Gender and Development
Gender and Development
Gender and Development
Gender
one of the universal dimensions on which status differences are based; social construct specifying the socially and culturally prescribed roles that men and women are to follow shapes the lives of all people in all societies influences the schooling we receive, the social roles we play and the power and authority we command
Gender Stereotyping
Beliefs that human hold about the characteristics associated with males and females
Gender
Costume, a mask, a straitjacket in which men and women dance their unequal dance (Gerda Lerner, The Creation of Patriarchy) Of all the ways that one group has systematically mistreated one another, none is more deeply rooted than the way men have subordinated women. All other subordinations pale by contrast (Alan Wolfe, The Gender Question) The subordination of women preceded all other subordinations and that to rid of all those other isms racism, classicism, ageism, etc. it is sexism that must first be eradicated. Gender means sexlessness or equality of the sexes Sexism immediately connotes discrimination or prejudice against sexes especially against women. Feminism is the advocacy of womens rights on the ground of equality of the sexes.
Gender Equality
Gained wide acceptance as an important goal for many countries around the world Vital component of population policies
Advancing gender equality and equity and the empowerment of women, and the elimination of all kinds of violence against women, and ensuring womens ability to control their own fertility, are cornerstones of population and development related programs. Strong evidence from around the world confirms that gender equality accelerates overall economic growth, strengthens democratic governance and reduces poverty and insecurity (Kemal Davis, UNDP Administrator). Giving women equal rights and opportunities can only serve to enhance this contribution and to bring us closer to the goal of eliminating poverty, hunger and disease. The full participation of women at all levels of decision making is a basic human right, one that is critical to peace and development. Promoting gender equality and the empowerment of women is an effective strategy to ensure that the other Millennium Development Goals are achieved. Republic Act No. 7192 otherwise known as Women in Development and Nation Building Act, promulgated February 12, 1992 in the Philippines.