Gender-Fair Language: Guidelines & Violations

Gender-Fair Language

• Language plays a vital role in how humans understand each other and shapes our society's perception, with many gendered assumptions influencing how men and women are defined.

Violations of Gender-Fair Language

• Sexist language reinforces unequal gender relations through sex-role stereotypes, microaggressions, sexual harassment, and perpetuates stereotypes.
• Language is a powerful force affecting world perception and can form subtle messages reinforcing unfair relations, impacting one's capabilities.

Invisibilization of Women

• Originates from the assumption that men dominate, are the norm of humanity, and women do not exist.

The Generic Use of Masculine Pronouns or the Use of a Masculine General

• Using words like "mankind" assumes men represent everyone, sidelining women's presence or roles.
• Saying "guys" to refer to a mixed-gender group reinforces the idea that men are the standard, making women secondary or invisible.

The Assumption That Certain Functions or Jobs Are Performed by Men Instead of Both Genders

• Examples like "farmers and their wives tilled the land" assume men have jobs as farmers, politicians, and doctors, while women are identified as wives, linking their identities to marriage.

The Use of Male Job Titles or Terms Ending in Man to Refer to Functions That May Be Given to Both Genders

• Titles such as "businessman," "chairman," and "policeman" assume only men hold these positions, which is untrue.

Trivialization of Women

• Dismissing, belittling, or reducing women's contributions, experiences, and concerns as unimportant.

Bringing Attention to the Gender of a Person if That Person Is a Woman

• Using "lady", "girl" or "woman" with a noun emphasizes gender over job or function.
• Examples include "Woman Doctor," "Lady guard," and "Working wives."

The Perception of Women as Immature

• Calling women "darling" or "baby" by those who don't know them can make them seem childish or less capable, even in professional settings.

The Objectification or Likening to Objects of Women

• Treating women as objects rather than individuals with intelligence and skills.
• Referring to women as “honey”, “sweets” or “chick” devalues them, especially in formal environments.

Fostering Unequal Gender Relations

• Language that lacks parallelism promotes unequal gender relations.
• The use of “man and wife" assumes men are still men and women become beings in relation to their husbands
• A woman's title changes based on marital status ("Miss" to "Mrs."), while men use "Mr." regardless of marital status.

Gender Polarization of Words in Use of Adjectives

• Different words, adjectives, or descriptions are employed for men and women in similar situations, often reinforcing stereotypes.
• Men are typically described with positive, powerful, or neutral terms, while women are described in negative, emotional, or diminishing ways.
• Men – boss. Women - bossy

Judging Mothers for Working but Praising Fathers for Doing the Same

• Women- Uncaring: "She's a working mom─how does she manage?"
• Men- Provider: "He's such a great dad-he helps with the kids!"

Hidden Assumptions

• Hidden assumptions in sentences can be forms of microaggression if the underlying perceptions are sexist and degrading.
• Saying “The father is babysitting his children” assumes the father is not a caregiver and his parenting is temporary.

Philippine Culture and Language

• Filipino (Tagalog) is naturally gender-neutral, using words like siya (he/she) and kapatid (sibling).
• 400 years of colonization by Spain and the U.S. introduced gendered words and reinforced Western gender roles.
• Pre-colonial Filipinos valued gender equality, with women holding leadership roles and economic freedom.
• Filipino culture blends native gender neutrality with Western-influenced gender expectations, shaping modern identities, education, and work dynamics.

Identities and Naming Things

• Naming things or experiences empowers people to understand, validate, and fight against oppression.
• Transforms hidden struggles into real social issues, helping to identify problems, create solutions, and challenge social norms.
• The term "sexual harassment" helped recognizing inappropriate behavior in the workplace as a serious issue.
• "Body shaming" promotes self-love, encourages body positivity, and exposes how comments can lead to low self-esteem and mental health struggles.

Sexist Language and Culture

• It excludes or trivializes a gender, or suggests that one gender is superior, in written or spoken form.
• Examples: Using "he" or "him" for both sexes and using "chairman" for men and "chairperson" for women.
• Normalization of sexism is associated with violence against women.
• Sexist attitudes and behaviors become ingrained in society, often overlooked or accepted as normal.

Toward Gender-Fair Language

• It's a key step for gender equality, addressing language's impact on perceptions and stereotypes.
• Encourages inclusivity, challenges biases, and promotes respectful representation for a more equitable society.

UN World's Women Report

• UN Women works with governments and civil society to ensure global standards for gender equality.
• Mocking or joking about women/LGBT, sexualizing them, and making them appear weak is inherently sexist.
• Language creating sexism can influence the perpetrator and reflects a society's view of a gender.

Sectoral Situationer

• It is an important resource for understanding the systemic inequalities faced by women, particularly in the Philippines.
• Highlights the interconnectedness of issues across work, education, health, and politics.
• The Beijing Platform for Action provides a framework for analyzing progress and setbacks in gender equality, promoting awareness and advocacy for change.

Woman and the Economy: Women and Work

• Work is essential but women face labor issues leading to invisibility of their contributions due to socialized roles.
• Women's economic contributions are undervalued, and they face challenges hindering their participation.
• These challenges include: Gender pay gaps, Lack of affordable childcare, Societal expectations burdening women with domestic responsibilities

Gender and Society

• Societal structures and norms shape gender roles, with gender inequality being a deeply ingrained issue impacting women's participation, healthcare, and well-being.
• Addressing inequalities requires policy changes, cultural shifts, and challenging societal norms.
• The 2011 report shows women face risks of unemployment and maltreatment in home-based employment.

Women, Work, and Poverty in the Philippines

• Women are the fifth poorest social class, with 15.6% classified as poor in 2015.
• Structural adjustments negatively impact women's living conditions by affecting the availability of work, the nature of work, and job security.
• Numerous Women-Specific issues occur in agriculture, formal labor, and informal work. Women overseas Filipino workers are at high risk.

Women and Education

• Gender parity in primary education exists not only in the Philippines, but in the rest of the world, with girls performing better than boys in some regions.
• More than three-fourths of the 58 million out-of-school children live in sub-Saharan African and Southern Asia, with half of the out-of-school girls coming from these regions.
• Inequality increases at higher education levels, with fewer students enrolling in secondary and tertiary education. However, an increase can be found in female participation in higher education.
• Issues in education involve the gendered nature of certain specializations. Women may be underrepresented in STEM fields
• In 2008, Sixty-eight million Filipinos aged 10 years and over are basically literate. Basic literacy is at 96.1% for women and 95.1% for men. Women have higher basic literacy and numerical skills than men.

Higher Education

• For higher education enrollment during school year 2005-2006 54.48% of enrollees were women, versus 45.52% for men.
• There was a higher preference for private higher education for both male and female students.

Women and Health

• Access to healthcare is a critical issue for women, involving emotional, psychological, and social well-being and is often linked to women-specific health concerns
• Average life expectancy of women has increased to 72 years, compared to 68 years for men. Due to gender disparties there are challenges persist in caring for elderly women.
• The Philippines has faced declining heal care and spends less that the recommended 5% benchmark.

Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights

• Teenage pregnancy in the Philippines has increased significantly, with a 65% rise from 2000 to 2010.
• The rise in teenage pregnancy is attributed to a lack of information on sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), inadequate sex education in schools and communities, and limited access to contraceptives.
• The Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act of 2012 (R.A. 10354) aims to bridge these gaps by guaranteeing universal access to family planning, fertility management, sexuality education, and maternal care.

Violence Against Women

• VAW is a widespread issue, with alarming number of victims are girls under 16, and up to 30% of women reporting that their first sexual experience was forced or non-consensual

Women and Armed Conflict

• Armed conflict is a critical area of concern in terms of women's participation in peace as well as in terms of their victimization during conflict around the globe.
• Women and girls are disproportionately affected by crises, exposed to increased violence risk, and lack access to resources.

Women in Power and Politics

• The number of women in parliament worldwide has doubled since the implementation of the BPfA
• The Philippines made it to the top ten countries in the World Economic Forum Global Gender Gap Index for 2015, and increasing in terms of gender equality.

Institutional Mechanisms and the Human Rights of Women

• The Magna Carta of Women is a groundbreaking law that serves as the "comprehensive bill of rights for Filipino women," ensuring that gender equality is met in various sectors.

Discrimination Against the Girl-Child

• The Beijing Platform for Action sees the girl-child as an important sector that faces numerous forms of injustice.
• Women experience their first forms of discrimination during childhood, causing a systematic cycle of abuse.

Women and Environment

• This refers to the complex and interconnected relationship between women and the natural world.
• The BPfA marked a pivotal shift, explicitly recognizing "Women and the Environment" as a critical area of concern

Key Concerns Highlighting the Disproportionate Impact on Women

• Access to Clean Water and Sanitation: Women and girls are often responsible for water collection, facing increased burdens.
• Access to Energy: Women in many developing countries rely on biomass fuels for cooking and heating, leading to indoor air pollution and health problems.
• Exposure to Natural Disasters: Women are often more vulnerable to the impacts of natural disasters due to limited mobility, lack of access to information and resources, and increased caregiving responsibilities.
• Lack of Consultation and Position in Decision-Making Bodies: Women are often excluded from decision-making processes related to environmental management,.

Women and Disaster

• The intersection of "women and disaster" refers to how disasters disproportionately affect women and girls due to pre-existing gender inequalities.
• Women and girls face heightened vulnerability in disasters due to pre-existing inequalities stemming from economic, cultural, and legal factors.
• Women: Poverty exacerbates vulnerability, cultural factors can limit mobility, legal constraints deny access to resources, and high illiteracy hinders recovery.

Gender and Society: A Focus on Filipino Women

• Women across various sectors, highlighting the challenges they face and the need for greater gender equality.
• Gender-Based Violence: Post-disaster scenarios often see an increase in gender-based violence, This can be changed by ensuring women's participation in disaster preparation

Women in Indigenous Communities

• Indigenous people in the Philippines face historical discrimination and marginalization, with limited access to education, healthcare, and other essential services.
• Women in indigenous communities often face challenges related to land ownership and reproductive rights, with government policies sometimes hindering their traditional practices.
• Extractive industries, such as mining, can have a significant negative impact on indigenous communities, leading to displacement, environmental degradation, and violence against women.