Life Orientation:

Common Assessment Task

Question 4
Gender Inequality in Educational Systems

Gender inequality, a broad, abstract, and often vague idea, is one of the greatest enigmas of
modern society and has been a ubiquitous characteristic of societies for millennia. Gender
Inequality is the social process by which men and women are not treated equally. The
treatment may arise from distinctions regarding biology, psychology, or cultural norms
prevalent in a society. Some of these distinctions are empirically grounded while others
appear to be socially constructed.

On average, males are better positioned in social, economic, and political hierarchies.
However, as noted in the consultation on the Post-2015 Development Agenda, gender
equality is not about transferring opportunities from men to women, but about realising the
rights of everyone, and creating conditions where both males and females, all have the right
and the ability to realise their full human potential.

Females have been discriminated against in terms of various aspects as compared to their
male counterparts. The primary aspect in terms of gender inequality has been experienced
is in educational institutions. The major factors that contribute to education gaps are the
following:

Child Labour

Females often stay home to take care of younger siblings and bear the main burden of
housework. Many girls begin working as early as five years old - mainly in agriculture or in
homes as domestic servants. Child domestic workers are particularly vulnerable to
trafficking, forced labour, sexual violence and many health issues. There are more than 168
million child labourers - 11% of all children in the world - who are working instead of
learning.

Early- marriages

Too often marriage is seen as a higher priority than education. Boys can be affected too, but
majority of victims are girls. It is estimated that every year 15 million girls are married
before they turn 18. Before or after their wedding they leave the education system and,
because they have fewer educational skills, they and their families are more likely to live in
poverty.
Pregnancy

Females who are pregnant - regardless of their circumstances - will be excluded from school.
Many do not return after giving birth due to those rules, stigma, fees, lack of childcare and
the unavailability of flexible school programs. About 16 million girls aged 15 to 19 and some
one million girls under 15 give birth every year—most in low- and middle-income countries,
according to the WHO.

Lack of Funding

Education for girls is often the lowest budget priority in many countries. Often male siblings
will be given the chance to attend school instead. But educating girls and young women
increases a country's productivity and contributes to economic growth. Some countries lose
more than $1 billion a year by failing to educate girls to the same level as boys.

Poor Sanitation

For many students, it’s not as easy as raising one’s hand and asking to go to the toilet. Many
girls - particularly adolescents who are menstruating - don't go to school due to a lack of
privacy, unavailability of sanitary disposal facilities or water shortages. Girls can miss up to
five days of school per month or stop going to school entirely due to insufficient access to
water and hygiene facilities, no separate toilets for girls and a lack of sanitary supplies.

Violence at School

An estimated 246 million girls and boys are harassed and abused on their way to and at
school every year - with girls particularly vulnerable. In Africa, half of all children said they
had been bullied at school. 18 million girls aged 15 to 19 are victims of sexual violence -
often leading to school dropout and reinforcing cultural practices such as early marriage.

Each of the above issues contribute greatly to gender inequality in educational institutions.
According to a UNICEF study, 132 million girls are out of school, including 34.3 million of
primary school age, 30 million of lower-secondary school age, and 67.4 million of upper-
secondary school age. Millions more are fighting to remain at school. As a girl grows older,
the fight to get an education becomes even harder.

Gender inequality, both in general as well as in educational systems, remains to be fixed.

Although gender inequality in educational systems has reduced over the last 70 years, a full
and equal participation of women in society and equal leadership and educational
opportunities, remain a distant dream. This is due to the following challenges:
Lack of finance:

The high cost of education prevents the most marginalised individuals, females, from
receiving an education. With a lack of sufficient funding, school systems are unable to equip
students with the skills and knowledge to comprehend and fulfil their full potential and
prepare them for the jobs of their future. Current donor funding for education, fails to meet
the financing goals required to meet global targets. Research reveals that these funds are
not targeting the correct countries and is unsuccessful in adequately promoting gender
equality in education. Just 10% of global education aid goes to the 10 countries with
greatest girls’ education challenges, and less than 40% of aid aims to promote gender
equality in education.

Lack of sanitation facilities in schools:

Nearly half the world's schools lack clean drinking water, toilets and handwashing facilities,
putting millions of children at risk of disease, and even death. Adolescent girls in particular,
are often forced to miss classes when they are on their periods if there are no proper
cleaning and sanitation facilities. More than a third of girls in South Asia miss school during
their periods, often because they lack access to toilets or pads, according to a WaterAid and
UNICEF study earlier this year.

Sexual violence and discrimination and a lack of security in schools:

Many schools and school districts have performed poor assessments of their school safety
as it relates to everyday management of the schools. Schools may have security audits
performed which focus on physical security such as cameras and emergency plans. These
audits do not address classroom management, sub-cultural groups, educational objectives,
special education, negative behavior cliques and sexual issues. School environments must
be analyzed from an educator's perspective.

A tradition and culture of not valuing girl’s education.

These challenges limit the equal treatment of males and females within the educational
system as well as the benefits of educated females. A study showed that girls’ education
strengthens economies and creates jobs. Millions of educated girls, means more working
women with the potential to add up to $12 trillion USD to global growth. An educated
female population increases a country's productivity and fuels economic growth. Moreover,
Investing in girls’ education is good for the planet. The Brookings Institution calls secondary
schooling for girls the most cost-effective and best investment against climate change.

In order to be on the path of combating gender inequality within education, steps need to
be taken or investments into NGO’s need to be made.

The following amazing investment opportunities in NGO’s can be invested in:

Siyasizana Foundation

Established in 2017, the Siyasizana Foundation’s structure of projects are focused on

health, personal care, hygiene, education and fun. The Foundation believes in
balance and assigning equal importance to various aspects in life in order to achieve
a well-rounded and healthy life.

One of their many successful projects was the pad drive. “The need for menstrual
hygiene products is one that burdens us all as the fight for cheaper and more
accessible menstrual products continues. Help us help those in need by donating
pads, tampons etc.”

i- Lead:

“In order to help the most vulnerable within our communities achieve independence,
we facilitate Educational and Financial empowerment opportunities for candidates.”
i-LEAD is a defence system built for women and children and caters to real life
dangers and threat scenarios, free of charge. “It is our firm belief that you should feel
safe as you go about your daily life.” Their goal is to prepare one mentally and
physically so that if one encounters a dangerous situation, he/she are able to get to
safety.

Action Plan
4.2. Steps required to initiate change in this area:

1. Contact the principals and community leaders within one’s area and unite with one
another to strive for change and ultimately, to make a visible and tangible impact.
Leaders who already have influence within a community will be more likely to spark
change.
2. Applaud schools to hire more female staff members to create an environment where
young girls feel more secure and comfortable to learn and grow in. Schools should
also be encouraged to have powerful and successful female guest speakers to
provide young girls with excellent role models, who prove that education is possible
for women.

3. Habituate educators about gender bias. Educators should remain vigilant of gender
bias, whether between students, amongst colleagues or even in textbooks and
should be trained with the necessary tools and skills to deal and combat the
discrimination if a situation were to arise.

4. Students must be educated about the severity of Gender Based violence. Increased
awareness will serve to lower issues of violence that prevent girls from attending
schools. Moreover, female students should be taught practical skills, such as a first
aid course and self-defense lessons, which will improve young girls ability to fend for
themselves and help them feel safer.
References
 Theirworld. 2021. 13 reasons why girls are not in school on International Day of the
Girl Child. [online] Available at: <https://theirworld.org/news/13-reasons-why-girls-
are-not-in-school> [Accessed 23 May 2021].
 Unicef.org. 2021. Gender equality. [online] Available at:
<https://www.unicef.org/gender-equality> [Accessed 24 May 2021].
 Kapur, R., 2021. (PDF) Gender Inequality in Education. [online] ResearchGate.
Available at:
<https://www.researchgate.net/publication/334162862_Gender_Inequality_in_Educ
ation> [Accessed 25 May 2021].
 iLead Self Defense. 2021. Home - iLead Self Defense. [online] Available at: <https://i-
lead.org.za/> [Accessed 25 May 2021].
 Siyasizanafoundation.org.za. 2021. Siyasizana Foundation. [online] Available at:
<https://www.siyasizanafoundation.org.za/> [Accessed 24 May 2021].