Page 96 - Vimarsha Volume 2

Cultural Norms as Sources of Gender Discrimination

C. A. Serasinghe

Department of Sociology

Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

University of Ruhuna

chamathiserasinghe@gmail.com
1. Introduction

Gender equality is a fundamental human right. But in every society, there are

particular roles for men and women based on their culture. It guides people and teach
them what they are allowed to do and what they are not allowed to do as a male or

as a female. It can create unequal or disadvantageous treatments for an individual or
group of individuals based on gender. In ancient societies people were scared to
argue about these things because if they did, they could have been punished. But now

it has changed. People talk about discrimination based on their gender.
Discrimination is an actions or practice of treating a person differently (negatively
or positively) because of that person's race, class, sexual orientation or gender or any

other group to which that person belongs. According to Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission “gender discrimination is the unfavorable treatment of
someone due to their gender” (Macbeth, 2019).

Gender discrimination is not always about girls and women, but also boys and men.
Gender inequality is the main cause for Gender Discrimination. It is a social and

cultural phenomenon in which there is discrimination against people due to their
gender. This phenomenon has huge effects. Gender discrimination is impacted on

peoples ‘lives in different areas: education, work life, social life, family life, etc. The
concept of gender discrimination is highly linked with cultural norms. Cultural
norms are the behavioral standards that a society adopts as a whole and follows when

interacting with one another. All societies have cultural norms and it can be different
from one society to another. Frequently gender discrimination can be seen among

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