Causes of gender inequality

Socialization based on sex causes gender inequality. This socialization occurs even before birth: from the moment in which in pregnancy it is identified whether the baby will be a A boy or a girl begins a long process of socialization, the result of which is the differentiation of people as men or women.

From the gender perspective, it is possible to understand that the application of the sex-gender system in the process of Socialization builds on a social level a set of beliefs in which each gender is assigned certain behaviors determined.

The difference between sex and gender

The roles of each gender are given different importance according to a hierarchy of values, positioning women in inferiority. Thus arise the stereotypes that contribute to the maintenance of inequalities between men and women.

The concept "sex" refers exclusively to physical characteristics that biologically differentiate people as men and women. However, the concept "gender" is a social construction based on the assignment of different roles based on sex.

This means that gender is used to describe those socially constructed characteristics in a differential way for women and men. The social differences that we find in today's society between men and women are the result of learning about the sex-gender system.

The sex-gender system: a theory about inequality

The sex-gender system is a theoretical model that explains how gender socialization occurs. This theory identifies the natural with the socially constructed and establishes that sex itself is not the cause of inequality between women and men, but rather their socially constructed gender position.

This system produces a set of learned and internalized social norms that backbone the behaviors of both sexes and condition the perception and interpretation of social reality. Consequently they generate a differential socialization.

Biological inequalities translate into social inequalities, political and economic between women and men that generate sexism, with women being the most disadvantaged in this process.

From birth, people learn the behaviors, attitudes, roles and activities that correspond to the characteristics determined by belonging to one or the other sex, thus developing gender identity and roles of genre.

Gender roles and the construction of identity

Gender identity is the ascription to one or the other sex, that is, the identification as a man or a woman. From this gender identification, the development of a specific differentiation process is triggered in which gender roles are learned.

Gender roles imply assuming social representations as one's own on masculinity and femininity through the various agents of socialization: the family, the educational system, the media, culture, the community, institutions, etc.

This socialization continues throughout life. Through interactions with other people, values, attitudes, and values ​​are learned and internalized. the expectations and behaviors of each society in order to function in it.

Differential socialization between women and men

Walker and Barton's Theory of Differential Socialization (1983) explains how people, in their process of initiation of social and cultural life and from the influence of socializing agents, acquire differential gender identities that carry attitudes, behaviors, moral codes and stereotyped norms of conduct assigned to each gender.

The key to the differential socialization process is the congruence between the messages emitted by all the socialization agents. This facilitates the assumption and internalization by each individual to the point of considering that it is something of their own, of her personality, causing them to think and behave accordingly. Thus, from childhood, boys and girls will assume the traditional male and female roles as their own.

Male roles: work and ambition

The socialization of boys in the traditional male role focuses on producing and progressing in the public sphere. They are expected to be successful in this area as they are prepared and educated to bring their self-esteem and gratification to the public sphere.

Men are repressed in the affective sphere empowering freedoms, talent and diverse ambitions that facilitate self-promotion. They receive a lot of encouragement and little protection, which guides them towards action, the exterior, the macrosocial, and independence. Men are instilled in the value of work as a priority and defining obligation of their condition.

Female roles: family and home

In the case of girls, the socialization process in the traditional female role focuses on their preparation for reproduction and their permanence in the private sphere. Their successes are expected to come from this area, which will shape both their source of gratification and their self-esteem.

Unlike men, their freedoms, talents and ambitions are stifled that facilitate self-promotion, fostering the affective sphere. They receive little stimulation and a lot of protection, which guides them towards intimacy, the interior, the micro-social, the Dependency and the value of work is not instilled in them as a priority or defining obligation of their condition.

All these values ​​and norms are called gender mandates., that is, those implicit social norms that do not reflect what men and women are but how they should or should be and what is expected of each of them.

• Related article: "Patriarchy: 7 keys to understanding cultural machismo"

Socializing agents: how gender roles are reinforced

The differential socialization process based on gender occurs through different reinforcements and models. Differential reinforcement occurs when men and women are rewarded or punished for different behaviors, interests or expression of emotions.

Much of this learning occurs in the first years of life through modeling, that is, learning through the observation of the behaviors of other people and the consequences that such conduct has for the model.

This normative and informative influence occurs through socialization agents. The main socializing agents are:

1. The family

The first models that the child will have are the members of her family and they play an important role in the first stage of life as transmitters of behaviors, values, etc., through modeling and learning by way emotional. Various studies indicate that the most important role of the family lies in the regulation of activities typified by sex.

2. The education system

The education system it is the social structure that best reflects the dominant beliefs and values. Its influence on the maintenance of differences occurs through the hidden curriculum and the processes of social interaction that occur in the educational system.

There are four aspects of differential socialization that contribute to the hidden curriculum: distribution of men and women in the education system, which acts as a role model for students students; educational material and textbooks, which tend to reproduce gender stereotypes; school organization and practices, which reproduce the choices of traditional gender activities; and the expectations and attitudes of teachers, which affect the expectations that students have of themselves.

Regarding social interaction processes, interaction differences have also been observed in the classroom, differences in attention from teachers, in the distribution of play spaces, etc.

3. The media

It is the informational influence that through selective regulation presents stereotyped cultural models based on ideals of men and women who do not correspond with reality. They influence the perception we have of both men and women in general and of ourselves.

To achieve the elimination of gender-based inequalities, it is necessary to understand that the origin of gender inequality is based on differential socialization and that such socialization is a self-justifying process; that is to say, it causes men and women to behave differently and develop their activity in different spheres.

Differential socialization helps to confirm the belief that the sexes are different and to justify the need to continue perpetuating socially constructed differences.

Since the key to continue maintaining this differential process is the congruence between the messages emitted by the socialization agents, it would be useful to use them as an avenue for change and to promote through the same congruent messages that they eliminate inequalities based on gender.

• Related article: "Albert Bandura's Theory of Social Learning"

Bibliographic references:

• Bosch, E., Ferrer, V., & Alzamora, A. (2006). The Patriarchal Labyrinth: Theoretical-Practical Reflections on Violence Against Women. Barcelona: Anthropos, Editorial del Hombre.
• Cabral, B., & García, C. (2001). Undoing the knot of gender and violence. Other glances, 1 (1), pp. 60-76. Recovered from: http://www.redalyc.org/pdf/183/18310108.pdf
• Walker, S., Barton, L. (1983). Gender, class and education. New York: The Falmer Press.