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 9 April 2014

    Dublin: Collective action, individual responsibility at heart of sustainable progress on gender equity

    In an era of increased attacks on education unions and on public education, and when 100 million young women cannot read a single sentence, EI’s role as a trade union, a professional organisation, and an advocate for quality education has never been more important. These were the sentiments expressed by...

    Dublin: Collective action, individual responsibility at heart of sustainable progress on gender equity
  2. News 8 April 2014

    Dublin: Different struggles, same goals for women in education

    An equitable and quality education for all that nurtures critical thinking must be embedded in a broader struggle for social justice. That’s according to Mary Metcalfe, Chairperson of the Open Society Foundations’ Education Advisory Board. She was addressing the second day of EI’s three-day Second World Women’s Conference being held...

    Dublin: Different struggles, same goals for women in education
  3. News 8 April 2014

    The European Institute for Gender Equality meets Trade Union Representatives - Members of the ETUCE Equality Working Group share their experience with the institute

    The European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) invited trade union representatives for a cross-sectoral meeting on its premises in Vilnius on 25 March 2014.

    The European Institute for Gender Equality meets Trade Union Representatives - Members of the ETUCE Equality Working Group share their experience with the institute
  4. News 7 April 2014

    Dublin:Women central to sustainable future development

    The future will be created in classrooms. This was the key message of Her Excellency Tarja Halonen in her keynote opening speech to the EI’s Second World Women’s Conference today, 7 April, in Dublin, Ireland. Addressing almost 400 delegates from education trade unions representing around 90 countries across the globe,...

    Dublin:Women central to sustainable future development
  5. News 6 April 2014

    Education International’s World Women's Conference 7-9 April 2014 in Dublin, Ireland

    Transforming words into action will be goal of nearly 400 women as they join forces for quality education at Education International’s second World Women’s Conference in Dublin, Ireland. From 7-9 April, female leaders in education and trade unions from around the world will tackle some of the biggest challenges facing...

    Education International’s World Women's Conference 7-9 April 2014 in Dublin, Ireland
  6. News 4 April 2014

    Spain: Documentary on women teachers to be screened at World Women’s Conference

    An extraordinary historical documentary on the commitment shown by female teachers in Spain whilst fighting illiteracy will be screened at the Second World Women’s Conference on 6 April in Dublin, Ireland. The award-winning “Las Maestras de la Republica”, which recounts the teachers’ battle for the rights of women and the...

    Spain: Documentary on women teachers to be screened at World Women’s Conference
  7. News 20 March 2014

    International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

    On the occasion of the International Day against Racial Discrimination,celebrated every year on 21 March, EI calls on all education union leaders to take a leading role in the promotion of human rights, equality, and respect for racial diversity as an integral part of every education union’s activities. It also...

    International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
  8. News 18 March 2014

    Côte d'Ivoire: Trade unionists highlight gender equality

    The Gender Equality Committee of EI affiliate Syndicat national de l’enseignement primaire public de Côte d’Ivoire (SNEPPCI) held an International Women's Day commemoration ceremony on 7 March.

    Côte d'Ivoire: Trade unionists highlight gender equality
  9. News 14 March 2014

    UNCSW58: Women’s Leadership a priority in the post-2015 agenda

    Over 100 women from the five sub-regions of Africa discussed achievements in increasing women in leadership and decision-making roles in public life at a side event on 13 March to the 58th Session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (UNCSW58). The meeting also considered priorities for the...

    UNCSW58: Women’s Leadership a priority in the post-2015 agenda
  10. News 12 March 2014

    Afghanistan: Rebuilding girls’ education after decades of conflict

    Nahida, a school principal in Kabul, is the third participant in the ten-week #TeacherTuesday campaign, organised around the Education For All (EFA) Global Monitoring Report (GMR) 2013/4. In Afghanistan, conflict has raged for decades, cultural opposition to girls’ schooling is deep-seated, and education for girls was banned altogether under the...

    Afghanistan: Rebuilding girls’ education after decades of conflict
  11. News 11 March 2014

    Beyond 2015: Putting girls’ education at the heart of the agenda

    “Which government is prepared to tell a girl that she will never be able to go to school, and neither will her children or her grandchildren, but, if she is very lucky, her great-grandchild might be the first girl of her family to go to school?” asked EI President Susan...

    Beyond 2015: Putting girls’ education at the heart of the agenda
  12. News 11 March 2014

    Women work 59 days ‘for free’

    On average, women work 59 days unpaid per year. On occasion of the 4th European Equal Pay Day, the European Commission has released the new brochure Tackling the gender pay gap in the European Union, which explains the gender pay gap, its causes and the benefits of closing it.

    Women work 59 days ‘for free’
  13. News 11 March 2014

    One in three women experienced violence

    33 % of women living in the European Union have experienced physical and/or sexual violence since the age of 15, and one in 20 women was raped since the age of 15. These insights were revealed by an EU-wide survey on violence against women published by the European Agency for...

    One in three women experienced violence
  14. News 4 March 2014

    How can education unions play an active role in ensuring that student performance is gender equal?

    At Education International’s (EI) North America and Caribbean Regional Conference, held in Montego Bay on 24-26 February, Ms. Georgia Waugh Richards from the Jamaica Teachers’ Association (JTA) suggested that in Caribbean countries “gender streaming” in education may help improve the performance of boys, who are lagging behind girls in school...

    How can education unions play an active role in ensuring that student performance is gender equal?
  15. News 26 February 2014

    Spain: EI members committed to sexual and gender diversity

    EI welcomes the collaboration agreement to work towards eradicating discrimination against LGBT people in learning and teaching environments signed by member organisations in Spain - FECCOO, STES, FETE-UGT - and the State Federation of Lesbians, Gays, Transsexuals and Bisexuals organisations (FELGTB).

    Spain: EI members committed to sexual and gender diversity
  16. News 26 February 2014

    Quality education for girls and women is progress for all

    EI has released its statement to mark International Women’s Day (IWD) 2014 on 8th March. EI affiliates are encouraged to use this statement in their own IWD communications and in connection with EI’s global campaign Unite for Quality Education.

    Quality education for girls and women is progress for all
  17. News 25 February 2014

    International Women’s Day 2014

    Celebrated annually on 8 March, International Women’s Day encourages advocacy for women's advancement and gender equality. With thousands of events worldwide, it calls for challenging the status quo for women's equality and for inspiring positive change.

    International Women’s Day 2014
  18. News 25 February 2014

    EU answers Switzerland: freezes research grants and Swiss involvement in Erasmus+

    The European Union has suspended negotiations with Switzerland on the participation in EU education exchange programmes, such as Erasmus+ and the Horizon 2020 research programme, because of the imminent introduction of quotas to community workers approved in a referendum last week.

    EU answers Switzerland: freezes research grants and Swiss involvement in Erasmus+