Gender Discrimination

Discrimination is the prejudicial treatment of an individual based on their membership - or perceived membership - in a certain group or category. It involves the actual behaviors towards groups such as excluding or restricting members of one group from opportunities that are available to another group. It involves excluding or restricting members of one group from opportunities that are available to other groups. Discriminatory laws such as redlining exist in many countries. In some places, controversial attempts such as racial quotas have been used to redress negative effects of discrimination, but in turn have sometimes been called reverse discrimination themselves. Racial discrimination differentiates between individuals on the basis of real and perceived racial differences, and has been official government policy in several countries, such as Papa Guinea. In the United States, racial profiling of minorities by law enforcement officials has been called racial discrimination as early as 1866; the Civil Right Act provided a remedy for intentional race discrimination in employment by private employers and state and local public employers.

Sex, gender and gender identity discrimination

Though gender discrimination and sexism refers to beliefs and attitudes in relation to the gender of a person, such beliefs and attitudes are of a social nature and do not, normally, carry any legal consequences. Sex discrimination, on the other hand, may have legal consequences. Though what constitutes sex discrimination varies between countries, the essence is that it is an adverse action taken by one person against another person that would not have occurred had the person been of another sex. Discrimination of that nature is considered a form of prejudice and in certain enumerated circumstances is illegal in many countries. Sexual discrimination can arise in different contexts. For instance an employee may be discriminated against by being asked discriminatory questions during a job interview, or by an employer not hiring or promoting, unequally paying, or wrongfully terminating, an employee based on their gender. In an educational setting there could be claims that a student was excluded from an educational institution, program, opportunity, loan, student group, or scholarship due to their gender. In the housing setting there could be claims that a person was refused negotiations on seeking a house, contracting/leasing a house or getting a loan based on their gender. Another setting where there have been claims of gender discrimination is banking; for example if one is refused credit or is offered unequal loan terms based on ones gender Another setting where there is usually gender discrimination is when one is refused to extend their credit, refused approval of credit/loan process, and if there is a burden of unequal loan terms based on ones gender. Socially, sexual differences have been used to justify different roles for men and women, in some cases giving rise to claims of primary and secondary roles.

While there are alleged non-physical differences between men and women, major reviews of the academic literature on gender difference find only a tiny minority of characteristics where there are consistent psychological differences between men and women, and these relate directly to experiences grounded in biological difference. However, there are also some psychological differences in regard to how problems are dealt with and emotional perceptions and reactions which may relate to hormones and the successful characteristics of each gender during longstanding roles in past primitive lifestyles. Unfair discrimination usually follows the gender stereotyping held by a society. United Nations had concluded that women often experience a "glass ceiling" and that there are no societies in which women enjoy the same opportunities as men. The term "glass ceiling" is used to describe a perceived barrier to advancement in employment based on discrimination, especially sex discrimination. In the United States in 1995, the Glass Ceiling Commission, a government-funded group, stated: "Over half of all Masters degrees are now awarded to women, yet 95% of senior-level managers, of the top Fortune 1000 industrial and 500 service companies are men. Of them, 97% are white." In its report, it recommended affirmative action, which is the consideration of an employee's gender and race in hiring and promotion decisions, as a means to end this form of discrimination. In 2008, women accounted for 51% of all workers in the high-paying management, professional, and related occupations. They outnumbered men in such occupations as public relations managers; financial managers; and human resource managers The China's leading headhunter, Chinahr.com, reported in 2007 that the average salary for whitecollar men was 44,000 Yuan ($6,441), and compared with 28,700 Yuan ($4,201) for women. The PwC research found that among FTSE 350 companies in the United Kingdom in 2002 almost 40% of senior management posts were occupied by women. When that research was repeated in 2007, the number of senior management posts held by women had fallen to 22%.
Transgender individuals, both male to female and female to male, often experience problems

which often lead to dismissals, underachievement, difficulty in finding a job, social isolation, and, occasionally, violent attacks against them. Nevertheless, the problem of gender discrimination does not stop at transgender individuals or with women. Men are often the victim in certain areas of employment as men begin to seek work in office and childcare settings traditionally perceived as "women's jobs". One such situation seems to be evident in a recent case concerning alleged YMCA discrimination and a Federal Court Case in Texas the case actually involves alleged discrimination against both men and blacks in childcare, even when they pass the same strict background tests and other standards of employment. It is currently being contended in federal court, as of fall 2009, and sheds light on how a workplace dominated by a majority (women in this case) sometimes will seemingly "justify" whatever they wish to do, regardless of the law. This may be done as an effort at self-protection, to uphold traditional societal roles, or some other faulty, unethical or illegal prejudicial reasoning. Discrimination in slasher films is relevant. Gloria Cowan had a research group study on 57 different slasher films. Their results showed that the non-surviving females were more frequently

sexual than the surviving females and the non-surviving males. Surviving as a female slasher victim was strongly associated with the absence of sexual behavior. In slasher films, the message appears to be that sexual women get killed and only the pure women survive. Slasher films reinforce the idea that female sexuality can be costly.

Discrimination in Pakistan
Discrimination against women is one of the leading social problems allover the world. It manifests even at the time a baby is born. With regard to gender discrimination, some exceptions aside, men have imposed a subordinate status on women in societies both Eastern and Western. The conditions of Pakistani women are almost the same as of their counterparts in the world. In rural Sindh, women are discriminated against in almost all walks of life. In view of the deprived status of woman in rural Sindh, the study aims to gain further insight into the situation arising out of the deprivation of rural women. Some of the major variables like female education, social status, freedom of expression in family, division of work, type and size of family, and participation in decision-making on crucial economic and socio-cultural matters within the family setup, are discussed. The selected universe for the present study is rural Sindh. The data was collected through random sampling. It took more than a year time. For the purpose of data collection from 300 respondents structured questionnaire was used. The SPSS was applied to analyze the data. The obtained results highlighted an image of low status of women. They are considered to be a fragile segment of society. The female birth in the family is seldom welcomed. Girls are generally treated inferior to boys. The vast majority of women are strongly under the influence of prevailing cultural taboos. in issues related to personal life. Female education has been treated to be against traditions. As a result, the majority of respondents were found to be illiterate. Women enjoy limited physical mobility in the rural set-up. Most of them are not allowed to go outdoors alone. Majority of women married early in life and played no role in mate selection. Their role in family is considered to be secondary. There is an old Chinese saying: Women hold half the sky In Pakistan, women fall victim to traditional practices that violate their human rights. The persistence of the problem has much to do with the fact that most of these physically & psychologically harmful customs are deeply rooted in the traditional & culture of the society

When a boy is born in most developing countries, friends and relatives exclaim congratulations. A son means insurance. He will inherit his father's property and get a job to help support the family. When a girl is born, the reaction is very different. Some women weep when they find out their baby is a girl because, to them, a daughter is just another expense. Discrimination against girls and women in the developing world is a devastating reality. It results in millions of individual tragedies, which add up to lost potential for entire countries. Studies show there is a direct link between a country's attitude towards women and its progress socially

and economically. The status of women is central to the health of a society. If one part suffers, so does the whole. There is a rise in eateries and other social places of gathering that are proudly promoting gender discrimination in Pakistan. After reading about Port Grand's discrimination against men, I was compelled to think about the long term effects of such policies. We are a country that is evolving ever so slowly when it comes to gender equality. Majority of the women are still living under oppressive pressures of an intolerant society that revels in contradictions. The inconveniences, annoyances and harassments faced by women on a regular basis give rise to policies that are discriminative in nature towards men, and thus widely accepted. While not allowing stags into a cafe after certain hours may seem ideal to some, it is myopic and in no way addresses the problem, rather it fertilizes the soil for more gender discrimination to stem. All restaurants and places providing services have the right to refuse service to guest(s). When such a law protects restaurants & food bazaars, is there really a need then to implement a policy that categorizes all men vertically into a single compartment and denies service to all of them? If more places started promoting a similar policy, our society is headed towards a social meltdown. While many people perceive the West as a devil with horns, there is much our society can learn in terms gender equality. A high-end place promoting a similar policy in the West wouldn't stay in business for long. Not quite true for Pakistan, one would expect the owner(s) of a flashy place like Espresso to have the common sense to promote a better policy than one that reeks with blatant gender discrimination. Another form of primitive gender bias that is blatantly ignored in Pakistan is the lack of access women have to mosques. Even most Arab countries including our over rated friends in Saudi Arabia welcome women to pray in their mosques. In Pakistan there is hardly one mosque in an entire town for women to worship in. Unacceptable sir! All mosques in Pakistan should be forced, by law, to have equal sized worship areas for both genders and should welcome women. This is just one example of a long list of gender inequalities faced by women in Pakistan. By allowing one form of discriminatory policy to exist, we only create a platform from where other discriminatory policies emerge. I for one am against all forms of gender based discrimination. I strongly believe that it has to be rooted out in its entirety. This can not be achieved by accepting some policies and allowing other's to slip by as a need of the hour. The fight against gender discrimination must be absolute and pragmatic. An important goal of the educated civil society must be to eliminate gender inequalities completely. In order to do that, such policies that discriminate against any gender must be revoked by city governments immediately. What is most surprising is seeing how many educated people support such policies. How can anyone raise their voice against discrimination against women and at the same time sit on the fence on discriminatory policies against men, or vice versa? It makes no sense, you are either for gender discrimination or you are against it. There are no in-between's or justifications!

Keeping a group of guys out of cafe's or food bazaar's is not a solution, it is a problem. Rushing to pray in mosques that don't have space for women is not going to help anyone fast track to heaven either. There are countless other examples of gender discrimination that can be discussed but by continuing to condone any such policies, we are only anticipating more forms of gender inequalities to flourish in our society. The long term ramifications do not lead us towards an enlightened society, rather one that is entangled in its own pharisaic sense of confusion.