Sex and Gender: What is the difference?

BIOLOGICALLY- DETERMINEDBIOLOGICALLY- DETERMINEDDIFFERENCES: DIFFERENCES: SEXSEX

Sex and Gender: Sex and Gender: What is the difference?What is the difference?

HealthHealth

ANATOMICAL/PHYSIOLOGICALDIFFERENCES• GENETIC SUSCEPTIBILITIES• RESISTANCES/IMMUNITIES

•NEEDSNEEDS•VULNERABILITIESVULNERABILITIES

SOCIALLY-CONSTRUCTEDDIFFERENCES: GENDERGENDER• ROLES• RESPONSIBILITIES• BEHAVIORS • EXPECTATIONS

POWER ACCESS RIGHTS ENTITLEMENT

Lower status for Lower status for womenwomen

Higher status Higher status for menfor men

Concept of ‘child’ not informative beyond identifying ‘age’; every child is first a girl or a boy with associated gender related expections and gender biases in access to food, education, love, and

health care

And, mothers’ perception of gender worth may color:

recognition of seriousness of illness amount of resources to expend on the child what kind of medicine best for child

What does this mean for children?What does this mean for children?

How? How? Equity and NeedEquity and Need

To attain equity in health, it is important to recognize that

females and males have different needs and constraints due both to biology and gender that must be

identified and adequately addressed.