[PDFlist] To Achieve Gender Equality, We Must First Tackle Our Unconscious Biases

[savina nongebatu]

Vinaka solo


On Thu, May 16, 2019 at 3:26 PM Soloveni Vitoso <infor at pacificdisability.org>
wrote:

>
> *To Achieve Gender Equality, We Must First Tackle Our Unconscious Biases*
>
> 1.
>
> 2.      By B*eatrice Alba*
> <https://theconversation.com/profiles/beatrice-alba-126402> – March 7,
> 2018
>
> 3.
>
> People often argue that most Western/Northern Europe societies have
> achieved gender equality – women have all the same legal rights as men, and
> workplace discrimination based on gender is illegal. Despite this,
> feminists continue to argue that the battle for gender equality is not yet
> won.
>
> So what do we mean when we talk about gender equality, and how will we
> know when we have it?
>
> *What does the evidence tell us?*
>
> There is evidence of widespread prejudice against women and girls from
> decades of psychological research. For instance, an experiment
> <http://www.pnas.org/content/111/12/4427.short> was conducted in which
> participants watched an entrepreneurial pitch video of images relating to a
> new venture, narrated by the voice of the entrepreneur. Participants were
> randomly assigned to a group in which either a male or female voice
> narrated the pitch, which was otherwise identical. When a male voice
> pitched the venture, 68% of participants thought it was worthy of funding,
> compared to only 32% when pitched by a female voice.
>
> Such effects occur even when gender is presented only on paper. In an
> experiment
> <http://www.pnas.org/content/pnas/early/2012/09/14/1211286109.full.pdf> in
> which participants were asked to rate an applicant for a laboratory manager
> position, an identical application was provided in two separate conditions.
> However, in each condition, the application was randomly assigned as
> belonging to either “John” or “Jennifer”. Participants who were led to
> believe the applicant was male rated them as more competent and hireable,
> as well as offering them a higher starting salary and more career mentoring.
>
> Even children show this gender bias. One study
> <http://science.sciencemag.org/content/355/6323/389> asked children to
> guess whether a “really, really smart” protagonist in a story was a man or
> a woman. By the age of six, girls were less likely to guess that the
> protagonist was a woman than boys were to guess that the protagonist was a
> man.
>
> This scientific evidence demonstrates that people do in fact discriminate
> based on gender, despite denials that gender inequality persists in modern
> societies. This research demonstrates that even when all else is equal,
> women are at a disadvantage to men in many domains. This might be because
> men are perceived as being more capable in general, even in the absence of
> evidence to suggest superior skills.
>
> *Equal does not mean identical*
>
> One might object that there are meaningful differences between males and
> females, and these in turn are the source of gender inequality. Some
> believe that equality is the wrong word to use, because males and females
> can’t be equal if they are different.
>
> But when feminists refer to gender equality, we are not arguing that males
> and females are identical or indistinguishable on all behaviour,
> preferences and abilities. Nor does it mean all gender differences must be
> eliminated, or that we must have equal gender representation in every field.
>
> For instance, there are many more male firefighters than female
> firefighters. Part of this is likely due to gender differences in work
> preferences. But it is also partly due to the physical strength tests
> <https://firefighter.vic.gov.au/fitness-preparation/firefighting-task-11-casualty-rescue/> used
> in recruiting firefighters. These include being able to lift a 72kg
> mannequin and drag it for 45 metres. Many fit men can achieve this feat,
> but substantially fewer fit women can.
>
> Even in the absence of gender discrimination, we might always have fewer
> female firefighters simply because of such physical requirements. But as
> long as these requirements are reasonable for the job and no woman is
> excluded *because* she is a woman, then gender discrimination is not a
> problem. Gender equality doesn’t mean we must have a 50:50 balance of men
> and women in every profession purely for the sake of equal representation.
>
>
>
> *Equality or equity?*
>
> Gender equality also does not mean that males and females must always be
> treated the same. Given the existence of biological sex differences, it is
> reasonable for males and females to have different legal rights in some
> instances. For example, only females can ever require maternity leave
> specifically for pregnancy and birth.
>
> In cases such as these, what is required is not equal treatment, but
> equitable treatment. Equity
> <http://www.societyfordiversity.org/equality-vs-equity/> means
> recognising that differences in ability mean that fairness often requires
> treating people differently so that they can achieve the same outcome. At
> times equity is necessary to achieve gender equality, but there are many
> instances where this is not the case.
>
> Most of the time, women and girls are at no inherent disadvantage due to a
> lack of ability that warrants differential treatment. Gender equality can
> often be achieved just by holding everyone to the same standard. The
> problem, as highlighted by the evidence reviewed above, is the irrational
> gender bias that women and girls are routinely subjected to.
>
> The purpose of affirmative action policies to increase female
> representation is to counteract systemic discrimination against women.
> Affirmative action creates gender equity by overcoming the barriers women
> face simply because of their gender. If we can eliminate this gender-based
> discrimination, no such action will be necessary.
>
> *Achieving gender equality*
>
> So if gender equality does not mean that males and females must be
> identical or always require the same treatment in order to achieve
> fairness, what does it mean?
>
> Gender equality is seeing males and females as being of equal status and
> value. It is judging a person based on their merit, and not viewing them as
> inferior or superior purely based on their gender.
>
> Unfortunately, the evidence reviewed above suggests this prejudice is
> still widespread, and we often aren’t aware of our own biases
> <https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11468377-thinking-fast-and-slow>. We
> cannot say that we have gender equality until this prejudice is overcome
> and we have eliminated the irrational bias that people have against
> somebody just because they are female.
>
> Equal rights are not enough. Inequality exists in our minds, in our biases
> and prejudices, and that remains to be fixed.
>
>
> https://theconversation.com/to-achieve-gender-equality-we-must-first-tackle-our-unconscious-biases-92848
>
>
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