Gender Equity: A Framework for Australian Schools
1997 Gender Equity Taskforce for the Ministerial Council on Education, Employment,
Training and Youth Affairs
Principles for action:
- Equitable access to an effective and rewarding education, which is enhanced
rather than limited by definitions of what it means to be female and male,
should be provided to all girls and boys.
- Girls and boys should be equipped to participate actively in a contemporary
society which is characterised by changing patterns of working, civic and
domestic life.
- Schools should be places in which girls and boys feel safe, are safe,
and where they are respected and valued.
- Schools should acknowledge their active role in the construction of gender,
and their responsibility to ensure that all organisational and management
practices reflect commitment to gender equity.
- Understandings of gender construction should include knowledge about
the relationship of gender to other factors, including socioeconomic status,
cultural background, rural/urban location, disability and sexuality.
- Understanding and accepting that there are many ways of being masculine
and feminine will assist all students to reach their full potential.
- Effective partnerships between schools, education and training systems,
parents, the community, and a range of other agencies and organisations
will contribute to improvement and change in educational outcomes for girls
and boys.
- Intervention programs and processes should be targeted towards increasing
options, levels of participation and outcomes of schooling for girls and
boys.
- Anti-discrimination and other relevant legislation at state, territory,
federal and international levels should inform educational programs and
services.
- Continuous monitoring of educational outcomes and program review should
inform and enhance decisions on the development, resourcing and delivery
of effective and rewarding education for girls and boys.
Strategic directions:
- understanding the process of gender construction
- curriculum, teaching and learning
- violence and school culture
- post-school pathways
- supporting change
View the complete Gender
Equity Framework.
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