STEPS Towards a more gender equal adult

Transcripción

STEPS TOWARDS A MORE GENDER
EQUAL ADULT EDUCATION
1
"Taking part in this GIWHAT project has
This project has been funded
with support from the European Commission.
made me a better
person; not only by
tackling gender issues
Contributors to this publication
and becoming more
From Belgium
aware of them, but
Stefanie De Keersmaecker, Claudia Gaspard, Steven De Pourcq, Debra
also by learning from
DePryck, Karin Felix, Ira Bogaerts, Ilse Mertens, Koen DePryck,
project partners and
Hannelore Audenaert
From Czech Republic
sharing experiences.
Dealing with gender
Monika Drozdová, Martin Pokorný, Lucie Zormanová, Lukas Latal
equality at adult
From Finland
Ann-Sofi Backgren, Anita Ismark, Caroline Westerdahl
From Spain
education is still
necessary in Europe
and I hope we have
done our bit."
Mari Fe Corpa Cuesta, Juan Ramón Duarte García, Josefina Durán
Valle, David Fernández Ascacíbar, Isabel Fernández Otero, Vanessa
González Cabañas, Jesús David Martín Álvarez, Mercedes Mateos
García, Luis Ortega Martínez, María José Prieto Yagüe, Juan Sabe
Andreu, Luis Antonio Sierra Gómez, Amparo Vicent López, María Villén
Gómez
From Turkey
Tahsin Güneş, Bekir Kasapçopur, Ahmet Bülbül , Yavuz Özkan , Namık Bakir ,
Ayşe Yüce , Ali Ari, Ertan Göküş, Hüseyin Özveri
Luis Antonio Sierra
Spain
2
INHOUD
1)
GI-WHAT | Gender Issues, Why Hide A Truth? .............................................................................. 4
2)
GI-WHAT partners .......................................................................................................................... 6
3) About this document…………………………………………………….…………..………………………10
4) GI-WHAT workshops ....................................................................................................................... 11
Gender issues at work...................................................................................................................... 14
Culturally embedded gender issues ................................................................................................. 25
Gender issues in the social domain .................................................................................................. 27
Gender issues in education .............................................................................................................. 31
Gender-issues in family .................................................................................................................... 32
Final meeting in Çumra (Turkey), May 2013 ..................................................................................... 40
5) Gender issues in practice ................................................................................................................ 42
El Roto cartoons............................................................................................................................... 43
The World Upside Down .................................................................................................................. 47
Feminism or barbarism..................................................................................................................... 51
How come they said that? ................................................................................................................ 55
Learn the warning signs of abuse ..................................................................................................... 62
Bodies .............................................................................................................................................. 66
Household chores survey ................................................................................................................. 70
Basketball player fined not to dress feminine (newspaper article) ..................................................... 74
Young women under a gender equality “illusion” .............................................................................. 78
What if nobody cooked one day ....................................................................................................... 82
1-minute film contest ........................................................................................................................ 87
Survey Activity for Teachers ............................................................................................................. 94
Family Seminars .............................................................................................................................. 98
Family Visits and Surveys .............................................................................................................. 102
Typical man and typical woman...................................................................................................... 106
Gender issues and comics ............................................................................................................. 109
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1) GI-WHAT | GENDER ISSUES, WHY HIDE A
TRUTH?
GI-WHAT is guidance
for teachers,
That gender issues are real and should be addressed is, as such, not
open for discussion. In December 2009, the European Institute for
Gender Equality (EIGE) opened its door in Vilnius. It was an opportunity
for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities
Commissioner Vladimir Špidla to point out that “achieving more equality
between women and men in Europe has been a key priority for the
European Commission over the past five years” and to stress the
importance of strengthen the “efforts to promote gender equality and fight
discrimination across Europe over the coming years."
It is one (important) thing to identify gender issues as a European priority,
quite another to bring about changes in a complex, open and diverse
society. This project is about the role of adult education in that context.
Gender Issues – Why Hide A Truth (GI-WHAT) is a Grundtvig partnership
established as an interdisciplinary effort to



disentangle the complexity of gender issues throughout Europe;
raise awareness and understanding of the different aspects of
gender issues, including differences and similarities among the
partners;
formulate strategies to implement the results in adult education.
managers and families
to help how to
implement the genderequality in education
life. Thanks to GIWHAT, we had the
best devices to solve
problems in education
area in our district. We
have managed several
things. It is believed
that we live and work
more equal. Now more
Bringing about changes in gender related issues requires raising
awareness, providing insights, and changing attitudes. Through its
distinctive position as organizations for whom learning is core business,
adult education can be a privileged catalyst. They also have a unique
access to a large and diverse part of the population and have the
knowhow to work. Bringing formal and informal learning about gender
issues within the scope of adult education at large was the rationale for
setting up the project.
equal opportunities
welcome our students
in Çumra.
Based on their experience and context, the partners from Belgium, Czech
Republic, Finland, Spain and Turkey have identified 5 general areas in
which gender issues exist and in which Adult Education could make a
difference:
1. Gender issues related to work and the work place;
2. Gender issues in education;
3. Gender issues in the social domain;
4. Gender issues in families;
5. Culturally embedded gender issues.
Yavuz Özkan
Turkey
4
Through a series of workshops, each one focusing on one specific domain,
organised during project meetings in different countries, the partnership has
addressed these aspects of gender issues. Each workshop included a
general framework, discussion of examples/good practice and the design of
implementation strategies to address specific issues at hand in and through
adult education in the different partner institutions.
The publication ‘Steps towards a more gender-equal adult education’
contains an inventory of project meetings findings and activities carried out
by the partners to encourage adult education teachers and managers
throughout Europe to set up these activities themselves.
=
Koen DePryck
Belgium
5
2) GI-WHAT PARTNERS
5 partners from Belgium, Czech Republic, Spain, Finland, Turkey
5
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1) CVO Antwerpen (Belgium)
www.cvoantwerpen.be
Contact: Koen DePryck
[email protected]
CVO Antwerpen is an Adult Education Center with several campuses in and
around the City of Antwerp in the Flemish region of Belgium. CVO Antwerpen is
one of the largest centers for adult education certified and funded by the Flemish
Government.
It organizes more than 950 modular daytime and evening courses per year. These courses are
clustered around:

courses for immigrants (Dutch as a second language, ICT, other languages);

formal Vocational Education and Training at the level of secondary education (Second
Chance to Learn, potentially leading to a diploma of secondary education in the domains
of general administration, welding and multimedia graphics);

higher professional education (accounting, architectural draftsman, ICT);

a range of language courses (Chinese, English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese,
Russian and Spanish);
entrepreneurial training courses, maritime training, welding courses, courses in
application software and cooking.

2) Rovné příležitosti (Czech Republic)
http://www.rovne-prilezitosti.cz/o-nas.html
Contact: Martin Pokorny
[email protected]
Equal Chances is a non-profit organization, which was founded to support
equal chances to all people who suffer by social inclusion. It is created by both
men and women, who are a group of young, enthusiastic project managers and
lectors, related to the Adult education centre. The main impulse to start
working on the topic of equal opportunities was firstly the location and the historical background
of the Moravian-Silesian region. This area has been for a very long time orientated mainly on
the mining and heavy industry with all the ill effects on its population. Therefore, there were very
little opportunities for a certain group of people – such as mothers, unemployed, ex criminals,
handicapped, senior citizens or homeless.
Equal chances provides education, assistance and guidelines to unequally treated and excluded
citizens about their chances in the Moravian-Silesian Region. It collects and analyses data for
the local government, develops tools and methodologies for integration of unequally treated
citizens.
Equal Chances works as an intermediary link between stakeholders and offers the practice, and
transfer of innovative tools from abroad.
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3) Centro de Educación de Personas Adultas ‘Ramón y Cajal’
(Spain)
www.educa.madrid.org/web/cepa.parla
Contact: Luis Antonio Sierra Gómez
[email protected]
CEPA Ramon y Cajal - School for Adults Ramon y Cajal - is located in Parla
(Madrid). It has around 30 teachers and has about 1800 adult students
enrolled. The education provided is divided in three different branches: on the
one hand, formal education, that is, primary and secondary education to get
the basic qualifications the Spanish educational system provides; on the other hand, vocational
training funded by the European Union; and finally, there is a third layer known as 'education for
the personal development of adult people' with courses on English language, IT, Spanish as a
foreign language, photography, etc.
The student population ranges from 18 years-old to senior citizens, although most of the
students are within the segment of 18 and 40. It is important to highlight the number of
immigrant students mainly involved in learning Spanish, although there is an important number
enrolled in getting the secondary education certificate. Moreover, most of the students are under
qualified because of their dropping-out when they were within the formal education system, or
because they belong to the target group of not equally treated citizens with respect to gender,
age or ethnical background.
4) The municipality and centre of adult education of Korsnäs
(Finland)
www.korsnas.fi
Contact: Ann-Sofi Backgren
[email protected]
The municipality of Korsnäs is quite a small municipality on the countryside in
the region of Ostrobothnia (western Finland). Together with the neighbour
municipality of Malax, Korsnäs is maintaining the Adult Education Centre. The
Adult Education Centre is arranging courses spread over the countryside in
both municipalities of Korsnäs and Malax, in many villages. The Ostrobothnian region is a
bilingual region and the language in the municipality of Kornsäs is for 88% Swedish, other
languages are Finnish, and languages spoken by people coming from Bosnia, Estonia, Belarus,
Vietnam, Burma (Myanmar). This means that the municipality of Korsnäs has 9.5% of its
population coming from abroad (international). In order to promote the integration of these target
groups the Adult Education Centre and other bodies in the municipality are doing a great job.
We are also living long in this region (about 25% of the population in the municipality are more
than 65 years old). The municipality and the Adult Education Centre are working with tissues for
“the lifelong learning” in real. We arrange many senior courses, for example in computering. In
the municipality decision-making and administrative body women have quite a strong impact.
Women issues and power have been discussed for several years.
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5) Çumra Ilçe Milli Eğitim Müdürlüğü (Turkey)
http://cumra.meb.gov.tr
Contact: Yavuz Özkan
[email protected]
Çumra District Directorate of National Education is a state institution in charge
with the planning and coordinator of all kinds of educational and training
activities in pre-school, primary, secondary and adult education in Çumra
District. Our Directorate includes non-formal education, apprenticeship and
Vocational Technical Education, research planning and statics, public relations, etc. The
institution is responsible for teachers our of staff, students, primary and high school. Our vision
is to be a qualified, prominent institution that has reached the level to compete equivalent
institutions in Turkey and in modern countries with ensuring authentic contribution to the
development of Turkish National Education System by providing effective usage of knowledge,
skill, value and technology required in the knowledge era.
Our mission is

to ensure to boost efficiency and productivity of associated institutions and of employees
and pleasure of worker and service field;

To improve and implement laws and other regulations through the general goals and
fundamental principles of National Education System in Çumra district.
Çumra District Directorate of National Education wanted to be part of GI-WHAT

To enhance the European dimension of education in their organization by promoting
joint co-operation activities with institutions from different European countries:

To give administrators and teachers an opportunity to work together with learners and
teachers from different countries:

To help administrators and teachers to acquire and improve skills not only in the topic of
‘Genders Issues’ but also in terms of teamwork, social relations, planning and
undertaking project activities and using information and participating in a partnership
with partners from communication technology and also share tour experiences about
gender issues from the point of Çumra District Directorate of National Education:

To give administrators and teachers the opportunity to practice foreign languages and
increase their motivation towards language learning:

To exchange experiences and good practices with partner organisations in Europe.
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3) ABOUT THIS DOCUMENT
2 years, that is how long the GI-WHAT project partners worked together
on the topic of gender issues. 2 years … a lot of time to gain experience
on a specific topic. And as one of the goals of GI-WHAT is to raise
awareness and understanding of the different aspects of gender issues
throughout Europe, the document you are going through now , is meant
for teachers in adult education throughout Europe to get started
themselves. This document contains a lot of information and inspiration
for you to contribute to a more gender equal Europe.
“Gender issues are
You will find different post-its throughout this document with golden tips
on them. Chapter 5 ‘gender issues in practice’ gives your all the
practical information you need to implement gender related activities
with your students.
department, director …
The GI-WHAT partners hope you will enjoy this document!
something from the past?
Not according to our
teachers, student
counselors, heads of
GI-WHAT has been a
successful way of raising
awareness of these
gender issues in our
center for adult
education. CVO
Antwerpen is now a more
gender friendly learning
environment, thanks to
GI-WHAT.
Hannelore Audenaert
10
Belgium
4) GI-WHAT WORKSHOPS
Gender issues at work
Kickoff meeting in Antwerp (Belgium), November 2011
“Being part of GIWHAT has had a
tremendous impact
on my views about
inequality issues and
has helped me to raise
The GI-WHAT kickoff meeting was held in Antwerp (BE) from 8 to 11
November 2011. Main goal of this partner meeting was to get to know the
other partner organisations and partners and to plan the overall project by
discussing the working method and the deliverables. Also the first
workshop ‘gender issues at work’ was organised during this meeting.
awareness on this
First day was mainly set up introduce our partner organisations to each
other and to discuss overall project management (fixing meeting dates,
discussing the different deliverables, agreeing
on a working method …).
Parla and my
topic. Sharing ideas
with my colleagues
and my students in
European partners
has made me realize
that we can do
From Belgium?
Check out
www.femco.be!
The workshop ‘gender issues at work’ was
held on the second and final day of the project
meeting in Antwerp. It was led by Michele
Mees from The Centre for Balanced
Leadership (www.femco.be) which opts for
a hands-on and integrated approach,
combining top down and bottom up activities to
achieve superior personal and business
performance.
something to reach
one day to equal
relations between man
and women when
gender issues will not
be an issue anymore.”
They intend to bridge the knowing-doing gap by
1. Putting balanced leadership and gender balance on the strategic
agenda
2. Working with executive teams to define the outline of a balanced
organization
3. Driving cultural change
4. Developing balanced leadership skills of men, women and mixed
teams
5. Increasing gender intelligence of managers
6. Empowering women in leadership positions
7. Offering female leaders access to our alumni network (FRESH)
Juan Sabe Andreu
Spain
11
CONTENT OF THE WORKSHOP
12
Why not discuss
these figures with
your students?
13
14
15
16
17
18
During the day we had several group discussions. The goal was to find out more about the differences
between the different countries. After every discussion the moderator showed us some facts and
figures on the theme.
DISCUSSION 1: WHAT DO YOU PERCEIVE AS BEING GENDER ISSUES AND GENDER
PROBLEMS TODAY, FROM YOUR LOCAL PERSPECTIVE, FOR STUDENTS AND STAFF?
Results of the discussion
Finland
Can you relate to
these conclusions?
Spain
Students
- Girls choose traditional jobs and studies
- Need for more mingled workplaces
In education/society
- Some working places are more traditional for men or
women
- In education it’s equally divided, but the headmaster is
usually a man (higher salary).
- More women choose for caring and teaching jobs.
- Today, women have more important jobs in politics and
industry. But in the big companies there are still more men
at the top of the company.
- The Finish president is a woman. Two ministers are
women. Also in the military we can find women and even
some female priest.
Students
- Some young immigrants don’t respect women (female
teachers), don’t recognize their authority.
- Some men don’t want their wife to come to school.
- Some young students show male-chauvinist attitudes to
their girlfriends.
- Male teachers usually have less discipline problems than
female ones.
- Respect is given for granted to men and needs to be
conquered by women.
Czech Republic
Students
- Male teachers prefer girl students (sexual harassment).
- Girls have to choose between having a family and a good
career.
- Mainly girls are studying at universities.
19
Turkey
- Difference in salary between male and female teachers.
- Women can’t do the same job as men (for instance
president).
Students
- Parents think girls don’t have to go to school in rural areas.
They better get married young. Boys have to go to school
because they will be responsible for their family later on.
- Some groups keep girls at home to keep them protected
(extreme-religious communities).
- Some women stop working because of the workload in
combination with children and family.
- If women want, they can have the education they choose.
- Women have to prove themselves, otherwise men won’t
take them seriously.
- Less women as driver (ambulances, busses, tram).
- When parents die, girls get 1% boys 2%. Reason: when
they get married they get the 2% of their husband.
Belgium
Students:
- Women are less flexible when they have children. They are
most of the time responsible for childcare.
- IT-education is more chosen by man. Women choose more
traditional education.
- Less flexibility for women when they have children.
- More male teachers in IT-education.
- Jobs in education offer more flexibility towards women and
career opportunities. Men and women earn the same
salary. In the private sector salaries can differ in every
organization depending on the agreements you made with
the boss.
20
DISCUSSION 2: SOME FACTS AND FIGURES FROM EUROPE
Thoughts based on the presentation of some facts and figures (see above):
The employment rate in Finland is about the same for men and women.
On average women in the EU earn less than men. Perhaps men are better
negotiators when they apply for a job than women?
“Education is
considered to be the
In Norway, companies are obliged to have 40%
women on boards.
most valuable
It is not because more women are leaving
university that they also take management
jobs.
possession for every
What type of companies are more likely to fill in
management jobs by men? Large companies
with a large number of positions and a formal
promotion policy are more likely to recruit male
job applicants. A lot of companies answer to
this criteria.
With the help of GI-
Why are women leaving corporate environments? They leave when they are not
taken seriously, when their contributions are not recognized, when they feel
excluded from training opportunities and informal networks and when they faced
inhospitable corporate cultures.
people are aware of
In order to tackle that gender difference European companies set up some
programs for better gender balance.
GI-WHAT. “
Do you think it is
a good idea to
have fixed quota
like in Norway?
-
human being today.
WHAT we have
managed many things.
Now, we believe more
gender issues in
Çumra. Thanks to
Best people (= men and woman with best potentials and talent)
Over 80% are taken by women (so it’s more difficult to have a company
that has only men in management jobs).
What can go wrong when addressing gender balance?
-
-
Lack of leadership commitment. You need commitment of people in
leadership.
Lack of awareness. If you are a manager it’s more easy to work with
people that are just like you. It’s difficult to manage a diverse group of
people.
Discriminatory attitude or behaviour among staff.
Lack of resources.
Namik Bakir
Turkey
21
DISCUSSION 3: WHAT DO YOU PERCEIVE AS BEING BARRIERS IN ADDRESSING THE
GENDER ISSUES FOR STUDENTS AND STAFF? WHAT WILL BE THE DIFFICULTIES THAT YOU
WILL/MIGHT FACE?
Financial barriers: in Spain there’s a huge financial crisis. So they are cutting in extra hours.
Teachers are not obliged to talk about gender issues in class room. It’s not in the curriculum.
Calling yourself a feminist has a negative connotation in some countries.
Immigrants bring new problems along with them (gender issues related to religion).
Balance of men and women in organizations is different for every organization.
Lack of spokesperson when people are confronted with a problem related to gender in an
organization.
- It’s hard to change attitudes and perceptions?
- School management doesn’t always see the problem.
- Invisibility of the gender issues (is there a problem?).
- Difficulty in solving the problem (what can we do?).
- Many typical symbols in daily life are gender related.
How to draw the
- Are gender roles always gender issues. Women have
been
taking care of children for ages, men have supported their
line between
families for ages. Should we not let a man be a man and a
gender issues and
woman a woman?
-
gender roles?
Conclusion
 Financial barriers. Government needs to foresee some kind of budget.
 The problem is not always recognized.
 Every individual has masculine and feminine qualities, but we don’t value every pole as much as
the other. Gender balance is about balancing those masculine and feminine values in a group.
 You have to start with making people aware if you want to change something.
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DISCUSSION 4: WHAT DO YOU PERCEIVE AS BEING OPPORTUNITIES IN ADDRESSING
GENDER ISSUES FOR STUDENTS AND STAFF? HOW CAN YOU HAVE AN IMPACT?
Students
-
‘Working together with
Give information, teach your students about the politics and history,
how some rights have been achieved.
On European level: charters: the European Union takes good
actions, but how can we implement it (search for good methods)?
Teach our children at home how to behave gender balanced by for
example role-plays and changing the gender in these plays (boys
have to act as girls and girls as boys) and have a discussion
afterwards or by making a movie about what it means to be a man
or a woman (interviews).
partners from all over
Europe was fantastic. By
visiting them we got a better
idea of gender issues in
other countries and cultures
and how they deal with it.
GI-WHAT made us also
Staff
-
more aware of gender
Short courses in gender issues: information about the issues in
classrooms(facts) and how to deal with them.
Students and staff
How would your
issues in our own
organization, CVO
Antwerpen. The 1-minute
- Special days can be organised to
set up events that pay attention to gender
issues.
film contest allowed us to
bring the topic of this project
to the whole school, in an
employer feel about
informal way.
organising short
It’s clear for us that we have
workshops on
to continue working on it!
gender issues?
Our European partners gave
us lots of inspiration for that.’
Belgium
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Stefanie De Keersmaecker
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Culturally embedded gender issues
Meeting in Madrid (Spain), May 2012
The second GI-What project meeting was held in Madrid and Parla between
May 13th and 16th 2012. The first meeting day, May 14th, took place at CEPA
"Ramón y Cajal" in Parla where the topic "Culturally embedded gender
issues" was discussed at a workshop led by María Montero Monferrer. There
was another meeting in the afternoon in order to evaluate the progress of the
project.
The following day, May 15th, the meeting was held in Madrid, at Tierra de
Fuego bookshop, where partners spent the morning trying to develop
strategies and activities related to the meeting topic which could be put into
practice at their respective institutions. These were later evaluated by our
expert, María Montero Monferrer. Moreover, partners enjoyed a guided tour
at an exhibition related to gender issues (100 years in feminine).
“Schools make up the
biggest part of public
bodies. And also they
have a crucial role to
ensure that girls and
boys benefit from
th
MONDAY, MAY 14 2012
equal opportunities in
Our workshop was led by María Montero Monferrer, social worker and
partner of H2A, a firm specialized in gender.
all areas of life.
Her presentation started by explaining the terms “sex, gender, gender social
roles and patriarchy”. In a nutshell, the ideas behind these terms are the
following:
-
Sex is a biological category given by genetics and involves the idea of
difference.
-
Gender is a social, cultural and historical category. It can be changed
and introduces the idea of inequality inside a patriarchy.
-
Gender social role defines what society expects from people
depending on being a man or a woman.
-
Patriarchy is a social system where men organize society and
females are subordinated.
Then, she talked about Sex and Gender Theory, which is closely linked to
cultural influence. Culture will use different socialization processes to make
this possible. Thereby, men assume certain social roles (protection, p.eg)
and women others (sentimentality, p.eg.). Sex and gender theories have
placed men in the public sphere and women in the private one. All these
notions are directly related to the existence of stereotypes themselves. In
order to break traditional gender theories, women don’t have to “look like”
men or vice versa, the important thing is equality, to give value to every
aspect of life.
Thanks to GI-WHAT, it
really helps us to do
what we want.”
Ayşe Yüce
Turkey
25
The next step was talking about stereotypes, the actual focus of our meeting. In order to understand
them better, the stories of Little Red Riding Hood and Little Thumb illustrate what we mean about
culturally embedded gender stereotypes. The different characters (Little Red Riding Hood, the wolf, the
hunter, the grandmother) represent socially accepted behaviours which people assume as "natural".
So, stereotypes are, then, popular beliefs about individuals based on assumptions. They are ideas:
“Everybody who is … does or has …” They lead to prejudices, that is, preconceived judgment towards
people based on stereotypes. It could be positive or negative. And they may take to discrimination,
which is a non egalitarian treatment of an individual based on his/her membership. It can also lead to
violence.
So, in order to finish with these issues, gender focus is needed. This way, situations may be analysed
taking into account the existence of gender social roles and stereotypes.
At the end of the session, partners were asked to think about activities and/or methodologies where
they would:
-
Identify the different starting point between women and men in a specific situation from a
quantitative point of view.
-
Identify the reason of quantitative differences from a qualitative point of view.
-
Evaluate the differences found by acknowledging if men or women opportunities are being
restricted, in that specific situation, in benefit of the other group.
26
27
Gender issues in the social domain
Meeting in Korsnas (Finland), June 2012
Workshop with diversity consultant Malin Gustavsson, Ekvalita Ab
Malin Gustavsson lead the workshop about gender equality in social work
focusing on norms.
Privilege walk
The workshop started with an exercise where everybody changed identity
for a while. Everyone received a piece of paper with a short description of
a person on it (white men, 34 years old, lives in central London, works as
an accountant, is gay). Due to statements as “I feel my culture, language
and religion is gaining respect in the place I live” or “I came to this meeting
without considering there might be stairs to get into the room” one take on
step forward if it would be a statement that suits your “role”. After 10
statements everyone was on a different position in the room and there was
an open discussion about the feelings, thoughts and ideas the exercise
created.
Heteronormativity
Gustavsson then introduced the participants how to broaden ideas of sex
and gender. This was done through a four-corner exercise by questionning:
how can we understand gender? One corner in the room represented an
answer
1.
2.
3.
4.
Body gender
Mental gender: how we think about ourselves
Social (and cultural) gender: how people see me
Open corner
People talked in small groups and then discussed every “theme corner”
separately:
Do you think gender
issues in social life
decrease when
getting older?
1. We have expectations towards body
gender, especially with youth (should I
shave my legs, should I have long
hair?) Genitals intersexual, x and y
chromosome (Y is disappearing, some
people have only x/y), levels of
chromosome and oestrogen (sport,
women with too much oestrogen).
2. Mental gender: you can feel less
female than you are for example
intersexual people (a man trapped
Ann-Sofi Backgren,
Finland
28
inside a females body). In Finland people can get a free operation to adjust themselves to their mental
gender.
Our experience of our sex/gender: the absence of experienced sex/gender, a stand between, both, or
beyond traditional gender role.
In Finland: companies with more 30 persons have to make efforts for gender equality (gender equality
law) + in the near future: companies have transsexuals comfortable
in the working place.
6 months
maternity leave
for dads. What
do you think?
3. Social and cultural gender: characteristics and abilities that our
societies connects to men and women. Different in time and
space. (body and clothes, dresses in the Arabic world) For
example, 2 men holding hands in Finland would be gay vs. in
Nepal this means they are best friends.
Finland: mother leave is 9 month  discussions about: 6 months
for the mother, 6 months for the father, 6 months which the couple
can chose who uses it. This will help gender equality enormously.
In Iceland this is already implemented (with 3+3 +3 months).
29
30
Gender issues in education
Meeting in Ostrava (Czech Republic), October 2012
Workshop lead by PaedDr. Lucie Zormanová,Ph.D, Equal Opportunities,
Ostrava
At first, a short lecture about the status of women in Czech Republic and
their equal or unequal position compared with men, was given.
This was followed by a workshop during which the participants resolved
the gender stereotypes in society and especially into the sphere of
education and training.
One example of the tasks was to draw a mind map of typical
characteristics that national society assigns to women and men. All groups
presented their work and discussed it with other countries, admitting that
they are mere stereotypes prevailing in society and not the real properties
of real men and women.
Another activity held was a discussion during which the national teams
introduced the other countries to the problems occurring in their schools in
terms of gender. The representative of Spain for example, described some
of the problems with Arab girls in their school. The problem was that these
girls do not want to be taught by a male teacher. Some solutions were
discussed upon. First, it might be possible to organise special classes for
Arab girls with a female teacher. However, for many participants it seemed
like a step back. Furthermore, it was suggested to familiarize Arab girls
with equal opportunities issues through workshops and invite their family
as well.
The next day the participants of the workshop were invited to the Ostrava
private primary schools Monty School, where all subjects are taught in
English. Local teachers and the teachers from other European countries
painted their ideal classroom together with the students They then
analysed these images in order to find out the gender stereotypes.
“Being a member of this
project has helped my
personal growth and
made me think about
what being a woman
means in society these
times; I have also
become more aware of
inequalities.
GI-WHAT? has widened
my professional and
personal knowledge
mainly due to working
with people from
different countries within
their own local contexts.
This gender issues
project has finally
tightened my work with
local partners, too. I
have shared with them,
Luis Antonio Sierra and
Juan Sabe, ideas,
hopes but, above all,
willingness to keep on
working with our
students on gender
equality and prevention
of gender violence.”
Isabel Fernandez Otero,
31
Spain
Gender-issues in family
Meeting in Madrid (Spain), March 2013
The meeting took place at “Tierra de Fuego” bookshop in Madrid. It was
developed as follows.
“Working actively on
the theme of this
project GI-WHAT
Morning session
made us all aware that
During the morning, all partners presented the activities they had
developed at home regarding the topic we were dealing at this meeting.
Thus, the Belgian team’s starting point was that statistics demonstrate that
there is a real need to deal with gender issues and family in their country.
1/5 of younger adults in Ghent and Antwerp feel that in their future life
women should stay home to do the household and men should go to work.
In order to deal with it they are organizing a film contest: participants will
make a one-minute movie with their own tablets or phones. It is also open
for people outside CVO Antwerpen. There will be prices (250€, 150€ and
50€) and the judges will be the CVO staff participating at GI-WHAT and the
director plus a famous Belgian film director.
these are problems of
all times and all
people. I learned a lot
by looking over the
borders, working
together and sharing
information. For me
it’s clear that this can’t
be the end, but the
beginning of a good
way to work on gender
issues.”
Poster film competition
Ilse Mertens
Belgium
32
Among other activities, our Belgian partners also bought an interactive DVD game ‘Princess and
Players’ on specific gender situations where students have to reflect and think on them. This DVD has
been developed by Ella vzw (www.ellavzw.be).
They have also done an activity, “Advantages of being a woman and a man”. This picture shows the
teacher who lead the activity in front of the results. This activity can be found in this publication.
Finally, their proposal for the GI-WHAT team was to work with comics and reflecting family and gender
situations through www.pixton.com as making a short movie (cf. film competition) would take too much
time.
The presentation showed by the Czech team was prepared by an expert who collaborates with them in
this project. One of the conclusions of the presentation was that the EU gives directions with regards to
gender equality and there are also measures by the Czech government that support women when they
have children and also favour professional and parental roles.
There are organizations and NGOs which work on gender equality as it is the case with our Czech
partners. Their main aim is to empower women to become more independent within a very chauvinist
and slowly changing context.
They proposed two activities which had been developed with primary school children:
33
1.- Demonstrate the situation of gender discrimination:
1. We split up into groups.
“Promoting equality is
2. Group devises a scene in which there is gender discrimination.
generally seen to be
3. Women playing male roles and men playing women roles.
part of the work of
4. Demonstrate the scenes.
schools and other
5. After playing scenes follows a discussion – we discuss why this
discrimination arises and how we could prevent or solve it.
educational bodies.
Here with the help of
2.- Childhood Memories:
GI-WHAT we got
-
This activity is led by a teaching story.
some ideas for why
-
We recall a situation in which you have behaved unconventionally
gendered, that is not in accordance with prevailing gender
stereotypes in your society.
this might be and
-
At the same time do not forget to describe the reaction of others on
your behaviour.
some practice ideas
for strategies to
promote gender
equality in our district.
Our Finnish team connected family and gender issues with children
education and showed us a series of materials related to breaking gender
stereotypes which are used in Finland, as well as a web page where
teachers can go to learn methodology related to gender issues.
It has been a great
pleasure to be in GIWHAT.”
The Spanish partners showed an activity which they have already
developed at their school and has worked very well within their context.
This activity consists of a survey about house chores and who makes
them. After students fill in the questionnaire and results are written down
on the board, a debate starts where pupils reflect on the data and get to
conclusions which should change their behaviour with respect to their role
with their families and at home.
The Turkish team presentation of activities was very illustrative of the
compromises they acquired last year, most of which have been met. In
order to do so, they have developed a complete program of activities in
different fields. They made posters that were spread throughout their
school district. They also prepared hand outs, gave seminars to teachers,
students and families so that everybody was aware of their work and their
aims. They also organized family visits in order to make their components
aware of gender issues. They visited schools and gave workshops.
Ahmet Bülbül
Turkey
34
Moreover, they prepared surveys for teachers, students and
families which were analysed and commented at their presentation.
Among the conclusions they got were the following:
-
Traditions are very strong in a rural area like Çumra.
-
The results of their survey may reflect different situations and ways
of thinking with respect to the other partners of the project.
-
In the next future and in order to increase gender awareness they
will inform authorities so that they can also participate and
collaborate with them. People may enter the process of equality, but
before they have to raise awareness. They may meet some
problems like pre-established ideas. In order to mitigate them they
will organize festivals which break with traditionally assigned roles
(both for men and women), then talk about it. Among these activities
there will contests where traditional gender roles will be changes. For
example, there will be a cooking contest for men.
Afternoon session
The second part of the day was devoted to putting family and gender issues
activities into practice. We were divided in four groups and each of them
made a comic story about family and gender issues. The results were
presented and evaluated. The general feeling was that this “pixton” tool
(www.pixton.com/) can be very useful for everyone in order to keep on
working on raising awareness of gender issues.
Anita Ismark
Finland
35
Want to make one
with your students?
Go to chapter 5 and
read how!
36
37
38
39
“Gender issues in
Final meeting in Çumra (Turkey), May 2013
education in Czech
Republic, especially in
The final meeting focused on developing a common public part for the final
report of GI-WHAT by working into smaller groups. On the second day of
the meeting, after having met the Turkish staff involved in the project in
çumra, the project team finalized the common public part and evaluated the
project between the partners. Every partner country was asked to reflect on
some topics and come up with questions they felt would be interesting to
ask to the other partners. The afternoon was spent on visiting the Çumra
Anatolian High School where the partners visited the drawing exhibition set
up by the students of the school. We also had the chance to talk to students
about their future career preferences and the way they experience gender
issues in their day to day life.
our Moravian-Silesian
region became during
2 project years more
important topic. We
think that through our
activities we helped to
more equal society.”
The meeting in Turkey was the perfect closure to a more than interesting
project!
Monika Drozdová
Martin Pokorný
Lucie Zormanová
Czech Republic
40
41
5) GENDER ISSUES IN PRACTICE
On the next pages the partners of GI-WHAT listed their activities and tips for
other centres for adult education wishing to work on gender issues. We have
indicated how these activities fit in the European Charter for Equality of
Women and Men in Local Life and how they are best implemented.
The European Charter for Equality of Women and Men in Local Life (2006) is
addressed to the local and regional governments of Europe, who are invited
to sign it, to make a formal public commitment to the principle of equality of
women and men, and to implement, within their territory, the commitments
set out within the Charter.
“Thanks to GI-WHAT,
Article 13 – Education and Lifelong Learning
happening. Gender –
(1) The Signatory recognises the right to education for everyone, and
further recognizes the right of access for all to vocational and continuing
training. The Signatory recognises the vital role of education, at all stages of
life, in delivering true equality of opportunity, in providing essential life and
employment skills, and in opening up new possibilities for professional and
vocational development.
(2) The Signatory undertakes, within the range of its competences, to secure
or promote equal access to education and vocational and continuing training
for women and men, girls and boys.
good things are
Issues are known by
the participants and
the citizens living in
our district. We
established a more
gender-friendly
environment in our
(3) The Signatory recognises the need to eliminate any stereotyped
concept of the roles of women and men in all forms of education. In order to
do this it undertakes to carry out or promote, as appropriate, the following
measures:



schools and social
environment.”
The revision of educational materials, of school and other educational
programmes and teaching methods, to ensure that they combat
stereotypical attitudes and practices.
The undertaking of specific actions to encourage non-traditional
career choices.
The specific inclusion, within courses of civic education and education
for citizenship, of elements that emphasize the importance of the
equal participation of women and men in the democratic processes.
(4) The Signatory recognises that the ways in which schools and other
educational establishments are governed represents important models for
children and young people. It therefore undertakes to promote the balanced
representation of women and men at all levels of school management and
governance.
Tahsin Günes
42
Turkey
El Roto cartoons
Practiced in: CEPA Ramón y Cajal, Parla (Madrid)
Target group of this activity:
Beginners education, Secondary education (levels 1 and 2) and NVQ courses.
Number of people which can be involved in the activity: 20-25 students in each level group.
Duration of the activity: 1 hour approximately.
Description of the activity
Give a general description of the activity.
With these two cartoons showing stereotypical women’s roles we are trying to prompt some kind of
challenging ideas among the students. This will generate a discussion and reflection on how these
roles are changing (or should be changing) nowadays in our society.
Preparation
Materials needed in order to do this activity: copies of the cartoons and blackboard.
How to prepare yourself for this activity: make sure there are enough copies of the cartoons for all
the class. This activity could be first discussed in small groups and then each group should share the
main ideas that came up with the rest of the class.
How to prepare the learners/people involved in the activity:
Once we have split them up into groups and give out the cartoon copies, we can also write down three
or four questions on the blackboard to guide discussion.
Things to take into account when preparing the activity:
We should give students no more than twenty minutes to discuss these cartoons in groups so that they
have time to listen to the other groups’ ideas.
Doing the activity
How to bring the activity into practice?
-
Split the class into several groups (4 or 5 students each).
Give out the copies of the two cartoons.
Write down some questions to prompt discussion on the blackboard.
Time group debate (15-20 min.)
Share the ideas that have come up in the group with the whole class.
Things to take into account when bringing the activity into practice:
Being such a visual activity, teachers won’t find many difficulties in terms of language barriers with
lower level students.
43
Many different ideas may arise regarding women’s roles in our society. The teacher must moderate the
debate in order to make sure that everyone has a saying and they all respect each other’s opinions.
Appreciation
How did the project partner experience this activity? What are the advantages? Were there any
disadvantages?
In general, similar ideas came up in all group levels. Some students from the lower groups found it hard
to understand the irony of the first cartoon. But most of secondary and NVQ groups understood the
irony behind it.
The cartoons were very powerful in terms of transmitting certain stereotypes so students could discuss
and challenge these ideas without much input from the teacher, who acts as a mere observer.
The European charter for Equality
This activity fits under the following actions of the European Charter:
☒Secure or promote equal access to education and vocational and continuing training for women and
men, girls and boys.
Eliminate any stereotyped concept of the roles of women and men in all forms of education (3 subactions).
☒The revision of educational materials, of school and other educational programmes
and teaching methods, to ensure that they combat stereotypical attitudes and practices.
☒The undertaking of specific actions to encourage non-traditional career choices.
☐The specific inclusion, within courses of civic education and education for citizenship,
of elements that emphasize the importance of the equal participation of women and
men in the democratic processes.
☐Promote the balanced representation of women and men at all levels of school management and
governance.
44
Attachments
1. Attachment 1: TEXT: Men have to earn more than women so that we can buy you flowers //
You’re so kind!
45
2. Attachment 2: TEXT: When I said I didn’t want to have children, they censured me … and when
I said I was going to have a baby, they sacked me.
46
The World Upside Down
Practiced in: CEPA Ramón y Cajal, Parla (Madrid).
Target group of this activity: Beginners education, Secondary education (level 2) and NVQ courses.
With this dialogue, we are trying to make the participants aware of the difficulties women have to go
through when having job interviews, as well as analysing how stereotypes work in staff recruitment
processes.
The dialogue will prompt a debate about whether or not there is discrimination towards women in the
working world (recruitment, salary, etc.), and it will also allow students to reflect on how to avoid this
discrimination (if there is any).
Preparation
Materials needed in order to do this activity: photocopies of the case and blackboard.
How to prepare yourself for this activity:
Beginners’ level – Due to the complexity of the text, the teacher working with this group adapted the
text into a simpler version so that all students could understand it and participate in the debate.
Secondary Education (level 2) – The teachers working with these groups prepare a few questions
beforehand to prompt reflection among the students:
1. What problems does this situation show regarding female recruitment?
2. How do you think they could be solved?
3. Are there any other types of discrimination in the working world?
These questions were discussed in groups or as a whole class activity in some groups, whereas it was
done individually as a written questionnaire in others.
NVQ courses – These groups took on the job interview idea and played out their own dramatization of
different situations given at a job interview. It turned into a role-play exercise which also equipped
students with a series of strategies to face any future recruitment process successfully.
Due to the clear message of the dialogue, an initial reading or dramatization of the interview by the
whole class will be powerful enough to initiate a discussion, either in small groups or as a whole class
47
activity. Nevertheless, there are some groups in which the questions given by the teacher can help
them shape many of the ideas that may arise.
At beginners’ level it is difficult to work with such a complex text. However, it can also be used as a
comprehension exercise and expanded into some other activities related to the same topic (see
attachment 2).
Doing the activity
As it has been explained previously, the activity was brought into practice differently according to the
group levels and teachers carrying it out.
While the debate takes place teachers must assume the role of moderator allowing students to express
their opinion, but also promoting respect towards each other by listening to others and waiting for their
turn to talk so that everyone can be heard.
Appreciation
disadvantages?
The activity was proved to be a very successful and productive one at all levels. One of the main
advantages of this activity is that it gave teachers the possibility of taking it further to other related
activities, such as the job interview role-plays or the language comprehension one.
☐The revision of educational materials, of school and other educational programmes
☐The undertaking of specific actions to encourage non-traditional career choices.
☒The specific inclusion, within courses of civic education and education for citizenship,
☒Promote the balanced representation of women and men at all levels of school management and
governance.
48
Attachments
Attachment 1: Worksheet – “The World Upside Down” (English)
-
-
-
-
I come for the ad, Madam.
Al right, the human resources manager says. Take a seat, please. What’s your name?
Bernardo…
Married or single?
Married
Can I have your full name?
Bernardo Delgado, Mrs Perez’s husband.
I must inform you, Mr Bernardo, that currently, our management prefers not to hire married
men.
At Miss Moreno department, the one we are working for, there are several people on paternity
leave.
It is legitimate for young couples the wish to have children (our company that manufactures
baby clothing encourages them to have children), but the absence of prospective parents poses
a serious obstacle to the progress of a business.
I understand Madam , but we already have two children and do not want to have any other.
Besides ( the married man blushes and whispers: I’m taking the pill)
Right, let’s continue then, what have you studied?
I have the school certificate and the first degree of vocational training as an administrative. I
wish I could have finished my baccalaureate, but we were four in my family, and my parents
gave priority to the girls , which is very normal. I have a sister who is a colonel and another
sister is a mechanic.
What have you been working in lately?
Basically doing substitutions, that way I could have some free time to take care of the children
while they were so young.
What´s your wife’s profession?
She’s a manager in a steel erection company. But she’s studying to become an engineer, as in
the near future she’ll have to replace her mother, who is the one that opened the business.
Back to you, which are your economic claims?
Well…
Obviously, considering your wife position and her future perspectives, you’ll be looking for a
complementary salary, won’t you? A few euros for your personal expenses, as every man
aspires to have, pocket money for your cravings, your suits.
o We can offer you 300 euros as starting salary, and extra pay and an assiduity bonus.
Please, notice this point, Mrs Perez’s husband, assiduity is absolutely essential in every
post. Our chief manager had to create the assiduity bonus to encourage the staff not to
miss the job. Thanks to this, we have been able to reduce the male absenteeism by half,
however, certain men have problems with absenteeism. There are men missing on the
pretext that the child coughs or there is a strike at school. How old are your children?
The girl is six and the boy is four. They go to school and I pick them up in the afternoon when I
leave work , before I go to the grocery store
49
-
What if they get ill ? Have you got something planned for that case?
His grandpa can take care of them, he lives close.
That’s all, Mrs Perez’s husband, we’ll let you know what our final decision is in a few days.
Mrs Perez’s husband left the office full of hope. The human resources manager looked at him as
he left. His legs were short, his back a little bit bowed, and there was very little hair left on his head.
“ Ms Moreno just hates bald men” remembered the recruitment manager. And beside she had told
her “rather tall, fair hair, good looking and single”. And Ms Moreno will be the team manager next
year.
Bernardo Delgado, Mrs Perez’s husband , got a letter three days later starting this way: We regret
to inform you…
From “One look, another one”, by Aguas Vivas Catala and Enriqueta Garcia Pascual.
-
Aims : Make the participants aware of the difficulties women had to go through when having job
interviews.
To study how stereotypes work in staff recruitment processes.
Required time for the activity: 1 hour, approximately.
Material needed: photocopies of the case and blackboard.
50
Feminism or barbarism
Practiced in: CEPA “RAMÓN Y CAJAL”, PARLA (MADRID – SPAIN)
Target group of this activity: Beginners education, Secondary education (levels 1 and 2) and NVQ
courses.
Give a general description of the activity:
This newspaper article is aimed at making students aware of the influence that different religions all
over the world have had on gender equality throughout History and how they still favour discrimination
against women due to their patriarchal roots.
Preparation
Materials needed in order to do this activity: copies of the article to be read in class.
How to prepare yourself for this activity: make enough copies to hand the students out when doing
the activity.
How to prepare the learners/people involved in the activity: teacher may make an informal survey
about students’ religious beliefs and how they think these affect their lives.
Things to take into account when preparing the activity: teachers may be ready to manage difficult
situations that may arise during the debate that will come after reading the article. This is so because
religion is a delicate issue as it belongs to individuals’ private sphere.
Doing the activity
-
Give out the copies of the article.
Students read the text in turns for the whole class. (5 min.)
Doubts about word meanings must be explained by the teacher so that everybody gets the
ideas in the text. (10 min.)
The teacher asks about the main ideas and writes them on the board. This way, everybody will
realize the content just in case they missed something. (10 min.)
Time for debate. (until the lesson is over, thought it might be extended to the next lesson if the
teacher considers it necessary)
51
Being a reading activity, teachers will be very careful about the students’ reading comprehension level.
It will depend on the academic background of students. With lower levels, teachers may even rewrite
the text and adapt it to the students’ capacities.
Many different ideas may arise during the debate about religions and the use they have been made of
through History. The teacher must moderate the debate in order to make sure that everyone has a
saying and they all respect each other’s opinions.
Appreciation
disadvantages?
According to some of our local (Spanish) students, the religious problems come from abroad, from
immigrants; and mainly with Muslims because they thing that Islam is a much more diehard religion that
Catholicism. Obviously, this is a void argumentation based on ignorance, on not knowing ‘the other’ and
their cultures. However, they are true when facing some interpretations of Islam which are extremely
chauvinist.
Some other students assured that women’s discrimination with respect to religion is due to the
existence of old laws and rules made by men which reinforce lack of respect towards women.
Moreover, it was very noticeable that some students over 50 years of age justified gender violence
when it is “sanctioned” by religion.
Debate also led to talk about the way foreigners fit into the culture of the country they come to live and
the problems it creates. One last point that was raised by some Latin American students during the
debate was the equalitarian philosophy that lies behind some protestant churches in their native
countries.
☒ Secure or promote equal access to education and vocational and continuing training for women and
52
governance.
Attachment
Attachment 1: Feminism or Barbarism article sheet.
CONCHA CABALLERO, EL PAÍS 31/12/2011
What do an ultraorthodox Jew, an Afghan Taliban, a radical Muslim, a fundamentalist Christian or a
diehard Buddhist have in common? It is not their belief in God or in eternal life; it is neither praying nor
their sense of brotherhood; it is not even their feeling of guilt or their idea of redemption. It is their deep
hatred towards women’s freedom. All of them agree on this issue.
It does not matter the mythical origin each religion recreates, whether humans were born out of mud,
clouds or smoke. The rites they consecrate or how they name their gods – Yahve, Allah, Lord, Ngai or
Popol – are not important. Every single religion, specially the monotheistic ones, shares a deep
contempt for women equality, and their most extreme “readings” also share a limitless brutality to
punish those who dare to question male supremacy.
There are, of course, grades, levels, nuances which cannot be taken for granted. Among religions,
Christianity is the one which has coexisted longer with societies that have been able to differentiate
between civil and religious powers, and Christianity has reluctantly accepted the steps taken by women
towards equality. However, Christian theory is still immune to social changes as many speeches made
by bishops and the like about rapes, children abuse, abortion or women equality demonstrate.
We have learnt this week that ultraorthodox Jews in Israel spit at girls when they do not like how they
are dressing. They also decide which part of the street must be occupied by each sex, or segregate
women in buses, marry them without their consent and even deprive them of any decision taking. All
this happens within the bounds of a developed society and with the, so far, conspiratorial silence of the
authorities. These ultraorthodox Jews behave just like Talibans, fundamentalist Muslims or some
Spanish bishops.
In front of these extreme religious manifestations, more and more sweetened and lax versions of
religious power are enjoying certain success in the Arabic world. In Egypt, those women who took the
streets demanding democracy were arrested and humiliated. The Egyptian authorities, who do not
consider themselves fundamentalist but moderate, subjected these women to virginity tests. But the
world has not understood yet that we cannot call democratic a political system which does not assume,
without restrictions, the complete equality between men and women; and even more, that virtually there
is no denominational political system which can call itself a true democracy.
However, our political leaders meet and happily negotiate with regimes which sentence to death and
stone women, which torture and enslave them, which deprive them of their most elemental rights, from
Saudi Arabia to the new Afghan governments. Our leaders call democracies to these biased
governments and welcome progress from regimes which are used to segregating women.
53
There is an international genocide that nobody condemns. Thousands of women are daily killed all over
the world by the mere fact of belonging to this gender, of having broken the public or private rules
dictated by male supremacy. Many are stoned in public places or stabbed to death at home for being
unfaithful. All of them are victims of the same religion: the one that consecrates men over women. This
is the reason why, dear readers, violence against women cannot be only focused on particular cases,
on family conflicts, on failures when applying laws, or on changing names to crimes. This is a fully
ideological crime; a crime where what is at stake is male supremacy, or revenge against women's
freedom. Words are so important that define ourselves and, in this matter, they draw a clear line: on the
one hand, the majority of people, including most men, who have understood the horror of this
barbarism; on the other, the barbarians and nostalgic from old times.
54
How come they said that?
courses.
Duration of the activity: 1 hour approximately. Although depending on the time dedicated to debate it
may last for more than one hour.
These activities are intended to break down gender stereotypes among adult students. In order to get
this aim, they will read certain statements coming from popular sayings as well as those coming from
famous learned people. Students will have to reflect on those statements, value them and give their
opinion.
Preparation
Materials needed in order to do this activity: copies of the activities to be handed out in class. The
attachments include the answers to the activities for the teacher.
the activity and maybe try to look for more popular sayings and statements about gender stereotypes in
order to illustrate students that there are hundreds of examples of chauvinist thought.
How to prepare the learners/people involved in the activity: the teacher may ask students in
advance whether they know sayings and statements which reflect typical male and female behaviours.
Then the teacher may ask them whether they agree or disagree with those statements.
Things to take into account when preparing the activity: Due to the local nature of popular sayings,
those interested in taking this activity into practice must check if the sayings in the activity coincide with
the ones in their country. If not, they should change those they consider.
Doing the activity
-
Give out the copies.
Give groups time to make the activities suggested in the work sheet. (15-20 min.)
Share the results that have come up in the group with the whole class. (10 min.)
Debate about the conclusions (till the end of the lesson). If there is not enough time for
conclusions, this debate may go on in the next class.
55
As language used is very simple and statement are brief and concise, there shouldn’t be problems of
understanding. If there were, the teacher would clarify the meanings of words students may not
understand.
Many different ideas may arise regarding gender stereotypes. The teacher must moderate the debate
in order to make sure that everyone has a saying and they all respect each other’s opinions.
Appreciation
disadvantages?
Many of our students said the popular sayings in the activity were too old and obsolete, though some
thought, surprisingly women students, that many sayings were true. Moreover, it was detected a high
and worrying level of chauvinism among the youngest students, both male and female.
In some of our groups, female students showed a surprising lack of interest and this was something
that shocked teachers. When asked about this, these girls said that they were minority and felt ill at
ease.
During debate time, the issue of positive discrimination towards women was arisen by students. Sides
were taken for and against this topic; it was usually male students who were against while female
students supported positive discrimination.
Both popular sayings and statements by famous people led in another group to discussion about
gender violence. Many students believe that these statements open the way to later physical violence
because they are, in fact, the first step in the process leading to gender violence.
Many teachers pointed out that these issues present serious difficulties with foreign students, mainly
Muslims, because of the important ideological burden they have. They got to the following conclusion:
we cannot avoid dealing with gender stereotypes, but, perhaps, it would be better dealing with it in an
indirect way. It was even suggested to get in touch with the people in charge of the local mosque so
that collaborative work might take place in order to tackle gender stereotypes.
56
governance.
Attachments
Attachment 1: Chauvinist popular sayings activity with answer key.
Read and reflect carefully about the following Spanish phrases belonging to popular proverbs
and answer the following questions.
• Women and pan in the kitchen have fun.
• Two daughters and a mother, three demons to a father.
• In the virtue of a woman lies her beauty.
• To your daughter, cap her crack.
• The honest woman, at home and not at the party.
• Nor tow with firebrands, nor women with men.
• To a woman and a donkey, every day a spanking.
• Women who is moved, calving in a year.
• Women and love, for just one pleasure, a hundred pains.
• Women who speak Latin will never have a good end.
• From the evil woman to keep away, and from the good not to rely.
• Carrying and bringing, hobby of women.
1. Would these messages seem offensive due to their content? Why?
2. Why do people (men and women) consider these sayings as funny?
3. What impact do you think these statements have in real life?
SOLUTIONS:
1. Read and reflect carefully following Spanish phrases of popular proverbs and answer the
following questions.
Objective: To reflect on the misogyny that underlies in popular wisdom.
57
• Women and pan in the kitchen have fun.
• Two daughters and a mother, three demons to a father.
• In the virtue of a woman lies her beauty.
• To your daughter, cap her crack.
• The honest woman, at home and not at the party.
• Nor tow with firebrands, nor women with men.
• To a woman and a donkey, every day a spanking.
• Women who is moved, calving in a year.
• Women and love, for just one pleasure, a hundred pains.
• Women who speak Latin will never have a good end.
• From the evil woman to keep away, and from the good not to rely.
• Carrying and bringing, hobby of women.
1. Would these messages seem offensive due to their content? Why?
Yes, as they encourage the belief that women are a certain way because they are women.
2. Why do people (men and women) consider these sayings as funny?
Such phrases or "jokes" are included in a repertoire that has grown over the history and give body to
something that is now called "the war of the sexes". In many "humorous" TV programmes (the comedy
club, etc) there are quite often comedians who "cultivate" this kind of topics. The humor, "to laugh at"
has been in many historic moments a form of domination. Jokes about homosexuals, blacks, the
disabled etc., were created and disseminated in order to maintain the "status quo" of the social classes
and the patriarchy.
3. What impact do you think these statements have in real life?
Proverbs are commonly associated with wisdom, so the one who thinks so is "wise". On a daily basis
these messages or other with the same intention are heard, but with a more current and adapted
language. Such stereotyped beliefs remain as it requires less energy to pre-judge than to know.
Attachment 2: Chauvinist statements by famous people with answer key.
Carefully read these quotations said or written by well-known characters of the world of culture:
1. "The man who laughs at everything is because he despises it all. The woman who laughs at
everything is because she knows she has beautiful teeth." Jardiel Poncela.
2.
"Because being a woman and being quiet are two incompatible things." Tirso de Molina.
3.
God has said: "You, woman, will give birth; you, man, will work." Gregorio Marañón.
4.
"There are three things that I have never been able to get my head around: the ebb and
flow of the sea, the social mechanism and female logic." Jean Cousteau.
58
5.
"Women are long-haired animals with short intelligence." Shopenhauer.
6.
"Love is to men something besides their lives, whereas love is to women their whole
existance." Lord Byron.
7.
"Man is made for war; woman for the warrior’s recreation. Everything else is pure
nonsense." Nietzsche.
8.
"When a woman sees the man she loves and he is not aware of her presence, she doesn’t
think ´I have seen him`, but ´he hasn’t seen me`". Azorín.
9.
"Everything that a woman truly loves- a dog, a man, God, anything- she loves it like a child
of her own." Antonio Gala.
10. "Sports is the only human business where women accept their inferiority and inability to
compete with a man. That may be due to the fact that their results can be measured by a
stopwatch and a tape measure." Jean Hippolyte Giradoux.
11. "Resignation is women’s virtue." Tolstoi.
A. Which sentences correspond to which category? Write the number in the corresponding
grid. (All sentences refer to both female and male stereotypes).
2
MALE STEREOTYPE
Emotional stability, self-control.
Dynamism.
Intellectual qualities and aptitudes.
Agressiveness.
Hardly defined emotional aspect.
Rationality.
Frankness.
Bravenes and risk taking.
Efficiency.
Objectivity.
Public and professional space.
FEMALE STEREOTYPE
Emotional instability, lack of self-control.
Passivity.
Little intellectual development.
Tenderness.
Well-defined emotional aspect.
Irrationality.
Frivolity.
Fear and weakness.
Incoherence.
Subjectivity.
Home and family space.
B. Write the name of the author who you think has pronnounced a quotation related to
the followoing characteristics of both male and female stereotypes:
MALE STEREOTYPE
FEMALE STEREOTYPE
QUOTATION
Emotional stability, self-control. Emotional instability, lack of self- Tirso de Molina
control.
Dynamism.
Passivity.
Intellectual qualities and
aptitudes.
Agressiveness.
Tenderness.
Hardly defined emotional
aspect.
59
Rationality.
Irrationality.
Frankness.
Efficiency.
Objectivity.
Frivolity.
Fear and weakness.
Incoherence.
Subjectivity.
ANSWER KEY:
1. Carefully read these quotations said or written by well-known characters of the world
of culture:
1. "The man who laughs at everything is because he despises it all. The woman who laughs at
everything is because she knows she has beautiful teeth." Jardiel Poncela.
2.
"Because being a woman and being quiet are two incompatible things." Tirso de Molina.
3.
God has said: "You, woman, will give birth; you, man, will work." Gregorio Marañón.
4.
5.
"There are three things that I have never been able to get my head around: the ebb and
flow of the sea, the social mechanism and female logic." Jean Cousteau.
"Women are long-haired animals with short intelligence." Shopenhauer.
6.
"Love is to men something besides their lives, whereas love is to women their whole
existance." Lord Byron.
7.
"Man is made for war; woman for the warrior’s recreation. Everything else is pure
nonsense." Nietzsche.
8.
"When a woman sees the man she loves and he is not aware of her presence, she doesn’t
think <I have seen him>, but <he hasn’t seen me>". Azorín.
9.
"Everything that a woman truly loves- a dog, a man, God, anything- she loves it like a child
of her own." Antonio Gala.
10.
"Sports is the only human business where women accept their inferiority and inability to
compete with a man. That may be due to the fact that their results can be measured by a
stopwatch and a tape measure." Jean Hippolyte Giradoux.
11. "Resignation is women’s virtue." Tolstoi.
60
Objective:
To become aware of the importance of androcentrism as a cultural filter.
A. Which sentences correspond to which category? Write the number in the corresponding
grid. (All sentences refer to both female and male stereotypes).
2
3
5
7
9
4
1
11
10
8
6
MALE STEREOTYPE
Emotional stability, self-control.
Dynamism.
Intellectual qualities and aptitudes.
Agressiveness.
Hardly defined emotional aspect.
Rationality.
Frankness.
Efficiency.
Objectivity.
FEMALE STEREOTYPE
Emotional instability, lack of self-control.
Passivity.
Tenderness.
Irrationality.
Frivolity.
Fear and weakness.
Incoherence.
Subjectivity.
B. Write the name of the author who you think has pronnounced a quotation related to the
followoing characteristics of both male and female stereotypes:
MALE STEREOTYPE
FEMALE STEREOTYPE
Emotional stability, self-control. Emotional instability, lack of selfcontrol.
Dynamism.
Passivity.
Intellectual qualities and
aptitudes.
Agressiveness.
Tenderness.
Hardly defined emotional
aspect.
Rationality.
Irrationality.
QUOTATION
Tirso de Molina
Frankness.
Jardiel Poncela.
Tolstoi.
Jean Hippolyte
Giradoux.
Azorín.
Lord Byron.
Frivolity.
Fear and weakness.
Efficiency.
Incoherence.
Objectivity.
Subjectivity.
Public and professional space. Home and family space.
Gregorio Marañón
Nietzsche.
Shopenhauer.
Antonio Gala
Jean Cocteau
61
Learn the warning signs of abuse
courses.
With these cartoons showing the usual steps taken until physical violence against women takes place
we are trying to make students aware of the gender violence process so that they will never become
attackers and/or victims.
Preparation
Materials needed in order to do this activity: copies of the cartoons and blackboard.
the activity.
How to prepare the learners/people involved in the activity: maybe the teacher may ask, during the
previous lesson, some warm-up questions related to gender violence so that students start to think
about the topic.
Things to take into account when preparing the activity: as it is a very touchy issue, the teacher
must be aware of sensibilities and may not push forward if the debate after the activity brings out
personal and delicate situations.
Doing the activity
-
Give out the copies of the cartoon.
Write down some questions to prompt discussion on the blackboard.
Time group debate (15-20 min.)
Share the ideas that have come up in the group with the whole class.
Being an activity which mixes visual and written language, teachers won’t find many difficulties in terms
of language barriers with lower level students as pictures support language that may not be
understood.
Many different ideas may arise regarding gender violence. The teacher must moderate the debate in
order to make sure that everyone has a saying and they all respect each other’s opinions.
62
Appreciation
disadvantages?
Some of our students at CEPA “Ramón y Cajal” think that gender violence will never disappear
because it is rooted in society. Unfortunately, gender violence is not uncommon for them. In fact, most
of them know someone in their family, neighbourhood or friends who has suffered from this kind of
violence. We have noticed sometimes that that “other person” they talked about was themselves.
Whenever we have detected one case of gender violence, we have taken the necessary steps so that
those students are taken care of by the authorities.
When debate started in class after reading and reflecting on the cartoons, many students pointed out
that the process that ends up in physical violence has its roots in the loss of respect within the couple.
In order to avoid dangerous situations, most of our students agreed on the importance of an
equalitarian education where men and women are placed at the same level. They also highlighted that
deeply rooted cultural traditions where women are discriminated should disappear due to the fact that
these traditions must not be necessarily good just because they’ve been practised for ages.
After the activity was done in class, the teachers involved in it discussed about the perception some of
them have about younger generations moving back to older and more chauvinist attitudes which
teachers thought forgotten. They also talked about the failures of equalitarian education these days and
came to the conclusion that part of the set-back is due to the influence mass media. They have been
showing a series of chauvinist models of behaviour that ordinary people have assumed as the way
they’re expected to behave.
governance.
63
Attachments
Attachment 1: Learn the warning signs of abuse sheet.
64
65
Bodies
courses.
This newspaper article is aimed at making students aware, according to the author of the text, of the
differences between women through generations. That is to say, between those women who decades
ago fought for their rights and those female youngsters who, apparently, seem to be going back to old
female patterns related to traditional roles as mothers and wives.
Preparation
Materials needed in order to do this activity: copies of the article to be read in class.
the activity.
How to prepare the learners/people involved in the activity: teachers may make some warm up
questions on the differences between women’s behaviour with respect to feminism throughout
generations.
Things to take into account when preparing the activity: teachers may be ready to manage difficult
situations that may arise during the debate that will come after reading the article. This is so because
opinions about female roles may arise harsh arguments.
Doing the activity
-
Give out the copies of the article.
Students read the text in turns for the whole class. (5 min.)
Doubts about word meanings must be explained by the teacher so that everybody gets the
ideas in the text. (10 min.)
The teacher asks about the main ideas and writes them on the board. This way, everybody will
realize the content just in case they missed something. (10 min.)
Time for debate. (until the lesson is over, thought it might be extended to the next lesson if the
teacher considers it necessary)
66
Being a reading activity, teachers will be very careful about the students’ reading comprehension level.
It will depend on the academic background of students. With lower levels, teachers may even rewrite
the text and adapt it to the students’ capacities.
Teachers must moderate the debate in order to make sure that everyone has a saying and they all
respect each other’s opinions.
Appreciation
disadvantages?
Some groups of students worked the text from a liguistic point of view so that they also put into practice
some of the contents of their official curriculum. This included giving their personal opinion about the
topic in written form. Most of these opinion refused the author’s thesis.
Other groups came to the following conclusions:
-
The two kinds of behaviour the author confronts can be perfectly combined.
The current economic crisis has its saying and consequences in women’s behaviour.
Staying at home is not bad as far as it is a decision taken by a woman.
The text is unreal and is also based on stereotypes.
This article also led to talk about who makes what at home. It was made clear that many men in their
forties have seen themselves forced by the present crisis to assume house chores. Moreover, many
women have no doubts about how house chores must be shared.
Those groups where most students are over forty shared the following ideas:
-
-
A very important number of Moroccan female students still think it is better for women to stay at
home taking care of children even though it means not working and so, not earning money.
Many students also believed that the situation posed by Manuel Vicent in his article has always
taken place and will never change.
Discussion led to talk about education. Most students stated that women are the ones who
really bring children up y they are also those who blame when education fails. Besides, it was
highlighted the double educative role grandmothers have these days when they see themselves
involved in their grandchildren’s education when both parents are working.
With respect to the issue of women at work, it was made clear from students’ own experience
that women earn less than men.
The NVQ groups showed a great deal of different opinions. Some male students agreed on the author’s
perspective about men, while some female students disagreed because, according to them, the image
given about women in the text is biased. They showed their concern about women’s freedom to choose
about their future. The debate also led to talk about the image that mass media cast about women and
how this image influences both men and women.
67
Finally, another group of students pointed out that femininity and feminism are concepts that do not
have to oppose. Moreover, they completely disagreed with the generational comparisons Vicent
assumes because they believed those comparisons were exaggerated.
governance.
Attachments
Attachment 1: Bodies article sheet
16 SEP 2012
Manuel Vicent
Bodies
What is best, to put up with a tyrant boss who exploits me or with an average husband who
will take me to Paris at any tender gesture?
An attractive young woman is putting her make-up on in front of the bathroom mirror as she gets ready
to go to work while she recites a new version of Hamlet’s monologue: To be or not to be, that is the
question; to get up at 7am everyday having to put up with a despotic, sexist and incompetent boss, all
for just over a thousand euros a month. Or to give up that exhausting struggle and stay in bed to sleep,
maybe dreaming, next to an ordinary husband who, with a little bit of skill, I can manage as I please.
This tragic dilemma seems to have sunk in a great deal of female youngsters. As opposed to that
68
generation of women from the 60s, who decided to become free and went through an arduous sacrifice
to have the same equal rights as men and to impose their presence on the first line of society. Every
day it is more obvious a new type of young woman, even teenager, who has chosen to use the ancien t
feminine weapons, which seemed almost forgotten, seduction, physical beauty and sex appeal to seek
shelter in their partner´s arms and to take back the role of the perfect housewife. The moral values of
the Catholic Church may have allied with the economic recession to bring these ideas back to women;
getting back in the house, bringing the children up, making themselves look pretty and pleasing their
husbands. If a girl goes to the gym on a daily basis pushing herself to the limit, if she stuffs herself up
with silicone, if she walks on impossible heels, if she decorates her skin with all kinds of tattoos, is she
trying to feel healthy and strong to fight for her rights or is she just trying to turn her body into an object
of desire, a fighting weapon against men? To be or not to be. What is best, to put up with a despotic
boss who exploits me or with an average husband who will take me to Paris at a tender gesture? The
dilemma may not be as tough but those women who in the last century fought like panthers for their
dignity, with no time to put any lipstick on, now have beautiful and covered in silicone granddaughters,
tattooed with all sorts of snakes and butterflies, who are willing to give up their rights as long as they
win the battle, the old dream of feeling attractive having a macho man falling at their feet on the carpet.
69
Household chores survey
Students fill in the survey and compare their results with the help of the teacher (maybe reflecting the
results on a board). After collecting the outcome, there will be given some time to reflect about the data
so that a debate would start among students with the teacher’s moderation. Conclusions on this debate
should be written on a board.
Preparation
Materials needed in order to do this activity: photocopies of the survey for each student and
blackboard.
The role of the teacher is essential in this survey, not only in the way it is conducted, but specially in the
analysis of the results.
Learners should be taught to extract conclusions from surveys, to go beyond the data and get deep in
the root of the results and what could be done to change the male-female distribution of chores at
home. Since everyone is involved in these chores at their own homes, it should not be difficult to
motivate the learners to take an active role in the development of the activity.
Cultural differences are obvious when dealing with house chores distribution, so teachers should be
aware of this when presenting the data collected in the survey.
Doing the activity
The survey must be handed out and completed individually, and then the data are collected by the
teacher, maybe with the help of some volunteer students and written on the blackboard. Then, there is
a debate to analyze the results, to establish why things are as they are today and how we could change
these results in our own homes.
70
Appreciation
disadvantages?
advantages of this activity is that it gave teachers the possibility of taking it further to other related
activities, such as the equal responsibility of women and men in the distribution of house chores.
From the survey’s results we can infer that there are still typically feminine and masculine chores and
this opinion is shared by most of our foreign students. On the other hand, it seems that, among these
students, husbands usually do nothing at home.
There were students who considered this survey a bit obsolete since many women are also
incorporated into the labor market. However, it seems that things related to children care are still mostly
managed by women. Many of them even admit they do not want men to get involved in these matters.
Among our oldest students, many women criticize themselves for their own male chauvinist behavior
while bringing their children up. However, some have realized that their children have assumed a more
active role in this respect when sharing their lives with their couples. It is also remarkable that some of
these male retired students have started to make some housework they had never made before,
although those traditionally female chores (ironing, cooking, doing the laundry, etc.) are still mostly
carried out by their wives.
governance.
71
Attachments
Attachment 1: House chores survey
HOUSEWORK SURVEY
We are listing a series of housework. You will have to say who usually makes them at home, then we
will discuss the results and check to what extent these chores are shared.
HOUSE CHORES
WHO MAKES THEM?
Make the couple’s bed
Hoover
Mend a plug
Do the shopping
Make the children’s beds
Tidy up the children’s romos
Wash the car
Cook
Change the gas cylinder
Take children to the doctor
Buy the children’s colthes
Change nappies (when needed)
Help children do their homework
Clean the bathroom after a shower
Clear the table
Take the car to the mechanic
72
Take children to school
Do the laundry
Hang out the laundry
Wash the dishes or set the dishwasher
Prepare luggage for a trip
Buy an electrical appliance
Clean the shoes
Do the ironing
Put children to bed
Development of the activity:
Students fill in the survey and compare their results with the help of the teacher (maybe reflecting the
results on a board). After collecting the outcome, there will be given some time to think about the data
so that a debate would start among students with the teacher's moderation. Conclusions on this debate
should also be written on the board.
Conclusions we got at CEPA “Ramón y Cajal” about the survey:
From the surveys' results we can infer that there are still typically feminine and masculine
chores and this opinion is shared by most of our foreign students. On the other hand, it seems that,
among these students, husbands usually do nothing at home.
There were students who considered this survey a bit obsolete since many women are also
incorporated into the labour market. However, it seems that things related to children care are still
mostly managed by women. Many of them even admit that they do not want men to get involved in
these matters.
Among our oldest students, many women criticize themselves for their own chauvinist behaviour
while bringing their children up. However, some have realized that their children have assumed a more
active role in this respect when sharing their lives with their couples. It is also remarkable that some of
these male retired students have started to make some housework they had never made before,
although those traditionally female chores (ironing, cooking, doing the laundry, etc.) are still made by
their wives.
73
Basketball player fined not to dress feminine (newspaper article)
We chose an article from a newspaper dealing with a professional basketball player who had been
fined not to wear her shorts as short as the basketball organization had decided. With this reading we
wanted our students to become aware of the situations some women have to go through when
practicing sports for the mere fact of being women. We also wanted to analyze how our students
perceive the reality and if they felt women are being fairly treated with these attitudes.
Preparation
Materials needed in order to do this activity: photocopies of the article from the newspaper.
Every teacher must read the text in advance and try to present the topic to the students talking about
the presence of women in sports in the past times and currently, the differences with males when
sports are concerned, the influence of cultural or religious aspects about women doing sports, etc.
First of all you have to make them aware of the differences still existing between males and females. A
number of questions provided by the teacher are probably helpful to start the discussion.
comprehension exercise and expanded into some other activities related to the same topic. There are
students from different racial and cultural backgrounds and some of them assume women should be at
the service of their families and under male supervision at all times.
Doing the activity
The article was read, either by students or by the teacher trying to determine if the situation the
basketball player was experiencing was fair or not. After reading it students told their ideas and
confronted to others in a discussion moderated by the teacher .
74
Appreciation
disadvantages?
The activity was successful in many ways, apart from working on a text from the linguistic point of view.
The activity was proved to be very productive at all levels. The advantages are obvious, if you provide
the students with a situation where women are treated in a discriminatory
way, they
will notice it and their awareness about inequality will raise.
There was a discussion in every group of students where they reached their own conclusions. Most of
them agreed with the basketball player (dressing in her own way, not following the FIBA regulations).
The majority of the students understood that this treatment was degrading for women, although there
were some who said that regulations were to be followed without questioning. Probably they should be
questioning themselves why those rules are as they are.
Cultural aspects were also mentioned. The Islamic traditions for women practicing sports were also
commented and criticized as these women usually appear completely covered when they take part in
sports competitions.
Most of our students defended freedom for women to dress the way they choose to practice basketball
or other sports.
governance.
75
Attachments
Attachment 1: Article from Publico newspaper
Basketball player fined not to dress femenine.
Taurasi has refused to comply FIBA rules.
PÚBLICO MADRID 14/01/2012
Diana Taurasi, American basketball player for Turkish Galatasaray, is the only player out of the 23
teams in the feminine Euro league who has opposed the FIBA (International Federation of Basketball).
She has done it after the organization had decided, a few months ago, that the players could no longer
dress their regular attire. The new FIBA code forces them to wear shorts 10 cm above the knee and
with a maximum width of 2 cm between cloth and skin. Taurasi, has refused to obey these rules but her
protest is having a remarkable cost. The fine for dressing her way is about 500 euros per game, as it
was published in Ara. It’s been ten matches now, so her debt is already around 5000 euros.
Taurasi’s decision, the 29 years old Galatasaray player , has set the alarms again among the feminist
collectives that regard this as a male chauvinist regulation that infringes the right to one’s own image.
The Women Council in the city of Madrid , for instance, has carried out a campaign to collect
signatures and other actions to raise awareness among different FIBA managers. "Diana Taurasi’s
76
courage should set an example for other players, since their dignity as sportswomen is above any
sexist consideration", claims the association in an official notice uploaded in their web page.
The FIBA intention is that female basketball players dress in a more feminine way. Elisabeth Cebrián,
former basketball player and member of FIBA Europe’s Women Comission, recently explained to this
diary that the aim behind this new garment is "differentiate men’s uniforms from ladies’ to make the
feminine basketball more attractive". The Women Commission insisted that the decision “ is not at all
sexist” because "it tries to enhance the qualities of ladies as athletes , not as objects".
Old fashioned mentality
AJUB, the female association of basketball players, however, does not coincide with the FIBA in the
way the new regulations are interpreted. In a recent release the collective rejected the new norm as,
from their perspective, “ it reckons an old fashioned, disrespectful mentality towards professional
players who are treated as attractive objects to the spectators more interested in the showing of a body
than in the game itself". The three Spanish teams participating in the Female Euroleague (Perfumerías
Avenida Baloncesto, Madrid’s Básket Rivas Ecópolis and Valencia’s Ros Casares Basket) were the
only teams showing disagreement with the new regulation when it was made official by the FIBA.
That’s why the City of Madrid Council of Women claims that the Spanish players publicly support
Taurasi. The immediate annulations of the fines imposed to this US player it’s another demand, still
being unclear who will eventually pay the fine, Taurasi or her team, and also Patrick Bauman’s, Europe
FIBA’s CEO, immediate resign.
77
Young women under a gender equality “illusion”
Target group of this activity: Beginners education, Secondary education (level 1 and 2) and NVQ
courses.
This is an article from a well known newspaper in Spain. In the article some feminist activists regret that
many younger girls don’t see necessary to keep the fight for equality. These newer generations
consider the revolution is over and everything is already done. They don’t see any sign of inequality
until it comes to promotion at work or having babies.
Preparation
Materials needed in order to do this activity: photocopies of the article.
Teachers taking part in this activity should read the text previously trying to find the best ways to make
it productive and useful to their students. They can prepare some questions to their students to start the
dialogue. These questions could be the following:
- Is the feminist battle over?
- Have we already reached equality?
- What could be done in terms of real equality between men and women?
The idea is to promote a discussion to talk about gender issues that are real to them from reading the
article and make them aware of women’s difficulties in some fields.
Answering the questions suggested by the teachers is a good starting point. This could be done either
in small groups or as a whole class activity. Nevertheless, there are some groups in which the
questions given by the teacher can help them shape many of the ideas that may arise.
Teachers should be ready to answer questions about the feminist movement, the evolution of the ideas
and the achievements gotten by these feminist groups through the last century.
comprehension exercise and expanded into some other activities related to the same topic.
78
Doing the activity
As it has been explained previously, the activity should be brought into practice differently according to
the group levels and teachers carrying it out. Basically, it is read and then discussed in class.
Appreciation
disadvantages?
The activity was proved to be a very successful and productive one at all levels. There were interesting
conversations and ideas exposed by students and commented by others. One of the main advantages
of this activity is that it gave teachers the possibility of taking it further to other related activities, and
helped make the learners aware of the equality issue.
Curiously enough, after reading the article many of the discussions that turned up around the text were
not in close relation to the text itself, but with other intertwined ideas. In some of the groups, students
talked
about
teenagers’
sexuality,
some
censured
the
excessive
debauchery
they enjoy nowadays. It was also commented the quota system established to enhance women’s
participation in certain fields of society such as politics, high executives, etc., so far a hostile territory for
women. Finally, in other groups students commented about the meaning and implications of the roles
commonly assigned to women.
governance.
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Attachments
Attachment 1: Newspaper article “Young women are under a gender equality ‘illusion’”
Young women are under a gender equality “illusion”
Several experts and young activists believe that the feminist battle is declining among teenagers.
Público newspaper
PAULA DÍAZ MADRID 16/05/2011
JUSTA REVOLTA FEMINISTS, IN SABADELL. ARNAU BACH
“Our mothers have told us that the revolution is over and that in the 70s they got everything they
asked for. Today we see that our lives are just as complicated as that of any man. This is why the
feminist struggle has relaxed, especially among younger women.” This is a statement by Rita Maestre,
a 23 year old student of Politics at Madrid Complutense University, and a member of the association,
Contrapoder.
Several feminist experts share the same opinion, warning us about the equality “illusion” teenage girls
are going through nowadays. Laura Nuño, a gender professor, states that young women only become
aware of the inequalities between men and women “when they have children or when they want to get
a promotion”. Gimena Llamedo, president of the Young Women Federation, expresses a similar
opinion. “Younger women cannot see the glass ceiling, the salary difference, the lack of conciliation;
they don’t realise the need to keep fighting”, she concludes.
“Young women don’t see the feminist struggle as something necessary because they are under a false
gender equality illusion”, continues Yolanda Besteiro, president of the Progressive Women
Federation. “They are simply not aware of the problem”, Rita Maestre confirms.
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In Sabadell (Barcelona), the young feminist group ‘Justa Revolta’ share a similar opinion. “I was
brought up the same way as my brother”, says Georgina Monge, a 25 year old activist, who has been a
member of the association for over seven years, “but when I turned 15 and I started to interact with
other boys, I saw some chauvinistic behaviour I didn’t like, such as possessiveness and jealousy, and
this is when I realised there were still things which needed to change.”
But not all young women react in the face of these atrocities. The study of Equality and gender violence
prevention in adolescence, undertaken by the Government Department of Gender Violence, warned
that last summer 9.2% of girls aged between 13 and 18 had undergone some kind of mistreatment by
their partners; insulting, hitting or even being forced to have sexual intercourse.
Furthermore, 26.2% of boys and 10.1% of girls don’t see being controlled or insulted by their partners
as symptoms of sexist violence. In sexual conflicts, only 4.3% of these can justify the use of violence.
TOLERANCE TO MALTREATMENT
“If they put up with it, they will probably have a higher tolerance level to maltreatment in the future”,
warns Besteiro. Rita Maestre also points out that there are “other ways of symbolic violence accepted
by teenage girls, such as allowing boys to grab your bottom at a disco.”
“Young women see feminism as something old, but their affective roles are based on John Wayne’s
idea of love, by which control is a synonym of care”, states Nuño. Further to this, “they perceive society
as a failure and this is why it is easier for them to put up with anything in order not to be alone”, adds
one professor.
What’s the way forward? “A socialisation process which changes these role models, the adjustment of
the feminist message to the new generation and co-education in schools,” conclude the feminists.
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What if nobody cooked one day
Through reading this article and talking about it we are trying to make students realize the “invisible”
work that women do at their homes. Nowadays many of these women work outside as well. They will
never get paid for it, and the help obtained by other family relatives is often too small.
The article will prompt a debate about whether or not there is discrimination towards women in family
life (no salary, no approbation), and it will also allow students to reflect on how to avoid this
discrimination.
Preparation
Materials needed in order to do this activity: photocopies of the article and the blackboard.
Beginners’ level – Due to the complexity of the text, the teacher working with this group may adapt the
text into a simpler version so that all students can understand it and participate in the debate.
Secondary Education (level 2) – The teachers working with these groups should prepare a few
questions beforehand to prompt reflection among the students:
1. What problems does this situation show regarding female work at home?
2. How do you think they could be solved?
3. Are there any other types of discrimination in family life?
These questions may be discussed in groups or as a whole class activity in some groups, whereas it
could also be done individually as a written questionnaire.
NVQ courses – These groups got an introduction to the matter beforehand, and then it was read out
loud one time before going into groups for discussion. Finally the whole class shared the points of view.
Due to the clear message of the article, an initial reading of the interview by the whole class will be
powerful enough to initiate a discussion, either in small groups or as a whole class activity.
Nevertheless, there are some groups in which the questions given by the teacher can help them shape
many of the ideas that may arise.
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At beginners’ level it is not easy to work with such a text. However, it can also be used as a
comprehension exercise and expanded into some other activities related to the same topic.
Doing the activity
As it has been explained previously, the activity was brought into practice differently according to the
group levels and teachers carrying it out.
turn to talk so that everyone can be heard as well as pointing key if no further comments would arise
during the activity.
Appreciation
disadvantages?
advantages of this activity is that everybody has some kind of personal experience about this matter.
And so everybody had something to say, even if they were reluctant to cooperate.
We could check that among our Muslim students there are still powerful stereotypes that keep on
justifying women's place at home.
One of our teachers compared what the article says to different articles in the Spanish Constitution
about citizen's duties and rights in order to see if there were any similarities. These students also
agreed that it is mostly women who are in charge of home "business" and that these women often feel
that the burden of responsibility on them is too much. Besides, students reflected that at some homes,
mainly those where retired people live, household chores are usually shared and that is something
highly valued by all.
Other groups of students pointed out that, little by little, society is witnessing changes towards equality
with respect to househol chores. They also highlighted that this kind of activities at home should be
paid just like any other job.
The reaction towards this text in one of our groups of students was a little bit extermist. On the one
hand, there was a group of students who rejected its content because they considered that it was lying;
on the other hand, some of their classmates agreed with the text and added that the way one reacts
toward house chores mostly depends on how one has been brought up.
Finally, another group of students pointed out that the text exaggerated some ideas. In fact, some of
the female students in that group said they would not support a that strike because they considered it
as an extremist measure. This led to discussion about the concepts of feminism and chauvinism; some
said that both are bad when taken to the extreme. However, some other students would agree with the
text because house chores are necessary and mainly those related to old people's cares. Some
83
highlighted that taking care of elderly people is also a governmental responsibility and so far it is being
very cheap for the government. These students think that the Spanish government should invest more
in taking care of citizens.
governance.
Attachments
Attachment 1: Article – “What if nobody cooked” newspaper article
What if nobody cooked for one day?
Several feminist groups have suggested a "housework strike" along with the General Strike on 14 th,
November: that is, not taking care of, as far as possible, daily house chores.
Thus, they want to make visible their breeding work, mainly under women’s responsibility, as well as to
claim a redistribution of both paid and non-remunerated works.
“If a massive 'housework strike' took place, its impact in the world would probably be much higher than
that of a general strike”.
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Setting the washing machine, taking care of children, doing the shopping, washing, cleaning the house,
looking after the family’s elder people. Although those kind of activities are basically made by women
(they spend two hours a day more than men, according to the INE), they are neither paid nor taken into
account in the country’s GDP, but those chores are what they are, that is, work. For that reason,
several groups are preparing a “housework strike” on November, 14 th, the same day of the General
Strike.
“We consider that, within the context of a general strike, if we do not talk about this kind of work, the
vindication is incomplete. Housework is essential for life and we want to be in the streets defending it”,
Rocío Lleó explains, one of the members of the Feminismos Sol committee. Lleó explains that making
a proper “housework strike” would mean chaos. For that reason, it is more a symbolic strike but with
powerful gestures. “Nobody can give up feeding a sick relative, or changing nappies, but people can,
for instance, keep children at home instead of taking them to school that day, or forget to get involved in
some housework", she says. Our proposal is being spread in some Spanish cities and many
organizations are supporting it.
These are the most outstanding vindications in their manifesto: They denounce that housework is
pushed into women while men are exempt from it as if it were something “natural”. They also denounce
that housework, invisible as it is, is the basis of the whole system. Moreover, they want to redistribute
and collectivize housework. Finally, they would like a true recognition of what procreation implies.
The economist Carmen Castro believes that a housework strike is a good way of “making visible the
inconsistence of the system we are living in, mainly focused on productive work”. “There are many
activities that generate value but they are not translated into monetary terms, such as procreation. It is
about everybody assuming “caring” as a social need and stop thinking that it is only one part of society
–women, who still bear that social pressure– who takes care of the other part. The stigmatization of
women as carers penalizes them and becomes an obstacle towards gender equality”, she points out.
85
Another member of the Feminismos Sol committee, Sua Fenoll, highlights that the whole idea is about
denouncing the present model, “which assumes that behind the productive work there must be people
working on caretaking at zero cost for the system". "Nobody should be able to work for eight hours, plus
commuting time, and then cleaning the house, doing the shopping, attending the family … unless that
person works at home full-time or overworks”, Fenoll assures. She also points out that those situations
are usually solved by paying someone to do the housework, being that person usually a woman and
quite often a migrant woman. “At the end of the day, the system places us (women) as responsible for
care taking; that’s why we are calling women’s attention to follow us. We have to wonder what would
happen if we followed a massive housework strike. Maybe the world would stop faster than with an
ordinary general strike", she claims.
Carmen Castro explains that that housework strike is a day “to change priorities” and to vindicate a new
social model where both paid and non-paid work are redistributed. "A model where women won’t be
‘motherized’ but one where society becomes ‘motherized’ and citizen become responsible. There are
alternative proposals where equality and common welfare articulate society”, she claims.
Housework commandos
During the days previous to the general strike as well as for that same day (14 th, November),
Feminismos Sol is preparing housework commandos. In groups and dressed with aprons and gloves,
they will visit markets, squares and states to explain people what housework is. “We want people to
know what would really happen if a housework strike took place; we also want them to become aware
of the importance of redistributing them and to let them know that it is something which is not limited to
homes”, Rocío Lleó says.
During the last general strike on March, 29 th, another housework strike was launched. As a sign of
solidarity, some cities hanged aprons from their balconies; in some other places, people came to the
demonstrations wearing aprons or taking mops and rags with themselves.
86
1-minute film contest
Practiced in: CVO Antwerpen, Belgium
Target group of this activity: Above all our own students and staff, but also open for people outside
the school
Number of people which can be involved in the activity: Unlimited
Duration of the activity: About 6 months
In order to raise awareness on gender issues, we have organized a film festival/contest. Students and
staff, but also people outside the school, could make a short movie (duration: one minute) about gender
inequality or role patterns. Different styles were possible: documentary, fiction, stop-motion, animation
… The jury - a professional film director, the principal of the school and the GI-WHAT project group decided who were the three winners.
Preparation
Materials needed in order to do this activity:
-
a movie camera or smartphone
a (free) editing program (like: Windows Movie Maker)
promotional materials like posters, a website, a Facebook page …
prices for the winners
an example of a short movie on gender issues
How to prepare yourself for this activity (from the point of the organizer):
-
Create a project group and have some meetings to discuss and decide about the jury, the
prices, the exact format, the rules …
Make a poster
Not necessary but can be interesting: make a short movie yourself, just to promote the festival
and to show people that it’s not so difficult to make a 1 minute film with your smartphone.
Plan some workshops for the staff and students about making and editing a short movie.
It can be necessary to organize a workshop in order to teach people how to make and edit a short
movie.
There can be some hesitation to participate when someone has never used a camera before.
Sometimes they need a little push so creating the movie in a class environment can be interesting to
overcome that barrier.
87
You need some time (about 5 or 6 months) in order to get students and staff used to the idea, to follow
a workshop and to make a movie themselves. So you need to start the contest rather early in the
school year.
The best way to get your students to participate is through the teachers. So it’s important that the
teachers are enthusiastic about the contest.
Doing the activity
-
-
-
Promote the film festival: hang out posters, share it on your website and Facebook page and
talk about it in the classrooms and the staffroom.
Promote the workshops you give on making and editing a short movie.
Show the movie you made yourself on Facebook and the website.
You can also organise this competition with 1 class group. If so, you can ask all the students to
grade the movies. If there are 10 movies, their first choice should be awarded 10 points, the
second choice 9 points, the third 8 points etc. The movie with the best score wins the
competition.
When handing out the prices it is nice to give your students a certificate. You can find this
certificate in the attachment (write the name of the winner on the dots). It is also nice to invite
other students or classes to join this ceremony.
Participants can hand in their movie by using www.wetransfer.com.
Making lots of promotion is very important!
Appreciation
disadvantages?
For us it was not so easy to implement the GI-WHAT project in our rather big organization. The film
competition allowed us to spread the content of the project in an informal way.
Making a short film ourselves was also lots of fun to do.
By filming in the school building people also got curious, so that was also a promotion tool!
88
☐ Secure or promote equal access to education and vocational and continuing training for women and
governance.
89
Attachments
Attachment 1: The poster of the film festival
Attachment 2: Examples of movies
1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TO6lDYqeUiY (What if men were women?)
2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jyiypfPJZY (What would you do if you could change gender
for one day?)
3. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OaCgCx-jQT0&feature=c4overview&list=UUW8ywoc3wvxcDFmUedpVNhQ (winners of the contest in Belgium)
Attachment 3: cheques
90
91
92
93
Survey Activity for Teachers
Practiced in: Çumra District Directorate of National Education / Turkey
Target group of this activity: Teachers of the District Directorate
Number of people which can be involved in the activity: 1000
Duration of the activity: 1 Year
In this activity the teachers are asked to attend the meetings in which they are to given general
information about gender issues. The main purpose of the activity is to gain some information about the
gender issues in families, education and social life areas via the surveys.
Preparation
Papers, pens and posters
At first, try to find out which day and time is suitable for your target group while organizing your activity
schedule. Then make some posters or handouts to inform your target group. Give detailed information
for your colleagues who will help you to hold the meetings.
Your subject groups must be informed via e-mails, posters or handouts. Posters and permission
papers must be prepared and hung up to the school boards before the meetings.
Before preparing the activity, the schedule of the meetings should be planned considering their working
time. So the meetings should be planned in free times of the teachers and the place should be close to
their working place. Consider the number of participants attending your meetings, your subject group
must be divided into groups.
Doing the activity
Before giving general information about your topic, give out your surveys to take their views. It will help
you to take their all attention on topic. If you intend to give some information about gender issues wait
till they finish the surveys. Otherwise you can affect their answers.
94
Survey papers shouldn’t include individual information like name, surname etc. except age, education
level, marital status and gender.
Appreciation
disadvantages?
This activity has a written survey document. While you are working with written documents it is easy to
analyze them. But the subjects are limited with the survey elements. It is possible for them to have very
good information which you can find useful for your project. But they can’t write them down. If you give
some space for them to write other information (a blank space on the page) then it can be hard to put
them in order to get a useful and meaningful data.
X The specific inclusion, within courses of civic education and education for citizenship,
X Promote the balanced representation of women and men at all levels of school management and
governance.
95
Attachments
Do you believe that there is gender discrimination in your environment?
Does any gender discrimination occur in your family?
Does the joy of your relative or close friend who receives a new baby depend on whether the
baby's gender?
Do you believe that gender discrimination can damage the well-known principle of equality
between genders?
Do you approve specifying the works such as women works or men works?
Would you give the same reaction to your daughter or son when an event happens?
While planning your child's future, do you consider your child's gender?
Do you think that men's leadership attributes are lower than women's?
Do you think that women's family responsibilities prevent their career planning?
Do you think that men's family responsibilities prevent their career planning?
Do you think that women are not adequate training and experience level than men?
Do you think that women are less adequate (to jobs), and less experienced than men?
Do you think that married women are having a negative impact on business performance?
Do you think there is a real equality between the genders?
Do you think that positive gender segregation for women is contradictory to the the
understanding of democratic equality?
Do you think that there is a relationship between gender inequality and poverty?
Do you think that there is gender inequality in Education, health and nutrition, labor market
participation and other areas?
Do you think that gender inequality cuts off men and women from social life?
Do you think that eliminating the gender inequality will be the solution of poverty?
In your family, are the ideas of women effective while taking desicions ?
Age:
NEVER
SOMETIMES
USUALLY
GENDER ISSUES SURVEY
ALWAYS
Attachment 1: Survey
96
Sex:
Educational
Statue
Male
Primary
Female
Secondary
High School
Associate's degree
Bachelor's degree
Master
Doctorate
Married
Single
Yes
No
1
2
3
4
5
6
Occupation
Marital Statue
Do you have
children?
If yes, How
many?
Others
97
Family Seminars
Target group of this activity: Family members and their children
Number of people which can be involved in the activity: 500
Duration of the activity: 1 year
Families are the basic structures of society. And we believe that the main education and some of these
problems can be solved by family members. In this activity, you can raise the awareness of gender
issues in your area. With the families and their children you can focus on gender issues topic in social,
education, working life and family areas.
Preparation
Posters, bus ads, a meeting hall,
First of all you should work with teachers, managers and some well known people. So before the
meetings they should be trained about the project.
By means of posters, local newspaper ads, bus ads participants are more aware of your meetings.
Thus, it can help you to make more people to involve in the activity.
The informants and the speakers should be expert on the topic. You can get help from sociologists and
pedagogues. The time and the place for the meeting should be arranged suitable for the participants.
Doing the activity
When the time comes, the speakers begin with brief information about why people are there. They can
get help from some visuals and records which they get from their previous activities. After the
presentations finish, the informants evaluate the feedback with the participants. They both discuss and
talk about problems about gender issues familiar to the participants. They try to give paths for their
problems together.
98
Meeting duration should not be more than two hours otherwise participants can get bored. It can be
hard to get whole attention of your participants if they have children with them. Get some help from your
colleagues.
Appreciation
disadvantages?
These activities are informative. It is difficult to handle such meetings. Because you need to find expert
speakers. On the other hand, to get the participants into a place at the planned time is not easy.
governance.
99
Attachments
Attachment 1: Posters and bus ads
100
101
Family Visits and Surveys
Target group of this activity: Families
Number of people which can be involved in the activity: Family members 2 to 6
Duration of the activity: 1 Year
This activity is planned to get information and opinions of families about gender issues and to get
impression from the first hand.
Preparation
A small gift and survey papers
First you should prepare your survey document. Then you should create a group of families which
represent your area. Then you should arrange your appointment with the families. You also should
make a time schedule and follow it. If you want to take some notes you can use a video or audio
recorder but you first notice them about recording. Or just take one of your colleagues with you. It’s
better to have a opposite gender colleague. First make your survey. After surveys finish, go on with the
topic “gender issues in families”.
Notification letters should be sent before the family visits to inform them about your time of visit and
also what the meetings are for. Or just call them.
While choosing the families, try to create a homogeneous list. Prepare notification letters describing the
visits. Send notification letters to the families who will participate in the activities.
Doing the activity
First of all it is a good idea to take a small gift for host with you when you visit the families. After a small
conversation with the family, ask them to fill in the surveys. After they finish, take the surveys and ask
them whether it is possible to make an interview with them or not.
Visit just one family in a day. Be polite, try not to be informative, and try to make them feel comfortable
with you. If interview goes with another topic not related to your subject, try to get the attention to your
topic in a polite way but don’t rush. Try not to be repetitive that can make people uncomfortable.
102
Appreciation
disadvantages?
This activity has some advantages. You can get far more information than you can get from a written
activity. The data you get from the visit by records and interviews can be a rich source for your project.
☐ Promote the balanced representation of women and men at all levels of school management and
governance.
Attachments
Attachment 1: Notification Letters
Dear Parent,
Since 2011, we have been carrying out a project called "GI-WHAT; Gender Issues; why hide a truth" In
this part of the project we have been studying on gender equality in our district.
Through this letter we would like to take your permission to visit you in your house at 9 p.m on
…./…../2013
Best regards,
(Your contact details)
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Do you believe that there is gender discrimination in your environment?
Does any gender discrimination occur in your family?
Does the joy of your relative or close friend who receives a new baby depend on whether the
baby's gender?
Do you believe that gender discrimination can damage the well-known principle of equality
between genders?
Do you approve specifying the works such as women works or men works?
Would you give the same reaction to your daughter or son when an event happens?
While planning your child's future, do you consider your child's gender?
Do you think that men's leadership attributes are lower than women's?
Do you think that women's family responsibilities prevent their career planning?
Do you think that men's family responsibilities prevent their career planning?
Do you think that women are not adequate training and experience level than men?
Do you think that women are less adequate (to jobs), and less experienced than men?
Do you think that married women are having a negative impact on business performance?
Do you think there is a real equality between the genders?
Do you think that positive gender segregation for women is contradictory to the the
understanding of democratic equality?
Do you think that there is a relationship between gender inequality and poverty?
Do you think that there is gender inequality in Education, health and nutrition, labor market
participation and other areas?
Do you think that gender inequality cuts off men and women from social life?
NEVER
SOMETIMES
USUALLY
GENDER ISSUES SURVEY
ALWAYS
Attachment 2: Survey
104
Do you think that eliminating the gender inequality will be the solution of poverty?
In your family, are the ideas of women effective while taking desicions ?
Age:
Sex:
Educational
Statue
Male
Primary
Female
Secondary
High School
Associate's degree
Bachelor's degree
Master
Doctorate
Married
Single
Yes
No
1
2
3
4
5
6
Occupation
Marital Statue
Do you have
children?
If yes, How
many?
Others
105
Typical man and typical woman
Practiced in Equal Chances, Moravian-Silesian region, Czech Republic and CVO Antwerpen, Belgium
Target group of this activity: Students of all ages. In Belgium, these discussions were held in 2
different classes with participants aged 20 up to 38, of very mixed backgrounds (religion, nationality,
income…).
Number of people which can be involved in the activity: 5-20
Duration of the activity: 45 min.
1. Let your students make a mind map of typical behaviour and skills of women and men. Then
organise a discussion on the outcomes. This way, you are challenging the traditional
perception of looking at gender stereotypes.
2. Or have your students discuss the disadvantages and advantages of being a woman or man
in society today.
Preparation
Flipcharts, pens, glue
Arrange the classroom in order to allow group works. Try to reflect on some examples to demonstrate
to your students what is expected.
No specific preparation is needed.
Some of the outcomes might look hilarious to your students. Try to make them reflect on why they find
them funny instead of encouraging them to laugh with these stereotypes.
Doing the activity
Activity 1
a) Give everyone a few cards. Challenge the participants to write down at least two properties of:
-
typically human;
typically female;
106
-
typically male.
b) Give your students 5-10 minutes to reflect on what to write on the card.
c) When the participants are working, prepare the board or flipchart by drawing 3 columns: typically
human / typically male / typically female
d) Ask the participants to glue their cards into the columns, and read the results out loud. When reading
the results, start the discussion by asking for more information or asking your students why they have
written this down. Ask other students for their opinion.
Activity 2
Divide the participants into four groups. You could create 2 female groups and 2 male groups but this is
not obligated. Each group discusses one specific topic and presents their conclusions to the rest of the
group (10 minutes preparation, 4 x 4 min. per presentation). If you chose to create female and male
groups let the female groups reflect on the (dis)advantages of being a man and vice versa.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Group 1: What are the advantages of being a man in society today?
Group 2: What are the disadvantages or limitations of being a man in society today?
Group 3: What are the advantages of being a woman in society today?
Group 4: What are the disadvantages or limitations of being a woman in society today?
Draw the following column on the board to write down all the results during the presentations:
Advantages
Disadvantages
Men
Women
The discussion should be directed to:


the effect gender stereotyping has on the freedom of individuals (eg, choice of career, life
priorities, etc.);
the difference between sex and gender (biologically versus socially aspects of "femininity" and
"masculinity").
Encourage the discussion with questions such as: How did you make decisions in your group? Was it
easy to agree on a "typical characteristics”? Were some issues harder to agree on than others? Which
of the stereotypes do your students feel they should be eliminated? How can this be achieved? What is
the reason for some of the (dis)advantages part?
Gender issues are often a sensitive topic, so try to let every student have their say.
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Appreciation
disadvantages?
You might be surprised as a teacher! In Belgium, the outcome was surprising, in 2 groups where the
teacher conducted this ‘test’: regardless of nationality, age and race, traditional opinions persist, maybe
stronger with the male than with the female participants, like: ‘Women should stay at home when
having young children, because mothers are better caretakers.” In both classes where these
discussions were held, the outcome led to very open, lively discussions and to reflection and a certain
awareness.
governance.
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Gender issues and comics
Practiced in: CVO Antwerpen, Belgium
Target group of this activity: students, min. 15 years old
Number of people which can be involved in the activity: you can have as many students involved
as you wish but it is advisable to have a maximum of 20 students (5 groups).
Duration of the activity: 3,5 hours
This activity aims at letting your students reflect on a specific situation where gender issues make a
(negative) difference. It also challenges your students to visualize a specific situation and work on their
IT skills.
Preparation
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Internet connection
1 camera or phone per group
Wires to upload the pictures from the camera or phone
1 computer or laptop per group
Additional: some attributes used in household or specific male or female clothes
Make sure you have the above mentioned materials ready. Check first whether they work properly.
Make sure you know how Pixton works so you can answer the questions of your students. Try to create
a comic yourself or watch the instruction movies on http://www.pixton.com/schools/overview (help
section).
In order to speed things up, you can already create the accounts on www.pixton.com by using the 30
day free trial.
You can use the examples (see attachment) to show to your students what is expected from them.
You could ask your students to think about a situation where gender issues play a negative role during
the first lesson. The second lesson could then be used to create the comic. This will allow students to
bring the materials they need with them.
A prepatory exercise could help to stimulate your students (for example: typical man and typical
woman).
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Doing the activity
Divide your class into groups of 4 persons.
Ask them to think of a situation where it is a disadvantage to be a woman or a man. Having them reflect
on their own daily life is advisable. Then ask them to think about a way to avoid or solve this situation.
Give them about 20 minutes to think about this.
Then ask each group to present their situation and solution. Tell them in advance they only get 30
seconds (max. 1 minute) to present their idea. This is a first step in having them eliminate all extra
information.
Give all groups max. 30 minutes to develop their idea in 6 different frames. Tell them to draw these
frames out (see attachment). You as a teacher should be able to ‘visit’ every group and assist them in
case they have difficulties to tell their story in 6 frames.
3,2,1 … action! Time to make the pictures. Give your students enough time to shoot these pictures. 1h
should do it as they already drew what they expect of every picture.
Once your students uploaded their pictures on the laptop or computer, tell them to go to pixton.com and
give them their login details. As the tool is quite easy to use, you only have to show them the basic layout of the work space. It is then up to them to explore the different possibilities. However, if you feel
your students need extra information, you can show them the following tutorial:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJzHAZtIpio&feature=share&list=UUdH8AOyT4c_MFsTrIbHgp0Q.
Give your students 1 hour to finalize the comics. You could give a signal after every 15 minutes so
every student gets his or her time to work on the comic.
Then beam every comic on the white board and ask 1 representative per group to give some
explanation to the comic or read the text out loud. You could ask the other students to give scores to
the comics, making it a comic competition.
Your students will probably have to leave the classroom to take the pictures they need to create their
comic. Be sure to communicate clearly how much time they have and how far they are allowed to go. If
it would not be possible to use cameras and take pictures, your students can also create a comic by
using the figures made available by Pixon.
Appreciation
disadvantages?
Your students will enjoy this activity as it allows them to be creative with gender issues.
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X The undertaking of specific actions to encourage non-traditional career choices.
☐ Promote the balanced representation of women and men at all levels of school management and
governance.
Attachments
Attachment 1: examples
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Attachment 2: storyboard (to be used by the students when developing their idea)
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www.gi-what.eu
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STEPS Towards a more gender equal adult

Transcripción

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