EQUINET SEMINAR
Gender Equality in Education
Thursday19 May and Friday 20May 2016
LOCATION: Parkhotel, Veletržní 1502/20 - Prague, Czech Republic
BACKGROUND INFORMATION AND CONTEXT
In 1995, the Beijing Platform for Action targeted gender segregation in education, curricula, enrolment and retention rates of women in its action points to further the Education and Training of Women. Yet the European Commission’s Strategic Engagement for Gender Equality (2016-2019) reminds us that “gender inequalities in education persist.” As such, gendered study subject preferences and the gendered discrepancies in educational performance and patterns of participation are targeted as important policy areas for the European Union seeking to ensure gender equality for both men and women.
The collective experience of equality bodies as gathered in the Equinet perspectives Persistence of Discrimination, Harassment and Inequality for Women (2015) and Harassment on the Basis of Gender and Sexual Harassment (2014) echo these concerns. In order to find local solutions, the 2015 Perspective suggests that “equality bodies can promote proactive approaches”[1] in a number of fields, such as:
  • creating and sustaining a culture of equality within organisations such as workplaces, educational settings and services providers;
  • exchanging good practices to promote an education free of gender stereotypes and rejecting all forms of violence;
  • ensure school curricula are gender sensitive;
  • collecting information on the prevalence of harassment and sexual harassment in schools to provide evidence-based recommendations to legislators.
In order to follow up on this proactive approach, Equinet’s Working Group on Gender Equality will hold a seminar to exchange good practices and deepen equality bodies’ expertise on successful measures that may be implemented locally to promote gender equality in the educational setting.
OBJECTIVES
Equinet, together with the Public Defender of Rights, will organise a one and a half day capacity-building seminar for equality bodies’ staff membersgender equality in education.
The seminar will take stock of the experiences of equality bodies with ensuringgender equality in education. It will build on previous work by Equinet in this field, notably on the Persistence of Discrimination, Harassment and Inequality for Women (2015) and Harassment on the Basis of Gender and Sexual Harassment (2014).
In particular, the Seminar aims to:
  • Build capacity of equality bodies’ staff members in understanding, promoting and ensuringgender equality in the educational setting.
  • Exchange good practices on proactively promoting gender equality in education and getting gender equality concerns in educational curricula
  • Discuss and exchange experiences with and case work on discrimination in education
  • Update equality bodies on recent EU and international developments related to promoting gender equality in education

PARTICIPANTS
This Equinet seminar is dedicated to an audience of approximately 45 equality bodies’ staff members with responsibilities in dealing with gender equality issues, with a focus on the educational setting where relevant. The seminar agenda allows for participation with different professional backgrounds.
It could be of interest to communication experts (dealing with outreach activities with/for stakeholders, including the educational setting), legal experts (with case-work experience from the educational setting on the ground of gender) and policy experts(working with gender equality in education).
DRAFT AGENDA
THURSDAY19MAY 2016
08:30 – 09:00 / Welcome & Registration
OPENING SESSION
09:00 – 09:20 / Anna Šabatová, Public Defender of Rights in the Czech Republic (TBC)
Jiří Dienstbier, Minister of the Czech Republic´s Government for Human Rights, Equal Opportunities and Legislation, Chairman of the Government Legislative Council (TBC)
Evelyn Collins, Chief Executive of the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland and Chair of Equinet
09:20 – 10:00 / Keynote address
The importance of securing gender equality in the educational setting / Gender and Education Association (GEA) (TBC)
SESSION 1
Setting the scene - Promoting gender equality in education
Chair: Evelyn Collins, Chair of the Equinet Executive Board and Chief Executive of the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland
This session aims to update participants on the EU and international framework for promoting and ensuring gender equality in educationand address specific challenges in relation to these issues.
10:00 – 10:15 / Ensuring gender equality in education: a strategic engagement / Representative of the European Commission – DG Justice – Gender Equality Unit (or DG Education) (TBC)
10:15-10:30 / Gender equality inthe educational setting: state of play in 2015 / Representative of the European Institute for Gender Equality - EIGE (TBC)
10:30 – 10:45 / The Croatian Office of the Ombudsman’s research findings on gender equality in education / Josip Grgic, Researcher, Croatian Office of the Ombudsman
10:45-11:00 / Challenges in ensuring gender equality in education / Representative of the European Women’s Lobby (EWL)
11:00 – 11:15 / Questions & Answers
11:15-11:30 / Coffee Break
WORKSHOP 1
Discussion groups: Gender sensitive teaching
This workshop focuses on how equality bodies can engage with educational institutions and other stakeholders in promoting gender equality in education. Participants discuss how they would adapt good practicesto own national contexts when designing an outreach program based on best practice case studies from facilitators
Participants will divide in three groups.
11:30 – 12:45 / How to work with civil society when designing outreach programs? / GEA/EWL (TBC)
(room: Arabela 2)
How to cooperate with publishers of school books? / Nathalie Schlenzka, Officer, FADA, Germany
(room: plenary)
How to develop educational guides on gender and citizenship for school curricula? / Representative of the Commission for Citizenship and Gender Equality (CIG), Portugal (TBC)
(room: Arabela 1)
12:45 – 13:00 / Participants return to plenary and share three highlights from their discussion in workshop
13:00 -14:00 / Lunch Break
SESSION 2
Combatting discrimination in education
Chair: (TBC)
This session will focus on the work of equality bodies in combating discrimination the educational setting, sharing good practice examples
14:00-14:15 / The Swedish Equality Ombud’s work with quality planning in educational establishments / Anna Werner, Lawyer, Swedish Equality Ombud
14:15-14:30 / The Finish Ombudsman for Equality’s campaign on preventing harassment in educational institutions / Miko Lempinen, Senior Officer, Finish Ombudsman for Equality
14:30-14:45 / How to assist setting up of complaints structures in the school setting / Nathalie Schlenzka, Officer, FADA Germany
14:45-15:00 / NCPE’s research on “Violence, Harassment and Bullying in Schools” / Antoniella Gatt, Principal, NCPE Malta
15:00-15:15 / Questions & Answers
15:15 – 15:30 / Coffee Break
WORKSHOP 2
Discussion groups: Preventing harassment in the educational setting
The workshop allows participants to discuss own casework on harassment in the educational setting, identifying challenges in preventive work and ways equality bodies can address these based on best-practice examples of facilitators.
Participants divide infour groups
15:30 – 17:00 / How to build a campaign to prevent harassment in educational institutions? / Miko Lempinen, Finland (room: plenary)
How to work on equality planning in educational establishments? / Anna Werner, Sweden (room: plenary)
How to assist setting up complaints structures in schools? / Nathalie Schlenzka, Germany (room: Arabela 1)
How to conduct research on violence, harassment and bullying in schools? / Antoniella Gatt,Malta (room: Arabela 2)
17:00-17:30 / Participants convene back in plenary and share three highlights from their workshop discussion
17:30 / End of the first day
18:30 / Social event and dinner
FRIDAY20MAY
SESSION 3
Promoting diversity in educational choices of men and women
Chair: Elisabeth Lier Haugseth, Deputy Ombud of the Equality and Anti-Discrimination Ombud, Norway (TBC)
This session will map existing initiatives to promote alternative educational choices for men and women, as well as look at the challenges associated therewith.
09:00 – 09:15 / Women in science in the Czech Republic / Representative of the Czech Ministry of Education (TBC)
09:15 – 09:30 / Working together to get women into the STEM field / Representative of the Equality Commission of Northern Ireland
09:30– 09:45 / Men in health professions / Frode Rønsberg, National project coordinator, Trondheim municipality, Norway
Challengesfaced by men and women pursuing non-traditional educational paths / Frederique Ast, Senior lawyer, French Defender of Rights
09:45 – 10:15 / Questions & Answers
10:15 – 10:45 / Coffee Break
WORKSHOP 3
Discussion groups: Facilitating less traditional educational choices for men and women
Participants break into two groups to discuss how equality bodies can promote greater diversity in the educational choices of individuals, based on best practice examples of facilitators
10:45 – 12:15 / How to get more men into health professions? / Frode Rønsberg, Trondheim municipality (room: plenary)
How to get more women into the STEM field? / Representative of the Equality Commission of Northern Ireland (room: Arabela 2)
12:15-12:30 / Groups convene back in plenary and share three highlights from their discussion in workshop
CONCLUDING SESSION
12:30 – 13:00 / Petr Polak, Czech Defender of Rights and Board member of Equinet (TBC)
Anne Gaspard, Equinet Executive Director
13:00 / Closing Lunch

[1]Persistence of Discrimination, Harassment and Inequality for Women (2015) , p. 38