Teachers’ union issues equality challenge

The NASUWT teachers’ union has issued a Gender Equality Challenge — a UK-wide initiative which will give schools the opportunity to showcase how they are promoting and demonstrating their commitment to gender equality for pupils and the workforce.

The challenge was issued at a conference organised by the union aimed at empowering women and girls in education.

The conference, Education and gender equality: learning lessons, moving forward, explored ways of improving equality and social justice for girls and women in education, both in the UK and globally.

Chris Keates, NASUWT general secretary, told the conference that over the last 30 years, there have been tremendous achievements in gender equality in the UK education system.

According to the OECD Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the UK system is doing better than many comparable countries in terms of the educational participation and attainment of girls.

“Yet today in the UK we are seeing a backlash on gender equality, as a result of policy reforms and economic austerity implemented since 2010,” said Keates.

And she said that too much of today’s debate is characterised by promoting quality, while being silent on equality, adding that these are nevertheless “two sides of the same coin. They are not mutually exclusive goals.”

The challenge will identify beacons of good practice and give schools the opportunity to be publicly recognised for their efforts on gender equality so they can act as an inspiration for other schools.

www.nasuwt.org.uk/Whatsnew/NASUWTNews/PressReleases/MeetingGenderEqualityChallenge