1. Gender refers to the roles, responsibilities and behaviour socially assigned to women and men, girls and boys, in each society. These roles and responsibilities change over time, differ from one culture to another, and are influenced by several factors such as for example social class, religion, education and income level.
2. Sex: The biological and physiological characteristics that define men and women.
3. Gender equality means that all the members of the society – women, men, girls and boys – have same conditions and opportunities to realize their full potential, respect others’ human rights and treat them with dignity.  Gender equality means equal access to various sectors of society (e.g. health, education), services, and decision-making processes and positions. This is also called equality of opportunity: everyone gets the same chances, and then it is up to the individual to reach the goals she or he has set for her or his life.

Gender equality is a right. Myanmar is a party to United Nations and has ratified various human rights treaties which grant equal rights to everyone. To speed up the fulfilment of gender equality, special treaties on the rights of women and girls have been written.

Increasing gender equality is a way to boost economies and national growth, to create well-fare, and to speed up development. Each year, the World Economic Forum (WEF) rates the countries of the world according to how well they perform in gender equality to analyse if there is a clear correlation between good economic performance and gender equality.

Substantive equality For gender equality to be fulfilled, it is not sufficient to look at provisions of equal rights in the legislation or signed treaties for men and women. There are barriers that create unequal opportunities to meaningfully exercise the given right in the law - hidden structures which make it harder for some people or groups of people to fulfil their full potential. It is essential to examine whether and to what extent for example men and women, boys and girls, LGBT-people and the disabled are able to exercise those rights. This is called equality of outcome or substantive equality.

4. Gender equity:

Equality carries the meaning of “the same” but equity is a wider concept. It carries the meaning of “fairness”: People have to be treated in a way which is fair and e.g. takes into consideration the fact that the game does not have the same rules for everybody.  Someone in a wheelchair will not be made to compete with a person with a bicycle.

To bring equity to a society, special measures a.k.a. affirmative action, also is needed. Quotas for women in politics is a good example of affirmative action. The goal is to be able to give up the policies of affirmative action once people’s thinking has changed, so that these policies can be only temporary measures. Of course, whether this can be done, depends on what sort of group the planned action is meant to support. The person in a wheelchair will always need measures of affirmative action as compared to the person with the bike.

5. Gender mainstreaming:  The concept of mainstreaming means assessing the different implications for women and men of any policy or political decision, including legislative decisions. These implications are to be taken into account in all activities – for example policy development, research, advocacy/dialogue, legislation, resource allocation, planning, implementation and monitoring etcetera. It is more than increasing women’s participation - gender perspective and the goal of gender equality are integrated in everything.  

Mainstreaming is not adding on a “women’s component” or even a “gender equality component”, to an existing activity. It’s a globally accepted strategy to promote gender equality.

Picture: Interaction Institute for Social Change | Artist: Angus Maguire. interactioninstitute.org, madewithangus.com.

6. Gender norms/bias:

Norms are informal social “rules” that most people follow. They refer to behaviour that appears to be ‘normal’ or acceptable for e.g. women, men or any social groups/communities. They consist of what we do, what we believe others do, and what we believe others approve of and expect us to do. They are often kept in place by social sanctions if one does not follow them (e.g. exclusion).

Norms can be negative or positive in relation to human rights and well-being. They can help societies to function producing social order. At times social norms can also be harmful and for example strengthen unequal hierarchy of power relations or privileges. This can lead to discrimination, and social and gender inequities. Unequal norms and biases exist in all societies and are global in nature.

Unequal gender norms affect many millions by limiting their mobility, physical autonomy and opportunities for work, study, and leisure. For example, the proportion of women who hold positions as heads of state has remained around 10% worldwide since 1995, while around 50% of people still believe men make better political leaders than women (UNDP 2023). These kinds of biased, patriarchal gender norms hold women back from becoming leaders. They reinforce systemic inequalities and unequal sharing of power and resources.

However, social norms can change as societies and cultures evolve. By renegotiating normative behaviour in a society transformative change is possible. There have been studies claiming that the social movement that started after the military took power in Myanmar in 2021, has been a driving force in challenging gender perceptions and norms for both women and men. This has been exemplified by e.g. women taking an active role not only in the demonstrations but also in military actions and in the use of sarongs as marching flags and barricades, also by men.

7. Gender blindness: The lack of recognition that roles, behaviour and responsibilities assigned to different genders are not ‘natural’ but defined according to each culture and society. It also involves blindness to recognize gender inequalities.
8. Gender gap: Measurable and systematic differences between different genders in areas of social life and policy sectors such as education, employment opportunities and participation in decision-making spheres.
9. Gender parity (in politics): Equal participation, equal sharing of benefits and opportunities for all genders. In politics, this refers to equally sharing decision-making posts and opportunities in parties and government.
10. Women’s empowerment: The process of acquiring or improving women’s power to develop their capacities under equal conditions as members of society, including the capacity to make decisions related to their own lives.
11. Diversity refers to a state in which all people are accepted and respected, regardless of their age, gender, health status, religion, ethnicity or sexual orientation.
12. Gender discrimination The CEDAW Convention defines discrimination against women as “any distinction, exclusion or restriction made on the basis of sex which has the effect or purpose of impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment or exercise by women, irrespective of their marital status, on a basis of equality of men and women, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural, civil or any other field.”

Discrimination can be direct or indirect. Indirect discrimination is often connected to practices, policies or rules which apply to everybody in the same way, and which place one person or some persons at a disadvantage. There is also discrimination that we are not aware of ourselves through bias ingrained in us.

Discrimination can also be intersectional: people can face discrimination not only based on their sex but also, for example, based on ethnicity, religion, caste, language, social or economic status, geographical location etc.

13. Quota Quotas are one form of affirmative action in politics. A quota is a numerical goal that represents a target minimum or target maximum of representation of a certain subgroup in a given administrative body.  Gender quotas set a minimum threshold for the representation of each gender (e.g. 20-40% of candidates or seats for women/men) with the ultimate goal being parity between men and women. The goal of gender quotas is to set the minimum ratio per gender in an elected, appointed or nominated body.  Quotas may also apply to underrepresented groups such as minorities based on regional, ethnic, linguistic, or religious cleavages, or persons with disabilities.
14. Gender and traditional culture   Some think that advancing gender equlality might somehow destroy traditional culture. However, cultures are not static but actually in constant state of transformation as people interact with each other. Change is what keeps cultures alive. Hence, it is safe to recognize that traditional customs which impede the fulfilment of gender equality and of women’s and girls’ rights can be considered harmful traditional practices for women. They include for example practices like child marriage, forced marriage, dowry-related violence or harassment, bride price, female genital mu­tilation, so-called “honour crimes”, stove burning, acid attacks, forcing the victim of rape to marry the perpetrator, “pay-back” or revenge rape, disinheritance, maltreatment of widows and polygamy.

Sources:

Demo Finland and NIMD (2019): Guidelines for Political Parties in Myanmar. Gender Equality: A Shortcut to Development and Prosperity

International IDEA (2016): A Framework for Developing Gender Policies for Political Parties

Demo Finland (2019): Better in Politics: A Female Politician’s Guide towards Knowledge and Empowerment.

Demo Finland and NIMD (2019): Guidelines for Political Parties in Myanmar – Gender Equality: A Shortcut to Development and Prosperity

UNICEF (2021): Defining Social Norms and Related Concepts

United Nations Development Programme: 2023 Gender Norms Index.

ALIGN (2023): Facing the backlash: what is fuelling anti-feminist and anti-democratic forces?

Women’s League of Burma (2006): Looking Through Gender Lenses Position Paper on Gender Equality.

Aye Lei Tun (2023): Deconstructing and Reinforcing Gender Norms and Cultural Taboos in Myanmar’s Spring Revolution. Journal of Burma Studies, Volume 27, Number 1, June 2023, pp. 29-63 (Article)