Gender Perspective in Forestry and Feminist Institutionalism

Gender, as a social construction, refers to the difference between men and women. Gender is the perceived opposite attributes of maleness and femaleness, which define the different behaviours and roles of men and women (Gherardi and Poggio, 2001). Unlike biological differences, gender is socially created and refers to human attributes in relation to norms, values and cultures in a given circumstance (Reed, 2008). Therefore, gender is related more to the perceived (expected or allowed) roles of men and women, which have developed through sets of social practices based on economy, politics and culture. It is a dynamic phenomenon, which is negotiated and contested over time as an element of social relationship (Elmhirst and Resurreccion, 2008). Generally, gender provides additional criteria alongside biological differences in distinguishing between men and women although it has a broader meaning (Gherardi, 1995).