UNDERSTANDING GENDER INEQUALITY & RELATED CONCEPTS
By Deepika Chaudhary
Gender inequality exists in several facets of our lives, and they are mutually strengthening. For instance, inequality in terms of health can affect education, which can affect career opportunities, and on and on. Even after putting legislations into place, it does not essentially change attitudes, which is why gender inequality is a major challenge to be dealt with. For understanding gender inequality, one needs to understand the difference between concepts such as gender, sex, gender identity, binary, and non-binary. Recognizing the connection and the distinction between sex and gender aids in simplifying the complex debate on issues such as gender identity. Even in countries that have enacted legislation to promote gender equality, change in attitudes has been slow, especially about the roles women can play, which explains the perpetuation of sexism in the world. This paper will discuss gender inequality and related concepts of sex, gender, binary, non-binary identities and sexism, and will explore their complexities. This paper will also discuss how our everyday speech leads to the gendering of behaviour and perpetuation of stereotypes in society.
©2020- Lex Humanitariae: Journal for a Change
