When the EU launched a short viral video to publicise their It’s a Girl Thing! campaign to get more women into science, it all kicked off in the blogosphere and twitterverse. The 45 second promo, which looks like a cross between a cosmetics ad and a girl group music video, begins with a young good-looking lab-coated male scientist looking up from his microscope to the shocking (and arousing?) sight of three attractive young women dressed in very high heels and even shorter skirts. These women giggle and provocatively gesture their way through the ad, intercut with overflowing test-tubes, models of molecules, lipstick and other girlie and scientific ephemera. Oh, and one of them gets to elegantly scribble symbols on a transparent board. At the end their fashionable shades transform into equally fashionable safety goggles. The music, with its single lyric, reminds us: ‘Science – It’s a Girl Thing!’ So is this how to ‘sell’ science to girls? Continue reading “Selling Science as ‘a Girl Thing’”
Cutting the UK Equalities Commission – one cut too far?
The Equalities and Human Rights Commission is currently in a fight for its survival. Continue reading “Cutting the UK Equalities Commission – one cut too far?”
Rethinking gender equality in the teaching profession: is secondary school teaching ‘women-friendly’?
In many countries, teaching is constructed as a ‘women-friendly’ profession. By drawing on Les Enseignants et le Genre, a recently published cross-national comparison of men and women teachers based in French and English secondary schools, I want to question this view. Continue reading “Rethinking gender equality in the teaching profession: is secondary school teaching ‘women-friendly’?”
GEA Interim Conference, 11th – 13th April 2012
The interim conference, ‘Gender and Democracy: Gender and Research in Times of Change’, was hosted by the University of Gothenburg’s Department of Education and Special Education. Continue reading “GEA Interim Conference, 11th – 13th April 2012”
Compelling Diversities, Educational Intersections: Policy, Practice, Parity
The Gender and Education Association would like to announce that the ninth international Gender and Education conference will be held at London South Bank University from Tuesday 23rd – Friday 26th April 2013. Continue reading “Compelling Diversities, Educational Intersections: Policy, Practice, Parity”
Save The Women’s Library: Take Action
Dear Colleagues,
We are writing to you to update you on recent developments with regard to the future of the Women’s Library, which is housed at London Metropolitan University.
Advancing Nordic Research on Gender in Education
The Nordic Educational Research Association (NERA) is the main Nordic
organisation for educational researchers and it has had a Gender and Education network for some 20 years. At this year’s NERA conference held in Copenhagen (8-10 March), the network organised paper sessions, roundtable discussions and a Gender and Education meeting which was attended by 23 delegates from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Estonia and Japan.
The conference followed an active year for NERA’s Gender and Education network. They organised a symposium at AERA’s 2011 conference, updated their website and launched a network email list, which currently has 60 members. These members are predominantly based in Sweden and Iceland where NERA’s 2013 conference will take place. Further information concerning this can be found on NERA’s website. Alternatively, join NERA’s Gender and Education email list by contacting Jukka Lehtonen (jukka.p.lehtonen@helsinki.fi).
The Softer They Come: Elly Tams reviews ‘The Declining Significance Of Homophobia’
The Declining Significance of Homophobia is, according to its author, a ‘Good News story’ (p xxv). I capitalise ‘Good News’ for reasons that shall become clear. But focusing first on the main thrust of the thesis (and there is no reference to it but I am certain this is a book written out of a PhD thesis), the ‘good news’ is how teenage boys in the UK are less homophobic than in previous eras. Good news indeed. Continue reading “The Softer They Come: Elly Tams reviews ‘The Declining Significance Of Homophobia’”
Presumed Innocence: Sexualisation Research at Cardiff University
In today’s increasingly sexualised culture, Cardiff social scientists are working with the Welsh Assembly on the pressures facing young people. Continue reading “Presumed Innocence: Sexualisation Research at Cardiff University”
Modern Girlhoods: A GEA Seedcorn Event
‘Great papers, lots of interesting people and plenty of opportunity for important dialogue’
‘I was totally blown away by Wednesday. Best conference I’ve ever been to, especially the way that the conversations just got more and more interesting as the day went on’
The 8th February 2012 saw another exciting GEA seedcorn event on the theme of Modern Girlhoods. This day seminar was well attended with over 50 participants from Brunel, across the UK and further afield. Continue reading “Modern Girlhoods: A GEA Seedcorn Event”