Basic Terminologies Source: UNINSTRAW, 2007

1. Basic TerminologiesSource: UNINSTRAW, 2007

2. What is Sex? ‘Sex’ refers to the biological differences between men and women It is gained by virtue of birth and mostly, unchangeable. Sex role refers to a function for which a necessary qualification is to belong to one particular sex category. The only roles related to sex are those associated with reproduction- male and female contribute to the transfer of genetic material. Further, women give birth and breastfeed.

3. What is Gender ‘Gender’ refers to the socially constructed roles and responsibilities of women and men in a given culture , location and time Gender is the power relationship (rights, responsibilities and results) between male and female in the society, which is determined by the socially prescribed roles and responsibilities Gender Role therefore indicates activities assigned to individuals on the basis of socially determined characteristics, such as stereotypes, ideologies, values, attitudes, beliefs and practices among others.

4. Gender Roles Reproductive roles: include childbearing/ rearing responsibilities and domestic roles usually performed by women who are required to reproduce and maintain the labour force. Although these roles are actually work, they are however differentiated from what is understood as ‘productive’ because performing these roles are not recognized as ‘work’. As such, work in this category is unpaid. These tasks are not reflected in any country’s GDP or GNP. Productive roles comprise work done by both women and men that generate income (in cash and/or in kind) and have an exchange value. Community roles are those undertaken primarily by women at the community level as an extension of their reproductive roles to maintain scarce resources of collective consumption such as water, health care and education. (Of course, there are other participants in a community that engage in this type of work like senior men and women, those who have disabilities, underemployed and unemployed members of the community etc.)

5. Feminism • …..defined as - advocacy of the rights of women‘, dating from the mid-nineteenth century in Europe. Historically there have been many feminisms, variously grounded and Minimally, the term implies the identification of women as systematically oppressed; the belief that Gender relations are neither inscribed in natural differences between the sexes, nor immutable. Though the term remained controversial now and then, it has been on under which many women mobilized movements aimed at social transformation of sex and gender. Feminism has created a rich seam of social and cultural critical theory and political practice which has had a major impact on our culture: the everyday, commonsense assumptions that circulate in social practice and in the media.

6. Patriarchy …….. is a social system in which structural differences in privilege, power and authority are invested in masculinity and the cultural, economic and/or social positions of men. The concept and widespread use of the term ‗patriarchy‘ grew out of feminist debates about gender in the 1960s and 70s. Patriarchy replaced the term ‗sexism‘ emphasizing the importance of institutions in gender oppression, rather than individual prejudice. ………is used as shorthand to indicate a social system in which maleness and masculinity confer the privileged position of power and authority; where man is the Self to which woman is Other. The term is taken from anthropology where is referred to a kinship system in which the eldest male, sometimes literally the father or patriarch, was invested with authority over other men and over women. In this model of patriarchy, which continued in apprentice crafts in the early modern period, old men held authority, younger males were subservient and women were excluded. Early feminist theorists used the term strategically to highlight men‘s dominance of women in the private (the family) and the public (work, politics, culture) spheres

7. Male bias Bias refers to asymmetry that is ill founded or un-justified. Male bias in feminist and gender studies refers to a bias that operates in favor of men as a gender and against women as a gender, not that all men are biased against women. Male bias in development preserves the subordination of women as a gender to men; it also has costs for society considered as a whole.

8. Subordination • ….. refers to placed in or belonging to a lower order or rank. It also refers to be less important or being secondary. The subordinated position of women is discussed in feminist and gender studies in relation to patriarchy. It refers to women subject to or under the authority of a male as superior. It also indicates being dependent and subservient or inferior.

9. Discrimination • ….. refers to treatment or consideration of, or making a distinction in favor of or against, a male or female or thing based on the group, class, or category in terms of access to and control over resources.

10. Domination Domination refers to control or power over another or others. It is the exercise of such control or power. Domination in gender relation refers to the relationship between male and female in which one control or gain power over a course of time as a result of social structure of entitlement and access to different resources.

11. Emancipation • …… refers to be being able to free women (men) from the situation of subordination and domination. It refers to the stage of freedom from the control of another.

12. Gender Equality • ………entails the concept that all human beings, both men and women, are free to develop their personal abilities and make choices without the limitations set by stereotypes, rigid gender roles, or prejudices. • ……….. means that the different behaviors, aspirations and needs of women and men are considered, valued and favored equally. It does not mean that women and men have to become the same, but that their rights, responsibilities and opportunities will not depend on whether they are born male or female

13. Gender Equity • …….means fairness of treatment for women and men, according to their respective needs. This may include equal treatment or treatment that is different but considered equivalent in terms of rights, benefits, obligations and opportunities. In the development context, a gender equity goal often requires built-in measures to compensate for the historical and social disadvantages of women.

14. Practical Gender Needs • ………are identified by women within their socially defined roles, as a response to an immediate perceived necessity. • PGNs usually relate to inadequacies in living conditions such as water provision, health care and employment, and they do not challenge gender divisions of labour and women's subordinate position in society

15. Strategic Gender Interests • …….are identified by women/men as a result of their subordinate social status, and tend to challenge gender divisions of labour power and control, and traditionally defined norms and roles. SGIs vary according to particular contexts and may include such issues as legal rights, domestic violence, equal wages, and women's control over their bodies.

16. Gender Analysis • ………is a systematic way of looking at the different impacts of development, policies, programs and legislation on women and men that entails, first and foremost, collecting sex-disaggregated data and gender-sensitive information about the population concerned. ……. can also include the examination of the multiple ways in which women and men, as social actors, engage in strategies to transform existing roles, relationships, and processes in their own interest and in the interest of others

17. Gender Mainstreaming …….is the process of assessing the implications for women and men of any planned action, including legislation, policies or programmes, in any area and at all levels. It is a strategy for making women's as well as men's concerns and experiences an integral dimension in the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies and programmes in all political, economic and social spheres, such that inequality between men and women is not perpetuated.