Gender Equality

Gender Equity
Gender Discrimination

Gender and Society

M. Morales
University of St. La Salle
 Gender equality:
a definition
Gender equality means that all genders are
free to pursue whatever career, lifestyle
choice, and abilities they want without
discrimination. Their rights, opportunities,
and access to society are not different based
on their gender. Gender equality does not
necessarily mean that everyone is treated
exactly the same. Their different needs and
dreams are valued equally.

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Since society has favored men for so long,
men have many advantages.

Equity fills in It addresses

discrimination and
the gaps so imbalances in
everyone else society so that
equality can become
can “catch up” to a reality.
men. VIEW MORE
Benefits of
gender equality
#1 Better business

#2 Better economy

#3 Reduced poverty

#4 Better health
 #1 Better business

Studies show that gender diversity improves

an organization’s innovation and productivity.
When women are given equal education (and
as a result, equal job opportunities) compared
to men, the businesses they join thrive.
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 #2 Better economy

When women can participate in the economy in the

same way as men, the economy does better. Closing
the gender pay gap plays a significant role in this.
Studies show that if OECD (Organization for
Economic Co-operation and Development)
countries matched Sweden in their female
employment rates, the GDP would increase by $6
trillion.
 #3 Reduced poverty

Girls and women make up the world’s poorest

populations. Because they aren’t given equal
education, job opportunities, and income, cycles of
poverty repeat themselves. By giving women the
same opportunities as men, it would raise up entire
families from poverty and reduce the world’s
poverty rate.
 #4 Better health

Because of barriers like income and lack of

education, access to good healthcare is often
challenging for women. Even without those
obstacles, women are often not taken seriously.
There’s also less research on conditions that mostly
affect women.
 #4 Better health

If gender equality became realized in healthcare,

women would get better care, leading to
improvements in a society’s overall health. Studies
also show that gender equality has a link to the
improvement of children’s health. Women with
equal education and income can care for their
children better.
 01 More girls would be educated
What does
More women would be in the
gender equality 02 workplace (and workplace leadership)

look like? 32 Families would be stronger

04 More women would participate in

politics

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 More girls would be
educated

A lack of education is one of the most

significant results of gender inequality. If
girls’ education was given the same priority
as boys’, more girls would be in school. This
would set them up for better job
opportunities and income in the future.
 More women would be in the
workplace (and workplace leadership)

Currently, women are not as

represented as men in the workplace,
especially in leadership. If barriers to
their success were removed, they would
be better represented.
 Families would be stronger

Men are negatively affected by gender

inequality. This is especially clear when it
comes to paid family leave. Because women
are considered the primary caregivers for
children, men are often unable to get time
off. This is also true when it comes to caring
for older family members. If both men and
women were able to take time off for family
without discrimination based on gender, it
would strengthen families.
 More women would
participate in politics

Most political systems are still biased

in favor of men. If gender equality
was realized, the world would see a
lot more women engaged in the
political process. This includes
political leadership.
How can
Awareness
we make
Education
gender
equality Legislative
support
a reality?
Equity vs.
Equality:
What’s the
Difference?
Equality means each individual or group
of people is given the same resources or
opportunities.

Equity recognizes that each person has

different circumstances and allocates the
exact resources and opportunities needed
to reach an equal outcome.
two individuals
have unequal
access to a
system
With equal support from evenly
distributed tools, their access to the fruit
still remains unequal.

The equitable solution, however, allocates

the exact resources that each person needs
to access the fruit, leading to positive
outcomes for both individuals.
While the tree
appears to be a
naturally occurring
system, it’s critical to
remember that social
systems aren’t
naturally inequitable
— they’ve been
intentionally
designed to reward
specific
demographics for so
long that the
system’s outcomes
may appear
unintentional but are
actually rooted INEQUALITY EQUALITY
discriminatory
practices and beliefs.
Equity is a
solution for
addressing
imbalanced
social systems.
Justice can take
equity one step
further by fixing
the systems in a
way that leads
to long-term,
sustainable,
equitable
access for EQUITY JUSTICE

generations to
come.. Source: “Addressing Imbalance,” by Tony Ruth for the 2019 Design in Tech Report.
According to the World Therefore, as the WHO
Health Organization (WHO), notes, health inequities
equity is defined External involve more than lack
link: open_in_new as “the of equal access to
absence of avoidable or needed resources to
remediable differences maintain or improve
among groups of people, health outcomes. They
whether those groups are also refer to difficulty
when it comes to
defined socially,
“inequalities that
economically,
infringe on fairness and
demographically or
human rights norms.”
geographically.”
The Difference Between Equity and Equality
“The route to achieving equity will not be accomplished through treating everyone equally. It will be achieved by treating everyone justly
EXAMPLES OF EQUALITY2
A city cuts the budget for 25 community centers
by reducing the operational hours for all centers
by the same amount at the same times.
A community meeting, where all members of the
community are invited, about a local
environmental health concern is held in English
though English is not the primary language for
25% of the residents.
All public schools in a community have computer
labs with the same number of computers and
hours of operation during school hours.
according to their circumstances.”
—Paula Dressel, Race Matters Institute
EXAMPLES OF EQUITY
The city determines which times and how many hours
communities actually need to use their community
centers and reduces hours for centers that aren’t used
as frequently.
The community leaders hire translators to attend the
meeting or offer an additional meeting held in another
language.
Computer labs in lower income neighborhoods have
more computers and printers, as well as longer hours
of operation, as some students don’t have access to
computers or internet at home.
Source: “Addressing Imbalance,” by Tony Ruth for the 2019 Design in Tech Report.
 Around the world, individuals, businesses,
governments, and other systems discriminate
against people based on gender. Cis women and
girls are the most recognized target, but trans
people face significant gender discrimination, as

What is
well.

Discrimination harms these groups and society as

Gender a whole. In this article, we’ll define gender and

gender discrimination, provide three examples of
gender discrimination in action, and explain its
Discrimination? negative effects.

Gender discrimination occurs when a person is

treated negatively or unequally based on their
gender. It includes restricted access to education,
jobs, and healthcare; unequal pay; sexual
harassment; and much more.
What is gender discrimination and
is it a violation of someone’s
rights?
Gender discrimination is when someone
is treated unequally and unfairly based on
their gender identity. Like all
discrimination, gender discrimination is a
human rights violation, though the
distinction between “gender” and “sex” is
a more recent development.
What is gender discrimination and is it a
violation of someone’s rights?

The Universal Declaration of Human

Rights is an example. Article 2 reads:
“Everyone is entitled to all the rights and
freedoms set forth in this Declaration,
without distinction of any kind, such as
race, color, sex [emphasis added],
language, religion, political or other
opinion, national or social origin,
property, birth or other status (emphasis
added).”
What is gender discrimination and is it a
violation of someone’s rights?

Article 2 covers sex discrimination, but it

doesn’t mention gender. This is most
likely because when the UDHR was
written, gender and sex were considered
the same. Times have changed. The
phrase “other status” has been used to
expand the rights given in Article 2.
 Paying women less for the same
01
work

What does gender discrimination Restricting education access for

02
look like? girls
Discriminating against trans
32
people in healthcare settings

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How does gender discrimination
hurt everyone?
Gender discrimination impacts a person’s
health. According to research compiled in a
Medical News Today article, women who
reported gender discrimination within the
year got higher scores on a depression
screening tool. Women also experience
higher risks for anxiety, PTSD, and eating
disorders. While men are more likely to die
by suicide, women are 1.5 times more likely
to attempt suicide. The exact reason isn’t
clear, but experts believe discrimination
plays a role. Gender discrimination also
intersects with issues involving race, class,
religion, and more, which complicates and
compounds the discrimination.
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How does gender discrimination
hurt everyone?
Gender inequality negatively
affects everyone, not just its
targets. In a study from the Global
Early Adolescent Study, gender
stereotypes hurt both boys and
girls. Boys are often taught to deal
with their issues using violence.
They’re also less equipped to
handle difficult emotions, which
could explain why men are more
likely to die by suicide.
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women, men, or non-binary – faces
How does gender discrimination
hurt everyone?
When gender stereotypes exist,
anyone who doesn’t fit the
stereotypes – whether they’re
discrimination. Still not sure of
how significant gender
discrimination is? It leads to
gender inequality, which hurts a
nation’s economy.
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 Gender discrimination in social
institutions leads to a $6 trillion
loss for the global economy. When
everyone is allowed full economic
How does gender discrimination
freedom and opportunities, it
hurt everyone? makes sense that the whole
economy – and not just individuals
and families – benefits. For the
sake of everyone in society, ending
gender discrimination is essential.

Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development

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