THE CONCEPT OF GENDER

The gender perspective looks at the impact of gender on people's opportunities, social roles and interactions. Successful implementation of the policy, programme and project goals of international and national organizations is directly affected by the impact of gender and, in turn, influences the process of social development. Gender is an integral component of every aspect of the economic, social, daily and private lives of individuals and societies, and of the different roles ascribed by society to men and women.

Social scientists and development experts use two separate terms to designate biologically determined differences between men and women, which are called "sex differences", and those constructed socially, which are called "gender differences". Both define the differences between men and women, but they have very different connotations.

Sex refers to the permanent and immutable biological characteristics common to individuals in all societies and cultures, while gender defines traits forged throughout the history of social relations. Gender, although it originates in objective biological divergencies, goes far beyond the physiological and biological specifics of the two sexes in terms of the roles each is expected to play. Gender differences are social constructs, inculcated on the basis of a specific society's particular perceptions of the physical differences and the assumed tastes, tendencies and capabilities of men and women. Gender differences, unlike the immutable characteristics of sex, are universally conceded in historical and comparative social analyses to be variants that are transformed over time and from one culture to the next, as societies change and evolve.

Gender relations are accordingly defined as the specific mechanisms whereby different cultures determine the functions and responsibilities of each sex. They also determine access to material resources, such as land, credit and training, and more ephemeral resources, such as power. The implications for everyday life are many, and include the division of labour, the responsibilities of family members inside and outside the home, education and opportunities for professional advancement and a voice in policy-making.

This document is a translation of a paper written in Spanish by Mercedes Pedrero, a consultant for the FAO Women and Population Division, in collaboration with the Statistics Division. Mercedes Pedrero based her work on a document by Francesca Perucci, another FAO consultant, substantially changing the content and form and adding new sections.

The exercises presented in the annexe were prepared for the 1996 regional workshop held in San Salvador: Agricultural Censuses, Statistics and Gender. This workshop brought together officers from all Spanish-speaking countries of Central America and the Caribbean. Their enthusiastic and excellent participation proved a valuable contribution to this work. The case studies were prepared by Agnès Le Magadoux, a consultant for the Women in Development Service.