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Gender and Power

Gender shapes power, from the ‘private’ relationships of the household to the highest levels of political decision-making. Gender divides power. Inequalities between men and women are one of the most persistent patterns in the distribution of power. Often what it means to be a 'woman' is to be powerless (quiet, obedient, accommodating). A ‘real man’, by contrast, is powerful (outspoken, in control, able to impose his will), particularly in relation to women. These gender roles tend to perpetuate the power inequalities that they are based on. For example, the fact that many men and women think it’s not ‘natural’ for women to speak up in public often poses a key barrier to women’s access to decision-making. ‘Power equals masculinity’ also helps explain why powerful people often demonstrate dominance in gendered ways. Gender also shapes power inequalities based on other divisions, such as class and ethnicity, and vice versa. 

Gender shapes institutions and how they affect the distribution of power. Most political and economic institutions, historically dominated by men, are tailored to (elite) men’s experience. They idealise ‘masculine’ forms of behaviour and rely on men’s power over women. Therefore these institutions tend to ‘lock in’ two types of power - men’s power over women, and the power of the most ‘masculine’ men over everyone. 

Gender shapes how we understand what ‘power’ is in the first place
. The widely accepted definition of power is getting someone else to do what you want them to do. Arguably this reflects a specifically male experience of the world: a place inhabited by hostile ‘others’ with whom, to survive, you are forced to forge some kind of social relationship. Women, particularly in their socially assigned roles of wife and mother, may more often understand themselves as being in continuity with the people around them rather than in opposition. They often aim to build capacity in others rather than to dominate. This would suggest an alternative idea of power: the capacity to transform and empower yourself and others. Amongst other things this alternative perspective highlights that women can sometimes have special forms of influence on decision-making because of their specific social status. 

Resources

1. Gender Equality: The Key to Ending Violence Against Women
2. Gendered Power Inequalities

Adapted from an article by Diana Koester published in the Development Leadership Program 
mikemcguig@gmail.com