GAD Orientation for

Gender Responsive Schools

Marita Castillo Pimentel
Member, National GAD Resource Pool
Philippine Commission on Women
Linking the sessions
• school should uphold the
rights of each and
everyone by being
Structures and
processes gender responsive.
• school should be a vessel
Senior High
School
to minimize if not totally
eradicate discrimination
Rights of Rights and
learners and responsibilities
stakeholders of teachers
 Rationale for GAD
• 5% GAD Budget,
• COA Audit
Observation Memo
(AOM)
• International :
• CEDAW,
• Millennium Dev. Goals (MDGs) now
Sustainable Dev. Goals (SDGs)
• National :
• PH Constitution
• Women in Dev. Act, Magna Carta of
Women
• MTDP, PPGRD, Women’s EDGE
• Gender equality
• quality, equitable, culture-
based, and complete basic
education
• Inclusive Growth,
• Good Governance
3
• National Development
DEVELOPMENT
• The object of development is to enable everyone to attain a better
quality of life.
• Better quality of life means that women and men have the
• capacity to do
• i.e. to be able to enjoy satisfying and productive work, live in a clean and wholesome
environment, and pursue one’s interests
• capacity to be
• to be well-nourished, knowledgeable and skilled, confident of one’s abilities and
accomplishments, among others)
 DEVELOPMENT
Development should thus
• Development aims • increase the availability and
at the fulfillment of widen the distribution of basic
three basic human life-sustaining goods such as
needs: food, shelter and medical care;
• raise levels of living not only in
• the ability to terms of increased income but
provide for basic also better education and
necessities; greater attention to humanistic
• the ability to and cultural values that enhance
become persons self-esteem; and
• expand the range of social and
with identity,
economic choices of individuals
dignity and self-
by freeing them from servitude
esteem; and and dependence not only in
• the exercise of relation to other people but also
freedom and from the forces of ignorance and
responsibility. human misery.
 Sex GENDER
• Bio-physiological • Socio-psychological
• Universal • Culture-bound

• Relatively fixed • Inter-changeable/changing

• Categorized as male or • Categorized as feminine or

female masculine

• Attributes are equally • Attributes are marked by

valued inequality
Sensitization: 5 steps to feel YOU
1. Hold hands with your seatmates
2. Tell your seatmate on your left how her/his
hand feels like.
3. Tell your seatmate on your right how
his/her hand looks like.
4. While holding hands, raise your right hand
and make sure it’s just your right hand. The
left hand should stay down.
5. Let go of the hands. Then shake hands with
your seatmates and say hello or hi with a
smile.
Sensitivity of the common senses

1. Seeing
2. Listening
3. Smelling
4. Touching
5. Tasting
What your eyes
can see • Commodification

• Gender
Stereotyping
• Gender Bias

• OBJECTIFICATION and
• SEXUALIZATION of the
BODY

• Gender
discrimination
GENDER SENSITIVITY
• is a frame of mind

• a set of attitude

• the way we approach whatever

we do in our intimate
relationships, in our work, in our
everyday transactions with the
outside world
GENDER SENSITIVITY

- Not a war of the sexes

- Not anti-male

- Recognition that in
practically all cultures
women have a lower
status than men.
Review of Basic Concepts
SEX
• Genitalia: Penis and Vagina
• Categories: Male and Female
• Chromosomes: XY and XX
• Capacity: Uterus, Child
bearing
GENDER
• Stereotypes
• Weak and strong
• Emotional and logical
• Roles
• Income earner and family caregiver
• Father and mother
• Traits and Characteristics
• Masculine and feminine

Male and female Weak and strong Masculine and Feminine

Emotional and logical Child rearing Husband and wife

Penis and vagina XY and XX Mother and father

Child bearing
Agents of Gender Socialization
• Family
• Peer group
• Schools
• Media
• Government
• Church
 Gender Equality in Education: the Role of Schools (2007)

What emerged
• Schools in most cases reinforce the existing
gender ideology, stereotypes, norms and
expectations everywhere
• schools have the potential of playing a
transformative role in changing the prevalent
notions and unequal relations, it does not
necessarily happen on its own, and requires
specific and targeted interventions in most
cases.
What is Gender Fair Education (GFE)
Quezada-Reyes, Z. (2000) An Agenda for Gender-fair Education.
ZENAIDA

• involves the experiences, Strategies

perceptions, and perspectives of

girls and women as well as boys
and men.
• It aims to promote the teaching
and learning of gender equity, Content
highlighting female experiences
as products of historical and
cultural processes.
 
Gender in PH education
Strategic gender issues to be addressed
1. Boys are underperforming in key education indicators
compared to girls
2. Indigenous people (IP) also fall behind in enrolment data
and experience discrimination
3. Higher education degrees manifest marked gender-
segregation
4. Gender biases and stereotypes remain, and are still
embedded in the curricula, instructional methods,
materials and learning media
5. Women and girls continue to be vulnerable to sexual
harassment and violence inside schools because of the lack
of safe and gender responsive teaching-learning
environment
 Magna Carta of Women
SEC. 13. Equal Access and Elimination of
Discrimination in Education, Scholarships, and
Training. –
• (a) The State shall ensure that gender stereotypes and
images in educational materials and curricula are
adequately and appropriately revised. Gender-sensitive
language shall be used at all times. Capacity-building on
gender and development (GAD), peace and human rights,
education for teachers, and all those involved in the
education sector shall be pursued toward this end.
Partnerships between and among players of the
education sector, including the private sector, churches,
and faith groups shall be encouraged.
Key GAD Concepts:
1. Shared parenting
2. Shared home management
3. Shared decision making
4. Equalized opportunities
5. Equalized Representation in Public Affairs and Enhanced Participation
6. Make Women’s Roles and Contributions Visible, Valued and Recognized
7. Ensure Non-sexist Socialization
8. Anti-Violence against women and Children
Develop skills
• Recognize that gender issues are rooted in cultural attitudes and
social structures that prioritize men’s needs over those of women
• Understand and recognize the link between violence prevention and
increasing gender equity
• Teach young people to engage in respectful and emotionally healthy
relationships
• Empower young people with useful knowledge, skills and understanding and
promoting positive, non-violent relationships based on equality and respect
• Create an atmosphere where violence (such as bullying) and the use of
aggression to resolve conflicts is not tolerated
Write your answer on a sheet of paper
Step 1
• Case 1: A grade 6 student got pregnant and expected to deliver towards the end
of the school year
• Case 2: At the middle of the school year, the school noticed an increase in
absences among the boys.
• Case 3: A girl student reported that she was harassed by her teacher. Then
another student, reported same experience but with a different teacher.
• Case 4: Enrolment data showed that enrolment of IP students declined over the
past 3 years
• Case 5: Observation and assessment of posters and other classroom materials
showed gender bias and sexist messages.
 CONSERVATIVE/ PROGRESSIVE/
FORMAL EQUALITY SUBSTANTIVE EQUALITY
 An environment free from
discrimination/violence provides a
greater guarantee in the achievement
of learning outcomes.
Maraming salamat po.