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Definition of gender stereotypes

Preconceived ideas whereby females and males are arbitrarily assigned characteristics and roles determined and limited by their gender. 

Content type
Glossary & Thesaurus

1 gender statistics indicators found

Type
Gender Statistics Database
  • Violence for 2019

    … composite measure does not affect the final score of the Gender Equality Index. However, violence against women must … EU had a score of 27.5 (EIGE, 2017b). A high score in the Gender Equality Index means that a country is close to achieving a gender-equal society. However, in the domain of violence, the …

    Type
    Page
  • Gender-sensitive communication: What’s wrong with a ladylike handshake?

    … handshake have in common? They are all examples of gender-discriminatory, even sexist language. They imply that … These expressions reflect unconscious bias and enforce gender stereotypes. To help you use language and images which are …

    Type
    News article
  • Better work-life balance would shrink the gender pay gap

    … The gender pay gap reveals the different realities that women and … a new report published today by the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE). “Women are using flexible work … up being 37% less than men’s. “We must get rid of gender stereotypes that underpin the pay gap, starting with the …

    Type
    News article
    Topics
    • Economic and financial affairs
    • Employment
  • Solutions for how to use gender-sensitive language

    … her; her or his. Use the third person plural (‘they’). Use gender-neutral pronouns, such as “ze”. Rephrase to omit … article (the) or indefinite article (a). Information about gender and gendered nouns (“female lawyer”) Do not provide … to use in communication materials do not reinforce gender stereotypes. Include a wide mix of people in different …

    Type
    Toolkit page
    Topics
    • Culture
  • Gender equality and youth: opportunities and risks of digitalisation – Main report

    … for youth mobilisation, diminishing the power of gender stereotypes online and promoting the diversity of voices, opinions and gender identity are essential. According to the present …

    Type
    Publication
    Topics
    • Digital agenda
    • Youth
    • Violence
  • Greetings and other forms of inclusive communication

    … feels like it is aimed at all people, not just one gender. When creating a piece of communication material, … consider: Choice of voice-over artist . Consider if the gender of the voice-over is perpetuating stereotypes, such as using only a male voice to impart …

    Type
    Toolkit page
    Topics
    • Culture
  • Take care with ‘false generics’

    … Although gender-neutral language can be a way of overcoming the use of … of language is not always appropriate. It may ignore key gender elements of the subject under discussion. Furthermore, … women"). This runs the risk of further entrenching common stereotypes. There is no ideal linguistic solution here. To …

    Type
    Toolkit page
    Topics
    • Culture
  • Avoid using stereotypical images

    … the images we choose to use. A piece of communication is gender-discriminatory if the people within the images are … you use in your communication material do not reinforce gender stereotypes by including a wide mix of people in …

    Type
    Toolkit page
    Topics
    • Culture
  • Using different adjectives for women and men

    … are also some words which – despite not having an explicit gender – have strong connotations that are strongly … (and vice versa). If not, then look for a term without gender connotations.  Semantic non-equivalence These are … always easy to spot when adjectives are promoting gender stereotypes. The examples in the table below show some words …

    Type
    Toolkit page
    Topics
    • Culture
  • Gendering in-animate objects

    … Assigning a gender to an inanimate object by using gendered pronouns to … to characteristics. These connotations are related to gender stereotypes and help to perpetuate them. You should use the …

    Type
    Toolkit page
    Topics
    • Culture
  • Avoid gendered stereotypes as descriptive terms

    … Avoid using words which imply a gender connotation to describe an aspect of a person or … Using language in this way is sexist. Do not employ gender stereotypes to describe the way something is or the …

    Type
    Toolkit page
    Topics
    • Culture
  • Avoid irrelevant information about gender

    … do not provide irrelevant information about people’s gender. Doing this supports the stereotype that the ‘normal’ … Instead you should simply use the occupation title with no gender description.  Examples Gender-insensitive language The eco-action group chairman …

    Type
    Toolkit page
    Topics
    • Culture
  • Avoid gendered pronouns (he or she) when the person’s gender is unknown

    … pronoun (e.g. he or she), the speaker is assuming the gender of the person they are talking about. Often people use gendered pronouns even when they do not know the gender of the person they are talking about or when talking about a group of people that could be of either gender. This practice perpetuates gender stereotyping by …

    Type
    Toolkit page
    Topics
    • Culture
  • Stereotypes

    … Stereotypes are generalised images about people within a society. A gender stereotype is a preconceived idea where women and men … characteristics and roles determined and limited by their gender. Stereotypes about gender often take one of two forms. …

    Type
    Toolkit page
    Topics
    • Culture
  • Common challenges when using gender-sensitive language

    … the most common stumbling blocks when trying to write in a gender-sensitive manner. It is designed to help you understand the issues which lead to language being gender-discriminatory so that you can recognise … under which much gender-discriminatory language falls: Stereotypes: assigning gender when gender is unknown or …

    Type
    Toolkit page
    Topics
    • Culture
  • Policy context

    … organisations have taken to encourage greater use of gender-sensitive language. It is designed to help you … understand the wider picture into which your work fits. Gender equality policies in the EU The European Union (EU) aims to combat stereotypes and to promote gender equality through equal …

    Type
    Toolkit page
    Topics
    • Culture
  • Practical tools (checklists and summary tables)

    … To ensure that you've used ‘gender-savvy’ language in your writing, try asking yourself the following questions: Do you recognise stereotypes and avoid repeating them through your language? … reflect the idea that women, men and those of a non-binary gender are independent persons of equal value, dignity, …

    Type
    Toolkit page
    Topics
    • Culture
  • Key principles for inclusive language use

    … inclusive and transformative: Recognise and challenge stereotypes. Be inclusive and avoid omission and making … principles you are well on your way to becoming a user of gender-sensitive language and you should find yourself …

    Type
    Toolkit page
    Topics
    • Culture
  • Why should I ever mention gender?

    … so you may feel that it is safest to avoid any mention of gender altogether. Indeed, we sometimes recommend gender-neutral expressions as one way of avoiding … language , i.e. language that fosters stereotypes or demeans/ignores a gender. The logic here is: …

    Type
    Toolkit page
    Topics
    • Culture
  • Terms you need to know

    … Gender-sensitive language Gender-sensitive language is gender equality made manifest … phrases and/or other linguistic features that foster stereotypes, or demean or ignore women or men. At its most …

    Type
    Toolkit page
    Topics
    • Culture

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