Meaning & use
gender barrier
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
A social or institutional obstacle that stops people of one gender from doing something or being treated equally.
Grammar: Countable: you can talk about one barrier or several barriers; often used in the plural with 'break' or 'remove'.
Patterns
- break a gender barrier
- remove a gender barrier
- a gender barrier in something
She broke a gender barrier by becoming the first woman to lead the club.
The company is trying to remove gender barriers in hiring and promotion.
Many gender barriers in science have slowly come down over the past fifty years.
nouncountable
Any custom or attitude that makes men and women unequal in a particular area of life.
Grammar: Often plural when speaking generally about unequal attitudes rather than one specific obstacle.
Patterns
- gender barriers in something
- overcome gender barriers
- face gender barriers
Girls in some regions still face gender barriers at school.
The report describes the gender barriers that keep women out of senior politics.
Word forms
| plural | gender barriers |
|---|
Common combinations
- break down a gender barrier
- Her election broke down a long-standing gender barrier in the union.
- face gender barriers
- Women in the industry still face gender barriers when seeking funding.
- gender barrier in sport
- The gender barrier in sport has weakened as more women compete professionally.
- remove gender barriers
- New laws aim to remove gender barriers in the workplace.
- overcome a gender barrier
- He overcame a gender barrier to train as a nurse.
Synonyms and how they differ
- glass ceiling
- Refers specifically to the invisible limit on women's promotion to top jobs, while a gender barrier can be any obstacle at any level.
- obstacle
- A general word for anything that blocks progress; use 'gender barrier' when the obstacle is specifically about gender.
Word family
- gender noun
- The state of being male or female, especially in social and cultural terms.
- gendered adjective
- Describing something shaped by ideas about gender, as in 'gendered language'.
Commonly confused: gender barrier or sexism?
gender barrier vs sexism
Sexism is the prejudiced belief or behavior itself; a gender barrier is the practical obstacle that such prejudice creates.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'gender barrier' most naturally?
Choose one answer.
A gender barrier is a social obstacle linked to gender, so becoming the first woman in a male-dominated role fits. The other options describe ordinary actions with no gender obstacle.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “gender barrier”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.