Women’s equality in the UK – A health check

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10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 Article 10: Education and skills Throughout this report ‘young women’ refers to over 18s but under Article 10 there is information on girls in school and education policies for under 18s as this has been included by the Government and has impacts on women’s later life. However, cuts to education services also impact disproportionately on women as carers (See Article 13 and Appendix: 18 for further information) and depriving people of education is a way of marginalising minorities. For example, the loss of the Educational Maintenance Allowance (EMA) and student grants will further disadvantage already marginalised women. More than half of schools in England are facing cuts to their budgets 1 with 60% of primary students and 87% of secondary students facing a real-terms cut in funding. 2 The cuts to education budgets have led to cuts in services in schools for children with special needs or mental health problems. 3 These cuts have an impact on the women who are the mothers of these children, since mothers are more likely to be the primary carers and therefore be the parents responsible for trying to get additional help, taking children to appointments, appealing against decisions and so on. Women make up 73% of applications for legal aid in education-related cases. 4 It is a commonly held belief that girls now outperform boys in education, and that it is boys’ underachievement and overrepresentation amongst official school exclusion statistics that should be the top educational priority. This picture does not reflect the reality of many girls’ and young women’s lives, however, many of whom do not achieve in school, are steered into genderstereotyped careers with few prospects, disengage at a young age, or are allowed to drift out of education without appropriate support or alternative provision. 5 The White Paper The Government’s 7th Periodic Report 6 references the fact that it has published ‘a radical reform programme’ for teachers and schools in its 2010 White Paper, The Importance of Teaching. 7 The Government claims that this draws on evidence from the world’s best education systems, aiming to enable teachers to drive school improvement. In fact, the White Paper was entirely silent about gender and education. It contained no analysis about the role of education in challenging gender stereotypes and offered no solutions to discrimination against women in UK society. Beyond the omission of gender and education, the contents of the White Paper have required schools and teachers to focus on attainment and results to a degree which militates against time and space for a focus on other outcomes. 1. Richardson, H. (2011) ‘Half of schools see budget cuts, survey suggests’, BBC News Education and Family, 10th May 2011, http://www.bbc. co.uk/news/education-13346238 2. National Union of Teachers (2011) What Teachers Need to Know about the Cuts. NUT: London http://www.teachers.org.uk/files/the-cuts- 12pp-a5-7320.pdf 3. BBC News (2011) ‘Special needs support promises more parent power’, BBC News Education and Family, 10th March 2011 http://www.bbc. co.uk/news/education-12677259 4. Stephenson, M. (2011) TUC Women and the Cuts Toolkit: How to carry out a human rights and equality impact assessment of the spending cuts on women. TUC: London http://www.tuc.org.uk/equality/tuc-20286-f0.cfm 5. For more on this please see the introductory chapter in Jackson, C. et al (2010) Girls and Education: Continuing concerns, new agendas. Open University Press: Maidenhead 6. Government Equalities Office (2011) CEDAW (Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women) report. United Kingdom’s Seventh Periodic Report. GEO: London http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/equalities/international-equality/7thcedaw-report?view=Binary 7. Department for Education (2012) The Importance of Teaching: Schools White Paper http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/ toolsandinitiatives/schoolswhitepaper/b0068570/the-importance-of-teaching 84 Women’s equality in the UK: CEDAW shadow report 2013
10.5 10.6 10.7 10.8 10.9 The Education Act 2011 In the 7th Periodic Report, it is acknowledged that the latest Education Act 8 did not specifically legislate to implement gender equality policies. The Government fails to recognise that education can provide a crucial means of preventing the attitudes and behaviour that leads to discrimination against women in society. The Government has, so far, failed to pay due regard to the impact of its education reforms on women and girls. The 2011 Girls’ Attitudes Survey by the Girl Guides found that “recent changes in education funding have had a major impact on girls’ attitudes to Higher Education and careers. Concern about the cost of college or university, and being able to find a job, is placing increasing pressure on them at secondary school.” 9 Careers advice and gender stereotypes One of the key recommendations from the Women and Work Commission set up in 2004 to look at the wide-ranging influences on the gender pay gap, was that the Department for Education (DfE) and relevant Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland departments should draw up national guidance for teachers and Early Years childcare workers on how to ensure that the horizons of children in the three to five age group are not limited by stereotypes of what boys and girls can do. (See Appendix: 25) There has been no progress made on this recommendation since the Women and Work Commission reported in 2006. 10 The Commission further recommended that the DfE and relevant Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland departments should ensure that teacher training emphasises the need to challenge gender stereotypes, both in delivery of careers education and in subject teaching, and that it allows for a work placement for all trainee teachers including observing workers in non-traditional occupations. Similarly, there has been no progress in relation to this recommendation. As stated in the Government’s report, 11 the Education Act places schools under a duty to secure access to independent careers guidance. 12 However neither the report nor the Act refers specifically to ensuring that gender stereotypes are actively challenged by this independent service. A narrow range of gender-stereotypical work placements tends to dominate young women’s choices, and many have limited knowledge of how choices about courses and careers influence pay and progression routes. 13 (See Article 11) It is essential that pupils are given full information about how the courses and careers they choose are likely to impact on their longterm earnings, and to do this, careers advisors must receive training on challenging gender stereotypes. (See Article 5 for more information) 8. Education Act 2011 http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2011/21/contents/enacted 9. Girlguiding (2011) ‘Press release: Third Girl’s Attitudes Survey highlights UK Girl’s Views’, 25th October 2011 http://www.girlguiding.org.uk/ system_pages/small_navigation/press_office/latest_press_releases/third_girls_attitudes_survey.aspx 10. Women and Work Commission (2006) Shaping a Fairer Future http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/bsp/hi/pdfs/27_02_06_wwc_paygap.pdf 11. Government Equalities Office (2011) CEDAW (Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women) report. United Kingdom’s Seventh Periodic Report. GEO: London http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/equalities/international-equality/7thcedaw-report?view=Binary Paragraph 134 12. Government Equalities Office (2011) CEDAW (Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women) report. United Kingdom’s Seventh Periodic Report. GEO: London http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/equalities/international-equality/7thcedaw-report?view=Binary Paragraph 134 13. Ofsted (2011) Girls’ career aspirations http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/resources/girls-career-aspirations; and Equality and Human Rights Commission (2011) The Equality Duties and Schools: Lessons for the future, Equality and Human Rights Commission Policy paper for England, June 2011. http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/uploaded_files/EqualityAct/PSED/equality_duties_and_schools_policy_paper. pdf Women’s equality in the UK: CEDAW shadow report 2013 85
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Women’s equality in the UK - A he
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Women’s equality in the UK - A he
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Appendices (online only) Appendix 1
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• the continued discrimination ag
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• Develop a common model of analy
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Article 9 - Nationality: One third
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investment in social infrastructure
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and increase the marginalisation of
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have been no prosecutions in Englan
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1 2 3 4 5 Introduction This is a Un
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10 11 12 13 housing crisis, a ‘lo
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1.1 1.2 1.3 Article 1 - Overarching
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1.7 1.8 1.9 1.10 1.11 1.12 Women’
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1.17 1.18 1.19 Young women We are a
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2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 consult to “remov
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2.12 2.13 discrimination”. Howeve
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Page 35 and 36: 2.26 2.27 2.28 2.29 CEDAW and the l
Page 37 and 38: 3.7 3.8 3.9 3.10 would “increase
Page 39 and 40: 3.15 3.16 3.17 and accountable EHRC
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Page 63 and 64: 7.7 7.8 7.9 7.10 The House of Lords
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Page 75 and 76: 9.21 9.22 9.23 9.24 women. 47 (See
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13.25 13.26 13.27 13.28 because in
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13.32 13.33 Case study: 57 “As a
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13.36 13.37 allocation of resources
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13.41 13.42 Homelessness, including
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13.47 13.48 BME women would be left
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13.52 13.53 13.54 13.55 with some l
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13.60 13.61 13.62 effect to their p
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14.6 14.7 14.8 disabled and lesbian
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14.14 Gypsy and Traveller women suf
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15.6 15.7 15.8 15.9 15.10 15.11 The
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15.14 15.15 15.16 purport to be vic
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15.21 15.22 15.23 Case study: 35
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15.28 15.29 15.30 15.31 has not pro
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15.35 15.36 behaviour by male priso
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16.5 16.6 people being forced into
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16.10 16.11 16.12 16.13 16.14 16.15
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16.21 16.22 frequently women’s ac
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Recommendations: • Parents with c
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19.6 19.7 19.8 as well as for our c
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19.13 19.14 19.15 19.16 The Governm
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19.22 19.23 19.24 19.25 VAWG is a c
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19.30 19.31 19.32 19.33 DV is still
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19.38 19.39 19.40 perpetrators thro
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19.43 19.44 19.45 Support for victi
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19.49 19.50 19.51 19.52 Recommendat
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19.57 19.58 19.59 19.60 BMER VAWG p
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19.62 19.63 19.64 19.65 VAWG in hea
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19.70 19.71 19.72 Invisibility of s
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19.77 19.78 19.79 A number of repor
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19.85 19.86 means more provision. T
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Annex 1: The Devolved Administratio
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to 41.8% of rural men. 16 Rural are
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Annex 2: The UK’s relationship wi
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Annex 3: UK reservations and declar
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ESA - Employment and Support Allowa
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Annex 5: Acknowledgements Many than
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Women’s Resource Centre is suppor
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