Learners and educators for gender equality
From 7th to 9th of April OBESSU Board member Ida took part in the 2nd World Women’s Conference ”On the move to equality – from words to action” taking place in Dublin, Ireland. The conference was organised by Education International and brought together teacher trade union representatives from around the globe. OBESSU was invited as a guest to give a learners perspective to the discussions. The aim of the international conference was to discuss gender equality in education, and also girls’ education as school is still not something every girl in the world can take for granted.
The issue of girls’ education was also brought up by Tarja Halonen, former President of Finland (2000-2012) in her keynote speech. Later during the conference, Susan Hopgood, president of Education International, reminded the participants of the fact that the UN Millenium goal of granting every child primary education by 2020 will be missed by a great margin. She also criticised governments worldwide for not investing in education as they promised and, if investing, often investing in education that would support the already educated and privileged families.
OBESSU took part in several workshops, amongst them one looking at gender equality in Vocational Education and Training (VET). In this workshop, the participants agreed on the fact that there are a lot of gender sterotypes and labels on different educational paths and jobs on the labour market, and that these stereotypes need to be tackled. It was also discussed that VET is often seen as a second alternative after academical education, that governments need to invest in VET education and that sectorial payment discrimmination on the labour market needs to be seen as a gender equality question and tackled.
Another workshop looked at gender sensitive teaching material and pedagogy. The workshop looked explicitly at what trade unions already do on the topic, if the unions themselves can produce material (either material to be used in classrooms, or material directed to teachers and teacher training) and how to overlook intersectionality. Again the gender stereotypes and the expectations on different genders was brought up. It also turned out that the interest and possibilites of trade unions in different countries have to invest in this area varies.
All in all, the conference was a successfull event where gender equality and education got the space it deserves at the international arena. The OBESSU inputs were valued and topics close to what OBESSU already work with a lot.
See also:
Education International Resolutions on Gender Equality
Education International Gender Equality Action Plan
Written by Ida Kreutzman
Picture by Education International
