Gender Issues in Education — Quiz

Q1. A teacher tells her class: 'What was considered proper for women a hundred years ago is not what we consider proper today.' Which property of GENDER is she illustrating?

• A. Gender is constant and unchangeable.
• B. Gender is biological and given by nature.
• C. Gender is variable and changes across time and cultures.
• D. Gender is the same as the chromosome pattern XX or XY.

Q2. A class 5 teacher in Rampur is explaining sex versus gender. Which of the following is correctly classified as a SEX attribute, not a gender attribute?

• A. Girls are soft-mannered and obedient.
• B. Boys are bold and aggressive.
• C. Menstrual cycle occurs in females.
• D. Cooking is the duty of women.

Q3. In early socialisation, parents are the primary role models for children. As a result

• A. the girl emulates the father and the boy emulates the mother
• B. both boys and girls emulate the teacher, not parents
• C. children show no preference for either parent as a model
• D. the girl emulates the mother and the boy emulates the father

Q4. Priya's parents give her dolls and kitchen sets to play with, while her brother Rohan is given a cricket bat and toy jeep. This practice MOST DIRECTLY

• A. treats sex as a biological fact
• B. shows gender sensitivity in the family
• C. promotes gender-neutral parenting
• D. reinforces sex stereotypes through differential play material

Q5. It is often seen that 'boys play in the open ground with lots of sports material' while girls are 'allowed to play indoor games with hardly any play material'. This contrast BEST illustrates

• A. differential socialisation that restricts girls' outdoor play
• B. a biological difference in stamina between boys and girls
• C. gender equity ensured by the school management
• D. natural preferences children develop on their own

Q6. Consider the example: 'If an employer gets new furniture for only the male workers, it is INDIRECT gender discrimination.' What makes this INDIRECT rather than direct?

• A. It is done openly with sex as the explicit reason.
• B. It involves only women, never men.
• C. It is a form of gender sensitivity, not discrimination.
• D. It works through a provision or practice that disadvantages women, without sex being named.

Q7. Gender discrimination can be summed up in one core sentence. BASICALLY gender discrimination is

• A. the denial of freedom of choice to girls and women
• B. the same as biological difference between males and females
• C. any difference in classroom uniforms
• D. a form of gender sensitivity

Q8. Gender discrimination can affect boys too. The unit gives this example

• A. boys are not allowed in the school library
• B. boys do not receive any toys to play with
• C. boys are denied admission to higher classes
• D. an injured boy is not expected to cry because 'he is a boy'

Q9. The number of Indian women who lack the basic capability to read and write is close to

• A. 45 million
• B. 145 million
• C. 245 million
• D. 345 million

Q10. Worldwide, male infants are biologically more likely to die than female infants. Yet in India

• A. the female infant mortality rate surpasses that of males
• B. the male infant mortality rate is higher than the female
• C. male and female infant mortality rates are exactly equal
• D. neither sex has any measurable infant mortality

Q11. Women's participation in the workforce in India has never crossed about ___ for rural women and ___ for urban women over the last three decades.

• A. 35% (rural) and 15% (urban)
• B. 50% (rural) and 35% (urban)
• C. 15% (rural) and 35% (urban)
• D. 75% (rural) and 50% (urban)

Q12. A 'vicious circle in which values, beliefs and practices favour men and their domination' is given a specific name. That name is

• A. matriarchy
• B. feudalism
• C. egalitarianism
• D. patriarchy

Q13. Numerous studies show several ways in which schools and teachers perpetuate gender bias. Which of the following is listed as a finding of those studies?

• A. girls receive more academic help than boys
• B. teachers praise girls more often than boys
• C. boys get teachers' attention more often than girls
• D. boys are criticised severely when they deviate from gender roles

Q14. A class 3 teacher in rural Bihar wants to build a gender-fair classroom. Which of these strategies is she ENCOURAGED to use?

• A. promote integration of boys and girls in seating and group work
• B. seat all boys on one side and all girls on the other
• C. assign cleaning to girls and furniture-shifting to boys
• D. expect 'difficult' tasks only from boys

Q15. International Women's Day is observed every year on

• A. 1st January
• B. 5th September
• C. 8th March
• D. 14th November