Sexism is the human behavior that justifies inequality between men and women. Thus, the concept of sexism has an obvious pejorative meaning, as it is a way of understanding the male and female roles according to a qualitative difference between the two. Whoever has an attitude of this type is a sexist and considers it legitimate that there is a different consideration between men and women.
Sexism is manifested in all kinds of behaviors and contexts: in the difference in wages between the two sexes, the inequality in responsibility in the care of children or in some social traditions in which the man has a greater social consideration .
Sexism and its fading over time
At present, sexism as an attitude and as a social mentality has lost prominence if we compare it with other times, in which women were in an evident situation of vulnerability and lack of social recognition (a very significant example in relation to social change it is women's suffrage, which has been a political achievement that was achieved in the 20th century and after an intense struggle by the feminist movement). Despite the undeniable advances, sexism is still present in society as a whole and the most significant cases are worth remembering.
Situations of sexism
If we start from the idea that sexism implies unequal treatment between men and women, there are circumstances in which this reality is quite conspicuous. In most religions the relevant positions are held by men and the reason for this discrimination is based on criteria that were adopted centuries ago and that today are anachronistic. In the sphere of politics, measures have been incorporated to correct sexism (one of the best known is the introduction of equal electoral lists between the two sexes).
Latent discrimination, although less and less frequently
For some analysts, the existing laws do not prevent that in reality discriminatory attitudes still occur and many of them are manifested through sexist or directly macho language (expressions such as "this is a man's thing" or some popular sayings and sayings that belittle to the woman).
Some educational proposals defend the separation of students based on sex. The defenders of this type of measures consider that the academic results are better if the students do not share the same classroom. On the other hand, the detractors understand that these measures are sexist and that in the school environment it is positive that the two sexes share experiences without any kind of separation.
