The Gender Equality Debate
1.0 Introduction
Globally, there has been a strong case for an increase in gender equality in the economy (Adema, 2014). ‘Work centered women’ have surged into the economic world in greater numbers than before seen in recent decades, and whilst doing this have overtaken men in the higher education statistics (Hakim, 2006). Since learning about the emergence of the ‘gender gap’ in education, as well as the underrepresentation of both genders in several professional sectors, my positionality of the gender equality debate has been re-formed (Van Houtte, 2004; Charles & Grusky, 2004). With this being said, it has come to my attention through taught sessions that inequality issues are prominent in both men and women throughout their educational and professional careers.
The aim of the assignment is to evaluate how the material content and sessions in the module Issues of Equality in Educational Settings have influenced my positionality regarding the equality debate between boys and girls. Admittedly, my views on gender equality previously stood in the women’s favour, being a woman myself and with the ‘victim’ role that women portray within society and media (Wood, 1994), I found the concept of men experiencing equality issues almost unheard of. The topics discussed below, and the reference to session notes and online materials, will conclude why my views have changed and the extent of how it has reformed my position in the gender equality debate.
2.0 Defining Gender
Historically, the terms sex and gender have been used interchangeably. It was not until the 1960’s and 1970’s where a development in the term ‘gender’ was created, with the aim to identify the differences between biological and cultural identities (Bussey & Bandura, 1999). Gender is typically defined as the behavioural, social and psychological characteristics of an individual (Pryzgoda & Chrisler, 2000). Reflecting on session notes (Appendix A), there are two key terms that relate to the social subservience of gender characteristics. The first key term being ‘gender non-conformity’ is when a person exhibits personality or appearance traits that are different to the norm of their gender (Halderman, 2000). The second key term ‘gender-normative’ is conforming to societal norms of how each gender should behave and represent themselves (APA, 2011). These terms are used broadly in the socialisation theory, which believes nurture and cultural surroundings can influence the way in which people are likely to dress, speak and behave (Grusec & Hastings, 2014). Defining the term sex has been straightforward for researchers, as also displayed in the session notes (Appendix B), Rogers (2003) refers to the term ‘sex’ being a biological and physiological difference between men and women. This nature perspective of defining identity applies to biological theories from researchers such as Baron – Cohen (2004) who claims that personality differentiation amongst individuals can be caused due to varying chromosomes.
3.0 Key Topics
The key topics relating to the inequality issues between men and women will be reviewed below with reference to the session discussions and notes, as well as the theoretical and ideological research which has helped draw in various perspectives of the topics.
3.1 Achievement
Before the sessions regarding the gender gap in education, I was oblivious of the increasing difference in attainment between boys and girls. I am confident that if I had not enrolled in the module Issues of Inequality in Educational Settings, I would have never of been enlightened about the progression of inequality in the achievement rates of boys and girls.
In the 1970’s, policy makers were concerned with the underachievement of girls. However, as girls’ attainment rates started to increase, from the 1990’s the attention shifted towards the under-achievement of boys, and by this time the Office for Standards in Education had branded boys as the ‘public burden number one’ (Gorard et al, 2001; Houtte, 2004). The module sessions provided statistics comparing the gender gap in primary schools (see appendix C), it is clear to see that girls consistently attain better in English than boys, especially in KS1 where there is a 14% attainment difference, however the gender gap closes when it comes to subjects such as math’s and science. This transformation in attainment results caused policy makers to question what influences the gender gap in education. Referring back to Baron – Cohen (2004), his work on the empathising-systemising theory (Appendix D), which was brought to my attention in a session, expresses that men and women have different characteristic types which causes them to succeed in different activities. For example, Baron elaborates that females are empathisers, they tend to express themselves through words and emotions more than boys. This means that women develop verbal skills earlier on in life, therefore attaining better grades in English. Whereas men are systemisers, they approach situations systematically and logically with little emotional thought. Consequently, meaning they attain better in systematic subjects such as maths and science. Baron believes that an individual being more systematic or empathetic is a biological result from hormone exposure in the womb, rather than social conditioning. In the same vein, Rich (2000) also approaches the gender gap from a biological perspective. Rich believes that a girls’ prefrontal cortex, the front area of the brain which determines personality traits and decision making (Yang et al, 2009), develops and is active at an earlier age compared to boys’ prefrontal cortex. This early development allows girls to read and write earlier in life as well as being less impulsive with their behaviour and decisions. Unlike Baron-Cohen and Rich, the OECD (2015) argues that the gender gap is caused socially by ‘attitude, behaviour and confidence.’ A study from OECD shows that the gender gap in English is non-existent in some countries amongst teenagers and young adults, which is thought to be due to a change in attitude towards learning as pupils mature and take their education seriously.
Disregarding the biological or social debate regarding underachievement, the question still remains; what can be done to close the gap? In a group we discussed our own ideas of what we think policy makers and educators can do to close the gender gap (Appendix E). Whilst discussing we debated if teacher’s perceptions of pupils’ abilities can be an influencing factor in academic performance. A theory called the Pygmalion Effect, developed by Rosenthal and Jacobson (1968, summarised by Pintrich and Schunk, 1996), is seen as a positive practice in educational sectors. The Pygmalion effect is usually referred to when teachers or influencers believe that a child has the potential to exceed in their academics and therefore shows encouraging behaviour towards the child, educators believe this positive re-enforcement can increase a child’s academic results. With this being said, a study by Chang (2011) found that the anti-Pygmalion-effect had a higher impact on pupil achievement, as he admitted that whilst a teachers’ attitude is important in making pupils motivated, other factors such as test design and student enthusiasm can be a higher risk to academic achievement.
3.2 Dominance
Researchers have claimed many reasons for the gender gap, domination in education has been seen as a contributing factor to the debate. Whilst it is the norm for society to see a dominance of either sex in particular work forces (schools, labouring etc.) people have become de-sensitised to the reasons why.
In 2002, women outnumbered men as primary school teachers 5 to 1 (Skelton, 2002.). The ‘feminisation’ of schooling has a long history, dating back to the first state primary school in 1880, teaching children was always seen as a woman’s job (Skelton, 2001). Whilst the term feminisation has been defined on a statistical level as an occupation that is predominantly made up of women (Bank, 2007), we see more men in senior roles such as head teachers in educational settings than women (Lahlema, 2000). Baron – Cohen (2004) has tried to rationalise why women have dominated the education sector for centuries with his empathising-systemising theory, claiming that women make better teachers as they are empathisers and tend to be more compassionate to children. However, Skelton (2002) claims that women have feminised the pedagogical and ideological approaches to teaching, consequently pushing away male teachers, through learning styles and daily routines that favour females.
The topic of girl oriented teaching was debated in a session when discussing the gender gap, and questions arose regarding the need for an equal curriculum where boys are represented personally but also pedagogically (appendix C). For years, policy makers have suggested the ‘re-masculinisation’ of schools in order to close the gender gap (Jacob, 2002). However, many government initiatives such as the ‘Troops to Teachers’ programme, which launched in 2013, have failed to generate an increase in the rate of male teachers (Tipping, 2013), as in 2017 80.2% of the workforce in schools were still made up of women (DfE, 2016). Whilst the domination of women as teachers is seen as problematic for boys, many researchers argue that increasing the rate of male teachers is not the answer to closing the gender gap. Sabbe (2004) calls the motive of re-masculinising schools contradictory, as on one hand, policy makers claim that male teachers will be positive role models for boys. Whereas on the other hand they are challenging male stereotypes by encouraging them to teach as it will portray them as empathisers rather than systemisers due to nurturing and caring for children in a similar way to women. A study by Carrington, Tymms and Merrell (2008), was uploaded to the Issues of Equality in Education module site for reviewing, having access to this study was beneficial in challenging the points in the session discussion regarding same sex teacher education. However, Carrington et al., finds that whilst the increase of males in teaching can act as a role model for boys, pupil achievement rates did not differ when they were taught by a male. Instead Carrington et al, suggests that policy goals should be to recruit qualified and high quality teachers regardless of their gender in order to maintain fair recruitment processes.
Reviewing the literature and policies regarding the domination of women as teachers has made me wonder if this debate is an argument for arguments sake. Whilst there are positives for encouraging equality in education, I believe that in order to combat the current imbalance in the workforce is to see more women co-operating with men in the higher roles. Doing this will see a change in the stereotypical role that women play in education as caring and nurturing to powerful and professional (David, 2015). Having an equal gender management in schools will diminish stereotypes, consequently making the role more appealable to men who are concerned that the occupation is not ‘masculine’ enough to exceed in.
3.3 Occupation and Discrimination
In 2015, 55% of students in higher education institutions were females (Willetts, 2013), whilst males made up 43% of the student body. These results showed that the gender gap in higher education has increased by 1.7% from 2014, totalling a 11.9% difference in gender enrolments (DfE, 2016). These statistics portray a revelation in women’s education that would have been unlikely in the 1960’s, as even in the 1990’s men were still outnumbering women in universities (David, 2015). Higher Education institutions and government officials claim that they have succeeded in reaching gender equality due to the increase in women becoming students, however they fail to acknowledge the equality issues that women face once leaving higher education and becoming graduates (Bekhradnia, 2009). Despite the increase of women graduates, there is still equality issues regarding the rate of pay and employment for women compared to men once they have graduated. Upon graduating, women can expect to be paid 18% less than men (IFS, 2016). The Department for Education released an analysis of graduate statistics regarding the differences in pay for men and women amongst various professions. Amongst the analysis of the data it was clear to see that the pay gap is still drastic, especially in the business and law sectors, despite men and women being equally qualified/educated (DfE, 2017).
In 1975 the government introduced The Equal Pay Act (1975), in the module sessions we were educated on why the pay gap was introduced and discussed if it had made a difference that was ‘enough’ to be satisfactory. The Equal Pay Act (1975) was introduced in an attempt to close the pay gap between men and women, which previously sat at a 30% difference in wages (Harkness, 1996). In our session we discussed the intersecting influences that can prevent women’s income being equal to their male counterparts (see Appendix F) such as race, motherhood and social class. As a group we concluded that women face discrimination in the sense that they are expected to be less flexible with hours once becoming parents compared to men, and this therefore results in highly educated women in job roles where they do not fulfil their full potential (UNESCO, 2012). On the other hand, The Preference Theory (Hakim, 2003), predicts and explains the factors that influence women to balance a work and family life and can often show justification for the occupation and pay gap. Hakim (2003) reasons that men are more likely to carry on succeeding professionally over women in the 21st century as they generally try harder to be promoted and increase their pay, she argues that women are more likely to ask for part time hours to balance a family life whereas men will be asking for promotions. However, Hakim (2003) has faced criticism regarding the theory, researchers such as Leahy et al., (2014) branded the theory stereotypical and argues that it fails to consider the women who make conscious decisions to pursue their careers to the fullest.
Many organisations are trying to increase their intake of women employee’s through positive discrimination. The term positive discrimination, also known as affirmative action, is an attempt from employers to provide opportunities and jobs for groups who typically experience discrimination (Pace & Smith, 1995). This concept of employers purposefully hiring women in an attempt to portray an image of equality was introduced to me through my lecturer, as we discussed how members of parliament have introduced a report with the aim for 25% of all company directors to be women by 2015, compared to the 12.5% of women directors in 2011 (Humbert, 2017). Despite major criticism of this report, in 2016 women made up 26.1% of directors within companies in the UK (Deloitte, 2016). With this being said, a diverse perspective of affirmative action within employment can be referred back to the government initiative programmes discussed previously, that were arranged to encourage men to apply for teaching jobs in order for schools to gain a balance in their gender work force.
4.0 Personal Reflection
As stated in the introduction, at the beginning of the Issues of Equality in Educational Settings module, my positionality in the gender debate stood firmly in the women’s favour, as I was unaware that both men and women faced inequality issues at a time in both their personal and professional life time. Previously I was completely unaware of the gender gap in education, as when discussing equality in education my thought would refer back to how women had to fight for the right to be educated, as it was less than 100 years ago when women were unable to enrol in full time study at Cambridge university (Roach, 1959). However, after learning about the gender gap in education, my perception of the under-represented gender shifted towards the men, as the research included above by Skelton (2002) emphasises that primary schools have a feminine approach and ethos which may struggle to meet the masculine needs of boys. In regards to the topic of gender dominance, if someone was to mention the dominant gender in work I would think of how women struggle to climb the career ladder due to the perception they won’t work as hard or as often as men. However, with reference to domination in education women are controlling the field. As mentioned above, in 2002 1 out of 5 teachers are women and this links in with the argument that girls are overtaking boys in education due to the over-representation of women in schools. With this being said, women are still facing discrimination in regards to their pay. Whilst I was always aware of the gender pay gay, I wasn’t educated on the extent until the session slides (Appendix G), as I researched further into this I became aware that women are paid much less than men in certain job sectors straight out of higher education. All in all, whilst my positionality in the gender debate has been reformed from the favour of women. I would say that my new position sits in the middle of the genders, as the Issues of Inequality in Educational Settings has increased my awareness that it is not only women who are victims of equality issues, it is the case that women have had to fight harder and longer to be seen as equal to men, a fight that is long ongoing.
5.0 The Potential Influence of My Views
I believe my new position in the gender debate can be influential in determining practices and awareness in educational settings. In regards to the gender gap in education, my new understanding for the need of boys to have an environment that is also adaptable to their form of learning, as biological research shows that boys attain better when given systematic and logical tasks, I would propose that classroom activities should be adapted to suit both verbal and logical learners. When it comes to the dominance of women in education, and the pressing need for more male teachers, I briefly discussed above the need for the perception of schools to be seen as an environment for both males and females. Government initiatives have failed to increase the rate of male teachers as they have overlooked the need for a new image regarding schools. My new position can influence a change in the image of schools, we need more women in the higher roles alongside men, this will portray an image of equality. When it comes the pay gap, my views haven’t changed as drastically as the previous topics. The issue of the pay gap between genders need to be addressed as soon as possible, universities and higher education institutions need to be addressing the issue of the pay gay and raising awareness to graduates so women know how to confront the issue if needed. Whilst the pay gap has closed to an extent as mentioned above, my position in the issue would encourage me to influence graduate schemes to act accordingly with the Equal Pay Act 1975, I believe if graduate schemes adopt this, other institutions will follow suit and give men and women who are educated in the same job field an equal start to their professional careers.
6.0 Conclusion
What I have come to learn through the module is that whilst each gender has their own inequality issues to overcome, individuals cannot accept limitation because of their gender. Humans’ personalities, interests and abilities are not only determined by sex and gender, but the subconscious response to a surrounding environment. What I have come to question, after learning from the session notes, above literature and research, and my own development in values and perception, is the gender debate an issue of inequality or an issue of power?