GENDER SENSITIVITY

UNDERSTANDING GENDER
•Sex is a biological phenomenon. It indicates
whether a person is born a male or female
•Gender is a social and cultural phenomenon. It
shapes a person’s behavioral
patterns

PATRIARCHY :THE STRUCTURE OF
MALE –DOMINATED SOCIETIES.
• Most societies across the world are organized on the
patriarchal model.
• In a patriarchal set-up, the responsibility for the family
welfare lies primarily with man.
• The result is male-dominated societies.
• Women have started moving out of the walls of the
house but this has added to their burden.

WOMEN IN MALE-DOMINATED
SOCIETIES
• In men dominated societies, women became economically depend on men and
their status was reduced to that of unpaid slaves.
• They lost decision making powers.
• When they began to work, they were paid less than men for the same amount of
work
• In case of transfer, the wife was expected to relocate, not the husband

STEREOTYPED IMAGE OF THE TWO
GENDERS
Men
• Bold, aggressive, capable of making
risks
• Think for the ‘brain’
• Good at ‘though’ activities
• Good leaders
• Competent negotiator
• Not expected to make a public display
of emotions
Women
• Docile, submissive, cannot take risk
• Think for the ‘heart’
• Good at creative arts
• Good followers
• Cannot be a good negotiator
• Ought not be emotions

GENDER DISCRIMINATIONS IN
WORKPLACE
• Women are often denied top executive jobs on account of discrimination attitude
towards them. The attitudinal barriers are described as the glass ceiling syndrome
• The glass ceiling syndrome is caused by:
# husbands unwillingness to share family responsibilities
# long office hours that put undue stress on women
• Other form of discrimination include :-
lesser payment than men for the same kind of work
Subjection of women to uncharitable and uncalled for comments

GENDER DISCRIMINATIONS IN
WORKPLACE
•Sexual harassment
women face a lot of sexual harassment at the workplace. Sexual
harassment of women is the worst form of discrimination against them,
because it not only violates their sense of dignity and the right to living but is
also an assault on their sense of self worth. It belittle them in their own eyes
and makes them feel small and helpless.

HOW TO DEVELOP GENDER
SENSITIVITY
At the individual level
• 1. It is important that men fully realise the fact that being born a woman is being
born different and not inferior. Since men are responsible for the long deprivation
and subjugation of women, it is primarily their responsibility to restore their dignity
and their Legitimate place in the social structure
• 2. In the fight for their rights, some feminist activists have veered to the other
extreme and are indulging in the politics of hate against men. These women should
realise that men and women complement each other and the polarisation of the
two genders is an unnatural phenomenon.

HOW TO DEVELOP GENDER SENSITIVITY
At the organisational level
• 1. Managements should be gender sensitive and should adopt gender-friendly
policies, which means that there should be gender parity in recruitment as well as in
promotions.
• 2. Law of equality should be honoured both in letter and in spirit. Work assigned to
a person should be determined by their competence and not their gender. Equal
work should be rewarded with equal wages.
• 3. Discriminatory practices, whether against men or women should be completely
stopped.

GENDER SENSITIVITY ACROSS
CULTURES
• While communicating intercultural, we should be respectful towards the gender
sensitivities of the other culture. In traditional Islamic countries, the two genders do
not normally interact, except in families. So women have to be approached
preferably through female staff. A man trying to interact with women will be
ridiculed or punished. So either there are separate shops and banks for female
customers or there are sections within the same premises meant exclusively for
women. This custom, if it exists somewhere, has to be acknowledged and respected.

LINGUISTIC BIAS AGAINST WOMEN
• Our language is heavily loaded with a bias ageist women and we are trying hard to
get liberated from it. Gender –specific terms like businessmen are being gradually
replaced by gender neutral terms like business person or business executive some
other such use are
Gender specific form Gender natural term
Fireman Fire fighter
Housewife Housemaker
Waiter or waitress Wait staff
Spokesman Spokes person
chairman chairperson