Gender Bias: A Paramount Moral Challenge of the 21st Century

This paper provides an overview of the concept of gender bias and the impact which it is wielding in the 21st century. It discusses the traditional concept of gender bias, the struggle for gender equality, and the empowerment of both genders. The paper also highlights the fact that gender bias is not only limited to women but also affects men in various ways.

Running head: GENDER BIAS
Gender Bias
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

1GENDER BIAS
“In the nineteenth century, the central moral challenge was slavery. In the twentieth century,
it was the battle against totalitarianism. We believe that in this century the paramount moral
challenge will be the struggle for gender equality around the world.”
The above quoted lines of Nicholas D. Kristof from his famous work “Half the Sky:
Turning Oppression Into Opportunity for Women Worldwide” clearly outlines the
significance of the problem of gender bias which the world is facing at the present moment.
Gender Bias can be defined as the bias which the individuals face because of their gender
(Constantino 51: 756-758). It is significant to note that this is one of the most common
problems which the world has been facing since the ancient times (Herlitz 21: 1306-1336). It
is a reflection of this that even in the 21st century there is a gap between the two genders in
terms of not only the level of education which they get but also in terms of the job prospects,
lifestyle, marriage and other common precepts of life (Constantino 51: 756-758). This paper
will provide an overview of the concept of gender bias and the impact which it is wielding in
the 21st century.
In the words of the famous Afghani authors Khaled Hosseini from his famous novel
“A Thousand Splendid Suns”, “Learn this now and learn it well. Like a compass facing north,
a man’s accusing finger always finds a woman. Always. You remember that, Mariam”. This
statement from the novel is a pertinent account of the gender bias which the female fraternity
had to face ever since the traditional times. It is significant to note that even in the traditional
times the entire power and the positions of importance of respect were attributed to the men
folks irrespective of their capabilities (Herlitz 21: 1306-1336). The female folks were pushed
to the background and were required to look after the household. As a matter of fact, in most
of the nations of the world until recently the women folks were treated no more than the
personal belongings of the men folks (Hoyt 48: 86-96). It is only after the “Women Suffragist
Movement” of the 20th century that the women folks gained a bit of freedom as well as

2GENDER BIAS
independence in the world which belonged solely to men (Hoyt 48: 86-96). It a reflection of
this, that in the ancient times as well as in the present times all the warriors, heroes, scholars
and other people of repute and honor are individuals belonging to the male gender (Ibarra
9:60-66).
In the opinion of Judith Butler articulated in her famous work “Gender Trouble”,
“gender is a performance, a social construct, which has been constructed to maintain the
power balance in the society” (Butler 4-81). Thus, the present society as well as the societies
of the past has tried to maintain the power balance in the society by means of the construct of
gender. It is a reflection of this that concept of gender bias has gained prominence. The
concept of gender bias becomes more prominent when the present day world is taken into
consideration. It is significant to note that the people in the present times talk of women
empowerment, the emancipation of the women folks and other concepts yet the menace of
gender bias or more particularly the female bias forms the core concept of our society
(Connell 5-61). It is a reflection of the gender bias faced by the women in the society as well
as in the workplace that only 24% women hold positions of power in the various business
organizations across the globe in comparison to the 76% position held by the men folks
(Forbes Welcome). Furthermore, another interesting fact to note is that the “women’s
perceived competency drops by 35% and their perceived worth falls by $15,088 when they
are judged as being forceful or “assertive” (Evershed). Thus, in this particular context the
various myths of the present day society like the celebration of the “International Women's
Day” totally becomes a façade.
It is a common perception of many people that only women folks are the victims of
the menace of gender bias. However, it is seen that in the present times the men folks are also
subjected to the menace of gender bias. It is a reflection of this that in many of the business
organizations across the globe men are not even hired. According to a source, “men are 20

3GENDER BIAS
times more likely to have a fatal injury at work than women”. Furthermore, as per the same
source, “in 2011 the housing charity Crisis found that 84% of the hidden homeless were
male. And the latest CHAIN figures suggest that 9 out of 10 people sleeping rough are male”
(Amadiume 21-99). Thus, it becomes evident that women are not the sole victims of the evil
machinery of gender bias.
In the opinion of John Steinbeck articulated in his famous work “Travels with
Charley: In Search of America”, “And finally, in our time a beard is the one thing that a
woman cannot do better than a man, or if she can her success is assured only in a circus”.
This statement of Steinbeck is a pertinent account of the success achieved by the women
folks in the present times. For example, in the field of the world Literature in the 20th and 21st
century the world saw the emergence of many talented women writers like Virginia Woolf,
Sylvia Plath, Dorothy Dickinson, Emily Bronte, Tony Morrison and others (Nicholson 21-
97). This particular phenomenon becomes apparent even when the current business world is
taken into consideration. For example, the position of CEO of the second largest beverage
company of the world is currently held by a woman named Indra Nooyi (Nicholson 21-97).
Other examples are the company HPE’s current CEO Meg Whitman, PG&E’s chief Geisha
Williams and others (Nicholson 21-97). These women are seriously challenging the concept
of gender and have emerged above this particular menace despite all odds. The opinion of
Maya Angelou is significant to note in this particular context when she says “How important
it is for us to recognize and celebrate our heroes and she-roes”.
The comment of Leila Aboulela articulated in her famous work “Minaret” calling for
gender neutrality becomes important to note in this particular context “All through life there
were distinctions - toilets for men, toilets for women; clothes for men, clothes for women -
then, at the end, the graves are identical”. Thus, the emphasis of the present society should be
on the eradication of this social evil. However, it is significant to note that the empowered of

4GENDER BIAS
one particular gender should not come at the cost of the other one. Thus, it is often seen that
in the present day the concept of feminism or the empowered is often confused with the
concept of man-hating as articulated in the famous work “The Opposite of Indifference: A
Collection of Commentaries” of Aysha Taryam “The word feminism has become
synonymous with man-hating when in fact it has more to do with women than men”.
Therefore, the best thing which the present day society should do is to consider the two
genders as equal and strive for the empowerment of both the genders (Nicholson 21-97). The
opinion of Winston Churchill is pertinent to observe in this particular context “Blowing out
other people’s candle is not going to make your candle burn brighter or any longer”. Thus,
the world needs to aim for the eradication of the social evil of gender bias.
To conclude, from the above discussion it becomes clear that gender bias is one of the
most common evils which the world is facing at the moment. It is significant to note that the
concept of gender bias is a very traditional one and is used commonly by the society for the
promotion of one gender over the other. Therefore, the society as well as the various entities
of the world should come together for the resolution of this particular menace which the
world is facing at large. Furthermore, the empowerment of one particular gender should not
be at the cost of the other one and care should be taken that for the empowered of one
particular gender the other one is not suppressed. It is a common misperception of the world
that only women are the victims of the institution of gender bias however in the present times
it is seen that even the men are the victims of the social evil of gender bias. Moreover, care
should be taken from the grass root level so that the problem is resolved. For example, the
children right from their childhood should be taught to see the two genders as equal.

5GENDER BIAS
References
Amadiume, Ifi. Male daughters, female husbands: Gender and sex in an African society. Zed
Books Ltd., 2015.
Butler, Judith. Gender trouble: Feminism and the subversion of identity. routledge, 2011.
Connell, Raewyn W. Gender and power: Society, the person and sexual politics. John Wiley
& Sons, 2014.
Constantino, John N., and Tony Charman. "Gender bias, female resilience, and the sex ratio
in autism." Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry 51.8 (2012):
756-758.
Evershed, Nick. "Statistics Show The Gender Gap Between Male And Female Pay Is At 20-
Year High." the Guardian. N.p., 2018. Web. 10 Apr. 2018.
Forbes Welcome." Forbes.com. N.p., 2018. Web. 10 Apr. 2018.
Herlitz, Agneta, and Johanna Lovén. "Sex differences and the own-gender bias in face
recognition: a meta-analytic review." Visual Cognition 21.9-10 (2013): 1306-1336.
Hoyt, Crystal L. "Gender bias in employment contexts: A closer examination of the role
incongruity principle." Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 48.1 (2012): 86-96.
Ibarra, Herminia, Robin Ely, and Deborah Kolb. "Women rising: The unseen
barriers." Harvard Business Review 91.9 (2013): 60-66.
Nicholson, Linda, ed. Feminism/postmodernism. Routledge, 2013.

6GENDER BIAS