What are the causes of gender inequality?

Gender inequality is a social and cultural phenomenon in which discrimination occurs between people due to their gender, basically between men and women. Furthermore, it is not a harmless phenomenon, since its impact is felt at different levels: work, social, family, etc.

On a social level, for example, a woman may appear subordinate to her husband or father. At an economic level, women continue to receive lower salaries than men performing the same job (salary gap). Housework or childcare are still seen as tasks more closely linked to women than to men. This way we could continue completing a long list.

In contrast, feminism or the gender perspective allows us to look at the world from another point of view. However, changing our perspective can cause us confusion or discomfort. That is why the objective of these lines is to clarify our vision, to be able to be and relate to the world in a more just way.

To do this, let’s start from the beginning, when we talk about gender inequality, what do we mean by gender? What do we mean by such a broad construct?

What is gender and how is it structured?

Gender can be broken down into three levels or perspectives. You can read them below:

Sociocultural level: From this perspective, gender is a system of social organization that grants greater power and privileges to men, and that is supported by a series of beliefs that legitimize and maintain this social structure. The values, customs, traditions, stereotypes, together with the laws of a country govern the model of social organization.Relational plane: gender is a dynamic process of representation; a representation of what it means to be a woman or man in everyday situations, which in turn influences how men and women behave and how they are treated.Personal plan: at this level, gender is an aspect that also influences identity and personal attitudes. It would be the set of expectations, interests, fantasies and beliefs that are associated with more or less acceptable models of what it means to be a masculine man or a feminine woman in a specific culture.

Although gender is expressed differently in different cultures and the degree of subordination of women varies over time and space, It is very difficult to find one in which women have more political and social advantages than men.

What is patriarchy and what implications does it have?

Patriarchy designates a social order that establishes sex as a mark to assign each person specific activities, functions, relationships and powers.. This structured network of powers, hierarchies and values ​​proposes models of masculinity and femininity as universal and opposed to each other.

Women are considered to be naturally more suited to private life, motherhood and caring for the family, while men would be naturally more suited to command, government and ambition. Dismantling these beliefs that act as social mandates on men and women is one of the priority objectives of feminism.

Patriarchy, as a social model, is based on social mandates or imperatives, which are very different for men and women. Some of the beliefs or imperatives of the conception of women are:

Women are caregivers and responsible for the well-being of others. Your worth is in your ability to give and serve others. Caring for other people and responsibility towards them occupies the center of your life. Natural predisposition to love. It is based on the idea that Women are only complete beings when they belong to someone.Motherhood as an imperative of identity. A woman is only happy and satisfied with herself when she is a mother.The woman must be beautiful and desirable. Beauty makes us visible and socially accepted, turning us into an object under the gaze and appreciation of others.

On the contrary, the imperatives of men as masculine beings also exist. They would be the following:

Masculinity is sustained by power and potencyand is measured by success, superiority over other people, competitiveness, status, etc.Manhood depends on aggressiveness and boldness and is expressed through strength, courage, facing risks, the ability to protect oneself and use violence as a way to resolve conflicts. Masculinity is sustained by the ability to feel calm and impassive, self-confident and self-sufficient, hiding its emotions. In addition to strength, it implies great security and self-confidence. Man cannot allow himself to feel afraid and, if he is, he will have to hide it.

How are gender roles established and reinforced?

Gender roles are social representations that dictate what is considered masculine and feminine. For example, according to society, caring actions are for women, while leadership activities are for men.

Nevertheless, To end gender inequality, it is pertinent to take into account that these representations are not inherent to biological sex.but have been established and transmitted by society itself, through the socialization process begun in early childhood.

In this case, the main socializing agents that are responsible for reinforcing gender roles are several. They are described in detail in the following sections.

The family

Family members (especially the heteronormative one) are children’s main reference models. In this case, family members play an important role in the child’s socialization process, since They transmit most patterns of behavior, values, beliefs, etc. that remain strongly rooted throughout life.

In this way, to the extent that the family validates these gender roles, boys and girls will grow up assuming that, in fact, there are things that only concern men and the same with women. In turn, if they continue down this line, these people will pass it on to their descendants.

The education system

For its part, Schools reinforce gender roles through certain aspects of socialization. You have them below:

The distribution of men and women within institutions, which acts as a role model for students.Educational material and textbooks, which often reproduce gender stereotypes.The organization and school practices, which reproduce the choices of traditional gender activities.Teacher expectations and attitudes, which significantly influence the image that students form of themselves.

The media

For their part, the media (including digital platforms and social networks) They often present stereotypical cultural modelsbased on ideals of men and women that do not correspond to reality.

In this case, the perception we have of others and of ourselves is distorted, forcing us to fit into erroneous and harmful representations. Well, anyone who does not meet these parameters tends to be discriminated against and rejected.

Causes of gender inequality

Having said this, below we summarize the most common causes of gender inequality, a result of all of the above. The main ones are 6:

Gender stereotypes. They are those ideas or beliefs that are socially accepted and that dictate how a man and a woman should behave. These stereotypes are transmitted in the processes of socialization and education.Inequality in labor rights. There are few countries in the world that grant women the same job guarantees as men. In general, the latter tend to enjoy more rights in the workplace, such as access to a higher salary.Unequal access to education. Women have more restricted access to education than men. According to statistics, 1/4 of young women will not finish primary school.Lack of bodily autonomy. Many women in the world do not have authority over their own bodies. For example, according to the WHO, more than 200 million women who do not want to be mothers do not have access to contraceptives (either due to cultural/religious opposition, lack of options or limited access).Lack of political representation. Many political positions are held by men, which allows the neglect of certain issues that benefit women, such as parental leave and child care, pensions, laws against gender violence, etc.Job segregation. In most societies there is a belief that men are more capable of certain jobs. And, many times, these positions are the best paid in the job market.

What can we do to change these patterns of gender inequality?

Taking into account the above, it would be logical for us to ask ourselves if the way of life we ​​are currently leading, in reference to patterns of gender inequality, is adequate.

Likewise, if all of the above makes us uncomfortable, it is time to look for a way to do our bit to transform the current situation. Thus, over time, it has been concluded that To overcome this gender inequality there are different keys, depending on whether we are men or women..

Women, for their part, have the responsibility and the right to seek solitude and take care of themselves to change these patterns. The search for one’s own space to be (hobbies, tastes, etc.) also becomes a way of resistance to these mandates; Thus, according to this thought, one line of action of feminism is to promote female autonomy.

In the case of men, the path would go more in the direction of the education of affections and co-responsibility. Being a man is not incompatible with the expression and recognition of one’s own and others’ feelings; nor with taking responsibility, empathizing and attending to the needs of others. Beliefs that are usually absent in the processes of primary socialization (childhood).

So, The incorporation of these contents into educational programs is a key strategy for social transformation. Institutions also have responsibility in all of this, their duty being to move forward to guarantee the same rights and benefits to all individuals in society.

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