Gender Equality Issues 1419

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Gender Equality Issues 14-19
Professor Kate Myers kate_at_katemyers.org.uk
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• The issue
  
• The law
• Some strategies

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Frequently subject choice is based on gender
stereotyping rather than ability or aptitude.
Official figures have not yet been collected for
diplomas but this slide shows the gendered choice
made by young people for the IPF The increased
flexibility programme (IPF) introduced in 2002
aimed to create enhanced vocational and
work-related learning opportunities for 14-16 yr
olds Source Gender and Education the evidence
on pupils in England DCSF 2007

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Learner numbers for diplomas by gender September
08in 2 local authorities
Girls Boys LA
1 Creative media
30 15 Construction BE
0 44 Engineering 1 55 LA
2 Society, health Dev. 47
1 Engineering 0 20
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This is not a new issue
The DES survey of 1975 showed how girls
continue to limit their career choices at an
early stage by choosing to study subjects
traditionally associated with their sex e.g.
biology MFL and rejecting physical sciences,
masculine crafts technology subjects DES
Curricular Differences for Boys Girls
Education Survey 21 HMSO 1975 Myers 1980
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• Some things havent changed much at least nine
  in ten workers in
• the construction sector were male in both 1972
  and 2005. Similarly
• women predominated in health and educational
  services in 1972,
• and they form the majority of workers in these
  sectors today.
• Two sectors which have become close to balanced
  are public
• administration, which used to be male-dominated,
  and distribution,
• which used to be female-dominated
• Sources CSO (1973) Social Trends 1973 ONS
  (2005) Labour Force Survey Spring 2005 dataset.

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More extreme segregation of young women and men
is seen in apprenticeships. Over nine-tenths of
hairdressing apprentices are women, whilst at
least 98 of apprentices in construction,
the motor industry and plumbing are men. Source
Learning Skills Council (2005) Apprenticeship
data Report 2 Quarterly cumulative startsand
in learning August 2004 to April 2005. Subject
segregation in FE and HE is almost as extreme.
For example, in engineering and technology
subjects 87 of FE students and 86 of HE
students are male. Sources Learning and Skills
Council (2005) Further education, work based
learning for young people and adult and community
learning Learner numbers in England 2004/05,
ILR/SFR08 Higher Education Statistics Agency
(2005) Students in Higher Education Institutions
2003/04.
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Attainment

• Some boys do well, some
• girls underachieve.
• Inter-relatedness of the
• equalities

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Pay
38 years after the Equal Pay Act, women continue
to earn less than men in G.B. Since 1999 women's
hourly earnings have remained at just over 80 per
cent of men's earnings www.statistics.gov.uk/
2006
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PUBLIC SECTOR DUTY ON GENDER EQUALITY (GENDER
EQUALITY DUTY)


Part IV of the Equality Act 2006, (effective
April 07) introduces a general duty on public
authorities which requires employers and service
providers, to have due regard to - the need to
eliminate unlawful discrimination and
harassment and - promote equality of
opportunity between men and women.
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Choice

• Students at most vulnerable
• Peer group pressure
• Rather than simply being a matter of choice,
  research has shown that there are strong
  penalties for children who fail to conform to
  gender norms
• Skelton, Francis Valkanova 2007 p17
• Throw-away comments
• How can choices be informed?

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Suggested strategies on 14-19 website
See the gender section in the equality and
diversity part of the site www.dcsf.gov.uk/14-19/

• Before
• During
• After

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Encouraging atypical learners

• Before
• Planning e.g. contextualise the curriculum
  content. Explain the purpose of learning
• Make the links between students daily lives and
  their concerns about the wider social issues
• Importance of IAG for parents/carers
• Forge links with employers/HE/mentors/
• ambassadors/role-models
• Visits to atypical learning sites use of video
  links/web cams when more appropriate
• Taster courses

• After
• support nurture
• atypical learners
• keep in
• touch with families
• grow your own
• establish critical
• mass

• During
• Ensure all IAG promotes gender equality
• Continue work with parents/carers
• Use TIE groups
• Visits
• Links with atypical role models peers and adult

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Need to support atypical learners after choices
have been made
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Factors that contributed to attracting
girls Establishing a steering group that
included female role models e.g.. VP Aston
university (female engineer) female rep from
Land Rover fully involved in process. 2.
Learning takes place at dedicated site high tech
new build no grease in sight. Emphasis on
sustainability in bldg e.g. powered by wind
turbines and solar panels 3. Targeted higher
attaining students (potential A/Bs) 4. Course
emphasis on sustainability 5. Good quality
publicity flyer which includes pics of 6 girls
and 1 boy. 6. Open evening held at engineering
dept in Birmingham university. Engineering in the
21st century explained to parents as well as
career possibilities. Old stereotypes
challenged. 7. Interested students taken to
centre met with course tutors and employers.
Again traditional stereotypes of engineering
challenged. 8. Students had to apply. Course
oversubscribed. Contact
Dave Beards collegiate_at_sellyoak.bham.sch.uk
Bucking the trendThe Oaks Collegiate
Academy Engineering level 2 10 Girls 22 Boys
5 schools 1 b and 1 g single sex and 3 mixed
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What can employers do

• Make it clear in all publicity that the sector
  welcomes employees
• regardless of gender, ethnicity etc
• Deliberately target the under-represented group
  e.g. offer single
• sex visits to work sites encourage visits from
  parents organise
• publicity about the sector and its prospects
  written for parents
• teachers as well as prospective workers
• Where possible use local role-models in
  publicity materials
• Offer atypical role models/ambassadors/mentors
  to visit schools or
• be accessible via video link/web cam etc
• Make work experience a comfortable enjoyable
  experience for
• both sexes e.g. ensure that work clothes fit
  and are appropriate
• for both sexes toilets are clean the
  experience is gender neutral
• (girls dont spend all their time filing or
  making tea) organise same
• sex mentors where possible put atypical
  learners in contact with
• successful same sex employees ask for feedback
  during and after
• the experience.
• Encourage training providers to organise single
  sex taster courses
• Offer to run or support master classes

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What can ITTproviders do?E.g.

• Model good practice
• Ensure students understand the legal duty to
  promote equalities
• If learner numbers in the diploma line are skewed
  towards one gender, discuss with students, what
  can be done in order to encourage a more balanced
  intake e.g. with regard to
• recruitment
• curriculum content and materials
• teaching styles
• work related learning
• support for atypical learners
• AND??

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For more information see http//www.dcsf.gov.uk/
14-19/index.cfm?gosite.homesid1