MODULE NO.

Gender Sensitivity
The concept of gender sensitivity has been developed as a
way o reduce barriers to personal and economic
development created by Seyism. Gender sensitivity helps
to generate respect for the individual regardless of sex.
Gender Sensitivity is about pitting women against men.
It is the act of being sensitive to the ways people think
about gender.
 
What is Gender?
 
Gender refers to the socially constructed roles, behaviors,
activities, and attributes that a given society considers appropriate
for men and women. It is what a person identifies himself or
herself as. It is not binary; it is a spectrum.
 
What is sex?
 
Sex is biologically assigned to an individual. It refers to the
biological and physiological characteristics that define men and
women.
 
Thus, while sex is permanent and Universal, gender
construction varies from one society to another.
 
To put it in another way, “Male” and “Female” are
sex categories, while “Masculine” and Feminine”
are gender categories.
 
Gender as Social Construct
The social construction of gender is a theory in feminism and
sociology about the operation of gender and gender differences in
societies. According to this view, society and culture create gender
roles, and these roles are prescribed as ideal or appropriate behavior
for a person of the specific sex.
 
Where does gender emanate?
This question translates to the source of gender or where did it come
and gender came from the society itself. People before had no basis
of understanding of gender until a sexologist John Money
introduced the distinction between biological sex and gender as a
role.
3. Factors that affect gender issues
A. Parental influences -  any opinion, attitude, or
action (other than direct tutoring) that somehow
shapes or molds the child's reading attitudes.
Involvement is defined as any direct tutorial help the
child receives with his or her reading.

B. Stereotypes – these are preconceived ideas by people.

C. Social Institutions - social order of society and they

govern behaviour and expectations of individuals
Vision of a Gender-Fair Society
 
It is the vision that men and women should be treated
equally in social, economic and all other aspects
of society, and to not be discriminated against on the
basis of their gender. Gender equality is one of the
objectives of the United Nations Universal Declaration
of Human Rights.
 
The basic idea of the gender-equal society

A "gender-equal society" is a "society in which

both men and women, as equal members, have the
opportunity to participate in all kinds of social
activities at will, equally enjoy political,
economical and cultural benefits, and share
responsibilities."
What is the gender-equal society?
 
A "gender-equal society" is a society in which both men and
women shall be given equal opportunities to participate voluntarily in
activities at all levels as equal partners and shall be able to enjoy
political, economic, social and cultural benefits as well as to take
responsibilities equally.
 
Ideals and Aims of the Gender-Equal Society
 
All measures must serve to achieve fairness by respecting the human
rights of men and women equally in all aspects, and enable each
individual to lead his/her life as comfortable as possible. To do this in
all countries, the important precondition is world peace.
The concept of human rights is a universal value shared by
the human race, and is the basic idea behind the gender-
equal society. The fundamental principle of democracy is
that members of society equally participate in the policy
decision-making process and enjoy the benefits equally
therefrom.
 
Gender equality, also known as sexual
equality or equality of the sexes, is the state of equal ease
of access to resources and opportunities regardless
of gender, including economic participation and decision-
making; and the state of valuing different behaviors,
aspirations and needs equally, regardless of gender.
 
Gender Equality does not mean that women and men have to
become the same, but it can only be achieved when women and
men enjoy the same rights, responsibilities and opportunities
across all sectors of society, including economic participation
and decision-making, and when the different behaviors, beliefs,
aspirations and needs of women and men are equally valued
and favoured.
 
Quality education is important for girls and women, preventing
 gender-based violence and equality through education clearly also
remains a priority. Gender-based discrimination in education is, in
effect, both a cause and a consequence of deep-rooted differences in
society.
Gender equality important to economic development as it relies on
ending discrimination toward women and providing equal
opportunities for education and employment. Gender equality has
been conclusively shown to stimulate economic growth, which is
crucial for so-called developing countries.
 
Equality and Fairness important as a public value outcome. Crucially,
a society that is fair and equal also helps improve all other public value
outcomes. For example: Live ability – people feel socially connected to
their community and are able to participate in social economic and
educational activities.
Gender issues include all aspects and concerns related to women's and
men's lives and situation in society, to the way they interrelate, their
differences in access to and use of resources, their activities, and how they
react to changes, interventions and policies.
 
How does Gender Inequality affects our society?

The reason why investments and education policies are producing

different outcomes for women and men is because they happen
in societies where gender inequality is deeply entrenched. Gender
inequality is often driven by existing gender stereotypes that determine
how we perceive the roles of women and men in society.
Important Legislations
 
Equality Act. The objective of the Equality Act is to
prevent gender-based discrimination and
promote equality between women and men, thereby improving
the status of women, particularly in working life. Another goal of
the act is to prevent discrimination based on gender identity or
the expression of gender

Gender equality is intrinsically linked to sustainable

development and is vital to the realization of human rights for
all. The overall objective of gender equality is a society in
which women and men enjoy the same opportunities, rights and
obligations in all spheres of life.
RA 7877
 
An Act Declaring Sexual Harassment. Unlawful in the Employment,
Education, or Training Environment, and for other Purposes. Be it
enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines
in Congress assembled. This Act shall be known as the "Anti-Sexual
Harassment Act of 1995."
 
 
Republic Act No. 9262
 
An act of defining Violence Against women and their Children
(VAWC), providing for protective measures for victims, prescribing
penalties therefore, and for other purposes. This Act shall be known as
the “Anti-Violence Against Women and their Children Act of 2004.”
Violence Against Women & their children (VAWC) any act
or series of acts committed by any PERSON against a
WOMAN who is his wife, former wife, or with whom the
person has or had a sexual or dating relationships, or. with
whom he has a common child, or.
 
Violation of a BPO shall be punishable by imprisonment of
thirty (30) days without prejudice to any other criminal or
civil action that the offended party may file for any of the
acts committed.
Republic Act 7610.

An act providing stronger deterrence and special

protection against child abuse, exploitation and
discrimination, providing penalties for its violation
and for other purposes.
Is Gender Equality a Law?
 
Discrimination based on gender (or sex) is a common civil rights
violation that takes many forms, including sexual harassment,
pregnancy discrimination, and unequal pay for women who do the
same jobs as men. Equal Credit Opportunity Act -
Prohibits discrimination against credit applicants on the basis
of gender.
 
The National Center on Elder Abuse distinguishes between
seven different types of elder abuse. These include
physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, financial/material
exploitation, neglect, abandonment, and self-neglect.
 
Republic Act. No. 9710
 
What is Magna Carta of Women (Republic
Act No. 9710)?
 
The Magna Carta of Women is comprehensive women's
human rights law that seeks to eliminate discrimination
against women by recognizing, protecting, fulfilling and
promoting the rights of Filipino women, especially those in
marginalized sector.
 
The Magna Carta of Women defines the marginalized sectors as
those who belong to the basic, disadvantaged, or vulnerable groups
who are mostly living in poverty and have little or no access to land
and other resources, basic social and economic services such as health
care, education, water and sanitation, employment and livelihood
opportunities, housing security, physical infrastructure and the
justice system. These include, but are not limited to women in the
following sectors or groups: Small farmers and rural workers,
Fisherfolk, Urban poor, Workers in the formal economy, Workers in
the informal economy, Migrant workers, Indigenous
Peoples, Moro,ChildrenSenior citizens, Persons with disabilities, and

Solo parents.  
What are the rights of women guaranteed under
the Magna Carta of Women?
All rights in the Philippine Constitution and those
rights recognized under international instruments
duly signed and ratified by the Philippines, in
consonance with Philippine laws shall be rights of
women under the Magna Carta of Women. These
rights shall be enjoyed without discrimination since
the law prohibits discrimination against women,
whether done by public and private entities or
individuals.
 The Magna Carta of Women also spells out every woman's
right to: 
•  Protection from all forms of violence, including those
committed by the State. This includes the incremental increase
in the recruitment and training of women in government
services that cater to women victims of gender-related offenses.
It also ensures mandatory training on human rights and gender
sensitivity to all government personnel involved in  the
protection and defense of women against gender-based violence,
and mandates local government units to establish a Violence
Against Women Desk in every barangay to address violence
against women cases;
 
•  Protection and security in times of disaster, calamities and
other crisis situations, especially in all phases of relief,
recovery, rehabilitation and construction efforts, including
protection from sexual exploitation and other sexual and
gender-based violence. 
 
•  Participation and representation, including undertaking
temporary special measures and affirmative actions to
accelerate and ensure women's equitable participation and
representation in the third level civil service, development
councils and planning bodies, as well as political parties and
international bodies, including the private sector. 
•  Equaltreatment before the law, including the State's review and when
necessary amendment or repeal of existing laws that are discriminatory
to women; 
 
•  Equal access and elimination of discrimination against women
in education, scholarships and training. This includes
revising educational materials and curricula to remove gender
stereotypes and images, and outlawing the expulsion, non-
readmission, prohibiting enrollment and other related discrimination
against women students and faculty due to pregnancy outside of
marriage; 
 
•  Equal participation in sports. This includes measures to ensure
that gender-based discrimination in competitive and non-
competitive sports is removed so that women and girls can benefit from
sports development; 
•  Non-discrimination in employment in the field of military, police and
other similar services. This includes according the same promotional
privileges and opportunities as their men counterpart, including pay
increases, additional benefits, and awards, based on competency and quality
of performance. The dignity of women in the military, police and other
similar services shall always be respected, they shall be accorded with the
same capacity as men to act in and enter into contracts, including marriage,
as well as be entitled to leave benefits for women such as maternity leave,
as provided for in existing laws;
 
•  Non-discriminatory and non-derogatory portrayal of women in media and
film to raise the consciousness of the general public in recognizing the
dignity of women and the role and contribution of women in family,
community, and the society through the strategic use of mass media;  
•  Comprehensive health services and health information
and education covering all stages of  a woman's life cycle, and
which addresses the major causes of women's mortality and
morbidity, including access to among others,  maternal care,
responsible, ethical, legal, safe and effective methods of family
planning, and encouraging healthy lifestyle activities to prevent
diseases; 
 
•  Leave benefits of two (2) months with full pay based on
gross monthly compensation, for women employees who
undergo surgery caused by gynecological disorders, provided
that they have rendered continuous aggregate employment
service of at least six (6) months for the last twelve (12) months; 
 •  Equal rights in all matters relating to marriage and family
relations. The State shall ensure the same rights of women and
men to: enter into and leave marriages, freely choose a spouse,
decide on the number and spacing of their children, enjoy
personal rights including the choice of a profession, own,
acquire, and administer their property, and acquire, change, or
retain their nationality. It also states that the betrothal and
marriage of a child shall have no legal effect. The Magna Carta
of Women also guarantees the civil, political and economic
rights of women in the marginalized sectors, particularly
their right to: 
•  Food security and resources for food production, including
equal rights in the titling of the land and issuance of
stewardship contracts and patents; 
 
•  Localized, accessible, secure and affordable housing; 
 
•  Employment, livelihood, credit, capital and technology; 
 
•  Skills training, scholarships, especially in research and development
aimed towards women friendly farm technology; 
•  Representation and participation in policy-making or decisionmaking
bodies in the regional, national, and international levels; 
 
•  Access to information regarding policies on women, including programs, projects
and funding outlays that affect them; 
 
•  Social protection;
 
•  Recognition and preservation of cultural identity and integrity provided that these
cultural systems and practices are not discriminatory to women; 
 
•  Inclusion in discussions on peace and development;
 
•  Services and interventions for women in especially difficult circumstances or
WEDC; 
 
•  Protection of girl-children against all forms of discrimination in education, health
and nutrition, and skills development; and 
 
•  Protection of women senior citizens. 
 
  
Who will be responsible for implementing the Magna Carta
of Women? 
 The State, the private sector, society  in general, and all individuals
shall contribute to the recognition, respect and promotion of the rights of
women defined and guaranteed in the Magna Carta of Women. The
Philippine Government shall be the primary duty-bearer in implementing
the said law. This means that all government offices, including local
government units and government-owned and controlled corporations shall
be responsible to implement the provisions of Magna Carta of Women that
falls within their mandate, particularly those that guarantee rights of women
that require specific action from the State. As the primary duty-bearer, the
Government is tasked to: 
•  refrain from discriminating against women and
violating their rights;  

•  protect women against discrimination and from

violation of their rights by private corporations, entities,
and individuals; 

•  promote and fulfill the rights of women in all spheres,

including their rights to substantive equality and non-
discrimination.
The Government shall fulfill these  duties through the
development and implementation of laws, policies,regulatory
instruments, administrative guidelines, and other appropriate
measures, including temporary special measures. It shall also
establish mechanisms to promote the coherent and integrated
implementation of the Magna Carta of Women and other
related laws and policies to effectively stop discrimination against
Filipino women.
What are the specific responsibilities of government under
the Magna Carta of Women?

 The Magna Carta of Women mandates all government offices,

including government-owned and controlled corporations and local
government units to adopt gender mainstreaming as a strategy for
implementing the law and attaining its objectives. It also mandates (a)
planning, budgeting, monitoring and evaluation for gender and
development, (b) the creation and/or strengthening of gender and
development focal points, and (c) the generation and maintenance of
gender statistics and sex-disaggregated databases to aid in planning,
programming and policy formulation. 
 Under this law, the National Commission on the Role of
Filipino Women which will be renamed as the Philippine
Commission on Women (PCW) shall be the overall
monitoring and oversight body to ensure the implementation
of the law. As an agency under the Office of the President of
the Philippines, it will be the primary policy-making and
coordinating body for women and gender  equality concerns
and shall lead in ensuring that government agencies are
capacitated on the effective implementation of the Magna
Carta of Women. 
What are the penalties of violators? 

If the violation is committed by a government agency or any

government office, including government-owned and controlled
corporations and local government units, the person directly
responsible for the violation, as well as the head of the agency or local
chief executive shall be held liable under the Magna Carta of Women.
The sanctions under administrative law, civil service or other
appropriate laws shall be recommended by the Commission on Human
Rights to the Civil Service Commission and the Department of the
Interior and Local Government.  
 
Further, in cases where violence has been proven to be perpetrated
by agents of the State, such shall be considered aggravating offenses
with corresponding penalties depending on the severity of the offenses. 
If the violation is committed by a private entity or individual, the
person directly responsible for the violation shall be liable to pay
damages. Further, the offended party can also pursue other remedies
available under the law and can invoke any of the other provisions of
existing laws, especially those that protect the rights of women. 
 
How will the implementation of the Magna Carta of Women
be funded? 
The Magna Carta of Women provides that the State agencies should
utilize their gender and development budgets for programs and
activities to implement its provisions. Funds necessary for the
implementation of the Magna Carta of Women shall be charged
against the current appropriations of the concerned agencies, and
shall be included in their annual budgets for the succeeding years. 
The Magna Carta of Women also mandates the State to prioritize
allocation of all available resources to effectively fulfill its obligations
under the said law. 
 
When is the effectivity of the Magna Carta of Women? 
 The Magna Carta of Women shall take effect fifteen (15) days after
its publication in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation.
 
 
Who will formulate the Implementing Rules and Regulations? 
 The Philippine Commission on Women, in coordination with
the Commission on Human Rights and all concerned departments
and agencies including, as observers, both Houses of Congress,
and with the participation of representatives from non-
government organizations and civil society groups shall
formulate the implementing rules and regulations of the
Magna Carta of Women within one hundred eighty (180) days
after its effectivity.
Agents of Socialization of Gender Roles

Agents of Socialization

Social groups often provide the first experiences of

socialization. Families, and later peer groups,
communicate expectations and reinforce norms. People
first learn to use the tangible objects of material culture
in these settings, as well as being introduced to the
beliefs and values of society.
Family

The family is the most important agent of socialization. The family has

been viewed as the major vehicle for socialization. Parents provide physical
and social conditions in which children learn social skills

Family is the first agent of socialization. Mothers and fathers, siblings and
grandparents, plus members of an extended family, all teach a child what he
or she needs to know. For example, they show the child how to use objects
(such as clothes, computers, eating utensils, books, bikes); how to relate to
others (some as “family,” others as “friends,” still others as “strangers” or
“teachers” or “neighbors”); and how the world works (what is “real” and what
is “imagined”). As you are aware, either from your own experience as a child
or from your role in helping to raise one, socialization includes teaching and
learning about an unending array of objects and ideas.
Keep in mind, however, that families do not socialize
children in a vacuum. Many social factors affect the way a
family raises its children. For example, we can use
sociological imagination to recognize that individual
behaviors are affected by the historical period in which
they take place. Sixty years ago, it would not have been
considered especially strict for a father to hit his son with
a wooden spoon or a belt if he misbehaved, but today
that same action might be considered child abuse.
Sociologists recognize that race, social class, religion, and other societal
factors play an important role in socialization. For example, poor families
usually emphasize obedience and conformity when raising their children,
while wealthy families emphasize judgment and creativity (National
Opinion Research Center 2008). This may occur because working-class
parents have less education and more repetitive-task jobs for which it is
helpful to be able to follow rules and conform. Wealthy parents tend to have
better educations and often work in managerial positions or careers that
require creative problem solving, so they teach their children behaviors that
are beneficial in these positions. This means children are effectively
socialized and raised to take the types of jobs their parents already have,
thus reproducing the class system (Kohn 1977). Likewise, children are
socialized to abide by gender norms, perceptions of race, and class-related
behaviors.
In Sweden, for instance, stay-at-home fathers are an accepted part
of the social landscape. A government policy provides subsidized
time off work—480 days for families with newborns—with the
option of the paid leave being shared between mothers and
fathers. As one stay-at-home dad says, being home to take care of
his baby son “is a real fatherly thing to do. I think that’s very
masculine” (Associated Press 2011). Close to 90 percent of
Swedish fathers use their paternity leave (about 340,000 dads); on
average they take seven weeks per birth (The Economist, 2014).
How do U.S. policies—and our society’s expected gender roles—
compare? How will Swedish children raised this way be socialized
to parental gender norms? How might that be different from
parental gender norms in the United States?
Institutional Agents

The social institutions of our culture also inform our

socialization. Formal institutions—like schools,
workplaces, and the government—teach people how to
behave in and navigate these systems. Other institutions,
like the media, contribute to socialization by inundating
us with messages about norms and expectations.
School
Most U.S. children spend about seven hours a day, 180 days a year,
in school, which makes it hard to deny the importance school
has on their socialization (U.S. Department of Education 2004).
Students are not in school only to study math, reading, science,
and other subjects—the manifest function of this system. Schools
also serve a latent function in society by socializing children into
behaviors like practicing teamwork, following a schedule, and
using textbooks.

School and classroom rituals, led by teachers serving as role

models and leaders, regularly reinforce what society expects from
children. Sociologists describe this aspect of schools as
the hidden curriculum, the informal teaching done by schools
For example, in the United States, schools have built a sense of
competition into the way grades are awarded and the way
teachers evaluate students (Bowles and Gintis 1976). When
children participate in a relay race or a math contest, they learn
there are winners and losers in society. When children are
required to work together on a project, they practice teamwork
with other people in cooperative situations. The hidden
curriculum prepares children for the adult world. Children learn
how to deal with bureaucracy, rules, expectations, waiting their
turn, and sitting still for hours during the day. Schools in different
cultures socialize children differently in order to prepare them to
function well in those cultures. The latent functions of teamwork
and dealing with bureaucracy are features of U.S. culture.
Schools also socialize children by teaching them about
citizenship and national pride. In the United States, children
are taught to say the Pledge of Allegiance. Most districts
require classes about U.S. history and geography. As
academic understanding of history evolves, textbooks in the
United States have been scrutinized and revised to update
attitudes toward other cultures as well as perspectives on
historical events; thus, children are socialized to a different
national or world history than earlier textbooks may have
done. For example, information about the mistreatment of
African Americans and Native American Indians more
accurately reflects those events than in textbooks of the past.
The Workplace

Just as children spend much of their day at school, many U.S.

adults at some point invest a significant amount of time at a place
of employment. Although socialized into their culture since
birth, workers require new socialization into a workplace, in
terms of both material culture (such as how to operate the copy
machine) and nonmaterial culture (such as whether it’s okay to
speak directly to the boss or how to share the refrigerator).
Different jobs require different types of socialization. In the past,
many people worked a single job until retirement. Today, the
trend is to switch jobs at least once a decade. Between the ages of
eighteen and forty-six, the average baby boomer of the younger
set held 11.3 different jobs (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2014).
This means that people must become socialized to, and socialized
by, a variety of work environments.
Religion

Religion is one of the most powerful agents of

socialization which is linked with concepts and values
people identify themselves with. At the same time, it is
the most sensitive agent of socialization as well. People
tend to develop their own religious beliefs from their
parents, right from their inception.
While some religions are informal institutions, here we focus on
practices followed by formal institutions. Religion is an
important avenue of socialization for many people. The United
States is full of synagogues, temples, churches, mosques, and
similar religious communities where people gather to worship
and learn. Like other institutions, these places teach participants
how to interact with the religion’s material culture (like a
mezuzah, a prayer rug, or a communion wafer). For some people,
important ceremonies related to family structure—like marriage
and birth—are connected to religious celebrations. Many
religious institutions also uphold gender norms and contribute to
their enforcement through socialization. From ceremonial rites of
passage that reinforce the family unit to power dynamics that
reinforce gender roles, organized religion fosters a shared set of
socialized values that are passed on through society.
Mass Media

Mass media distribute impersonal information to a wide

audience, via television, newspapers, radio, and the
Internet. With the average person spending over four
hours a day in front of the television (and children
averaging even more screen time), media greatly
influences social norms (Roberts, Foehr, and Rideout
2005). People learn about objects of material culture (like
new technology and transportation options), as well as
nonmaterial culture—what is true (beliefs), what is
important (values), and what is expected (norms).
Socialization is a big factor in shaping people to become who
they are. Our social relations help us in forming our
individuality and sense of self towards others. Socialization is
the process whereby we learn and internalize the values,
beliefs, and norms of our culture and, in so doing develop a
sense of self. There are many agents of socialization, such as
our families, the friends we gain, and the institution we
belong to. M ass media had become one of the most
powerful forces that connect people to other people. Because
of this, mass media can already be considered a significant
agent of socialization. And since mass media had already
developed into a powerful and influential agent, then mass
media serve as a powerful socializing agent and has indeed
become a large influence of who we become.
It is a fact that the role of mass media as agents of socialization has
been both strengthened and changed by the modernization of the
world. Technology had increased the spread of mass medias reach.
People spend most of their time in touch with the world through the
different forms of mass media. Sometimes, the time allotted to other
agents of socialization is even sacrificed just to give time to the usage
of mass media. Television shows and movies today dominate culture
as the kind of life they portray easily dictates what will be reality. The
number of people who depend on what they watch in the television,
hear from the radio, or read from the internet, is increasing rapidly
because of the help of modern advancements.More time is given to
mass media use, and greater proportions of that time is dedicated to
entertainment. To keep people entertained means that the form of
mass media is successful in gathering supporters, and hence, profit
also. Mass media, after all, has
also a business side.