Module 2. Theorethical Concepts of Gender - FSN Network Portal

Mainstreaming Gender into Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Programs
Module 2: Theoretical Concepts of Gender
Lesson 6: Gender Concepts (1): Sex, Gender and Gender Mainstreaming
4 Initiate a discussion about ‘sex’ referring to the biologically-determined
differences between men and women which cannot be changed and
‘gender’ referring to the social relations between women and men,
which vary in different contexts.
5 Arrive at a common understanding of the meaning of the concepts of
sex and gender by showing the presentation on the VIPP board on the
clear differences between sex and gender.
6 Ask the participants to close their eyes and think of a day they might
spend without women (for male participants) and without men (for
female participants).
7 Ask some opinions from two male and two female participants about
the day they visualised.
8 Come to the conclusion that both men and women cannot imagine
even one day without any sort of assistance and interaction from the
other, because both women and men make up the society. We need to
interact with various kinds of women and men who play different roles
in our lives.
9 Tell the participants that we have a misconception that gender is only
to do with women. This is not true. Gender is a human issue, relevant
to both women and men. Refer to the previous sessions on
socialisation where we found that women are disadvantaged in
comparison with men throughout the world. Tell participants that that is
why when we talk about gender we need to talk more about women to
ensure the positive changes needed in our society.
10 Show the PowerPoint presentation which clarifies why gender is a
development issue, why we should not consider gender as only a
women’s issue and explains how gender includes men.
11 Lead a discussion which focuses on the importance of gender in
development, the relevance of men’s involvement in development and
the reason for gender equality strategies in the family, community,
workplace and society.
12 Distribute the handouts either during or at the end of the session
depending on time constraints.
13 Show participants the session objectives again, check that these have
been achieved and ask if participants have any questions.
Review
1 Ask one female participant to say why men’s involvement is needed in
development and one male participant to say how gender issues relate
to development.
2 Summarise the session by showing participants the learning outcomes
and checking if participants consider that these have been achieved.
A Training Manual for Water Professionals developed collaboratively by PROTOS and SNV, 01/02/2007
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