Multiculturism refers to the presence and support of ethnic groups within a new society (Berry, Poortinga, Breugelmans, Chasiotis & Sam, 2011). Gender refers to the learned beliefs and socially created constructs within different cultures, which teaches people gender ‘norms’ about male and female roles (Berry, et al., 2011). Many Non-western countries still have a patriarchal view on women, with social values and status often causing obstacles to escape patriarchal prejudices (Tichy, Becker & Sisco, 2009), for example the idea of women as being overly emotional and sexual and the insignificant view of the women’s rights in pro-life arguments (Macleod, Sigcau, & Luwaca, 2011). When migrating to western cultures, there can be clashes in the views and rights of women.
In the UK, the Equality Act (2010) protects gender, forcing employers to promote equality-based recruitment and allowing women the right to apply for the same jobs as men. Alwazzan and Rees (2016) found that women in work in Saudi Arabia experienced gender inequalities and gender stereotypes as their culture and government are biased towards women. Similarly, some non-western cultural norms promote child marriage, forced marriage and female genital mutilation (FGM), all of which decreases the value of women, and reinforces their role as being inferior as well as objectifies them.
Issues exist when non-western individuals migrate to western cultures, and vice versa, as they not be culturally aware of the change in cultural norms and views on the role of women. As a result, the UK is still fighting FGM and arranged marriages, as they want to prevent female rights. A consequence of this is appearing unwelcoming and infringe on intercultural relations.
References:
Alwazzan, L., & Rees, C. E. (2016). Women in medical education: Views and experiences from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Medical Education, 50(8), 852–865. https://doi.org/10.1111/medu.12988
Berry, J. W., Poortinga, Y. H., Breugelmans, S. M., Chasiotis, A., & Sam, D. (2011). Cross-cultural psychology: Theory and applications (3rd Ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Equality Act (2010), c. 15. London: The Stationery Office.
Fiske, S. T. (2017). Prejudices in Cultural Contexts: Shared Stereotypes (Gender, Age) Versus Variable Stereotypes (Race, Ethnicity, Religion). Perspectives on Psychological Science, 12(5), 791–799. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691617708204
Macleod, C., Sigcau, N., & Luwaca, P. (2011). Culture as a discursive resource opposing legal abortion. Critical Public Health, 21(2), 237–245. https://doi.org/10.1080/09581596.2010.492211
Tichy, L. L., Becker, J. V., & Sisco, M. M. (2009). The downside of patriarchal benevolence: Ambivalence in addressing domestic violence and socio-economic considerations for women of Tamil Nadu, India. Journal of Family Violence, 24(8), 547–558. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-009-9253-4
Reflections on Culture in Psychology 