All posts tagged: equality

How schools can improve gender equality in Latin America

How schools can improve gender equality in Latin America

Published by skeptic

In Latin America, deeply ingrained cultural beliefs about gender roles – what women and men should and shouldn’t do – persist. This is despite increased involvement by women in traditionally male spheres, such as business and politics. And these ideas are held among young people, too. A study in 2020 found that only 32% of adolescents in Latin America fully support gender equality. My past research has found that in Mexico, 63.6% of teenagers believe women should not be involved in politics. In Chile and Colombia, however, teens’ support for gender equality is much higher. This disparity suggests that gender attitudes are shaped by broader social and political contexts. My recent research with colleagues suggests that schools have the power to shape students’ beliefs about gender equality. We found that there is a link between classes in which open discussion takes place and students with a strong grasp of civic topics and support for gender equality. We also found that schools with supportive and inclusive environments are linked with more positive attitudes among students towards …

Fundamental rights of LGBTQ+ eroding as they’re weaponized by conservative forces – POLITICO

Fundamental rights of LGBTQ+ eroding as they’re weaponized by conservative forces – POLITICO

Published by Sam

In countries like Italy, Belgium or Romania, right-wing conservative groups have been accusing the LGBTQ+ community of “undermining family values and destabilising society” and used discriminatory speeches during election periods. This is then also used justify the introduction of legislation restricting fundamental freedoms and so-called “anti-LGBT propaganda” laws, the report stated. In Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and Portugal, local authorities have reported “a significant increase in crimes motivated by perceived sexual orientation, gender identity and/or gender expression,” ILGA-Europe noted. “There is a tendency to instrumentalize the so-called protection of young people as a hope to spread fear and division,” said Italian member of the European Parliament Alessandro Zan of the center-left Socialists and Democrats during an event in Parliament. “The discriminatory measures proposed in Hungary and Slovakia and the successful resolution in Italy against the so-called gender ideology all but spread hate and discrimination across Europe … These measures harm children, families and workers,” he added. Chaber, the executive director of ILGA-Europe, also said that attacks against LGBTQ+ people are becoming “the testing ground …

Growing ‘anti-gender’ movements are trying to restrict equality and sex education in schools around the world

Growing ‘anti-gender’ movements are trying to restrict equality and sex education in schools around the world

Published by skeptic

The start of a new Trump presidency in the US may well signal the introduction of policies that limit the knowledge children can access in schools. Already, districts in states across the US are able to ban books from schools and libraries, often on topics such as race and LGBTQ+ identities. And during the presidential campaign, Trump said that he would withhold federal funding from schools that “recognise transgender identities”. But these kinds of limits on education are not only present in the US. Across the world, there are concerted efforts to control who can access education and what children can learn in schools. “Anti-gender” movements reject the social changes that come from an increase in rights for women and LGBTQI+ people. They promote a social order based on patriarchal gender norms, heterosexual marriage and a binary understanding of gender. They target schools because education has unique potential to influence social norms and attitudes for the long term. These movements are funded largely by conservative foundations and individuals, largely in the US and Europe. They …

Religious privilege in equality law must end, NSS tells EHRC

Religious privilege in equality law must end, NSS tells EHRC

Published by skeptic

The National Secular Society has called for an end to religious privilege in equality law in response to a consultation from the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC). The EHRC consultation called for feedback on its Strategic Plan, which will guide its activities from 2025 to 2028. Its three proposed areas of focus are work, participation and good relations, and justice and the balance of rights. The EHRC is an independent statutory body responsible for encouraging equality and diversity, eliminating unlawful discrimination, and protecting and promote human rights in Britain. Work: Employment discrimination in faith schools The NSS called for the repeal of exemptions to the Equality Act 2010 which enable employment discrimination in state funded faith schools. Some, if not all, staff can be hired, promoted and remunerated on the basis of religion. In some schools, staff can be disciplined or dismissed for conduct “incompatible with the precepts” of the school’s religion. The NSS also warned about abuse of ‘genuine occupational requirements’ (GORs) which allow employers to require employees to belong to a particular …

Proposed Islamophobia definition ‘not in line’ with Equality Act

Proposed Islamophobia definition ‘not in line’ with Equality Act

Published by skeptic

Pictured: Faith Minister Lord Khan speaking at Humanists UK’s World Humanist Day celebration, US Embassy, London. Humanists UK welcomes the Government’s recent clarification that the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for British Muslims’ proposed definition of Islamophobia is ‘not in line’ with the Equality Act 2010. This important statement was made by Faith Minister Lord Khan in a letter to the Network of Sikh Organisations (NSO). Humanists UK had previously expressed concern about the definition for its failure to distinguish between prejudice against people and legitimate criticism of beliefs. The Government’s statement, confirming that the definition ‘is not in line with the Equality Act 2010, which defines race in terms of colour, nationality, and national or ethnic origins’ addresses a key issue Humanists UK has highlighted. The letter also emphasises the importance of free speech, asserting that the Government’s approach to combating religious hatred ‘would never inhibit the lawful right to freedom of expression’, including the freedom to discuss and critique religion. The definition proposed by the APPG for British Muslims states that ‘Islamophobia is rooted …

Government: Islamophobia definition “not in line” with Equality Act

Government: Islamophobia definition “not in line” with Equality Act

Published by skeptic

The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) definition of ‘Islamophobia’ is “not in line with the Equality Act 2010”, the Government has said. The news comes in a letter from Government faith minister Wajid Khan (pictured) to the Network of Sikh Organisations (NSO). The flawed definition, which describes Islamophobia as a “type of racism”, has long been opposed by free speech campaigners, including the NSO and the National Secular Society. Both organisations recently wrote to the Government expressing concerns over the definition. The Government has been under increased pressure from Islamic groups to adopt the definition in the wake of recent right wing riots, which targeted Muslims and mosques. But the NSS has said adopting an ‘Islamophobia’ definition will “inflame, rather than dispel, community tensions and division”. The definition has been widely adopted by British political parties, including the Labour Party, but not the Government. Faith minister: Freedom of speech is “incredibly important” In his letter, Khan noted the Equality Act “defines race in terms of colour, nationality and national or ethnic origins”. By contrast, Islam is …

‘Nobody is coming to help us’: Afghan teenage girls on life without school | Women’s rights and gender equality

‘Nobody is coming to help us’: Afghan teenage girls on life without school | Women’s rights and gender equality

Published by skeptic

Just over three years ago, Asma’s* future contained many possibilities. Aged 15, she was at secondary school. After that lay the prospect of university and then onwards, striding forwards into the rest of her life. Like many Afghan girls, she understood that education was her route out of the isolation and repression that had constricted the lives of her mother and grandmother under the previous Taliban regime. She was part of a new generation of Afghan women who had the chance to build independent and economically autonomous lives. In May 2021, a few months before Taliban militants swept to power, Asma was in class when bombs began exploding outside her secondary school. She woke up in hospital to learn that 85 people, mostly other schoolgirls, had been killed. By the time she had started to recover, the Taliban were in charge and her chances of returning to school were over for good. When I discovered my baby is going to be a girl, the world became dark before my eyes. She will never achieve any …

Are evidence-based policy and democratic equality reconcilable? – Evidence & Policy Blog

Are evidence-based policy and democratic equality reconcilable? – Evidence & Policy Blog

Published by skeptic

Tine Hindkjaer Madsen This blog post is based on the Evidence & Policy article, ‘Reconciling science and democracy: evidence-based policy as seen from the perspective of a role-based democratic theory’. For policy to be effective, it must be informed by reliable evidence, proponents of evidence-based policy argue. While this may be true, the evidence-based policy ideal nevertheless also conflicts with the requirements of democracy. This is because political equality is an essential element of democracy and evidence-based policy confers superior political influence on those who supply the evidence relative to ordinary citizens. In my paper recently published in Evidence & Policy, I reflect on whether the evidence-based policy ideal is reconcilable with democratic equality after all. I first argue that evidence-based policy in fact also advances the value of political equality, because political equality requires that citizens be the choosers of political aims and utilising appropriate, high-quality evidence is the most reliable method of identifying how to achieve citizens’ aims. That is of course not to say that utilising appropriate, high-quality evidence will always lead to true beliefs about how to achieve a political aim, but it …

Sex differences don’t disappear as a country’s equality develops – sometimes they become stronger

Sex differences don’t disappear as a country’s equality develops – sometimes they become stronger

Published by skeptic

The more gender equal a society is, the more similar men and women will be, adopting more similar interests, personality traits and behavioural patterns. Or so many people seem to believe. Statements like this might sound like truisms, but science shows reality may be more complicated. Several studies have found that some psychological sex differences, such as those in personality, are larger in more gender-equal countries. The same goes for countries that are more educated, prosperous and otherwise have better living conditions. This has become known as the gender-equality paradox. Until recently, it was unclear how widespread this pattern might be. My team, which included research assistant Kare Hedebrant, tried to address that in a recently published study, where we investigated which psychological sex differences are associated with living conditions and, if so, how. The study covered a range of themes, from personality and cognitive functions to sexting and circadian rhythm. Our study focused on mostly western countries but used some data from other countries such as India and Kenya. We reviewed 54 articles that …