Expanded Key Terms

Social and cultural differences a society assigns to people based on their biological sex.

Gender is the social response to biological sex that specifies how people should identify and act. Gender is the physical manifestation of the social norms and mores in a society related to individual expression and operation within a larger social network, particularly constricting people to the gender binary and expecting (or assuming) heteronormativity from all. Gender is subject to each individual to determine how they choose to identify.

An undesirable or unfair difference between men and women in terms of opportunities, pay, and status.

The gender gap is the undeniable gap in wages for workers around the globe according to the traditional gender binary, with men making significantly more than women each year in almost any position in any industry. This undesirable, unfair, and unjust difference in pay is the reflection of expected social norms and mores around gender expression, sex, and gender.

Individuals’ beliefs about themselves as females or males.

Gender identity is the social expectation of each individual to identify with the gender that is most common with their assigned biological sex at birth. For individuals born with biological male reproductive organs, their presumed gender is male, and they are socialized into their identity from birth. In addition, their gender identity is expected to remain male throughout their life and is also socially expected to be reinforced by masculine actions and behaviors that align with male gender roles. For individuals born with biological female reproductive organs, their presumed gender is female, and they are socialized into their identity from birth. In addition, their gender identity is expected to stay and remain female throughout their life and is socially expected to be reinforced by feminine actions and behaviors that align with female gender roles. Gender identity is not a concrete binary, as many communities in our global society would argue. Gender identity is subject to each individual’s choice as to how they identify. Gender identity is fluid and subject to change throughout each individual’s lived experience.

The way in which the meaning is assigned to sex and gender as social categories creates disparities in resources, such as income, power, and status.

Gender inequality is the mistreatment of individuals in society based on how an individual determines another individual’s gender expression to align with their presumed gender identity. Gender inequality can occur anytime, anyplace, and can affect individuals in many aspects of their lives. Social rights, income earnings, power in society — whether official or unofficial — and social status are all different factors that are impacted by gender inequality. Gender inequality is stereotypically associated with the mistreatment of any individual who is not a man by men in society.

Society’s expectations of people’s behavior and attitudes based on whether they are females or males.

Gender roles are the physical actions and responses in society that each individual is expected to take according to their gender normalized from birth. Traditional gender roles extend from how one should speak and act to how one should or shouldn’t dress and conduct daily activities. Traditional gender roles also reinforce the idea of the gender binary and ignore the idea that each individual can choose how they identify. What each person chooses to want to do, like to do, hate to do, etc., is a personal decision. In the larger view of freedom of expression, self, and identity for all, the use of a gender binary and constricting individuals to traditional gender roles does more harm than good.

The way males are put on the “fast track” to advanced positions when entering primarily female-dominated professions.

The glass escalator is a term that refers to the common fast track for individuals who pass as men and identify as men in areas of life such as careers, earnings, and more. The term glass escalator builds on the idea of the glass ceiling, where glass refers to the invisible, unexpected, and yet impenetrable aspect of this fast-track that, despite social awareness of its existence, cannot be pinpointed to an exact, singular time and place and is difficult to disassemble from society. The difficulty in this task lies in the fact that most societies around the world operate from a patriarchal perspective. This leads to unequal treatment of the sexes, favoring and escalating the status of men in all aspects of life.

An unofficially acknowledged barrier to advancement in a profession.

The term glass ceiling is commonly used in society to describe limitations for individuals with different gender or sexual identities or other identities that experience hate and unequal treatment by employers. This hateful treatment is enacted due to a perceived deviation from social norms by the employer. The term glass is used to describe the invisible, unexpected, and yet impenetrable aspect of these barriers in areas of life such as careers, family, and more.

The belief that women and men should have equal opportunities in economic, political, and social life.

Feminism, on a broad spectrum, is the belief that all people should be treated equally and not subject to differences in gender in all aspects of life. Economic, political, and social life are three major tenets of individual expression that early feminists in the 1960s fought for liberation from male oppression and control, in and out of the household. Feminists then and today would go on to say that all aspects of life and expression should be free for all people in society to allow everyone freedom from constraints and limitations.

The system of advantages that are available to men solely on the basis of their sex.

Male privilege is the known set of advantages available to individuals who identify and pass as men in society. Male privilege is another byproduct and/or cause of patriarchy in society and continues to fuel other aspects of society, such as sexism and gender inequality. Arguably, male privilege will continue to exist and be impossible to eradicate from society until all people are seen equally and treated equally for who they are, regardless of sexual identity or gender/sexual conformity.

A system of society or government in which men hold the power and women are largely excluded.

The patriarchy is the term describing a society or institution that was designed by men and favors men. The patriarchy creates an unfair, unjust, and undesirable difference in treatment for men compared to women and individuals with other biological sexual identities appointed at birth. Additionally, the patriarchy rewards people who conform to their assigned biological sexual identity assigned at birth, present as a gender identity in alignment with the biological sexual assignment at birth, and even more so to individuals who identify as heterosexual. Men who are white, heterosexual, and present as traditional men receive the highest reward in patriarchy, receiving benefits such as the removal of all glass ceilings and the installment of the glass elevator. Men and women who are minorities, queer women, or other gender-identifying individuals would be the most highly oppressed in patriarchy.

Unpaid housework and childcare done primarily by women, in addition to paid work outside the home.

The term second shift refers to the work done at home caring for the household and the family, stereotypically done by women. The second shift is called the second shift because it refers to the economic factor at play — that women who work this “second shift” work a full-time first shift to earn money for the family and then come home to work a full-time, unpaid shift cleaning, cooking, caring for family members, and more. The second shift is an occurrence that happens within traditional households with female members who work and is a product of deeply ingrained social norms created by patriarchal institutions.

Biological traits that distinguish males from females.

Sex is the term for the biological traits that make males and females different. This relates largely to sexual reproductive organs, although there are individuals who are born with both sexual reproductive organs and identify as intersex. Sex is not as simple as looking at someone and assuming their sex. Please note that sex, gender, and sexual orientation are all different and distinct and that each of these requires an element of respect in the fact that each person decides how they identify.

A set of expectations attached to a particular sex category.

Sex roles in sociology are the expectations regarding actions and ideas in society that people are expected to enact based on their sexual identity assigned at birth. Sex roles vary for men and women. Many stereotypical sex roles for men include earning a lot of money, having a successful professional career, starting a heterosexual family, being physically strong, and enjoying “masculine” activities. Many stereotypical sex roles for women include raising a family, caring for a household, using cosmetics to encourage external beauty, working in a career role, and more. Sex roles are external expectations and assumptions based on social norms and mores in society that are placed on individuals, essentially forcing them to conform and abide by the set terms.

A physical and spatial separation by sex without any connotation of illegal discrimination.

Sex segregation is the separation of individuals into different groupings according to the gender binary and each individual’s assigned binary sexual identity at birth. These sex segregations are not illegal and are reinforced by collectively held social norms that sexes can and should be separated at times to prevent unwanted sexual tension/contact or other deviant behavior. In some instances, these actions may not be about women’s choices but may reflect patriarchal control in society.

A belief in traditional gender role stereotypes and the inherent inequality between men and women. 

Sexism is inequality toward individuals based on how they appear and act, which is used to quickly form an assumption about their “correct” gender and sexual identity. In many societies around the globe, the social hierarchy is dominated by men who view women as inferior. This hierarchy can be distinct or subtle and virtually unnoticeable in daily interactions. Sexism serves as a product of the existence of systems such as the patriarchy. Sexism is stereotypically aligned with the mistreatment of women, queer, and non-conforming individuals by men in society.

The tendency for women to work longer than men due to stereotyped roles, including work, working at home, and being involved in the community.

The term triple burden refers to the additional tasks assigned to women in society due to socialized norms for women to care for households and the family. These tasks were assigned to women in the past from perspectives of capability and the desire by the individual to participate in specific roles. Today, all individuals are encouraged to pursue whatever career and occupation they choose, regardless of whether or not they identify with the most common expression in their field. That said, today, some women in heterosexual relationships or single mothers are still expected to care for their households and families without additional help.