'gender-wise' originates from a combination of 'gender' (from Middle English via Old French 'genre', ultimately from Latin 'genus', where 'genus' meant 'kind') and the suffix '-wise' (from Old English 'wīs', meaning 'manner' or 'way').

'gender' changed from Middle English 'gendre' (borrowed from Old French 'genre') and ultimately from Latin 'genus'; the element '-wise' comes from Old English 'wīs' and developed into a productive adverbial suffix in Modern English; these elements were combined in modern usage to form 'gender-wise'.

Initially the components carried the sense of 'kind' (for 'gender') and 'manner' (for '-wise'); over time the compound came to mean 'with regard to the category of gender' or 'in terms of gender'.