NJIKO: A Multi-Disciplinary Journal of Humanities, Law, Education and Social Sciences

Gender roles and societal expectations often influence how we see ourselves and how we see and relate with others. Men and women are taught the roles that they should play as male or female from childhood by parents, school and the wider society. This process of socialization takes many forms that are direct and indirect. Stereotypes also influence our perceptions of gender roles and how we perceive what roles men and women should play in the society. These perceptions are usually negative and lead to worsening of already existing cultural and social barriers that institutionalize gender inequality. Gender inequality is a problem that has affected our society and has been of particular disadvantage to women who are conferred a lower status than men in most societies around the world. This disparity in the treatment of men and women is reflected in the unequal access to social goods, social and political offices, economic resources and cultural biases between the sexes. Sandra Bem's work on gender presents an alternative framework for viewing gender roles and presents ways that gender disparities can be corrected. This paper adopts the method of philosophical analysis to present Bem's contribution to the discourse on gender and a close examination of ideas reveals that despite her laudable contributions to gender theory, there are some limitations in her work that borders on the intersection of gender, race and social factors. The paper posits that her work on gender will be more grounded if an intersectional outlook is added to her theory.

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