
Sisterhood:
A concept central to women‟s movement, which places stress on female solidarity and
cooperation. The notion of sisterhood conveys the implicit assumption that all women have
certain areas of experience in common on which a sense of identification can be found.
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1.20 REFERENCES

Engendering 11th Five Year Plan- 2007-2012 removing Obstacles, creating opportunities,
National Alliance of Women, New Delhi, 2008

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1.21QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTIONS AND PRACTICE

1. What is Gender Analysis and what does it tell us?

2. What is sex and what is gender?
3. Do we still have gender discrimination in our society? If yes, where and how?
4. What do you understand by gender equality and gender equity?
6. What is the difference between practical gender needs and strategic gender needs?