ADDRESS BY MR MEVLÜT ÇAVUŞOĞLU,

PRESIDENT OF THE PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY

OF THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE

AT THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE EVENT ON

‘COMBATING GENDER STEREOTYPES IN EDUCATION’

(New York, 25 February 2011, 1.15 p.m.)

Ambassador,

Madam Chair,

Distinguished guests,

Colleagues, ladies and gentlemen,

It gives me a great pleasure to deliver a keynote address at this Council of Europe event organised within the framework of Turkey’s Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers.

As you know, for more than 60 years the Council of Europe has been in the front line in the fight for human rights, including equality between women and men.

Through this long experience, we have understood that school has a vital role to play in promoting gender equality.

In Europe, most children begin to spend time outside the family at a very early stage: some are entrusted to child-care facilities from the age of two months. Normally, schooling begins at around three years of age. Many children also attend after-school child-care centres. Some of them spend an average of ten hours per day outside the home, in close contact with teachers and educators.

For this reason, I think we can all agree that representations of femininity and masculinity, as well as models for assigning the social roles which shape our societies, start in the classroom.

It is necessary to ensure that the school system does not replicate stereotypes and inequalities. On the contrary, it must be a vehicle for promoting equal opportunities for boys and girls to develop their full potential.

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe has addressed this issue on a number of occasions and, more recently, in Resolution 1669 on “The rights of today’s girls – the rights of tomorrow’s women”.

This Resolution was prepared on the basis of a comprehensive and thorough research into the practice and experience of one of our member states: Sweden.

Contrary to expectations (or stereotypes), it was interesting to find out that, even in such an egalitarian and gender-sensitive society, school discriminates between boys and girls.

Teachers’ attitudes are a key element in this process.

Research on schools in Sweden showed that teachers treat girls and boys very differently from the day they start school until the day they leave.

They do so because they hold stereotyped assumptions about gender. These stereotypes affect their own behaviour as well as the behaviour of children at school.

On the basis of these stereotypes, teachers tend to present to boys and girls different experiences and examples through school curricula and pedagogic activities. As a result, boys and girls develop different expectations about their roles in society in future.

In fact, in reality, we see that neither boys nor girls are given access to the full range of learning experiences to which they are entitled.

Girls from disadvantaged backgrounds are likely to be particularly exposed to the negative effects of this stereotyping and discrimination: the cumulative effect of this differential treatment leads them to choose vocational courses that prepare them for poorly paid jobs with little career structure and a focus on women’s work.

Teachers of vocational subjects have been found to be the most conservative regarding gender of all teacher groups, which makes vocational classes particularly important arenas for reinforcing gender stereotypes. As a result, vocational education remains strongly gender-segregated, even in the most advanced European countries.

Ladies and gentlemen,

As you see, education is part of the problem. But it is part of the solution as well. We, in the Assembly, believe that schools must be helped to implement the principle of gender equality.

Let me mention just a few of our recommendations:

- In order to guarantee access to education for all children, including girls, who are more frequently outside the school system than boys, states should take over the costs related to their schooling.

- There should be gender balance among school staff involved in teaching, administrative and managerial activities.

- The staff of educational institutions should receive training in gender equality issues. Teachers’ behaviour should not be sexist.

- Teachers should be made aware of the particular difficulties which can be experienced by young immigrant girls or girls from disadvantaged backgrounds.

- Teaching material and methods should be revised in such a way as to promote non-discriminatory language and non-sexist education.

- Public and private funders of schools and providers of study grants should respect the principle of gender balance when awarding grants.

- Mixed-sex classes should be promoted, including in non-state schools.

These recommendations set the general framework. Of course, situations in different European countries have their specificities and the implementation of these recommendations has to be adapted to local conditions. I am very glad that our today’s event provides you with the opportunity to compare experiences, present various case studies and exchange best practices. I am sure that you will come up with new ideas and innovative approaches, but also strengthen personal networks which you will use further on to exchange information about best practices.

Dear colleagues, ladies and gentlemen,

Boys and girls are different. But this does not mean that they should not have the same opportunities to develop their full potential.

Education is an essential instrument to ensure equal opportunities between girls and boys. It is a necessary tool for reducing poverty and social inequalities and respecting human rights. Education has a major impact on the ability of girls and women to claim their rights and acquire social status, achieve financial independence or improve their political representation.

Today’s girls are tomorrow’s women! Let us create today an effective possibility for them to make tomorrow a valuable contribution to our cultures, to our economies, to our governments! Let us not forget : today’s girls are also tomorrow’s leaders !

Thank you for your attention.