ROLE OF GENDER

CIVICS -CHAPTER 25
GENDER
Gender refers to the roles, activities, rights, behavior,
responsibilities and attribute(a quality or feature
regarded as a characteristic or inherent part of
someone or something) that a particular society
considers suitable for men and women
Gender and Sex
Gender refers to the social classification into men and
women whereas sex refers to the biological distinction
between male and female.

STEREOTYPES:
A stereotype is a very firm and simple idea about what
a particular type of person or thing is like, or how a
oerson should or should not behave.
Expected roles of boys and girls in the
family
Men provide the family income

Women soft occupations

Household work
Differential treatment of boys and girls in a
family
Girls-Denied equality –food, basic health facilities &
eduction.
Girls doing domestic work.
Female foeticide: the process of finding out the sex
of the foetus and undergoing abortion if it is a girl
Female infanticide: is the intentional killing of baby
girls
Sex ratio: The sex ratio is the ratio of males to females
in a population.
Sex ratio is used to describe the number of females per
1000 of males.
Expected Roles of Boys and Girls in the
Community
Women: emotional & intellectually inferior to men
This leads for women to lacked in the political
participate
If right to vote –would en-danger their feminine
characteristic
Given the second class status-indulged in home affairs
Early 20th century got right to vote
Initiatives taken by govt-to improve the status of
women-litrerary schemes, scholarships and cash
incentives
Expected role of boys and girls in schools
girls still spend a large part of their day performing
household chores, looking after their siblings, cleaning
utensils and washing clothes.
Girls are not encouraged to attend school due to long
distance, fear of lack of security or absence of
transport facilities.
 In India, the female literacy rate in 2014 was 62 per
cent as against 75.7 per cent for males.
Many families also believe that exposure to education
would spoil a girl and make her rebellious.
Even if girls are sent to school, they are often married
off early and are, therefore, unable to complete
education.
Subjects offered to girls in schools -vocational courses
such as home science, cooking, and art and crafts, in
place of subjects such as science, mathematics and
information technology.
. Girls are also discouraged from taking up sports and
other physical education.
However, latest statistics show that girls fare much
better than boys in the board examinations.
This proves that given equal opportunities and
sufficient encouragement, girls can contribute
successfully and meaningfully in all spheres of social
and political life.
Expected Roles of Boys and Girls in Public
Spaces
 As housewives, daughters, or mothers-always
dependent on the male members of the household.
 Society, often, does not view women as free think ing
individuals.
As a result: Several women have had to battle
domestic violence and deal with female infanticide
and the malaise of dowry.
 Cases of eve-teasing, molestation and sexual
harassment are not uncommon.
Unfortunately, society tends to blame women for these
acts, and not the men who commit these crimes.
There are laws to punish the guilty but more needs to
be done to save women from crimes and inequalities.
laws that protect the rights of women in India :
the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act,
the Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition)
Act and
Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act.
UNDERSTANDING INEQUALITY
Lowers the status of women in society and creates
gender inequality.
Women dared to break stereotypes and rise to
positions of power, authority and knowledge.
To sup-port for women, flexible working hours and
most importantly, an environment that favours gender
equality are necessary.
The Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao Scheme- launched
in 2015 with following objectives:

prevention of gender-biased sex selective elimination

ensuring survival and protection of the girl child
ensuring education and of the girl child
For families that fall in the low income bracket,
the Conditional Cash and Non-cash Transfer
Scheme was proposed:
cash and non-cash transfers shall be provided to the
family of the girl child that fulfils certain conditions
such as birth registration, immunisation, enrolment
and retention in school.
The scheme also provides for the marriage expenses of
the girl child after she becomes an adult.
ECONOMIC ASPECTS OF GENDER
The Industrial Revolution in England in the 18th
century introduced significant changes:
Step outside their homes and took up jobs in schools,
factories and offices.
Rise in education, pressure of urbanisation, nuclear
setup of families and consumerism, all contributed to
women joining diverse fields of work.
In India, women are engaged both in the informal and
formal sectors of the economy.
Women in the Informal Sector
Not monitored by government and not taxed comprise the
informal sector.
In this sector, women are mostly employed as agricultural
labourers engaged in weeding, milling and hoeing.
Women are also involved in processing and marketing of home-
grown products, beekeeping, and handicrafts such as weaving.
Basket-making, knitting, selling poultry products and fish.
These activities supplement the financial resources of the
family.
However, the informal sector does not extend benefits such as
medical insurance and paid leave.
It also does not ensure job security.
Women in the Formal Sector
The formal sector (also called the organised sector) of the
economy, which consists of schools, research institutes,
banks, colleges, offices, hospitals and industrial houses.

Some facts about women in the formal sector:

work benefits such as sick leave, maternity leave and
medical insurance and have succeeded in carving a space
for themselves.
still paid less than their male counterparts.
Therefore, gender equality in our society is yet to be
completely realised.
Division of Labour within the Family
A clear division of labour exists on the domestic front,
where women look after the home and nurture the
children while men go out to work and earn their
livelihood.
 In most households, a woman's life revolves around
the needs of her family, household chores,
maintaining social ties and a healthy, conducive family
environment.
As a result, she gets very little time to pursue her own
dreams and desires.
Invisibilisation of Women's Labour
a homemaker is not valued monetarily.
 It is assumed that looking after the house and the children is
her natural work.
The rural women, in addition to looking after the house, often
have to fetch water and firewood.
expected to help in the family's economic activities, such as
working in the fields and tending to animals.
For the urban woman, even after achieving professional
success, she never gets any rest from her expected role as a
homemaker.
Her ability to multitask is considered natural and thus, never
appreciated.
Since it is not possible to assign a monetary value to
unpaid domestic work, a change in attitude is
necessary so far as men are concerned.
Men should equally take up the responsibility of the
house hold along with the ladies.
Empowerment of women to fight
against inequalities is possible through
the following measures:
 expansion of education facilities
creation of more job opportunities
institutional representation in legislatures
more opportunities should be provided to women so
that they can utilise their capabilities
gender differences should not determine capabilities
and opportunities.
In the 21st century, when progress and development
are the hallmarks of human civilisation, women are
still lagging behind due to stereotypes and centuries-
old social conditioning.
A change in mindset and outlook and provision of
equal opportunities to both the sexes is essential if we
want our country to attain gender equality.
THANK YOU