Toward a Culturally Sensitive Framework for Gender Equality Research
Prof. Natazsa Kosakowska-Berezacka (University of Gdańsk, Poland) will be giving a session in the CIS-Iscte Research Group - PsyChange, on 21 Octoberon, from 11.00h to 12.30h, in the Building 4 (Iscte-CVTT).
@ Nadezhda Moryak, Pexels
Abstract: From gender-segregated education and linguistic practices to legal frameworks governing gender recognition and reproductive rights, culture deeply influences how gender is enacted and perceived. Yet gender research often neglects cultural context, while cross-cultural researchers rarely engage with gender dynamics. Efforts to reduce gender inequality typically assume that advances in gender equality will narrow gender gaps. However, more gender-equal countries often show larger gender differences in career choices, a pattern known as the gender equality paradox. My talk will suggest a pathway to develop a culturally sensitive framework for understanding gender differences, norms, and equality. Using data from 62 countries (N = 28,288) and insights from the Gindex project, which focuses on developing cross-culturally sensitive measures of gender equality, I will show that cultural values, particularly individualism and power distance, explain cross-national gender gaps in self-views and gendered prescriptions better than gender inequality indices do. I will also present the Traditional Gender Norms Index (TGNI), which is built from cross-culturally invariant measures of shared gender-normative beliefs. It predicts gender gaps in health, safety, labor, well-being, and education. Together, these insights call for culturally sensitive measures that integrate gendered beliefs with broader cultural value systems, making gender research both globally generalizable and culturally grounded.
