Gender discrimination is defined as "when someone is treated unequally or disadvantageously based on their gender but not necessarily in a sexual nature. This includes harassment/discrimination based on sex, gender identity, or gender expression" (Stanford University: Gender Discrimination). Gender discrimination is also acting unfavourably towards someone based on their gender, or what you perceive their gender to be.
Gender discrimination includes but is not limited to:
Believe it or not, gender discrimination is not only subjected to women. Everyone can experience being discriminated because of their gender whether they are males, females, or nonbinary.
Gender Discrimination can happen just about anywhere, some more common places are listed here:
- Place of work: Not hiring someone based on their gender, treating employees differently, and paying someone less because they are a specific gender. Other employers/peers can also be part of discrimination by excluding their co-workers to important meetings.
- School: Preventing girls and women from doing something more "male dominated" such as math, science, sports, etc. Female directed dress codes are also a form of gender discrimination, as well as not punishing someone for their actions, and instead commenting things such as, "Boys will be boys".
- Relationships: People who [revent their partners from doing someone based solely on their gender, such as: driving, working, money management, etc.
- Public: Catcalling and sexual harassment are forms of gender discrimination because they are unwanted behaviors that can make someone feel unsafe and uncomfortable, which restricts their freedom.
There are more places where gender discrimination can happen for various different reasons. The reasons and places listed above are where most discrimination happens.
Gender discrimination for women can happen at any place for various reasons. They face physical, violent abuse, and unequal treatment in their home and work lives.
Different stereotypes often venture out into school and work environments, where girls and women are less likely to be encouraged into science and technology subjects and leadership roles due to the perceived 'male nature' of said subjects.
Another stereotype, although positive, is having the gender role of being a provider and protector of children and family.
Gender discrimination affects all varieties of people, including men. Men are given stereotypes that they are aggressors and violent. Dr. Robert Blum co-authored a study that looked at how gender stereotypes impacts adolescent health; he found that boys were more likely to report sexual abuse, physical neglect, and violence victimization. Dr. Blum believes that men and boys should be engaged more in gender conversations, and be more active in the research among gender studies.
Men too have gender specific issues such as: lower life expectancy, bad health, lower education levels, and rigid gender norms. The world needs to recognize that gender inequality harms all genders, not just one
For someone being discriminated against based on their gender, there are many different consequences they might face- both mentally and physically.
Some types of gender discrimination can make people have severe anxiety and cause psychological trauma. But with other kinds of discrimination, mental health is very much at stake especially with women.
- Depression, which is twice as prevalent among women than it is men
- Anxiety
- Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- Eating disorders, which are 4-10 times more common in women than men
Along with mental health issues, people that get discriminated against also can experience physical health issues. Some of these issues include:
- Illness: Stress from gender discrimination can cause many chronic conditions including: chronic pain, high blood pressure, and diabetes.
- Less healthy living conditions: People experiencing gender discrimination can lead a person into having worse living conditions and not having access to things that are needed to thrive. Along with that, women also have higher levels of student debt, lower savings in retirement, and higher rates of poverty, in comparison to men.
- Injury and death: Gender discrimination in the form of violence can result in health issues. An example of this is female genital mutilation (FGM). FGM is a type of surgery that is typically performed before the child reaches the age of 15. This surgery is completely unnecessary, as doctors will remove all or part of the female genitalia to make them "more suitable for marriage". People who survive this surgery often feel immense amounts of pain, bleeding, infections, and lifelong sexual health problems. Some people even die as a result of complications.
There are multiple organizations that support the fight against gender discrimination.
- The UN Women - The United Nations Entity for gender equality and the empowerment of women is an organization that focuses on gender equality. They reach to achieve a global standard of gender equality by working with civil society organizations and governments to implement policies, laws and services that benefit women.
- Men Engage Alliance - The Men Engage alliance is a global organization that focuses on advancing gender equality and justice, human rights and social justice, and help people reach happy and healthy equitable relationships. This group works on engaging men and boys in gender equality and tries to build and improve the practice of men achieving gender justice. They advocate for policy changes on key issues that directly affect men and women at local, regional, national, and international levels.
- European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) - The organization was established in December of 2006 as an agency that is dedicated to gender equality. The EIGE collects and analyze information, with the help of the EU member States, to help implement the gender equality policies that fight gender-based discrimination. The institute aims to achieve equality for both men and women and share their information with the other EU institutions.
If you want to learn more this website shows other organizations to help with gender discrimination: 25 Organizations Fighting for Gender Equality
Here is a petition you can sign for stopping gender discrimination: Petition to end gender discrimination
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