OneWorld is a community of over 950 organisations working for social justice. Sex is determined by the physical differences exhibited by females and males. Gender is different.
Gender roles arise from the socially assigned differences between women and men.
These are changeable and vary with class, race, caste, ethnicity, religion, age and also with time. They influence the division of labour, which reinforces existing power relations and access to resources, benefits, information and decision-making. When looking at gender, it is crucial to bear in mind the differences between sex and gender. In most countries, girls and boys are raised to take on very different roles and behaviours. Diverse values and attitudes to male and female children reinforce behaviours based on cultural ideas of gender norms.