A policy response to gender perceptions : discussion paper

Gender perceptions encompass the roles we see as being appropriate for men and women. They include how we understand notions of femininity and masculinity. In all the European Union Member States, gender perceptions are found to be rooted in stereotypes of women and men. These stereotypes involve unchanging, inflexible and over‑generalised descriptions of what it is to be a man or a woman. When these stereotypes become embedded in cultural norms and values, society expects women and men to behave in a manner that reflects these descriptions. In this way, stereotypical gender perceptions are one root cause for the persistence of gender inequality in the European Union. These are the conclusions that can be drawn from a recent study concluded by the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE). This 'Study of collected narratives on gender perceptions in 27 European Union Member States' involved the collection and analysis of the stories of 216 women and men in all the Member States. The stories relate to situations in their life where the respondents felt that their being a woman or a man had played a role. These situations covered education; professional life; health; leisure; violence; identity; societal context; and childhood, family life and relationships. The 514 stories collected are available on EIGE's database.