GENDER BIAS

GENDER BIAS
 is a preference or prejudice toward one gender over the other.
a. Bias can be conscious or unconscious, and may manifest in
many ways, both subtle and obvious.
b. It is the unequal treatment in employment opportunity such as
promotion, pay, benefits and privileges and expectations due to
attitudes based on the sex of an employee or group of
employees.
c. Gender bias can be subtle or overt, and can result in small or
large consequences. Most countries have laws eliminating
gender bias in work places. (RA 9710) Magna Carta of Women
the GAD Law
 Gender bias can be a legitimate basis for a lawsuit under anti-
discrimination statutes.
 Gender bias is behavior that shows favoritism toward one gender
over another.
 Gender bias is the act of favoring men and/or boys over women
and/or girls.
 Gender bias occurs when people make assumptions regarding
behaviors, abilities or preferences of others based upon their gender.
 Because there are strong gender role stereotypes for masculinity and
femininity, students who do not match them can encounter problems
with teachers and with their peers.
 A. GENDER and SCHOOL

 Discrimination based on gender is one of the primary impediments

to education. And it affects boys and girls.
 In some regions, boys’ educational opportunities are limited by
gender roles that force them to work rather than attend school.
(poverty)
 These financial responsibilities are often increased in boys’
adolescent years, making it difficult for them to complete
secondary school in some regions.
 However, in many parts of the world, girls are most often the
victims of gender discrimination as they pursue an education.
 Education is the only key to bring Gender equality.
 Today, our girls and boys remain the victims of gender stereotypes
in text and resource materials. They are also victims of unintended
or sexist behaviors by educators.
 Often teachers reflect varied expectations for children, based on a
student’s gender, class, race and ethnicity. Most teachers care
deeply about the youngsters in their rooms. They are confident
that they treat all their students the same. However, many
teachers who analyze their own attitudes and behaviors discover
the subtle and pervasive nature of gender inequity in the
classroom.
A common response from teachers when asked about gender
inequity in classrooms is that they treat all their students the same.
There are two problems with this statement. First, students are
diverse and have different learning issues, thus treating all students
in the same way means that some students will have a better
learning experience than their peers. Second, teachers may be
ignoring their unconscious gender biases towards their students,
their schools and themselves. If ignored, these gender biases, which
may have developed from cultural norms, may lead to bias in the
classroom.
 Social Attitudes towards Girl’s Education
 The social barriers and social attitudes standing in the way of girls attending
schools - poverty, compulsions of older girls in families having to look after
the home and siblings, the conception or misconception that girls do not
need education and/or that what is taught in schools is irrelevant to them,
parents seeing limited (economic) benefits in educating daughters, lack of
women teachers and separate schools for girls, supportive facilities (like
adequate and clean toilets in schools) and transport facilities to travel to
school and back, all these inhibit parents from getting their girls enrolled.
 Girls have to stay at home once they attain puberty and must be protected
till they are married. And they become part of another family, leaving the
parental home. Add to this, the commonly held belief that marriage is the
e-all and end-all for girls, leading to early marriage and pregnancy.
 There are two extreme types of parental and social attitude /
behavior- perfect altruistic and perfect capitalistic (or
selfishness).
 If parents are perfectly altruistic about their child then both the
types of child are equally welcome in the family.
 The share of the family cake will be identically equal for both
male and female child.
 Investment for human capital accumulation will be same for both
the types of child.
 If parents are altruistic then social norm has no influence on behavior of
the parents towards their child.
 On the other hand, if parents are perfectly capitalistic then they try to get
what can give maximum returns.
 Then they always try to invest on that very project from where they can
get maximum returns.
 *In the Philippines social norm accepts children remain with the parents
even after getting married. Therefore parents (when child matures) can
get the returns from children or children can still ask help from parent’s vis
a vis. As human capital is the potential of earning, parents invest on their
children education and in return take care of their old age parents. They
spend for both male and female children though female children are
trained with household chores and activities.
 Value accorded to Women’s Education
 Women of present is much liberated than the past.
 The statue of woman has undergone a great change today.
 They are making sincere efforts to rise in all spheres of life.
 Women have proved to be more responsible and work with
great dedication.
 No country can achieve development without educating her
women.
 The education of women is as important as that of men.
 It can even be said that educating women is of greater importance.
 If we educate a woman, we educate a family.
 An educated woman can perform her duties with great efficiency. She can
run her family in a better manner and can help her children in their studies
also.
 If a woman is educated, she is treated with respect. She has not to lead a
life of dependence on men, since she can earn her own living (bread and
butter).
 Education fills her with confidence and she is able to win her due place in
society.
 Today, government has become aware that female education is as
important as that of men.
 An old saying in our culture plays that “a woman is under the
guardianship of her father before marriage dependent on her
husband after her marriage and on her son after the death of her
husband."
 But this attitude of treating a woman as a ward or a dependent has
been in existence for centuries. But now all these have changed.
 With the spread of education women have now begun to claim
equality with men. Women education has given a number of
opportunities.
 Today, more and more women are taking up jobs.
 The time has come when they are working for their enlistment.
 They are now making sincere efforts to rise themselves in all spheres of life.
 The Philippines constitution has also granted full equality to women with men.
 A woman of present is much liberated than a woman of past. Many male
bastions have been broken by women who are now pilots, scientists,
engineers, astronauts and so on.
 Earlier women were confined to the houses only, but now they do work
shoulder to shoulder with men in every sphere of human activity.
 Today, women have proved to be more responsible and work with great
dedication. They do more work than men though they have a physical
weakness which is God given.
Tinky