Sex is a system of medical and legal categories used to classify bodies. Sex categories are differentiated by biological and physical characteristics such as genitals, hormones, and genetic makeup. Education is typically organized around sex...

Gender is a social and cultural construct that separates individuals into groups based on roles, behaviors, and expectations. From birth, we are taught how we should/should not behave, dress, think, and speak based on a gender binary (boy/girl, man...

Sexuality: Refers to intimate desires, attractions and feelings and behaviours related to those feelings and desires. Sexual orientation: Sexual identity or sexual orientation refers to a person’s identity with regards to the gender(s) they are...

Femininity is a set of characteristics and behaviors that are associated with, to women, girls and female bodies. Femininity is associated with characteristics like being soft, nurturing, emotional, communicative, not having power, not being in...

Masculinity is a set of characteristics and behaviors that are associated with men, boys and male bodies. Masculinity is socially constructed and varies across time and place. Typically masculinity is characterized by competition, control, strength...

‘Queer’ is an umbrella term that is commonly used to refer to or describe people who are not heterosexual or are not cisgender. Further, “queer” is also used to refer to approaches that oppose heteronormative ways of thinking and being. Historically...

Patriarchy is a social structure or system of community, society and government in which (usually straight) men’s and boys’ power is upheld as superior to and often exclusive of the power of women and girls and queer persons. Patriarchy refers to the...

Sexism is a set of beliefs that promote ideas that men hold an inherent superiority to and dominance over women. This is the basis of traditional gender norms, roles, and rigid expectations of men and women. A sexist person believes that maleness and...

Misogyny is prejudice, hatred and hostility towards women. It is especially directed towards girls and women who challenge male dominance. Misogyny aims to control women into reinforcing sexist ideas and patriarchy. Girls and women are prevented from...

Feminism refers to a set of social movements, theories and political consciousness that aim to achieve gender equality and redress gender injustices. Intersectional feminism maintains that feminism must address multiple systems of oppression such as...

Stereotypes are widely held beliefs about the character and behavior of all members of a group. Gender stereotypes have negative influences on children in their career decisions and can lead to harmful relationships which can become violent.

Gender norms are social and cultural expectations that determine what individual behaviors and expressions are appropriate or acceptable for particular genders. Norms become socially accepted and a part of “culture” but they can be changed.

Gender Parity is a numerical concept that measures relative equality in terms of numbers and proportions of men and women, girls and boys. Gender parity addresses the ratio of female-to male values (or males-to-females, in certain cases) of a given...