According to the US National Judicial Education Program, the most prominent forms of gender bias are "(i) Stereotyped thinking about the nature and roles of women and men (ii) Devaluing what is perceived as 'woman's work' (iii) Lack of knowledge of the social and economic realities of women's and men's lives" (Halilovic and others, 2017, p. Prejudice and discrimination can be described as a form of intergroup bias.
However, women suffer from discrimination in the workplace, including within the health sector, because of historical-structural conditions that have greater implications than cases of discrimination against men. According to a survey conducted in five countries (Bulgaria, Cyprus, Denmark, France and the UK), a significant number of men suffer from gender-based discrimination at the workplace, especially in areas with a greater presence of female compared to male workers, such in health-related services (Eurofound, 2018, p. Structural and cultural norms can breed misogyny.Īlthough most forms of sexism and discrimination negatively impact women, men can be affected as well. The presence of misogyny in cultures and societies often leads to high rates of violence against women and the commodification and objectification of women. "Entitlement" is defined as both the "fact of having a right to something" and the "belief that one is inherently deserving of privileges or special treatment".Īn extreme form of sexism is misogyny, or the "hatred of women" (Masequesmay, 2017). "Privilege" is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as "A special right, advantage, or immunity granted or available only to a particular person or group". Sexism may arise because of socialized concepts of privilege and entitlement. This historical process, it should be stressed, does not exclude any region of the world however, in some regions it entails greater violence for women. Essentially, the power structure at the basis of discrimination and violence against women is reinforced through the process of internalizing stereotypes and gender roles. These views of gender roles, and the socialization that keeps them alive, have led to discrimination against women in public life, as they are often seen as inappropriately defying their assigned gender role. It is important to note that these gender roles are limiting for everyone - while girls are taught that they are physically weaker ("run like a girl"), boys are taught that they are emotionally weaker ("boys don't cry"). As demonstrated in this video, sayings such as "run like a girl" or "throw like a girl" teach girls that they are physically weaker than boys and are also insulting to girls. This video shows that when adults think of a baby as a boy, they give the baby toy vehicles, action figures or construction equipment, and when they consider the baby to be a girl they offer her dolls and kitchen sets. An example of this process is the differences in toys marketed to boys and girls.
Those children may then grow up to perpetuate the existence of these damaging and restrictive roles in society. Children can be socialized from an early age to believe that women and men have different and proper gender roles in society. Thus, women have been relegated to the domestic sphere, while gender roles have depicted men as more fit for public life, leadership positions, activities in business, politics, and academia. For example, for centuries in the West, gender roles have depicted women as the more nurturing, emotional, and physically weaker gender.
One of the ways in which sexism is manifested in countries and cultures around the world is through the socialization of gender norms. Sexism is based on the idea that women are inferior to men, and functions to oppress women in society. Although the origin of the term as it is used around the world is not entirely clear, it is associated with the "second wave of feminism" which lasted from the 1960s to the 1980s, and was likely modelled on the concept of racism (Masequesmay, 2014). It can also mean the unfair treatment of people based on their sex or gender. Sexism is the prejudice or discrimination based on sex, especially in the form of discrimination against women ( Merriam-Webster). The following paragraphs discuss the notions of sexism, implicit sexism, sexual harassment and sexual assault, all of which are common forms of gender discrimination against women.