Fairness, Equality and Health: Towards a Gender-Oriented Perspective

Abstract

The notion of gender refers to the social, cultural and economic attributes, implications and opportunities associated with being male or female [2, 3]. When talking about gender instead of simply mentioning sex differences, we recognise that biological and physical characteristics are not the only determinant of female and male life paths. Whether in private life, in the workplace or in the public sphere, men and women encounter different expectations that are determined more from social issues rather than from personal characteristics or talents. We refer to gender identities as an outcome of biological and cultural dimensions affecting the ways individuals perform their sex and gender. We can consider in fact gender as the first dimensions characterising human identities, the first form of diversity in human beings, strongly interrelated with ethnicity, age, health and social and cultural diversities, as well as many other variables that design the kaleidoscope of human race [4].