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Psychology, Development and Social Policy in India pp 285–296Cite as

Gender-Role Socialization, Stereotypes, Government Policies and Development

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Abstract

Gender-roles have been undergoing considerable change in India since the last century, although their pace is not the same across different sections of the society. The participation of women in work has gone up, but new jobs are largely confined to low-level occupations. Gendered socialization practices and gender-role stereotypes prevalent in the society limit their role perceptions and identity. Such stereotypes are reinforced by the media as well as by literature. The gender-role of women associates them with competence-abilities and skills related to home and family, but not with competencies required in education or in high-end occupations. The challenges they face in the male-dominated world often makes them develop what has been called “learned helplessness”. However, women who escape gendered socialization develop cross-gendered characteristics. It is argued that masculinity and femininity should not be seen as two ends of gender-roles but as two independent characteristics that obtain within the same person. The consequences of cross-gendered personality and role appropriateness are explored in relation to women’s nurturing role in families. Issues related to gender development, government policies on reservation, the integration of women at all levels of work and efforts to empower them are also critically examined.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Educational Psychology and Foundations of Education, National Council of Educational Research and Training, Sri Aurobindo Marg, New Delhi, 110016, India

    Daya Pant

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  1. Daya Pant
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Correspondence to Daya Pant .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Virology, University of Allahabad, Allahabad, Andhra Pradesh, India

    R. C. Tripathi

  2. Department of Psychology, University of Allahabad, Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India

    Yoganand Sinha

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Pant, D. (2014). Gender-Role Socialization, Stereotypes, Government Policies and Development. In: Tripathi, R., Sinha, Y. (eds) Psychology, Development and Social Policy in India. Springer, New Delhi. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-81-322-1003-0_14

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