Gender Equality in Pescara: the objectives

Gender Equality : from Principle to Empowerment (GEPE) is a project of cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices between schools dealing with the issue of gender equality.

Gender  equality has been a concern of the United Nations and the European Union for years. It is specifically stated in treaties as a fundamental principle and in  agendas as a goal to reach. Each member state is to make sure this principle is respected and still everywhere in Europe, women are fewer than men in political assemblies or boardrooms. They are also the most frequent victims of poverty, precarious and part-time jobs, of unemployment, of domestic violence, of sexual harassment. They have to put up with a pay gap and a glass ceiling and they are not always allowed to make their own decisions as regards pregnancy and abortion. The situation may vary from one country to the next but gender equality cannot be considered as being achieved yet.

So the starting point of the project was the following question: if gender equality is already written in the law, then what is needed to trigger a real change? How can we go from principle to empowerment? 

The inequality between women and men is partly based on a number of stereotypes that are instilled in children through education and that allow inequalities to be perpetuated. So if we can act on these stereotypes, give students an insight into the situation at home and abroad and convince them of the importance of the issue, they may in the future contribute to an evolution in the right direction.

This project is aimed at  high school students in the partner schools but also at adults, teachers, social workers, carreer advisers who work with young people. 

Students and educators are concentrated first on getting a good knowledge of the situation of women both in their country and in Europe. Then they have tried and understood how things work and why. Finally they have been encouraged to imagine ways of fighting gender inequality and go into action. 

We will improve the participants' competences in languages, ICT, collaborating at a European level, project management and therefore  will contribute to their citizenship education and their ability to find work at a local, national and European level.

In the long term the impact of the project should be felt on students behaviour, their choice of study or career, their abitlity to commit themselves on the issue and their desire to go and study or live abroad. It should encourage teachers to change their practice in order to be more attentive to the issue. In due course the reflexion and the tools created should be transferable to others.