Received:
2026-05-15 | Accepted:
2026-08-11 | Published:
2026-09-30
Title
Gender discrimination and women empowerment nexus through the lenses of Social Constructionism and Sen’s Capacity theories
Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to examine the nexus between gender discrimination and women's empowerment by focusing on Social Constructionism and Sen's Capability theories, and to develop a framework that illustrates their relationship. Gender is a social construct that distinguishes the functions and roles of men and women. The positions, functions, and roles of men and women determine the distinction. However, the conventional concept of gender roles has resulted in unequal status and decision-making power between men and women. The increasing discrepancies in defining gender roles have intensified women's discrimination. Thus, leading to women's underdevelopment, further exacerbated by traditional beliefs, cultural norms and customary practices which underlie the social construction of discriminatory gender roles. Discrimination against women in various forms has continued to exist in African societies, despite global and regional efforts of the United Nations declaration of 1975–85 as Women's Development Decade and the adoption of the 1979 Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) aimed at ensuring gender equality between men and women. The paper argues that challenging and restructuring social norms by deconstructing gender roles can create more inclusive systems. The paper concludes that although Social Constructionist Theory highlights and shapes societal inequality and advocates for normative change, and Sen's Capacity Theory focuses on the real-world effects of discrimination and stresses the practical expansion of women's freedom and opportunities, both are crucial for addressing social norms and thus targeting capability deprivation.
Keywords
gender, women empowerment, Social Constructionism Theory, Sen’s Capacity Theory, policies, development
JEL classifications
I31
, I38
URI
http://jssidoi.org/ird/article/273
DOI
Pages
149-159
Funding
This is an open access issue and all published articles are licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
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