Useful Vocabulary

The Cambridge dictionary defines Gender Equality as the act of treating women and men equally; which does not imply that women and men are the same, but that they have equal value and should be accorded equal treatment.

The European Institute for Gender Equality, based on the UN’s and its own experts’ concepts, broadens the definition stating that: 

• Gender equality does not mean that women and men will become the same but that women’s and men’s rights, responsibilities and opportunities will not depend on whether they are born female or male. It implies that the interests, needs and priorities of both women and men are taken into consideration, thereby recognizing the diversity of different groups of women and men. 

• It is not a women’s issue but should concern and fully engage men as well as women. Equality between women and men is seen both as a human rights issue and as a precondition for, and indicator of, sustainable people-centered development.

• While gender inequalities are perpetuated through differential access to and control over material resources —such as education, employment, healthcare, and so on— according to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), it is socially constructed gender norms and stereotypes that reinforce gendered social behaviors, identities and roles that lead to inequalities in the first place. If, unlike biological sex, gender is widely recognized as a socially constructed concept, the two are commonly conflated, which contributes to widespread erroneous beliefs that cultural practices, roles, and norms around gender are biologically determined and therefore cannot be changed. 

(Editor’s note: Some studies even claim that there is a biological component in gender, and the debate has been around for quite a while now within the scientific community, which doesn’t really help to break the stereotypes and biases that cause gender inequalities.)

Although it’s true that not all gender disparities favor men, most forms of gender-based discrimination and violence do affect primarily girls and women.

The latest Gender Social Norms Index, released in March 2020, shows that nearly 90% of men and women hold some sort of bias against women.

Wondering the difference between gender equality and gender parity, or curious to learn what intersectionality means? Here’s some useful vocabulary, put together by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.