Key Definitions^a

Discrimination: Any distinction, exclusion or restriction made on the basis of sex which has the effect or purpose of impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment or exercise by women, irrespective of their marital status, on a basis of equality of men and women, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural, civil or any other field.

Enabling conditions: Institutional arrangements that seek to redress the fact that embedded preferences for privileged groups are already built into institutions. Enable structurally disadvantaged groups to access opportunity, which supports the achievement of substantive equality. Include services (e.g. child care); structural policies (e.g. maternity/paternity leave); and institutional remedies to overcome and deter discrimination.

Family responsibilities discrimination: Exclusions, restrictions, or distinctions against individuals (such as pregnant women, mothers and fathers of young children, parents of disabled children, and individuals who care for their aging parents or sick spouses/partners) based on their responsibilities to care for family members.

Formal equality: Promotes gender neutral policies and equal treatment based on merit (which is gendered) for groups that are supposed to be of equal status but that are not because of historic discrimination. Equal rules for unequal groups can have unequal results.

Gender hegemony: Culturally dominant beliefs and norms related to the ideal relations between men and women, masculinity and femininity.

Health organization: The formally planned, coordinated and purposeful action of human beings to achieve a mission, goals or objectives in the area of health and wellbeing. The organization—from multi-lateral, to academic to governmental to non-governmental--features hierarchies of power characterized by hegemonic masculinity intersected by other axes of social inequality that are salient in that culture (e.g., race, ethnicity, class, religion, age, etc.).

Hegemonic masculinity: The masculine position that is dominant among multiple configurations of masculinity that are hierarchically organized along lines of domination (of men over women, of powerful men over less powerful men, of adult men over younger men). Generally associated with the subordination and oppression of women. A form (or forms) of “emphasized femininity” has been postulated, characterized by women's accommodating the interests and desires of men (i.e., compliance with the unequal structuring of gender relations and collusion in the unequal distribution of power). Other forms of masculinity and femininity may exist, shaped around strategies of resistance or cooperation. In a male dominant gender order or organizational regime, masculinity is defined through a difference with femininity, and femininity is a position of subordination in relation to masculinity. The specific features of masculinity and femininity that ensure men's dominance over women as a group varies depending on context and must be analyzed in each cultural setting.

Intersectionality: A feminist theory and analytical tool for understanding and responding to the ways in which gender intersects with other identities to create new oppressions. The experiences of marginalization and privilege are not only defined by gender but by other identity factors, such as race, class, age, religion and sexual orientation to name a few—all of which are determined, shaped by, and imbedded in social systems of power. Intersectional paradigms view race, class, etc. as mutually constructing systems of power that require special measure to reach women who face multiple forms of discrimination.

Pregnancy discrimination: Exclusions, restrictions, or distinctions made on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth, or related conditions, such as unwillingness to hire, promote, or retain female students or workers who may get pregnant and leave school or the workforce or who require maternity leave and benefits. Pregnancy and family responsibilities discrimination are related forms that target a broad range of reproductive functions and circumstances that may be viewed together as reproductive role discrimination. These related forms of discrimination usually target women of childbearing age who are not able to equally access opportunities for education, hiring, or promotion.

Sexism: The ideology of male supremacy (or superiority) and the beliefs that sustain it. Patriarchy is sustained by sexism.

Systemic structural discrimination: Patterns of behavior, policies or practices, and social, economic or cultural background conditions that are part of the structures of institutions, which create or perpetuate disadvantage for members of a marginalized group relative to other groups in society or organization. Created historically through past discrimination, entrenched in institutions, it includes the gendered division of labor and gendered violence. The most persistent obstacle to the achievement of substantive equality and therefore the primary focus of temporary special measures. Effective temporary special measures should aim at ending structural discrimination.

Special temporary measures: Programs, policies and laws that seek to neutralize and redress embedded structures of discrimination and preferences for privileged groups that are already built into social institutions. Such affirmative measures place women or other marginalized groups in a situation of comparative advantage for a limited period, with the aim of achieving substantive equality in the long term.

Stereotype: A generalised view or preconception about attributes or characteristics that are or ought to be possessed by, or the roles that are or should be performed by, members of a particular social group. Affects employment decisions and career progress.

Substantive equality: A principle that takes into account the effects of past discrimination, recognizes that rights, entitlements, opportunities and access are not equally distributed throughout society, and the need to sometimes treat people differently to achieve equal results. Achieved by preventing systemic discrimination by adjusting policies and practices to meet the specific needs of certain groups. Recognizes that the neutral, gender-blind character of formal equality masks structural discrimination and privilege that are embedded or built into institutions as a result of past discrimination. Allows for differential treatment to level the playing field for women, particularly where structures of dominance and subordination are embedded in the baseline of opportunity. Differs from formal equality by entitling women to equitable outcomes and access to social goods (e.g., education) on an equal basis with men (i.e., equality of results as well as opportunity).

^aSee References: UN General Assembly, 1979 & 2012; Crenshaw, K, 1993 &1999; Cusack, 2013; and International Women's Rights Action Watch Asia Pacific, 2006. Also see: https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Introduction_toSociology/Organizations. For hegemonic masculinity and femininities, see Schippers, M., 2007 and Jewkes, R & Morrell R, 2010, For sexism, see Lerner, 1980.