WUNRN
Press
release - 679(2007)
The Council of Europe Recommends Member
States to Incorporate Gender Equality Measures at All Levels of Education
Strasbourg,
12.10.2007 - The Council of Europe Committee of Ministers has just adopted a
recommendation to promote and encourage measures specifically aimed at
implementing gender mainstreaming at all levels of the education system of its
47 Member States with a view to achieving gender equality, firstly by
enshrining gender education in law.
The
Committee proposes the creation of mechanisms, throughout the education system,
to favour the promotion, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of gender
mainstreaming in all aspects of the school: structures, roles of staff, the
formal curriculum, timetabling of subjects, textbooks and materials,
extracurricular activities, classroom practices, use of budgets, examination
results, career guidance and use of premises and facilities.
As a first
step, the Committee recommends for every State to review its legislation and
practices with a view to implementing the strategies and measures recommended.
The Committee of Ministers also recommends the Member States to monitor and
evaluate the progress achieved in ensuring that a gender quality perspective is
incorporated at all levels and stages in the organisation, improvement,
development and evaluation of all educational policies, and to submit reports
to the Committee on the measures undertaken and the progress made in this field
in every country.
The
Committee understands that “despite increased awareness of gender inequalities,
and government’s efforts to achieve equality between men and women, changes has
been slower than expected, and schools are still mainly transmitting the
knowledge, scholarship, values and experience of males in their curricula”.
The
Ministers state that the principle of equality between women and men needs to
be enshrined in laws of education, being a fundamental principle of democratic
citizenship which needs to be specifically addressed in school policies and
curricula. In their view, schools can become instruments of positive change and
are in a unique position in the community to promote gender equality, raising
awareness, correcting misinformation and offering new behaviour modes.
The Recommendation on gender mainstreaming in education is addressed at all relevant political institutions and
public and private bodies and authorities responsible for framing and implementing
education policies at central, regional and local level in the 47 Member States
of the Council of Europe. It is also targeted at school management bodies,
local and regional authorities, trade unions and non-governmental
organisations.
The recommendation
also reminds Member States that preparing girls and women to participate, on an
equal footing, in all aspects of the life of the community, including decision
making, is vital to achieving a truly democratic society and for social
cohesion.
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