Gender Inequality

Definition

A concept is provided by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in the following terms:

“Gender equality is, first and foremost, a human right. Women are entitled to live in dignity and in freedom from want and from fear. Empowering women is also an indispensable tool for advancing development and reducing poverty. Empowered women contribute to the health and productivity of whole families and communities and to improved prospects for the next generation.” (United Nations Population Fund, para. 1)

Structural Gender Inequality in Election Law

Situation where a system of gender discrimination is practiced by public or social institutions. Gender inequality becomes structural when it is entrenched and maintained by laws and administrative rules, as opposed to merely through custom and tradition.

Significance

The importance of the topic is addressed by the World Bank:

“Gender equality matters intrinsically, because the ability to live the life of oneÂ’s own choosing and be spared from absolute deprivation is a basic human right and should be equal for everyone, independent of whether one is male or female, and gender equality matters instrumentally, because greater gender equality contributes to economic efficiency and the achievement of other key development outcomes”. [1]

Distributive Justice

Gender Inequality-adjusted Index (gii) (in the Human Development Area)

In this context, Gender Inequality-adjusted Index (gii) means:

measures inequality in achievements between women and men in three dimensions: reproductive health, empowerment and the labour market. Gender Inequality-adjusted Index is used since 2010.

Introduction

Gender Inequality

This entry provides an overview of the legal framework of gender inequality, with a description of the most significant features of gender inequality at international level.

Related Work and Conclusions

Resources

See Also

References (Papers)

• Rethinking Red Lights: An Economic Approach To Appalachian Prostitution Laws, Kandi Spindler, May 2017
• A Mother Of A Problem: How The Language Of Inequality Affects Maternity Leave Policies And Women In Law Firms, Hannah Arenstam, May 2017
• Swaying The Jury: The Effect Of Expert Witness Testimony On Jury Verdicts In Rape Trials, Christina E. Ball, Apr 2017
• Sovereignty And Social Change In The Wake Of India'S Recent Sodomy Cases, Deepa Das Acevedo, Apr 2017
• The Tension Between Equal Protection And Religious Freedom, John M. Greabe, Apr 2017
• The French Veil Ban: A Transnational Legal Feminist Approach, Sital Kalantry, Apr 2017

Resources

Notes

1. World Bank. (2012). World Development report 2012: Gender equality and development. Page 3.

See Also

• Distributive Justice
• Gender
• Feminism

Further Reading

• Anand, M. (2009). Gender in social work education and practice in India. Social Work Education, 29(1), 96-105.
• Auchmuty, R. (2012). Law and the power of feminism: How marriage lost its power to oppress women. Feminist Legal Studies, 17(20), 71-87.
• Blanchfield, L. (2010). A new United Nations entity for women: Issues for Congress.
• Booth, A. L., & Nolen, P. J. (2009). Gender differences in risk behaviour: Does nurture matter? London: Centre for Economy Policy Research.
• Connell, R. (2011). Confronting equality: Gender, knowledge and global change. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press.
• Croson, R., & Gneezy, U. (2009). Gender differences in preferences. Journal of Economic Literature, 47(2), 448-474.
• Dahlkild-Ohman, G., & Eriksson, M. (2013, January). Inequality regimes and menÂ’s positions in social work. Gender, Work and Organization, 20(1), 86-100.
• Dauer, S. (2006). Violence against women: An obstacle to equality. University of Maryland Law Journal of Race, Religion, Gender & Class, 6, 281-289.
• Dominelli, L. (2002). Feminist social work: Theory and practice. New York: Palgrave.
• Gneezy, U., Leonard, K. L., & List, J. A. (2009). Gender differences in competition: Evidence from a matrilineal and a patriarchal society. Econometrica, 77(5), 1637-1664.
• Hill, R. (1972). The strengths of black families. New York: Emerson Hall.
• Kabeer, N. (1996). Agency, well-being & inequality: Reflections on the gender dimensions of poverty. IDS Bulletin, 27(1), 11-21.
• Lopez-Claros, A., & Zahidi, S. (2005). WomenÂ’s empowerment: Measuring the global gender gap.
• Okin, S. M. (2004). Gender, justice and gender: An unfinished debate. Fordham Law Review, 72(5): 1537-1567.
• Pease, B. (2011). Men in social work: Challenging or reproducing an unequal gender regime? Affilia: Journal of Women in Social Work, 26(4), 406-418.
• Prewitt-Freilino, J. L., Caswell, T. A., & Laakso, E. K. (2012). The gendering of language: A comparison of gender equality in countries with gendered, natural gender, and genderless languages. Sex Roles, 66, 268-281.
• Rahman, M., Nakamura, K., Seino, K., & Kizuki, M. (2013). Does gender inequity increase the risk of intimate partner violence among women? Evidence from a national Bangladeshi sample. PLoS ONE, 8(12), e82423.
• Ramdas, K. N. (2011). It ainÂ’t what you do, itÂ’s how you do it: Global education for gender justice. Liberal Education, (Summer/Fall), 6-13.
• Razavi, S., & Jenichen, A. (2010). The unhappy marriage of religion and politics: Problems and pitfalls for gender equality. Third World Quarterly, 6(31), 833-850.
• Saleebey, D. (1996). The strengths perspective in social work practice: Extensions and cautions. Social Work, 41(3), 296-305.
• Sen, A. (1999). Development as freedom. New York: Knopf.
• Seguino, S. (2011). Help or hinderance? ReligionÂ’s impact on gender inequality in attitudes and outcomes. World Development, 39(8), 1308-1321
• Sidibe, M., & Buse, K. (2012). A framework convention on global health: A catalyst for justice. Bull World Health Organization, 90, 870-870A.
• Smee, S., & Woodroffe, S. (2013). Achieving gender equality and womenÂ’s empowerment in the post-2015 framework.
• Symington, A. (2004). Intersectionality: A tool for gender and economic justice. WomenÂ’sRights and Economic Change (9), 1-7.
• United Nations Population Fund. (n.d.). Gender Equality.
• United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. (2011). In pursuit of justice: 2011-2012 progress of the worldÂ’s women, executive summary.
• Yu, W., & Lee, P. (2013). Decomposing gender beliefs: Cross national differences in attitudes toward maternal employment and gender equality at home. Sociological Inquiry, 83(4), 591-621.
• Wiranto, R. (2013). From gender differences and injustice to gender equality and justice (gender in Christian perspective). Journal of Alternative Perspectives in the Social Sciences, 2(5), 353-365.
• World Bank. (2011). Defining gender in the 21st century: Talking with women and men around the world, a multi-country qualitative study of gender and economic choice. Washington, DC: World Bank.