Module 2.
Gender
Sensitivity
OBJECTIVES:
1. Enlighten the participants on the
difference between sex and gender;
2. Provide an opportunity for the participants to
analyze gender issues and concerns;
3. Encourage the participants to develop a vision
of a gender-fair society; and
4. Require the participants to prepare an action
plan on how to apply their learning from the
Module.
SESSIONS:
Session 1: Sex and Gender
Session 2: Gender as a Social Construct:
Gender Issues and the Role of Social
Institutions
Session 3:Vision of a Gender-Fair Society
Session 4:Action Planning
Basic Assumptions
 This is not the
“war of the
sexes”.
This is not antimale.
Basic Assumptions
 Both women
and men are
VICTIMS.
…but women are
more disadvantaged.
Basic Assumptions
 Both women
and men
have a stake
in the
struggle for
gender
equality.
SESSION 1. DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SEX
AND GENDER
Session Objectives
 Differentiate sex from gender
 Make women appreciate the difference
between sex and gender
Activity 1:
Word Association Exercise
Processing
Affective level
Cognitive Level
While you are answering the
questions/instruction given by
the facilitator, what was your
reaction
Are the ideas you have written on
the board (newsprint) for female
only? For male only? Or can be for
both?
The facilitator will do this as she
examines every word written on the
board (newsprint) and make notes on
what are for female, for male, and
for both.
What is your insights/learning from
the exercise?
Key Learning Points
 Sex is a natural distinguishing variable
based on biological characteristics of
being a man or a woman.
 Gender
refers
to
the
socially
differentiated roles, characteristics and
expectations attributed by culture to
women and men.
SEX
GENDER
BIOLOGICAL
SOCIALLY
CONSTRUCTED
Born with
Not born with
CAN’T BE
CHANGED
CHANGEABLE
Only women
can give birth;
only men can
supply sperm.
Women can do
traditional male jobs
as well as men can
take good care of
children as women
do.
SEX
vs. GENDER
What makes one male What makes one
or female
feminine or masculine
Biologically determine Socially determined
and culturally defined
Refers physical
Refers to learned
characteristics
behaviors
Constant across time
Changes across time
Constant across culture Changes across places
and culture
Homosexual
 As children, we develop close relationships
with people regardless of their sex. We
feel love and affection for members of the
family and friends.
 As we grow older, most of us become
more interested sexually in people of the
opposite sex.
Some of us however
continue to feel attracted to people of the
same sex.
Homosexual
 There is no clear reason or cause to explain
the attraction of men to men or of women
to women. There are many beliefs on the
causes of homosexuality but none of them
have been proven to be correct.
 The homosexual man or woman does not
seem to have control over his sexual
attraction. It is not his or her fault that he
or she is homosexual.
Homosexual
 Parents should not blame themselves for
having a homosexual son or daughter.
 Since it is not their fault that they are
homosexuals, they should not be physically
abused, criticized, or made fun of.
 Homosexuality is not a disease or a
psychological illness. The homosexual
does not need medical treatment.
Homosexual
 Adolescents who are becoming aware that they
are attracted to people of the same sex are
undergoing much emotional distress. They need
the love and understanding of their parents,
siblings, and relatives to help them accept their
situation.
 Whether a person is heterosexual or homosexual,
it is important that s/he acknowledges that s/he is
responsible for and accountable to himself/herself
and to others.
Application
.
Start to re-assess their
perception of women based
on the concept of sex and
gender.
Synthesis
 Sex and gender is very distinct with one another.
Sex is a biological characteristic while gender is
a socially defined characteristic of a man and a
woman translated into roles and behaviors that
are learned through a course of time. A woman
can alter her roles and behaviors towards
fulfillment of her rights. It is also important that
we understand homosexuals, their struggle to be
recognized for who they are, their need to be
loved and accepted
SESSION 2. GENDER AS A SOCIAL
CONSTRUCT
Session Objectives
 Understand how the mechanisms of social control
and socialization institutions like the family,
church, school, government, mass media, work, and
community perpetuate, reinforce and discriminate
against women; and
 Realize that gender is a social construct.
Activity 1: Workshop - The Five Finger Talk
(“Usapang Daliri”)
.
Family
Media
School
Community
Church
Processing
Affective Level
Cognitive Level
While you are answering the What are your insights from
questions
about
the the activity?
institution assigned to your
group, what was your
reaction?
While you are sharing your
own experiences, what was
your reaction? As the one
listening while others are
sharing?
KEY LEARNING POINTS
 Society tends to assign roles, attitudes,
behaviors, characteristics and expectations to
individuals based on biological differences.
 Gender roles are the product of society’s
culture, beliefs, and values and are taught
and reinforced by society’s structure and
institutions.
SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS THAT PROMOTE
GENDER STEREOTYPING
FAMILY - Gendering starts
at the time the baby is born.
Gender Socialization
The family promotes gender stereotyping
through the following processes:
 Manipulation
 Canalization
 Verbal Appellation
 Activity Exposure
Processes of Gender Socialization in the Family
Manipulation
Canalization
It’s the way
People
direct
babies or children children’s
are handled.
attention
to
gender
appropriate
objects
Verbal
Appellation
Activity
Exposures
These are the
words that tell
children what
they should be,
phrases
These ensure that
children are
familiarized with
genderappropriate
tasks.
Baby girls are Boys are given
“Brave boys”
handled gently
toys like cars, “Boys don’t cry”
guns, ball
Boys are allowed
“Pretty Girls”
to climb trees
Girls are given “Girls don’t climb
dolls,
kitchen
trees”
utensils,
play
house
Boys are expected
to play or work
outside the house
while girls are
encouraged
to
help their mothers
in household and
children tasks.
KEY LEARNING POINTS
The learning of gender roles begin in early childhood
Girls
Boys
Are taught to be feminine Are taught to be masculine
(being modest, submissive (being domineering and
and nurturing)
aggressive)
Expected to be good Are expected to be the family
homemakers and nurturers of provider
and
to
be
family members.
responsible for its survival
Manifestations of Gender Bias
MARGINALIZATION
– Where women’s participation in development
is limited to traditional programs and projects,
especially those, particular related to maternal
and child care, day care centers and nutrition.
– It results in failure to recognize women’s
concerns in other areas, particularly within the
economic sectors.
– Hence, women are unable to develop their
potential to the fullest.
SUBORDINATION
SUBORDINATION
– The secondary status of women
in society.
– Because of this, women have
less access to and control over
development resources and
benefits.
MULTIPLE BURDEN
MULTIPLE BURDEN
- The condition in which
women perform several
tasks and responsibilities
despite their limited time
and energy.
- This multiple burden refers
to doing unpaid work in the
home, paid work as a
member of the workforce,
and volunteer work in the
community.
GENDER
STEREOTYPES
Gender Stereotyping
– The tendency to assign fixed
unquestioned and unexamined
beliefs and perceptions about
women and men.
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN
 Verbal
 Psychological
 Emotional
 Physical
 Economic
 Sexual
THE WOMAN AND HER CROSS
Three Categories of Work
 Productive
The production of goods and services
for income, trade, or subsistence.
Tasks that contribute economically to
the household and community.
Includes wage-earning, crop and
livestock production, marketing,
fishing, manufacturing, and
construction.
Three Categories of Work
 Reproductive
The care and maintenance
of human life within the
household. Includes
childcare, food preparation,
collection of water and
firewood, cleaning, washing,
building and maintaining
shelter, and health care.
Three Categories of Work
 Community Management &
Constituency-Based Politics
Maintenance and improvement
of the community as a whole.
Includes building schools or
clinics, planning celebrations,
judging disputes, making laws,
and advocating for community
needs, such as access to water.
Application
 Change their behaviors and attitudes towards
gender concerns.
 Continue to reflect and to slowly take actions
in preventing the discrimination of women
inside the home, particularly in line with
gender socialization of children, if they have
children, and in the prevention and addressing
domestic violence.
 Find ways on how to develop their full
potentials as women.
Synthesis
 Gender is socially established and the roles,
attitudes, behaviors and characteristics and
expectations attributed to women was passed on by
society’s culture, beliefs and values
 the gender roles ascribed by the society resulted to
gender bias which makes more women prone to
abuse and violence.
 Gender though can be unlearned and a new
perspective in women can evolve if women learned
to value their self-worth and personhood.
SESSION 3. VISION OF A GENDERFAIR SOCIETY
Session Objective
At the end of the session, the participants
should be able to:
 Create a vision of a gender-fair society.
Groups
 Among Women
 Among Families
 In the Socio-Cultural Sphere
 Economic Sphere
 In the Political Sphere
 In the legal sphere
Processing
Affective Level
Cognitive Level
While you are
undergoing
the
activity, what was
your reaction?
What are your
insights about the
visioning
workshop?
Among women
 Appreciation of one’s self-worth, dignity and
capacity to improve oneself and one’s
situation.
 Active participation in collective action to help
other women and their families and
communities.
 Sufficient support mechanism, such as gender-
sensitive child care support systems, to free
women for personal pursuits and enable men to
share in parenting duties.
Among Women
 Programs to enhance women’s capacity to
develop their potentials to the fullest.
 Role models or women and men whose
lives and achievements mirror gender
equality; and other concrete manifestations
that gender equality goals are being
achieved.
Among Families
 Sharing of responsibilities in the home,
from parenting to being breadwinners to
domestic work.
 Non-sexist child rearing, in which daughters
and sons are treated the same way and are
trained for the same tasks.
 Institutional support and facilities, such as
counseling, to strengthen the family or see it
through a crisis and resolve problems.
Among Families
 Measures and programs to address violence
against women and children in the family.
A
culture that empowers women, in
particular the recognition of and supportive
attitude toward women’s quest for full
development.
In the socio-cultural sphere
 Non-sexist education and training
 Health programs for women that address all
stages of their life cycle, including services
on nutrition, reproductive health and family
planning.
 More positive and realistic portrayal of
women and men in media and advertising.
In the socio-cultural sphere
 Addressing gender discrimination in
religious institutions and tenets.
 Support systems, such as day care
services, that promote gender equality
Economic Sphere
 Mechanisms to ensure equal opportunities
for education, on-the-job training and
training in non-traditional skills.
 Training program for women who want to
rejoin the labor force after fulfilling their
childrearing
and
child
rearing
responsibilities.
Economic Sphere
 Equal pay for work of equal value.
 Affirmative action to change the pattern of
gender discrimination
promotion.
in
hiring
and
 Understanding and recognition of women’s
biological functions so that their special
needs for maternity and other such benefits
are addressed.
Economic Sphere
 Support
mechanisms and programs to
promote
women’s
participation
in
production and distribution.
 Women-friendly
technologies
and
infrastructure and women’s participation in
environmental protection.
 Women’s participation in decision making
with regards to consumer concerns,
including determining the prices of prime
In the political sphere
 Empowered women who participate fully in
political
processes
and
structures,
formulation of laws and policies that
address nontraditional concerns of women.
 Critical mass of gender-sensitive women
and men in decision making positions.
In the political sphere
 Affirmative action programs to increase the
number of women representatives in the
three branches of government, particularly
in decision making positions.
 Strong women’s groups and organizations.
A women’s vote that can influence policy
making and legislation toward gender
equality.
In the Legal Sphere
 Sanctions to promote and protect equal
employment opportunities for women.
 Protective legislation addressing women’s
childbearing functions, such as those
concerning maternity benefits and nonexposure to toxic chemicals.
 Legal literacy for both women and men.
In the Legal Sphere
A
gender-sensitive
judicial system,
including gender-sensitive lawyers, police
officers and other professionals in the
judiciary.
 Protective legislation for a gender-sensitive
court proceedings and hearing of cases
related to violence against women,
including shifting the burden of proof from
the women victims and survivors of
violence to the alleged perpetrators.
Synthesis
Gender-fairness is manifested at the
individual, family, socio – cultural, economic,
political and legal spheres of the society.
At the individual level, women should strive
to gain or regain one’s personal worth and
pursue self-improvement and be a model to
other members of the society.
Synthesis
Sharing of responsibilities according to one’s skills,
knowledge and interest, and respect and rights of
women are accorded to them in the socio-cultural,
economic, political and legal spheres of a society.
Equal opportunities are provided, non-discrimination
and positive portrayal of both women and men and
active participation of women in decision-making
and gender sensitive policies, programs and plans for
women.
SESSION 4. ACTION PLANNING
Session Objectives
 Formulate an action plan that will address
gender issues in their lives.
 Identify specific activities that will help
promote and achieve gender sensitive
environment in the home and community in
general
Content of Action Action
 Critical gender issues or needs concerning them
personally and in their respective families; and
 Steps to be taken to address these issues or needs,
specifically concrete gender-focused activities to
be undertaken by the participants upon their return
to their families, the resources required to carry
these out, the time frame for implementation, and
a mechanism for assessing progress.
Action Plan Template
Gender
Issues
Steps to Resources
Address Needed
the Issues*
Time Indicators
Frame of Success
THANK YOU!!!
63