STEREOTYPE,
PREJUDICES AND
DISCRIMINATION
LESSON OBJECTIVES:
At the end of the lesson, you should be able to:
1. differentiate stereotype, prejudice, and discrimination; and
2. understand the manifestations of stereotypes, prejudice, and
discrimination on gender.
DEFINITION OF TERMS:
Stereotype extremely generalized belief
about a group of people.
Prejudice-ur justified or incorrect attitude
towards a person.
Discrimination-when stereotypes and
prejudice translate into a negative act
towards a person.
INTRODUCTION
There are 7.7 billion people across 195 countries and
every race has their own belief systems, religion, culture,
and tradition. Yet, each individual is a unique mix of their
own. That is why appreciating diversity is very important
to fully understand the human experience and for us to
coexist peacefully.
STEREOTYPES
Stereotypes are an "over-generalized belief about a particular
group or class of people" (Cardwell 1996). It can be helpful in
simplifying things, after all, there 7.7 billion people in the planet.
When we meet someone for the first time, we associate with them
certain characteristics and abilities that we usually base on the
group they belong to.It often involves assumptions about how
men, women, or non-binary individuals should behave, think, or
feel.
A stereotype can be categorized as "explicit" and "implicit"
NATURE: Cognitive (thoughts and beliefs).
EXAMPLE:
Believing that "women are emotional" or "men are strong."
Assuming that women are naturally better at caregiving or that men are
better at leadership roles.
IMPACT: Stereotypes can shape expectations and influence how people
perceive and interact with others, but they don't necessarily lead to
negative actions.
PREJUDICE
Prejudice is an "unjustified or incorrect attitude (usually negative)
towards an individual based solely on the individual's membership
of a social group" (McLeod 2008). Prejudice represents our
emotional response upon learning of a persons' membership to a
specific group (like age, skin color, race, disabiliry, generation,
nationality, religion, sex, sexual expression, gender expression, and
so on),
NATURE: Affective (emotions and attitudes).
EXAMPLE:
Disliking or distrusting someone because they are a woman, a man, or
non-binary.
Believing that women are less competent in leadership roles or that
men are less capable of being nurturing.
IMPACT: Prejudice can lead to unfair treatment or exclusion, even if it
doesn't always result in visible actions.
DISCRIMINATION
Discrimination refers to actions or behaviors towards
an individual or a group of people. According to the
United Nations, "discriminatory behaviors take many
forms, but they all involve some form of exclusion or
rejection".
NATURE: Behavioral (actions and practices)
EXAMPLES:
GENDER DISCRIMINATION
LGBTQ DISCRIMINATION
IMPACT: Discrimination has tangible, harmful consequences, such as limiting
opportunities, reinforcing inequality, and perpetuating systemic bias.
EXAMPLES IN GENDER
CONTEXT:
STEREOTYPE:
"Men are better at math and science."
PREJUDICE:
A teacher assuming a female student won't perform well in a STEM class.
DISCRIMINATION:
The teacher discouraging the female student from pursuing a career in engineering.
