Women constantly fight for equal opportunities and rights for decades. But despite continuous efforts and progress in gender equality, they face institutional and cultural barriers that limit opportunities and resources.
Understanding Gatekeeping
Gatekeeping practices that often privilege men over women impede women’s progress in various fields like politics, business, and education. Individuals exercise gatekeeping, which is a form of power to maintain the status quo and stop others from challenging their authority and position.
When it comes to women and their potential, gatekeeping limits their access to education, high-paying jobs, and leadership roles. They are excluded from decision-making processes and their contributions are undervalued. Unfortunately, these gatekeeping practices are subtle and ingrained and intertwined with tradition and culture. It makes it even more difficult to identify and address.
Women’s Limiting Reaches
Gatekeeping occurs most in education, mainly in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) fields. Women are usually sidelined from these fields and constantly face cultural stereotypes that associate them with nurturing roles, which include caregiving and teaching. Research even indicates that even though girls perform better than boys in STEM fields, they’re less likely to pursue them as full-blown career paths.
Women who decide to earn money for a living face gatekeeping in their workplaces. They are often seen as less competent and less committed, excluding them from well-deserved promotions, leadership roles, and other opportunities that can advance their careers.
Different Environments; Same Status of Women
In male-dominated fields like finance and tech, women are underrepresented and are more likely to receive lower remuneration and fewer opportunities regardless of their qualifications and performances. This limits their potential and contributes to gender inequality in society.
Politics is another field where women face huge challenges. Their potential to become great leaders or shape public policies is usually limited. According to the Inter-Parliamentary Union, globally, women are undermined in political positions, with only 24% of them occupying parliamentary seats worldwide.
This is partly due to systemic hindrances such as gender bias that stop women from enjoying political power. Electoral systems too favour male candidates over women.
Women Psychology and Gatekeeping
When it comes to gatekeeping, psychology education has a lot to offer. Women’s psychology is a branch of psychology that helps understand women’s experiences and perspectives.
Interestingly, women in psychology play a critical role in fighting stereotypes and gender discrimination in the field. Karen Horney, a psychoanalyst who challenged Freud’s theories on women’s psychology, encouraged a humanistic approach to psychotherapy.
Mary Whitron Calkins, the president of the American Psychological Association, focussed on the relationship between psychology and education. She argued treating educational psychology as a science can help understand learning, development, and motivation.
Research in educational psychology indicates that gender discrimination and stereotypes have a huge impact on academic achievements. For instance, girls, who are told that they are not good in math or science, are underconfident about their skills, which leads to fewer career advancement opportunities.
Fighting The Stereotypes Through Women Psychology
To fight these gatekeeping practices, educational psychology presses more on the importance of creating inclusive and supportive learning environments, in order to promote equity and diversity. This includes keeping opportunities open for all students irrespective of their gender and allowing them to participate in challenging but meaningful experiences. It also highlights the importance of self-belief and resilience in children to achieve their full potential.
Science and education are also vital in understanding and addressing the impact of gatekeeping on women’s mental health. Women are more likely to experience mental health issues such as anxiety, depression, and t trauma. They may face disheartening challenges in accessing mental health care.
Gatekeeping can dissuade women from getting the care they need because of stigma and discrimination. For example, women from rural areas face challenges in accessing reproductive health care due to cultural and religious beliefs.
Psychology plays an important role in addressing gatekeeping practises that stop women from exploring their potential. Women’s psychology offers umpteen unique perspectives on how to create more inclusive and supportive environments that empower women to succeed.
A Truly Inclusive World
We must as a society address gender bias in recruitment and promotion processes, implementing policies to make sure everyone gets paid equally and promotion and work-life balance to support women’s participation in the workforce. By incorporating a diverse and inclusive system, we can ensure that women’s voices are heard and gender barriers are fought to create an equitable and just society.
Smile Foundation’s Swabhiman initiative is all about women and their needs. Making them aware of health, nutritional needs, financial literacy, and entrepreneurship, the initiative aims at women of underserved communities to become independent and enabled.