What Is Gender? Key Terms, Concepts & Inclusive Approaches

Are you new to learning gender-related concepts and terms? If yes, then below you will find some of the most common terms used to explain and interpret gender issues.

What is Gender-Bias?

Gender bias is a social attitude or behavior that prefers one gender over another. It promotes favoritism and discrimination.

Usually, such biasedness is rooted in institutional patterns, social and cultural norms, and behavior.

Gender biasedness is prevalent in offices, homes, and in educational institutes. It can also be seen in policies and programs.

Gender biasedness can be reduced by treating everyone equally without any assumptions based on their gender.

What is Gender-Budgeting?

The Council of Europe defines gender budgeting as “… an application of gender mainstreaming in the budgetary process”.

Gender Budgeting or Gender Responsive Budgeting (GRB) is an approach to planning and managing public and private budgets in such a way that the needs and priorities of women, men, and nonbinary people are met.

Adopting this approach makes it certain that financial resources are fairly allocated to improve the well-being of all members of society. The budget is not confined to one group of society. Instead, everyone is equally benefitting from it.

What is Gender-Equality?

The term gender equality means that “women and men, girls and boys have equal conditions, treatment and opportunities for realizing their full potential, human rights and dignity, and for contributing to (and benefiting from) economic, social, cultural and political development” (UNICEF, 2017).

This approach encourages equal rights and equal social, political and economic opportunities to all the members of the society regardless of their race, age, gender, income, and abilities.

What is Gender-Gap?

The gender gap is the inequalities or differences between women and men in various aspects of life.

The gap or disparity between women, men, and other gender identities can be prevalent in political, social, cultural, and economic spheres.

The idea is to identify such gaps and develop policies and programs that eliminate such disparities through providing equal rights and opportunities.

Achieving gender equality is a foundation for a peaceful, prosperous, and sustainable world.

What is Gender-Lens?

A gender lens is an idea that allows us to see the gender difference between men, women, and nonbinary people.

Gender lens is often associated with a pair of glasses. When you wear those lenses you are able to analyze a situation by focusing on existing differences and needs of women and men.

It allows you to evaluate a policy, program, or approach to find out if they are benefitting men and women equally and supporting equity between genders.

What is Gender-Mainstreaming?

The concept of gender mainstreaming was established as a universal strategy for promoting gender equality. It was introduced and adopted in the Platform for Action at the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing (China) in 1995.

Gender mainstreaming was defined as an approach that measures the impact of any action; such as making laws, creating policies, or running programs; on both women and men.

Gender mainstreaming ensures that policies and programs are designed, implemented monitored evaluated in a way that equally benefits women and men.

This landmark policy framework emphasized governments around the world to include gender equality as a primary goal in all spheres of social and economic development (International Labour Organization, 2002).

The idea was to include gender-specific activities whenever men, women or any other gender identity is in a disadvantageous position.

Adopting Gender mainstreaming improves the quality of public policies, programmes, and projects, ensuring a more efficient allocation of resources.

It prevents the continuation of inequality, promotes well-being for both women and men, and a socially just and sustainable society.

What is Gender-Neutral?

Gender neutral is a term that refers to a policy, program, object, thing, language, or norm that is not associated with a woman, man, or any other gender.

It also means that a person should not be promoted, favored, excluded, or discouraged based on their gender or sex.

Gender neutrality promotes fairness and reduces discrimination regardless of an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity.

What is Gender-Inclusion?

Gender inclusion is an approach that considers every individual regardless of their gender identity or sexual orientation.

It involves creating an environment where women, men, and nonbinary people have equal rights, opportunities, and representation.

Gender inclusion encourages treating and considering everyone fairly without any based on their gender or sex.

What is Gender-Responsive?

Gender-responsiveness is a methodology used to separately consider the needs of men, women, and nonbinary people in any situation, decision, or action.

It assures that policies programs, activities, and resources are designed, distributed, and implemented in such a way that acknowledges and addresses gender nuances and promotes fairness and equality.

What is Gender-Sensitive?

Gender sensitivity is the ability to recognize different needs, experiences, and roles of both men and women.

The idea is to acknowledge that people with different gender identities may have different views, challenges, expectations, and needs.

Adopting a gender-sensitive approach ensures that policies, programs, resources, practices, and attitudes take these differences into account and promote fairness and equality.

What is Sex-Disaggregated Data?

Data that is collected and analyzed separately for different gender identities of a society is known as sex-disaggregated data or gender-disaggregated data.

Sex-disaggregated data helps in separately analyzing the needs of men and women. This type of data is also used to identify gender-based inequalities that help policymakers to mainstream gender issues through designing gender-sensitive policies.

What is a Gender-Stereotype?

Gender-stereotype is a generalized perception that men and women possess certain characteristics and attributes. These stereotypes can be both negative and positive. Such as women are weak or men don’t cry.

In different societies, various qualities or roles are assigned to women and men. For example, in some places, women are considered to remain at home and it is inappropriate for men to do household chores. 

So in simple terms, gender stereotypes are a kind of belief of making assumptions about a specific social group. It can be about men, women, or any other gender.

Learn more about What Are Gender Stereotypes? Types, Impacts, & Challenges

References

International Labour Organization. (2002). Definition of Gender Mainstreaming. Retrieved September 15, 2023, from ILO

United Nations. (1997). COORDINATION OF THE POLICIES AND ACTIVITIES OF THE SPECIALIZED AGENCIES AND OTHER BODIES OF THE UNITED NATIONS SYSTEM. CONCEPTS AND PRINCIPLES. Retrieved September 12, 2023.