#LA-02-03 Understanding Gender Inequality
About Course
University of ExeterDescription
Explore gender inequality in the workplace, family, and society
Gender equality and the empowerment of women is a United Nations Sustainable Development Goal, and has been thrust into the spotlight with the recent #MeToo movement and HeForShe campaign.
On this course, you will understand the nature and consequences of gender inequality at work, in the family context, and in the media. You will also address what has been done to challenge gender inequality, and what still needs to happen in the future.
The University of Exeter brings an interdisciplinary perspective to the course that will build your awareness of gender issues and the ways to tackle it.
What topics will you cover?
- Exploring ‘gender’ (as a construction in its binary and non-binary forms) and ‘(in)equality’ (in a legal and social sense), recognizing it as needing to be understood as intersectional, and both transnationally and as geographically/culturally located. This includes: the effect of tradition, social expectations, language, culture, masculinities and femininities, everyday practices and structures.
- Exploring the ‘how’ of gender inequality in the context of the workplace (including political roles) – to cover gendered job roles, pay gap, opportunity and promotion (e.g. glass cliffs and glass ceilings), sexual harassment at work, confidence and leadership, political representation.
- Exploring the ‘how’ of gender inequality in the context of the family and society – to cover the gender imbalance of domestic/caring roles, representations in media (incl. film and books) and the impact on body image, violence towards and control of women.
- Challenging gender equality – exploring how things are changing and what else can be done. To include: changing awareness, changing the language, changing attitudes and changing structures. This will cover campaigns (e.g. #MeToo #HeForShe), legislation, practices (e.g. increasing participation in STEMM, training), measures, quotas and reporting (e.g. the Gender Pay Gap).
Who will you learn with?
Lecturing at the University of Exeter, Emma researches in the field of organisational behaviour with a particular focus on gender relations and workplace discrimination.
Who developed the course?
The University of Exeter is a Russell Group university. It combines world-class research with very high levels of student satisfaction.
What Will I Learn?
- Explain what is meant by ‘gender (in)equality’ and its core terms.
- Describe how practices of gender inequality are sustained through gendered discourse and practice.
- Discuss specific types of inequality (in the workplace, home and society at large) and their outcomes.
- Identify and articulate practices that can effectively challenge and overcome gender inequality.
Topics for this course
Getting started: what is gender and gender inequality?
Welcome and introduction to the course
Attitudes and Understandings of Gender Equality
Introduction to gender inequality00:08:00
A brief history of gender (in)equality
Understanding of gender: introduction00:09:00
The effects of gender
Summary of the course
This is interesting. I am learning a lot of gender stereotypes that apply in everyday work life and interviews that I could not imagine would occur.
I recommend this course to anyone who wishes to learn more about gender bias and work place. They really sheds some light on the real life examples of issues faced and very applicable.
I like that the course is educating people who don't even realize that they are stereotyping women and men by these standards of gender roles.
This has been a good course for me to help me understand so far how women are as bad as men about perpetuating the idea of gender bias.