PRELIM In India and Pakistan, their traditional

communities prevent women from obtaining

Week 1 education.

Article II, Section 14- women are vital to The impoverished women of Bangladesh are not
nation-building, and their inclusion in societal generally allowed to take loans or even interact
structures and processes is critical to equality with development workers who sought to
and development. organize them in a savings coop.

As of 2016, the Philippines ranked 7th in the In East Asia, women without husbands are
world for gender equality (highest in Asia) deemed not valuable, such that they are killed or
according to the World Economic Forum. forced to commit suicide when they are without
male guardians.
The Global Gender Gap Index was first
introduced by the World Economic Forum in 2006 Women of Saharan Africa are still subjected to
as a framework for capturing the magnitude of female circumcision, or genital mutilation, to
gender-based disparities and tracking their control their sexual desires.
progress over time.

Discrimination Today: Week 2

• In the reproductive sphere or the household,
childcare is a primary task mainly left to women Sex and gender are two very essential yet
in most societies. underrated parts of human life. They affect all
aspects of our lives, from how we look at and act
• Pay Gap – women earn less than men. In fact, in the jobs we take to how we regard the laws
in the United States, for each dollar ($1.00) a and values of our society.
man makes, a woman will only earn 80 cents
($0.80), even if they have the same qualifications Sex – in the Biological sense, is a category for
and responsibilities. living beings specifically related to their
reproductive functions. Most living creatures
• Glass Ceiling – certain attitudes and beliefs have two sexes – the male and the female.
about women's abilities limit their positions in a
company. Most likely, women will be left to do
menial jobs compared to men of the same
qualifications – such discrimination is based
solely on them being women.

• Generally speaking, in most societies, women There are instances where people could have
are often perceived as the weaker sex. higher levels of the opposite sex's hormone.
A man with higher progesterone and estrogen b. Sexual Stereotype– assumptions
levels is called an effeminate man, and a woman regarding a person's sexuality that
with higher testosterone levels is called a reinforce dominant views.
masculine woman.
Heteronormativity– the assumption that all
Gender – a socially learned behavior usually persons are only attracted to the sex opposite
associated with one's sex. Based on how people theirs.
see themselves and their tendency to act along a
masculine or feminine line. c. Sex-Role Stereotype– the roles that men
and women are assigned based on their
Two types of Gender sex and what behaviors they must
a. Femininity– behavior that one associates possess to fulfill these roles.
with females, may not actually be tied to
a woman’s sex. d. Compounded Stereotype– assumptions
b. Masculinity– behavior that associates about a specific group belonging to a
with males, but may not actually be tied gender and vice versa. For example,
to a man's sex. lady guards, older men, young women,
etc.
Gender Role Socialization– the process of
learning and internalizing culturally approved SOGIE – Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity
ways of thinking, feeling, and behaving. and Expression

Two types of Gender Role Socialization 1. Sexual Orientation– covers three

a. External Regulation- involves various dimensions of human sexuality. It
institutions (family, society, church, State, involves who one is attracted to and how
etc.) dictating what is proper and one identifies with this attraction,
standard based on one's identity. including romantic and sexual feelings.
b. Internal Regulation/ Internalized Social a. Sexual attraction, behavior, and
Control- a person policies themself fantasies
according to society's standards and b. Emotional and social preference;
norms. self-identification
c. Heterosexual and Homosexual
Gender Stereotypes develop when different lifestyle
institutions reinforce a biased perception of a
specific gender's role. 2. Gender Identity– refers to one's personal
experience of gender or social relations.
Types of Gender Stereotypes
a. Sex Stereotype– a generalized view of 3. Gender Expression– determines how
traits that should be possessed by men one expresses one's sexuality through
and women, specifically physical and the actions or manner of presenting
emotional roles. oneself.
LGBTQIA, an initialism movement meaning: depending on context. Some bigender
Lesbians– women attracted to women individuals express two distinct “female” and
Gays– men attracted to men “male” personas, feminine and masculine
Bisexuals– people who are attracted to either sex respectively; others find that they identify as
Transgender people– people who are two genders simultaneously.
transitioning Pansexual- is sexual attraction, romantic love, or
Queer/Questioning– people who are not yet sure emotional attraction toward people of any sex or
Intersex- people are born with sex characteristics gender identity. Pansexual people may refer to
(including genitals, gonads, and chromosome themselves as gender-blind, asserting that
patterns ) that do not fit typical binary notions of gender and sex are insignificant or irrelevant in
male or female bodies. Intersex is an umbrella determining whether they will be sexually
term used to describe a wide variety of natural attracted to others.
bodily variations. Gender Variant- or gender nonconformity, is
Asexual– people who have no sexual feelings behaviour or gender expression by an individual
that does not match masculine and feminine
Gender Equality– the State (government) gender norms.
recognizes that all human beings can enjoy equal Pangender- are those who feel they identify as all
conditions and fulfill their human potential to genders. The term has a great deal of overlap
contribute to the State and society. with gender queer.

Other Types of Gender Sexism is defined as the prejudice against a

Transsexual- experience a gender identity certain sex.
inconsistent or not culturally associated with the
sex they were assigned at birth.
Two-Spirit- is a modern umbrella term used by Week 3
some indigenous North Americans to describe
gender-variant individuals in their communities, Human beings, unlike animals, are not heavily
specifically people within indigenouscommunities dependent on instinct.
who are seen as having both male and female Humans possess systems of meanings that tell
spirits within them. what is right or wrong, and good and evil. Most of
Agender- also called genderless, genderfree, what people do is shaped or determined by these
non-gendered, or ungendered people are those systems
who identify as having no gender or being
without any gender identity. Culture is the system of symbols that allow
Gender Queer- an umbrella term for gender people to give meaning to experience. It is
identities that are not exclusively masculine or malleable and adaptable – meaning, culture
feminine—identities which are thus outside of can change.
the gender binary and cisnormativity. -It provides systems of shortcuts for meaningful
Bigender- a gender identity where the person interpretations and responses.
moves between feminine and masculine
gender identities and behaviours, possibly
Microaggression- hostile, derogatory, or negative Subjective Knowledge:The Inner Voice
racial slights and insults that can cause And The Quest for Self
potentially harmful or unpleasant psychological Women learn to trust their “inner voice and
impacts on the target person/group. infallible gut.” Women who learn through this are
those who have awakened to the previous
Discrimination occurs when a person cannot abuses they have suffered. They realized that
enjoy their human rights or other legal rights on following rules will not make them happy. They
an equal basis with others because of an depend on themselves and their experience to
unjustified distinction made in policy, law, or attain truth (use of intuition).
treatment.
Procedural Knowledge: Voice of Reason And
Amnesty International's work is rooted in the Separate And Connected Knowing
principle of non-discrimination. Women who learn through process, and they
learned well from formal systems of knowledge,
enough for them to excel. They learn to defend
Week 4 their beliefs and rationalize their thoughts, and
they focus on the method more, and less on the
Women And Silence problem.

Silence indicates an absence of thought or Constructed Knowledge:

reflection. Women who live in silence are often Integrating The Voices
disconnected from their families and communities Women need the ability to reflect on and accept
due to their situation which brings about the lack themselves. Women must learn to value their
of space for constructive thought. Women who own methods of knowing and their own
learn through silence lack the ability to constructed knowledge. They must turn inward.
understand abstract thought. They do not enjoy
introspection. 10 Differences Between the Male and Female
Thought Process
Received Knowledge: 1. Women See the ‘Big-Picture’; Men Have
Listening To The Voice of Others Tunnel-Vision
Developed by absorbing knowledge. Women who -The scientific fact is that, on an average,
learn through receiving knowledge listen to a woman’s brain is 14% smaller than that
friends and authorities, and understand what is of a man. What is equally important to
being said enough for them to repeat words. note is that women use their brain more
They are able to do the right thing by following efficiently than men do.
rules of authority figures, but they lack the ability 2. Women Tend to Talk More Than Men
to comprehend paradoxes (if two or more of her -women tend to link their verbal centers
authority figures have contradicting information, with emotions, memories, and feelings,
she cannot distinguish which is correct). as compared to men.
3. Women Revisit Memories More Than more emotive and sensory information
Men Do helps strengthen their memory bank.
-Thanks to the naturally higher blood flow 7. Women Need a Combination of Things
to a woman’s brain, especially to an area to Get Aroused; Men Need Visuals
called the cingulate gyrus, women tend -Very simply put, all a man really needs
to dwell on emotional memories way to get going are visual cues. They have
more often than men do. 20 times more testosterone in their
4. Women are More Tuned into Their bodies than women do, which makes
Emotions Than Men them concentrate on the physical
-Women have a larger limbic system (the aspects of sex more. Women, on the
part of the brain that controls emotions), other hand, can take their time, because
which helps them identify emotions they consider a whole lot of things – the
more, whether vocally expressed or not. mood, the ambience, the scents, the
Men, on the other hand, may need sounds, and of course, the emotions!
certain situations spelt out to them 8. Women are Better at Learning
because they tend to rely on facts and Languages; Men are Better with
logic to tackle any issue Numbers
5. Women are Also More Emotionally -women have a biological advantage
Empathetic Than Men when it comes to linguistic abilities,
-The region called insula in the brain because they are more receptive to
senses signals in our body; when you words and sounds. Similarly, the larger
are empathizing with someone, your inferior parietal lobules in men give them
brain imitates the feeling, which your a boost over women when it comes to
insula reads and conveys to you. Women mathematical ability.
tend to brood on these feelings more 9. Women are More Sensitive to Pain Than
than men, because they seem to have a Men Are
greater function in their insula. -it is believed that since a woman’s nerve
6. Women Have Better Memory Power density is greater than a man, her
Than Men sensitivity to pain is higher. Hormones
-When in the middle of an argument, also play an important part in this matter.
nothing helps a woman out more than Apart from this, women tend to
her ability to pull out facts, dates, faces, experience the psychological effects of
names, and even objects pertaining to a pain more than men – which means that
particular event from memory. Since they tend to worry about pain more than
women have more activity in their men do, which can increase their
hippocampus (the region that forms and sensitivity.
stores memories) than men do, you are 10. Women Are as Fond of Taking Risks As
able to remember a lot of (un)important Men Are!
details, that your man just cannot seem -women have the same appetite for risks
to recall! The fact that women also store as men do – it’s just that the perception
of what ‘risk’ really entails may have
 been biased. A study by Thekla Trivialization of Women
Morgenroth showed that the traditional -Bringing attention to the gender of a person,if
scale that was used to measure risk was and only if that person is a woman.
not very gender neutral, which Example: “lady guard,” “working wives”
consequently showed that men took
more risks than women did. -The perception that women are immature.
Example: “baby,” “darling”
Week 5
-The objectification, or likening to objects, of
Language is a primary symbol for communication women.
and for how humans understand and participate Example: “honey,” “sugar,” “tart”
in the world.
Violations of Gender-fair Language
Language defines men and women differently as -Fostering unequal gender relations
seen in common adjectives (his, him, she,her, Example: The use of “man and wife” assumes
etc.) associated with these genders. that men are still men and women’s identities
subsumed and shifted into beings in relation to
Sexist Language- a tool that reinforces unequal their husbands.
gender relations through sex-role stereotypes,
microaggressions, and sexual harassment. -Gender polarization of words in use if adjectives
did the same activity but were described
Invisibilization of Women- It is rooted in the differently
assumption that men are dominant and the norm Example: Both men and women did the same
of fullness of humanity, and women do not exist. activity but were described differently.

-The generic use of masculine pronouns or the Hidden Assumptions

use of a masculine general. Example: The statement “the father is
Example:“mankind” assumes that men are babysitting his children” assumes that the father
representatives of all people of the planet is not a caregiver,and that any attempt he has at
parenting is temporary as the mother is the main
-The assumption that certain functions or jobs caregiver.
are performed by men instead of both genders
Example:“The farmers and their wives tilled the Identities and Naming Things
land.” This assumes that men can have jobs as Naming things gives them power.
farmers,and women who do the same jobs are Example: sexual harassment was never seen as
still called as wives. an issue until it was given a name. The same
thing goes with “date rape,” prior to naming as
-The use of male job titles or terms ending in such, it is just referred to as “rape.
‘man’ to refer to functions that may be given to
both genders.
Example:“chairman,”“congressman”
 aggravated by HIV/AIDS.
● Women’s life expectancy, on average, is longer
than that of men

D. Violence Against Women & Children (VAWC)

● One in three women has experienced some
form of VAW in her life, of these, one in five has
experienced attempted or actual rape, and half of
Week 6 these victims are made of girls 16 and below.
● 30% of women’s first sexual encounter was
Women: A Sectoral Situationer forced or non-consensual.
The Beijing Platform for Action (BPfA) has ● Culture-specific violence like bride burning,
provided 12 different sectors where women are child brides, and female genital mutilation are still
generally oppressed. practiced in some parts of the world

A. Women and the Economy: Women and Work E. Women and Armed Conflict
● Work is often understood as a form of ● Rape and sexual violence are seen as war
livelihood. tactics to instill fear among communities (e.g.
● Women have specific labor issues related to Boko Haram, ISIS).
their gender. ● Women in armed conflict areas are prone to
● Fewer women are represented in the labor harassment or are made to enter forced domestic
force than men (since women are “expected” to servitude, and most cases remain unreported
stay at home and take care of their children). due to the fear of stigma attached to it.
● There is a presence of a pay gap also, women ● Chapter 4 of Philippines’ Magna Carta for
have an average of two more hours of work than Women: “all women shall be protected from all
men per day due to their productive work at forms of violence as provided for in existing
home. laws.”

B. Women and Education F. Women in Power and Politics

● Gender parity (equality) has been achieved in ● Globally, women compose only 22% of all
primary education in the Philippines. parliaments/congresses.
● In places with gender disparity, women are at a ● 143 out of 195 countries have constitutional
higher risk of discrimination. provisions to ensure gender equality.
●Inequality increases at higher levels of ● Women in the Philippines still constitute less
education, though there is an increase in female than half of the elected.
participation in tertiary levels.
● Women are still underrepresented in STEM.

C. Women and Health

● Pregnancy are still the main health
concerns for women aged 15-29, and it is
G. Institutional Mechanisms and the Human J. Women and Disasters
Rights of Women ● Women are more vulnerable to the effects of
The Magna Carta for Women is considered to be disasters, and it is increased by the effects of the
the “comprehensive bill of rights for Filipino resulting poverty incidence and migration.
women.” This is a major mechanism that
enforces gender equality in the country, and it K. Women in Indigenous Communities
has three tracks: ● Women members of Indigenous Peoples
● 1. Issuance of administrative memorandum (IPs)have little to no access to government
circulars for all three Branches of the services like health, education, and housing, due
Government. to their location outside of cities. This forces them
● 2. Issuance of guidelines to enhance the to go to the cities in search of better conditions,
capacity of agencies in gender planning. where they are exploited.
● 3. Legislative review to amend discriminatory
provisions. L. Filipino Women in Other Sectors
● Women living in ARMM (now BARMM) are
H. Discrimination Against Girl-Children affected by the decades-long armed conflict.
● Girl-children are more susceptible to harmful
practices like female infanticide (killing of baby
girls) and sex-selective abortion.
● Since a lot of cultures value baby boys than
girls, people in poorer countries tend to give
more food to boys, leaving girls at risk of
malnutrition.
● Female circumcisions are still prevalent in
some cultures.
● Teenage pregnancies are still prevalent due to
lack of access to sex education, family planning
seminars, and contraceptives.

I. Women and the Environment

● Women are more susceptible to have less
access to clean water and sanitation and access
to energy, also women have more risk of
exposure to natural disasters.
● Poor women are forced to walk for 20 minutes
to one hour to get water and/or firewood for their
families (ex. Sub-Saharan Africa), most times,
multiple times a day.