genderanded Issues

‘Rage of the Girl Rioters’?

Everyday there seems to be yet more depressing news for education in the UK. Yesterday saw more rushed ideological notions of bringing soldiers into the classrooms, destroying teacher education within  Higher Education,  and reconfiguring the national curriculum yet again.

Schoolchildren and students were also active in walking out of lessons, taking to the streets and occupying campuses. These actions are in response to massive hikes in tuition fees in Higher Education, and the abolishment of  the Educational Maintenance Allowance in Further Education. Curiously, an article in the the Daily Mail has focused on the gendering of these protests, highlighting the actions of rioting girls. Perhaps we are seeing a new wave of youth and female led activism? I’d love to hear other people’s thoughts

 

genderanded Issues

Boys, Boys, Boys!

This month the UK newspapers have been awash with stories about the (supposedly) ever-decreasing ‘gender gap’. Indeed, several key reports relating to equalities issues have been released in the past month, all of which have been discussed at great length in the British media. Of greatest international significance, perhaps, have been the reports surrounding the progress made against the millennium development goals (a set of goals which were proposed by world leaders back in the year 2000 and were revisited last month as these leaders returned to New York for the UN summit, Singer 2010). Although a number of scholars have pointed to the fact that the success of achieving these goals has largely been attributable to moving the goalposts, the positive news reported last week was that gender parity in education was being achieved and in ways which had substantial effects upon the ability to reach other goals (e.g. infant mortality rates). Continue reading “Boys, Boys, Boys!” →

genderanded Issues

A Summer Conference Season of Gender and Education Keynote Speeches

This summer has seen a number of feminist scholars give key note speeches relating to issues of gender and education at a range of academic conference. Fitting in with the theme ‘Education and Cultural Change’ Professor Floya Anthias from Roehampton University was invited to reflect on issues of ‘identity, belonging and culture in the modern era’ at the European Conference on Education Research. This year the conference was held in Helsinki, Finland. Professor Anthias delivered a paper titled: ‘Intersections and translocations:new paradigms for thinking about identities and inequalities’ . The talk attracted a large audience and continued to be debated well into the evening social event. An abstract for the speech and a digital recording can be found on the European Education Research Association website. Continue reading “A Summer Conference Season of Gender and Education Keynote Speeches” →

genderanded Issues

Where are the women scientists online?

GEA executive member Heather Mendick and GEA member Marie-Pierre Moreau have been spending a lot of their time looking for women who work in science, engineering and technology online – across websites as diverse as the BBC, YouTube, New Scientist and the Natural History Museum. Their research is funded by the UK Resource Centre for Women in SET and is uncovering some disturbing patterns: the dominance of men, the segregation of women into particular areas of science or areas of the website, a greater focus on women’s than on men’s appearance and on their family relationships and a pervasive sexualisation of women scientists.

genderanded Previous Conferences / Events

What do women learn from magazines?

On 2nd of December Teresa Doherty, Tricia French and I organised the first of a series of (what we hope will become) termly Gender and Education Association events at The Women’s Library. About 30 people came to discuss what women learn from magazines. The chair, Kim Allen from London Metropolitan University, and the two speakers (pictured left), Pamela Church-Gibson from the London College of Fashion and Hatty Oliver from Goldsmiths University of London, kicked things off. Continue reading “What do women learn from magazines?” →