Ethnic matters : Gender differences in behaviours and attitudes.

Ting, Su Hie and Nazrinzulaiqa, Hasbi and Nur Fatihah, Abdullah Bandar (2024) Ethnic matters : Gender differences in behaviours and attitudes. Asian Journal of Research in Education and Social Sciences, 6 (2). pp. 681-693. ISSN 2682-8502

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Abstract

The study examined gender differences in behaviours and attitudes towards own and other ethnic groups among Sarawakians. The questionnaire data were from 70 respondents living in Sarawak, Malaysia. The questionnaire was on social interaction, attitudes towards ethnic relations, ethnic group perceptions, and ethnic group importance in the context of the Malaysian society. The results showed that there were no significant differences between female and male participants who reported frequent social interactions with people from their own ethnic groups and other ethnic groups. However, they seldom discuss interethnic issues and attend inter religious dialogues with other ethnic groups. The female and male participants were also not significantly different in their ethnic group perceptions. They preferred to be with people from the same ethnic groups in various settings, and acknowledged that people from different ethnic groups are different and yet similar. However, there was a gender difference for attitude towards ethnic relations. The participants reported positive attitude towards ethnic relations. Compared to the female participants, the male participants expressed a strong support for the right of ethnic groups to maintain their own unique traditions and, at the same time, expressed a stronger belief in the need for minority groups to accept the established system of government in this country to attain the Malaysian dream of racial harmony. There was also a significant gender difference for ethnic group importance in that the female participants were more selective in which ethnic group they felt warm towards unlike the male participants who felt similar levels of warmth towards Malay, Indigenous, Chinese, and Indians. The male participants were more upfront in asserting pride in their ethnic identity and the right for ethnic groups to maintain their distinctiveness. This analysis of gender differences in ethnic attitudes using a model of behaviour-attitudes-values is eye-opening because it shows that Malaysians can display social interaction behaviour that shows ethnic openness, and somewhat express attitudes that show ethnic openness but at the values level, they are still in the comfort zone of their own ethnic group.

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