Ei-iE

Jens Kalaene
Jens Kalaene

Equity and inclusion

We defend and promote the principles of equity and equality in education, in education unions and in society. We are fully committed to combating all forms of racism and of bias or discrimination due age, disability, ethnicity or indigeneity, gender, gender identity or sexual orientation, language, marital status, migratory status, political activism, religion, socio-economic status, trade union affiliation, among others. We are committed to addressing these forms of discrimination through an intersectional lens, which enables a deeper understanding of the complexities of lived experiences.

I think Education International has a leadership role to play… If we’re going to have a more civil society, a more inclusive society, then we have to model that by including men but women as well, people of different ethnic groups or religious backgrounds. All of us have to be involved and be at the table and have that kind of respect.

Professor Mary Hatwood Futrell, First elected EI President, 1993–2004

Promoting and advancing gender equality has always been an Education International priority. We believe that education can play a key role in empowering women and girls and can contribute to breaking through the cycle of gender discrimination. The Education International Gender Equality Action Plan highlights three main priorities:

  1. Promoting women’s leadership and participation within education unions;
  2. Taking action to increase intersectional gender equality in and through education;
  3. Promoting and securing women’s economic empowerment.

The unequal and gendered impact of the COVID-19 pandemic risks erasing years of progress on equity and inclusion throughout the world. Together with our member organisations, we mobilise to challenge and help dismantle all structures of inequality in education and beyond. As part of this work, we have called for equity audits to be conducted at all levels of education in order to ensure the pandemic does not define the lives of an entire generation of students.

Our work in this area

  1. News 27 May 2024

    Fostering peace through education: A priority for Japanese and Korean unions

    In a world overrun with conflict and war, the story of education unions in Japan and Korea is an example of how education can be used to build peace. The two nations share a complicated history. They have fought on and off since at least the 7th Century. In 1910,...

    Fostering peace through education: A priority for Japanese and Korean unions
  2. Worlds of Education 17 May 2024

    Education: a key battleground for anti-gender activists

    Rachel Marcus

    What do protests over gender-neutral school toilets in South Africa have to do with teachers being harassed in Brazil or curriculum changes in El Salvador ? In brief, they are all the result of mobilization against the perceived threat of ‘gender ideology’; these are just a few of the examples...

    Education: a key battleground for anti-gender activists
  3. Worlds of Education 17 May 2024

    Union action for the rights of LGBTQI+ people: the experience of the CSQ

    Julien Poirier

    The trade union movement is no stranger to fighting for the rights, support and inclusion of LGBTQI+ people in Quebec. In this respect, the ongoing work of the Centrale des syndicats du Québec (CSQ) is of particular importance. Its contribution has stood out over the years. In addition to having...

    Union action for the rights of LGBTQI+ people: the experience of the CSQ
  4. News 17 May 2024

    International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, and Transphobia

    On the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, and Transphobia (IDAHOBIT), Education International has signed the joint Global Union Federation (GUF) LGBTI+ Workers statement. Everybody must see their rights respected!

    International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, and Transphobia
  5. News 13 May 2024

    Amid global strife, glimmers of hope for LGBTI+ rights

    There are serious concerns around the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, and all other persons whose sexual orientation, gender identity and/or gender expression differ from the social norm (LGBTI+) globally. However, the latest University and College Union (UCU) LGBTI+ webinar showed reasons for hope and testimonies of ongoing...

    Amid global strife, glimmers of hope for LGBTI+ rights
  6. Worlds of Education 6 May 2024

    Are edtech platforms threatening academic freedom and intellectual property rights?

    Janja Komljenovic, Ben Williamson

    Digital platforms are routinely used in universities to support teaching and learning, but they can also challenge academic freedom and intellectual property (IP) rights. In our new report for Education International, ‘Behind the platforms: Safeguarding intellectual property rights and academic freedom in Higher Education’ , we reviewed the landscape of...

    Are edtech platforms threatening academic freedom and intellectual property rights?
  7. Research

    Behind the platforms: Safeguarding intellectual property rights and academic freedom in Higher Education

    Janja Komljenovic, Ben Williamson
    6 May 2024

    Higher education (HE) faces a complex landscape of digital technology services, shaping educators’ labour and working conditions in new ways. Two particular issues are ownership of intellectual property (IP) and academic freedom when using digital education services such as edtech platforms. Edtech platforms complicate questions of academic ownership of content...

    Behind the platforms: Safeguarding intellectual property rights and academic freedom in Higher Education
    1. Executive Summary
    2. Report
  8. News 25 March 2024

    Afghanistan: Survey provides meaningful insights into the experiences of teachers and students under the Taliban regime

    Education International (EI) hosted a union side event at the 68th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (UNCSW) to highlight the plight of girls and women teachers in Afghanistan who have been forbidden from going to school and teaching since the Taliban takeover in 2021.

    Afghanistan: Survey provides meaningful insights into the experiences of teachers and students under the Taliban regime
  9. Worlds of Education 20 March 2024

    The ‘sum total’: Reimagining early childhood care and education through a gender perspective on the profession

    Mercedes Mayol Lassalle, Mathias Urban

    ‘Education’, suggested Austrian psychoanalyst Siegfried Bernfeld in 1925, ‘is the sum total of societal reaction to the fact of ontogenetic development’ (Bernfeld, 1973, 1925). His wide-ranging definition has profound implications as we endeavour to reimagine education for all in the 21st century: education begins at birth (‘ontogenetic development’), education is...

    The ‘sum total’: Reimagining early childhood care and education through a gender perspective on the profession
  10. News 18 March 2024

    Regional Women’s Networks: Strengthening Solidarity and Equality

    The critical role of regional women’s networks in fostering solidarity and addressing gender issues within unions, the education sector, and society was underscored in a recent virtual event hosted by Education International (EI). Participants from across the globe convened to explore the joint efforts of EI members and regional offices...

    Regional Women’s Networks: Strengthening Solidarity and Equality
  11. Worlds of Education 15 March 2024

    Teachers: key in keeping boys engaged in school and learning

    Matthias Eck

    Even though tremendous progress in enrolment has been made over the last 20 years, current estimates indicate that 250 million children and youth are still out of school. And over half of them – approximately 128 million – are boys.

    Teachers: key in keeping boys engaged in school and learning
  12. News 13 March 2024

    Education unionists call for free quality public education to help end poverty for women and girls in all their diversity

    The 68th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women takes place in New York from March 11th to the 22nd. The Commission is the most important global forum that works to advance gender equality and women’s rights and conditions, globally. A delegation of 17 women education...

    Education unionists call for free quality public education to help end poverty for women and girls in all their diversity
  13. Worlds of Education 7 March 2024

    Our fight for education is a fight for women’s rights

    Susan Hopgood

    The right to education means that every child must have access to free quality education, a well-supported, qualified teacher, and a quality learning environment no matter where they live or come from, no matter their gender, ethnicity, or how much their family earns. This is our mission as education unions...

    Our fight for education is a fight for women’s rights
  14. News 26 January 2024

    Educators ready to play an active role in transforming education in North America and the Caribbean

    “Our activities here together these next few days are varied, but our purpose is fundamental – to reflect and learn from each other and to plan ways to encourage our members to play an active role in transforming education across this vast and varied region.” This was the call by...

    Educators ready to play an active role in transforming education in North America and the Caribbean
  15. Publications

    Gender, education, and a global view on the ‘crisis of care’

    Saba Joshi
    20 December 2023

    This policy brief focuses on the significance of care work in the global economy and the complexities of measuring its value, given its unpaid, invisible facets and the gendered nature of these forms of work. We seek to highlight the challenges educational professionals currently face and emphasize how the dynamics...

    Gender, education, and a global view on the ‘crisis of care’
    1. Download
  16. News 18 December 2023

    Analysing the Challenges Faced by Afghan Teachers

    In 2022, Education International (EI) took a significant step to champion the rights of Afghan teachers with the launch of the Afghan Teacher's Rights Observatory . This dedicated platform was created to document the situation of education in Afghanistan, addressing critical aspects such as teachers' salaries, working conditions, human rights...

    Analysing the Challenges Faced by Afghan Teachers