Gender Action Teacher Launch Event Overview

Professor Becky Francis, Director of UCL Institute of Education, speaking about her research as keynote speaker

Participants at the event also took part in workshops and evaluation sessions, to provide them with tools and methods to challenge sexism and gender inequality in their schools and settings, and to get them signed up to the programme. These workshops looked at issues such as the use of gendered language or gender segregation of roles in the classroom, to how to use data to identify problem areas at your school and track progress.

Excited to be having @LetToysBeToys, @LiftingLimitsUK, @charlottecarso1, @DEC_SY, Improving Gender Balance Officers from @PhysicsNews and Glyn Hawke from @Ryeoakprimary facilitating workshops at our #GenderAction launch event this Saturday https://t.co/1oU4t96Gcp pic.twitter.com/ZJCRtTVmc9

— Gender Action Schools Award (@_Gender_Action) February 6, 2019

On Saturday 9 February, we successfully launched Gender Action with teachers at City Hall.

The launch event opened with a keynote from the Director of UCL Institute of Education, Professor Becky Francis, who spoke about her extensive research in the field of gender and education. She highlighted the importance of considering intersectionality when trying to tackle gender stereotypes – considering how issues of gender intersect with issues around other forms of identity such as race, class and religion.

The panel discussed a variety of issues across gender and education, including:

·        How boys continue to dominate classrooms

·        The prevalence of sexist bullying

·        The positive inclusion of having men working in early years

·        Conducting action research within your classroom

·        Challenging your own biases

·        Gender stereotypes as a drag on progress in gender equality

🤩So excited to hear from all of our panellists at the #GenderAction launch this Saturday! @annamcole @MaryBoustedNEU @JuneOSullivan @Samsmethers @MrPranPatel and @ViviennePorritt 🎉 pic.twitter.com/e8ijkvNMlK

— Gender Action Schools Award (@_Gender_Action) February 7, 2019

We also set out how the award programme works, including the focus areas for the Champion award, which show examples of changes you could make in your school or setting, and how to evidence them.

The day ended with a reception in the London Living Room at the top of City Hall overlooking the city and the river.

Some of our contributors from the day will also be sharing some of their insights on this blog, so keep following us on Twitter to stay up to date with our content. You can see some of the conversations we had at the event by following the #GenderAction and checking out our event Twitter Moment below.

Gender Action Launch Event