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Know Your Gender Bias History, Title IX:
In 1972, Title IX of the Education Amendments was passed to keep gender from dictating educational opportunity. Pay scales, admission, scholarship programs, faculty hiring and promotions were examined. Rights in the areas of athletics, career choice, employment regulations, treatment of current and future mothers, sexual harassment, learning environment and access to higher education were looked at as well.
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Pre-Amendment:
There was a conventionalized idea that males were more aggressive physically and verbally, they were seen as risk-takers, dominant, powerful and more achievement-oriented. Women were more passive, nurturing, agreeable, verbal and “sweet” by nature, and that was how they were expected to behave at home.
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Classroom:
Teachers gave less attention to female students whether good or bad. Boys were called upon more and received praise, encouragement, and discipline, which increased the achievement of male students. Textbooks and lesson plans also contained many stereotypes. Boys received math problems about finance while the girls worked out problems of measurement for recipes.
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Athletics:
Typically women are thought of as graceful and are less strong than men. Before the Title IX amendment, females did not participate in contact sports and sports that were thought to be too physically challenging. Athletic opportunities were simply not proportionate to females. More recently there have been more positions for female coaches and more participation in varsity and intercollegiate sports by women.
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Career Choice and Employment Opportunities:
Historically, women were not allowed to attend vocational schools. Academies that specialized in a particular trade were reserved for male students. Institutions could lawfully reject a female student’s desire to take any class they felt was inappropriate for a female. In 1984, Congress gave more money for programs addressing the issues of non-traditional training for women; pregnant teens, single moms, and programs to eliminate gender bias and stereotyping in vocational education.
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Employment in Education:
Female professors were not eligible for tenure and received promotions at a much slower rate than men. Access to high-level administration positions was limited for women. Before Title IX, pay decreased for women as the rank and the prestige of the school where they were employed improved. Title IX made it illegal to favor men over women in education. Over the years, the ratio of women to men in higher education has increased and approximately 48% of women received tenure as of 1994.
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Pregnant/Parenting Women:
Parents and parents-to-be were not given equal opportunity because it was thought that the women would abandon careers or education to raise a family. Preference for higher paying jobs was given to men. Financial Aid was withheld if a woman was married, pregnant or parenting. No childcare expenses were included in any aid.
Though it may seem that equal rights are completely focused on women, that is not the case. Men benefit from these advances because while women can take on roles that are traditionally male, men are also free to enjoy traditionally female roles. Today, we see more and more stay-at-home fathers, male nurses, beauticians…etc. proving that gender does not make you better or worse for a specific job, sport, or hobby.
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Familiarize yourself with laws regarding equal treatment of women:
Title IX was successful in decreasing discrimination with regards to admissions, and scholarships that kept women out of the highest academic ranks. Its goal was to enhance the economic future of women. Institutions are no longer able to legally exclude women from enrolling in certain vocational high schools, universities, and courses. Quotas were set to balance the number of male and female students admitted into colleges and professional schools. Black colleges are no longer the only institutes, which grant athletic scholarships to females. The assumption that women are more interested in marriage and bearing children and therefore could not be serious about education and pursuing a career is a thing of the past. Breaking down the walls of gender roles gives people the freedom of choice. Now, more than ever, we are free to choose our path and be happy in what we do.
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Change the Thought Process:
The thinking that men are more physically capable than women are, and that women are the only ones who can fulfill a nurturing role needs to be reassessed. There are obvious biological differences between men and women. Generally, men are stronger and taller than women are but there are exceptions. Scientifically speaking, females do tend to be more verbal (left-brained) and men tend to be more active (right-brained), but rules always vary. Studies show that each sex can be equally capable with either side of their brain. Putting off women from pursuing a career involving science or mathematics can prevent a given company from hiring the most qualified person. A man who aspires to become a nurse or secretary should be allowed to do so without the ridicule of society. Everyone is interested in being the most efficient and getting the most for their dollar. So why not try to convince them that ignoring gender and giving individuals a chance to do what they do best (no matter what it is) always returns the most profit.
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Protect Against and/or Report Gender Bias or Harassment:
It can be difficult to come forward when someone has done something wrong to you. You fee like a baby for not dealing with it on your own, or you feel threatened by the person who has discriminated against you. For men, there is the added pressure of society to be manly and not admit things like sexual harassment, domestic violence and gender bias committed against them. But coming forward may help others like you to stand up for themselves and make lasting changes.
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To protect yourself against harassment and bias:
- Develop concrete policies
- Adopt strong, comprehensive sexual harassment policies
- Incorporate gender bias education as part of school curriculum and job training
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To feel safe when reporting an incident:
- Clarify violations of Title IX within your company or school policy so you feel confident that you have a case
- Familiarize yourself with the necessary information regarding formal and informal complaints (see the online and offline resources for details)
- Request that the person(s) that you report the incident to will keep your case confidential to guard against someone seeking revenge
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