“There is no power for change greater than a community discovering what it cares about.”
Margaret J. Wheatley
The goal of ending sexism in schools is not going to be achieved easily or quickly – and it certainly won’t be achieved by us alone. Below are a selection of other fabulous organisations of all shapes and sizes, that are also doing fantastic work in helping make education a gender equal experience for all students. Click on an image to visit the organisation’s website.
Bold Voices:
Bold Voices was founded on the belief that all young people have the right to receive an education free from gender inequality and gendered violence. This organisation seeks to empower young people to recognise and tackle these inequalities through in-school workshops and CPDs for educators.
EqualiTeach:
EqualiTeach is a not-for-profit provider of equality and diversity training and consultancy services for businesses, local authorities, schools and education settings. They travel throughout the UK to provide on-site training, workshops and consultancy services. They also provide remote consultancy, online training, e-learning and resources that are available to download from their website.
Diverse Educators:
#DiverseEd has moved from being a grassroots network to Diverse Educators Ltd. They are a training company committed to moving the agenda forwards regarding Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in our school system. They work with state schools, independent schools and international schools to support them with their DEI strategy and their DEI training needs. They believe that we are stronger, and that we can go further together, in collaboration.
UK Feminista:
UK Feminista is dedicated to supporting people and organisations to take action and create lasting change. UK Feminista works to end sexism in schools – including sexual harassment, sexist language and gender stereotyping. They conduct research, deliver training for teachers, and provide resources for schools. They work with survivors, policy makers and practitioners to combat commercial sexual exploitation and also provide the Secretariat for the UK Parliament’s All-Party Parliamentary Group on Commercial Sexual Exploitation.
Let Clothes Be Clothes:
Let Clothes Be Clothes is a grassroots campaign set up in 2014 to challenge gender stereotyping in the design and marketing of children’s clothing, footwear and accessories. Led by writer Francesca Mallen, LCBC promotes consumer choice by challenging the widespread practice of gender-coding products into ‘for girls’ and ‘for boys’, which exploits outdated ideas about gender roles and perpetuates inequality. They work with schools and parents/carers to revisit uniform policies and advocate a gender-neutral approach based on trousers, shorts, skirts and dresses for all pupils.
Gender Action:
The gender imbalance in students’ subject choices in education is one manifestation of continuing gender bias in society. Gender Action believe that it is only by tackling gender inequality at the whole-school level that a fundamental shift is possible. The Gender Action award programme promotes and supports a whole-school approach to challenging stereotypes, with tiered progression levels that put gender equality at the heart of policy and practice. Their framework supports teachers and schools, practitioners and nurseries, across the UK and Ireland, to create a level playing field, with individuals working together for lasting cultural change.
Lifting Limits:
Lifting Limits provides schools with everything they need to challenge gender stereotypes. Their whole-school approach integrates gender equality into the school curriculum, ethos and routines: equipping staff and pupils to recognise, discuss and challenge stereotypes and inequalities wherever they find them. The positive effects of a PSHE (Personal, Social, Health & Economic) lesson about gender stereotypes, for example, can be easily undone when a PE teacher tells a child to “man up” or “you run like a girl”, or a topic on explorers or inventors teaches only men (mostly white men) – all examples we have seen in practice in schools, without any sexist intent on the part of teachers. A whole school approach involves a school’s ethos, routines and practices.
Let Toys Be Toys:
Let Toys Be Toys is asking the toy and publishing industries to stop limiting children’s interests by promoting some toys and books as only suitable for girls, and others only for boys. Their award-winning campaign has been successful in persuading most major UK toy retailers to drop ‘girls’ and ‘boys’ signs in store and in website navigation to let children have the freedom to choose what they want to play with, free from gender stereotypes. Their Let Books Be Books initiative has achieved similar success, with 11 children’s UK book publishers, including Usborne, Penguin Random House, and Hachette agreeing to phase out gendered titles