Education and training

Engender Parliamentary Briefing: An Implementation Plan for Economic Recovery

Aug 12, 2020: This is an Engender briefing for MSPs ahead of the Scottish Government debate on an Implementation Plan for Economic Recovery on 11th Agust 2020. Over the past six months Engender has sought to highlight the multitude of ways in which Covid-19 and our response to it will impact on women’s lives, rights and equality with men. We are especially cognisant of the mounting evidence around women’s rising economic inequality due to the pandemic and national and devolved response planning.

This parliamentary briefing calls on Scottish Government to go further to ensure that economic recovery also closes the gap between women and men. We urge Scottish Government to scale up its ambition and the necessary action to deliver a meaningful economic (and social) recovery for women that not only responds to the threat of deeper inequality as a result of Covid-19 but actively realises women’s economic rights and revalues women’s work.

Date of publication: August 2020.

Engender Briefing: Pension Credit Entitlement Changes

Apr 2, 2019: From 15 May 2019, new changes will be introduced which will require couples where one partner has reached state pension age and one has not (‘mixed age couples’) to claim universal credit (UC) instead of Pension Credit. Engender is concerned that the rule changes have attracted little attention and no gender analysis.

Date of publication: April 2019.

GUEST POST: Notes from the classroom - Prevention work in the Highlands

Blog – Feb 12, 2019

Guest post: Period shaming is a serious problem

Blog – Dec 15, 2017

Gender equality and the Sustainable Development Goals

Blog – Dec 14, 2017

Summary of 'Gendering Scotland’s Employability Pipeline' Roundtable

Aug 24, 2017: As part of the Building Equality project, Engender and Scottish Women’s Aid brought together a small number of gender and employability specialists to discuss Scotland’s employability services and some of the limitations of the employability pipeline, particularly when it comes to engaging with and responding to the different experiences and needs of women.

Date of publication: August 2017.

Summary of 'Gender Matters in Education' Roundtable

Feb 24, 2017: As part of developing our Gender Matters Roadmap, in December 2016 Engender held a roundtable to discuss gendered education strategies for Scotland. The roundtable brought together a small group of expert participants and practitioners to think creatively about some of the gender equality challenges in the Scottish school system, and to collaboratively develop specific policy measures.

Key themes that emerged from the discussion included:

• Addressing a pervasive culture of misogyny and harassment in schools and countering gender stereotyping
• Addressing gender equality and violence against women and girls in teacher training
• The need to look at school strategy, leadership, aims and management through a gendered lens and the importance of taking a ‘whole school’ approach
• The need for better data gathering on incidents of sexism and misogyny in schools, and better reporting frameworks on progressing gender equality

Date of publication: February 2017.

Engender Submission to the Scottish Parliament Equalities and Human Rights Committee on Bullying and Harassment of Young People

Feb 15, 2017: Engender welcomes this opportunity to submit our views to the Equalities and Human Rights Committee on bullying and harassment of children and young people, with a particular focus on sexism, sexual harassment and gender inequalities in the school system.

Sexist bullying and sexual harassment undermine the dignity and safety of girls and young women, negatively impacting on their views of themselves and their experience of and attainment in education. Sexist bullying and misogynistic behaviours and attitudes within schools also contribute to a culture that sustains and amplifies gender segregation and gender stereotyping, limiting equal opportunities and creating a conducive context for violence against women and girls in society as a whole.

Date of publication: October 2016.

Guest Post: Pioneering Women’s Education in Scotland

Blog – Sep 22, 2016

Engender Parliamentary Briefing: Scottish Government Gender and the Workplace Debate

Jun 29, 2016: A parliamentary briefing ahead of the debate on Women and the workplace in the Scottish Parliament on June 29th.

Date of publication: June 2016.

Unblocking the Pipeline: Gender and Employability in Scotland

Apr 14, 2016: This paper represents Engender’s first thoughts on the challenge of gendering employability. It sets out the gendered context in which employability policy and programmes must operate. It briefly describes the ways in which women’s experiences of the labour market, of education and skills, and of social security are different. It then raises some specific issues about how employability work in Scotland is developing, before finally making some recommendations on how this could be better gendered.

Date of publication: March 2016.

Engender Submission to the Equal Opportunities Committee Inquiry on Race, Ethnicity and Employment

Jul 16, 2015: Engender's submission to the Equal Opportunities Committee inquiry on race, ethnicity and employment. Women’s disadvantage within the labour market is a key manifestation of gender inequality. Within this, women from black and minority ethnic (BME) communities face particular discrimination and challenges in accessing paid work.

Date of publication: July 2015.

Engender Parliamentary Briefing: Increasing Opportunities for Women Debate 2014

Aug 20, 2014: A briefing paper for MSPs in advance of the Scottish Government debate on increasing opportunities for women in the Scottish Parliament on 20 August 2014.

Date of publication: August 2014.

Scotland’s Futures: Women and the Labour Market

Jul 24, 2014: This briefing is part of a series that sets out how power and responsibility to tackle critical gender equality issues are divided between Holyrood and Westminster. It is part of Engender’s contribution to the independence referendum debate.

Date of publication: July 2014.

Scottish Labour's 'red paper'

Blog – Mar 28, 2014

Gender Audit Series: Education & Training

Mar 5, 2014: A summary and discussion of the implications of data from the Gender Audit of Statistics [Breitenbach,E. and Wasoff, F. Scottish Executive Social Research 2007] relating to care and caring prepared by S. Macpherson, Engender Associate and E. Thomson.