Gender Equity

Gender-equitable education involves the inclusion of the experiences, perceptions, and perspectives of girls and women, as well as boys and men, in all aspects of education. It will initially focus on girls in order to redress historical inequities. Generally, the inclusive strategies, which promote the participation of girls, also reach boys who are excluded by more traditional teaching styles and curriculum content.

Principles of Gender Equity in Education

• All students have the right to a learning environment that is gender equitable.
• All education programs and career decisions should be based on a student's interest and ability, regardless of gender.
• Gender equity incorporates a consideration of social class, culture, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, and age.
• Gender equity requires sensitivity, determination, commitment, and vigilance over time.
• The foundation of gender equity is co-operation and collaboration among students, educators, education organizations, families, and members of communities.

• Be committed to learning about and practising equitable teaching.
• Use gender-specific terms to market opportunities ­ for example, if a technology fair has been designed to appeal to girls, mention girls clearly and specifically. Many girls assume that gender-neutral language in non-traditional fields means boys.
• Modify content, teaching style, and assessment practices to make non-traditional subjects more relevant and interesting for female and male students.
• Highlight the social aspects and usefulness of activities, skills, and knowledge.
• Comments received from female students suggest that they particularly enjoy integrative thinking; understanding context as well as facts; and exploring social, moral, and environmental impacts of decisions.
• When establishing relevance of material, consider the different interests and life experiences that girls and boys may have.
• Choose a variety of instructional strategies such as co-operative and collaborative work in small groups, opportunities for safe risk taking, hands-on work, and opportunities to integrate knowledge and skills (e.g., science and communication).
• Provide specific strategies, special opportunities, and resources to encourage students to excel in areas of study in which they are typically under-represented.
• Design lessons to explore many perspectives and to use different sources of information; refer to female and male experts.
• Manage competitiveness in the classroom, particularly in areas where male students typically excel.
• Watch for biasses (e.g., in behaviour or learning resources) and teach students strategies to recognize and work to eliminate inequities they observe.
• Be aware of accepted gender-bias practices in physical activity (e.g., in team sport, funding for athletes, and choices in physical education programs).
• Do not assume that all students are heterosexual.
• Share information and build a network of colleagues with a strong commitment to equity.
• Model non-biassed behaviour: use inclusive, parallel, or gender-sensitive language; question and coach male and female students with the same frequency, specificity, and depth; allow quiet students sufficient time to respond to questions.
• Have colleagues familiar with common gender biasses observe your teaching and discuss any potential bias they may observe.
• Be consistent over time.

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