Gender

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GenderIdentifies the social relations between men and women. It refers to the relationship between men and women, boys and girls, and how this is socially constructed. Gender roles are dynamic and change over time.

Source:

European Commission Justice Glossary

Topics related to gender● Gender-based violence which is mainly a violence against women

○ Violence based upon gender identity

● Gender pay gap● Decision making● How to overcome gender inequality● Export of gender equality● Metrics of (in)equality● Transgender

Violence In EU

● One in three women in the EU has experienced physical and/or sexual violence since the age of 15;

● 75 % of women in a professional job or in top management have experienced sexual harassment;

● One in ten women has experienced sexual harassment or stalking through new technologies.

UN HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL REPORT: Discrimination and Violence against Individuals Based on their Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity

Key findings:

● Hate-motivated violence against LGBT people is widespread. LGBT and intersex people are also victims of torture and ill treatment, including in custody and in clinics and hospitals.

● In many countries, the law is used to punish individuals on the basis of their sexual orientation and gender identity, and to restrict rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly: 76 countries criminalize consensual same sex relationships; in seven the death penalty may be applied.

● “Everyday discrimination” affects LGBT and intersex people everywhere – including in education, healthcare, employment, housing, and within families.

● States are legally bound by international human rights law to respect, protect and fulfil the human rights of all persons within their jurisdiction – including those who are LGBT and intersex.

Gender pay gapThe gender pay gap reflects ongoing discrimination and inequalities in the labour market which, in practice, mainly affect women. Its causes are complex and interrelated. ● Educational and career expectations for boys and

girls are different● Women have as good or better qualifications than

men, but often their skills are not valued the same as men's and their career progression is slower.

● Family responsibilities are not equally shared. As a result, women have more frequent career breaks and often do not go back to a full time job.

● The combined effect of lower hourly wages for women with women working fewer hours than men over their lifetime, results in lower pensions. This leads to more women than men experiencing poverty in old age.

Decision makingWomen are underrepresented in

● Politics● Business

How to improveGender mainstreaming is the integration of the gender perspective into every stage of policy processes - design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation - with a view to promoting equality between women and men.

It means assessing how policies impact on the life and position of both women and men - and taking responsibility to re-address them if necessary.

This is the way:● to make gender equality a concrete reality in the lives of women and men;● to improve policy-making by bringing it closer to the citizens' needs.

Impact assessment and evaluation processes

Export of gender equality● capacity-building to developing countries;

● support to women's organisations;

● disseminating information on gender equality through guidelines, best practices and awareness raising.

International Feminism● International Women's Year, Mexico City, 1975● Second World Conference on Women, Copenhagen, 1980● Third World Conference on Women, Nairobi, 1985● Preceding the Fourth World Conference on Women, Beijing, 1995

Indicators of the Beijing Platform for Action (BPfA)The Council of the EU has adopted, since 1999, a series of indicators as a follow up of the World conference on Women in Beijing in 1995. The rotating Council Presidencies have produced reports in most of the twelve critical areas of concern identified in the BPfA. On this basis, the Council of the EU has adopted conclusions for each area covered, available here.

The European Institute for Gender Equality supports the Presidencies of the Council of the EU by collecting statistics and data on selected areas of the BPfA.

How to measure gender (in)equalityGender equality is the result of the absence of discrimination on the basis of a person's sex in opportunities and the allocation of resources or benefits or in access to services.

Gender equity entails the provision of fairness and justice in the distribution of benefits and responsibilities between women and men. The concept recognises that women and men have different needs and power and that these differences should be identified and addressed in a manner that rectifies the imbalances between the sexes.

Gender Inequality Index (GII), UNDP

http://hdr.undp.org/en/content/gender-inequality-index-gii

GII measures gender inequalities in three important aspects of human development:

1. Reproductive health (measured by maternal mortality ratio and adolescent birth rates);

2. Empowerment ( measured by proportion of parliamentary seats occupied by females and proportion of adult females and males aged 25 years and older with at least some secondary education;)

3. Economic status (expressed as labour market participation and measured by labour force participation rate of female and male populations aged 15 years and older).

The higher the GII value the more disparities between females and males and the more loss to human development.

GII - 2014

GII - 2014

GII - 2014

The Global Gender Gap Index, World Economic Forum

GGI-2015

The highest possible score is 1 (equality) and the lowest possible score is 0 (inequality)

There are also transgenders

Cissexism(or cissexual assumption or cisnormativity)

is the appeal to norms that enforce the gender binary and gender essentialism, and then used in the oppression of gender variant (non-binary) and trans identities.

Examples of Everyday Cissexism

We live in a society that assumes gender based on genitals. When we are born, we are categorized as a gender based on the appearance of our genitals.

Julia SeranoWhipping Girl: A Transsexual Woman on Sexism and the Scapegoating of Femininity

http://www.juliaserano.com