This document discusses a lecture on gender as a social construct given by Syed Yousaf Shah at the Institute of Nursing at Dow University of Health Sciences. The lecture defines the differences between sex and gender, provides examples of sex and gender characteristics, and discusses how gender roles and status differ across cultures and societies, with a focus on the role and status of women in Pakistani society.

1. Syed Yousaf Shah
BSN (BMU), MSN (DUHS)
Instructor
Institute of Nursing
Dow University of Health Sciences
July11, 2013

2. At the end of Today’s Session Students will able to:
1) Describe gender as a sociological construct.
2) Analyze personal and cultural perceptions towards
gender.
3) Discuss social perceptions and status regarding men and
women.
4) Discuss the role and status of women in Pakistani society.
5) Evaluate societal attitudes towards factors enhancing
women’s status.

4. "Sex"
 Refers to the biological and physiological
characteristics that define men and women.

5. "Gender"
 Refers to the socially constructed roles, behaviors,
activities, and attributes that a given society considers
appropriate for men and women.

6. Putting it another way:
 Sex= “male" and "female“
 Gender = "masculine" and "feminine”

9. Some examples of sex characteristics
 Women menstruate while men do not
 Men have testicles while women do not
 Women have developed breasts that are usually capable of
lactating, while men have not
 Men generally have more massive bones than women

10. Some examples of gender characteristics
 In the United States (and most other countries), women
earn significantly less money than men for similar work .
 In Viet Nam, many more men than women smoke, as
female smoking has not traditionally been considered
appropriate .
 In Saudi Arabia men are allowed to drive cars while women
are not.
 In most of the world, women do more housework than
men .

11.  The term gender role is used to signify all those
things that a person says or does to disclose
himself/herself as having the status of boy or man,
girl or woman, respectively.

13.  Culture impacts gender differences in the expression
of emotions. This may be partly explained by the
different social roles men and women have in different
cultures, and by the status and power men and women
hold in different societies, as well as the different
cultural values various societies hold.

15.  Overall, women claim to be far happier than men
with their lives, and reported more often that they
had made personal progress.
 Women show greater concern about family and
home life issues, while men express more concern
about political issues. Men are happier with their
family life and more optimistic about their
personal future and that of their children.

17. women are more likely than men to consider factors
other than pay when looking for work, are less willing
to travel or relocate, and work fewer hours per week.
This difference is due to women not taking jobs due to
marriage or pregnancy.

18.  Women account for more than half of all workers in
the following industries: Women are more likely than
men to be social workers, legal assistants, teachers,
nurses, speech pathologists, dental hygienists, maids
and housekeeping cleaners, and childcare workers.

19.  More men than women work in the following
industries: construction, transportation and utilities,
farming, computer and mathematical occupations,
engineering, and architecture.
 Men are more likely than women to be firefighters,
police and patrol officers, electricians, dentists, and
surgeons.

20.  Worldwide, men are more likely to be literate, with 100
men considered literate for every 88 women. In some
countries the difference is even greater; for example, in
Bangladesh only 62 women are literate for every 100
men.

22.  Males are much more likely to die by suicide than females
(usually by a factor of 3–4:1); 69 out of 74 non-western
countries found an excess male mortality from suicide.
 While there are more completed male suicides than female,
females are more likely to attempt suicide. One possible
explanation is that males tend to use more immediately
lethal methods than females, who use less violent methods
while attempting suicide. Another theory is that females
are more likely to use self-harm as a cry for help or
attention while males are more likely to genuinely want to
end their lives.

24.  Males are more likely than females to commit murder.
Men are also far more likely than women to be the
victims of violent crime.

26.  Men log on more often, spend more time online, and
for recreation such as downloading music and videos.

28.  Dating and marriage customs are dependent on culture
and differ greatly across countries and even in
subcultures within the same country.
 For example, many marriages in India/Pakistan are
arranged, whereas in the Western World most people
choose their own partners

29. In most cultures, different sorts of clothing are considered
In Western societies, skirts and dresses and high-heeled shoes are usually
seen as women's clothing, while neckties are generally worn by men.
Trousers were once seen as exclusively male clothing, but are nowadays
worn by both sexes. Male clothes are often more practical (that is, they
can function well under a wide variety of situations), but a wider range
of clothing styles is available for females appropriate for men and
women.

31.  Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of the
person. Men and women of full age without any limitation
due to race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry
or to have a family. They are entitled to equal rights as to
marriage and its dissolution. Marriage shall be entered in
to only with the free and full consent of the attending
spouses. The family is the natural and fundamental group,
unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and
state."
(Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 3 & 16)

33.  All these beautifully constructed sentences take a180
degrees turn while considering the status of
specifically 'women' in Pakistan. Our women still
seem to be living in the dark ages.

35. WHO (2012). Gender, women and health. Accessed
from http://www.who.int/gender/whatisgender/en
.
 Hartigan,P.(2001). The importance of gender in
defining the quality of care: some conceptual issues,
Health Policy and Planning, 16 (Suppl.1), 7-12.