Gender Equity
"Poverty has a woman's face. Global prosperity and peace will only be achieved once all the world's people are empowered to order their own lives and provide for themselves and their families."
Multimedia Links
- The Girl Effect and I Dare You: Video clips highlighting the social and economic change that can occur when girls have the opportunity to participate.
- To Educate a Girl: (74 mins, subtitles) Recommended for secondary level.
- Women's Day: Caritas clip promoting gender equality.
- Slip of the Tongue: A music clip on the danger of stereotyping.
- Ali G on feminism: from YouTube.
- Homage: from YouTube.
- Stand Out: students taking action against homophobia in schools.
Recommended sites
Millennium Campaign: “Goal 3: Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education preferably by 2005, and at all levels by 2015.”
UN Cyber School Bus: “Promoting gender equality means ensuring that women have the same chances as men to improve their lives, and the lives of their families.”
UN Women: “Women have multiple roles. At any given time they can be mothers, leaders, students, decision-makers, farmers, workers, voters and much more. In each of these roles, the ability to be educated and healthy, to have voice and influence, and to enjoy opportunities and choices are critical to the attainment of the [Millennium Development] Goals.”
Global Education: “The equality of men and women has been accepted as a fundamental principle of human rights since the adoption of the United Nations Charter in 1945.”
Working Group on Girls: “In too many parts of the world, girls experience "apartheid of gender". Beginning from birth their fundamental rights are denied and violated. Girls are born with the inherent and inalienable rights of all human beings. They are also born with the unique rights of childhood which will enable them to reach their full potential as individuals and members of society.”
UN Women: “Women lag far behind men in access to land, credit and decent jobs, even though a growing body of research shows that enhancing women’s economic options boosts national economies.”
United Nations Division for the Advancement of Women: “The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), adopted in 1979 by the UN General Assembly, is often described as an international bill of rights for women... The Convention defines discrimination against women as "...any distinction, exclusion or restriction made on the basis of sex which has the effect or purpose of impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment or exercise by women, irrespective of their marital status, on a basis of equality of men and women, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural, civil or any other field.”
Women Tas: “Tasmanian women were barred from jury service until 1939. And it was not until the 1990s that their participation in the jury system was brought into line with men's.”
Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission: “There is no separate human rights treaty focusing on sexuality and gender rights but LGBTI people have the right to enjoy all human rights available to other members of the community. In particular, people who are LGBTI enjoy the fundamental rights of non-discrimination and equality before the law.”
Lawstuff: “Sexual harassment can happen to anyone at any age. Sexual harassment can happen to you at school or work or when you are purchasing goods or services or looking for accommodation. You do not have to put up with sexual harassment... You can send a question to LawMail and an answer can be sent to you in 6 days.”
Bullying. No Way!: “Sex-based harassment curtails behaviour through sexual stereotyping. Sex-based harassment includes name-calling, sexual innuendo, sexist comments, sexist jokes, displaying offensive materials and behaviour such as flashing and 'dakking'. Schools need to deal with bullying, harassment and violence against students who either identify themselves as gay, lesbian or bisexual or who are perceived to be so. The issues surrounding harassment based on sexuality are closely related to those around gender.”
Tasmanian Gay and Lesbian Rights Group: “Unlike women or aboriginal people, lesbians and gays have no comprehensive protection from discrimination under federal legislation.”
Tasmanian Council for Sexual & Gender Diverse People: “Promotion of the heterosexual norm is subtle and pervasive, and can result, even unwittingly, in the emergence of homophobia and transphobia. The emergence of these phobias can lead to discrimination against, and harassment of, people who do not fit the heterosexual norm and the resulting discrimination and harassment result in significantly higher rates of self-harm and suicide among sexually - and gender-diverse people.”
UNFPA: “Discrimination against women and girls - including gender-based violence, economic discrimination, reproductive health inequities, and harmful traditional practices - remains the most pervasive and persistent form of inequality. Women and girls bear enormous hardship during and after humanitarian emergencies, especially armed conflicts.”
Did You Know?
- Seventy per cent of the 1.3 billion people who live in extreme poverty worldwide are women and girls. www
- Women occupy only 18% of seats in the world's parliaments. www
- Women perform 66 percent of the world’s work, produce 50 percent of the food, but earn 10 percent of the income and own 1 percent of the property. www
- In the least developed countries, nearly twice as many women over age 15 are illiterate compared to men. www
- Men, too, can suffer from gender inequalities. In some countries these include increasing male mortality rates, suicide rates that far surpass those of women, increasing social isolation, and problems related to alcohol, drugs and other substance abuse. www
- Two thirds of people in the world who cannot read are female. www
- 80% of the world's 27 million refugees are women. www
- From 1945 to 1995 the percentage of women MPs worldwide increased four-fold. www
These sites have ideas on how to make a difference.
Join a group working for gender equity:
See the lists on Women Tasmania and Working It Out
Links
School Groups
Get your school involved:
Teacher resources
- Tasmanian Centre for Global Learning has posters, classroom activities, books, videos and bookmarks on global issues such as gender equity.
- The Office of the Anti-Discrimination Commissioner (OADC) provides education and information sessions to schools, colleges and community groups which relate to equal opportunity and promoting non-discriminatory practices. Their website has fact sheets on a wide range of discrimination issues.
- Working It Out is a Tasmanian service specifically for lesbian, gay, bisexual, intersex and transgender Tasmanians. It has the latest information about tackling homophobia in your school or workplace, setting up peer support groups and meeting your legal obligations under the Anti-Discrimination Act.
- Safe Schools Coalition Victoria provides resources to assist schools to be places where same sex attracted and gender questioning young people are supported.