gen ‧ der AC /ˈdʒendə $ -ər/ BrE AmE noun
[ Date: 1300-1400 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: gendre , from Latin genus ; ⇨ ↑ genus ]
1 . [uncountable and countable] the fact of being male or female:
people of the same gender
Discrimination on grounds of race or gender is forbidden.
There may be gender differences in attitudes to paid work.
traditional gender roles
gender biases in books
toys that do not reinforce gender stereotypes
a science fiction story dealing with gender issues
2 . [countable] males or females, considered as a group SYN sex :
differences between the genders
3 .
a) [uncountable] the system in some languages of marking words such as nouns, adjectives, and ↑ pronoun s as being ↑ masculine , ↑ feminine , or ↑ neuter
b) [countable] a group such as ↑ feminine into which words are divided in this system
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ gender + NOUN
▪ a gender difference
Research has shown that there are gender differences in the way alcohol affects the brain.
▪ the gender gap (=a difference between men and women)
The gender gap was visible in the way men and women voted during the presidential elections.
▪ gender roles (=the positions of men and women in society)
It is a country where gender roles have remained largely unchanged.
▪ gender bias/inequality/discrimination (=when one gender is treated unfairly)
Her research investigates gender bias in the classroom.
▪ gender equality (=when men and women are treated in the same way)
Organizations have a duty to promote gender equality.
▪ gender relations (=the way in which men and women behave towards each other)
The best way to understand gender relations is to study children.
▪ a gender stereotype (=a fixed idea of what men or women are like)
The characters in the novel were criticized for being gender stereotypes.
▪ gender politics (=the way in which men and women compete with each other for power)
Much of the discussion of gender politics is rather simplistic.
▪ gender issues (=ideas and problems related to being male or female)
Businesses seem to pay more attention to gender issues in senior positions.
▪ gender identity (=whether someone is male or female)
Gender identity refers to our inner feeling of being masculine or feminine.