‘Gender’ is the socio-cultural construction of the male and female roles and the relationship between men and women. It is a concept which refers to the social differences between the women and men, differences ‘acquired’, likely to change with time and other variables among the various cultures.

On the other hand, the term ‘sex’ refers to the biological characteristics: the fact of being born man or woman. For example only the woman can conceive in the world.

Gender describes the social functions and the relations between men and women.

Gender relates to all aspects of life - political, economic, social and cultural.

Gender analyzes the roles of men and women.

Gender evolves through time and differs according to cultures'.

Gender clarifies our notion of the role and the respective behaviors of men and women in the community.

Gender concerns men and women in the family, the community and the nation.

Gender equality?

Rights equality, and equal rights for men and women, girls and boys, this equality does not mean that women and men must become identical, but that their rights, their responsibilities and their opportunities should not be related to their sex.

The equality between the sexes supposes that the interests, the needs and the priorities of women as well as men must be taken into account. Equality of the sexes is thus defined as the evaluation of the situation of women and men, in particular in the legislation, in policies or in programmes, in all the sectors, and on all the levels.

Gender Integration
It acts as a strategy aiming to incorporate the concerns and the experiences of women as well as those of men in the development, the implementation, the monitoring and the evaluation of the policies and the programs in all the fields - political, economic, social and cultural - so that the women and the men profit from equal advantages and that the inequality will disappear. The ultimate goal is to reach equality of the sexes.

Gender and MONUC
MONUC gives the example by integrating a sex specific dimension in all its programs and activities. The women who occupy high level posts take part more and more in decision-making and at management level. They thus illustrate the engagement of the United Nations for the promotion of woman at posts with responsibilities.