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. 10 March 2010

    Statement delivered by Jan Eastman, EI Deputy General Secretary at the Plenary Session on behalf of Public Services International (PSI), International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and Education International (EI) on the 54th Session of the United Nati

    Below is the speech given by the EI Deputy General Secretary, Jan Eastman, at the Plenary of the 54th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women.

    Statement delivered by Jan Eastman, EI Deputy General Secretary at the Plenary Session on behalf of Public Services International (PSI), International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and Education International (EI) on the 54th Session of the United Nati
  2. News 4 March 2010

    Support us in our open letter to the UN chief over the outrage at the 54th Commission on the Status of Women!

    The four Global Unions at the 54th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (UNCSW) currently held in New York issued an open letter to the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, expressing their outrage at the process and substance of the event.

    Support us in our open letter to the UN chief over the outrage at the 54th Commission on the Status of Women!
  3. News 3 March 2010

    Civil society refuses to be silenced at UNCSW

    The trade union delegation present in New York at the 54th Session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women(UNCSW) denounces the absolute lack of dialogue with civil society during this critical forum to achieve gender equality.

    Civil society refuses to be silenced at UNCSW
  4. News 25 February 2010

    Making unions’ voices heard at the Bejing +15 Review

    The United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) will review the progress achieved on the commitments made in the Beijing Platform for Action, a global policy framework to advance gender equality formulated in 1995.

    Making unions’ voices heard at the Bejing +15 Review
  5. 22 December 2009

    Teachers are on the move for equality!

    Bringing gender equality closer to reality in the daily lives of women, including through their participation in education unions, is a key principle of EI. With the current crises in¬ food security, climate change and economic recession, this goal of gender equality demands greater effort if it is to be...

    Teachers are on the move for equality!
  6. News 25 November 2009

    Statement on International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women

    There are NO excuses. Violence against women is a matter of inequality between women and men. Teacher unions have a key role to play in combating gender-based violent attitudes and EI renews its commitments for human rights and equality between women and men.

    Statement on International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women
  7. News 29 October 2009

    Pension reforms in Europe: Keeping women poor in old age?

    Are pension reforms reinforcing the gender wage gap and extending it past women’s working lives and in to retirement? What policies can help minimize the differences between men’s and women’s economic wellbeing in old age? These are among the questions examined in a new study by Education International (EI), the...

    Pension reforms in Europe: Keeping women poor in old age?
  8. News 13 October 2009

    Child labour in Central Asia is a growing concern

    Education International and its member organisations around the world are committed to eradicating child labour wherever it occurs.

    Child labour in Central Asia is a growing concern
  9. News 15 June 2009

    ILO address: EI denounces child labour, supports Employee Free Choice Act

    “There are still too many places where child labour is a more or less socially accepted phenomenon. In Central Asia, where children are forced out of school and into the cotton fields. In South Asia and Africa, where children labour in factories and on the streets. And in households around...

    ILO address: EI denounces child labour, supports Employee Free Choice Act
  10. News 11 June 2009

    EI condemns attacks on Peruvian Indigenous defenders of Amazon jungle

    Education International is raising its voice in solidarity with the Indigenous people of the Peruvian rainforest who are defending their ancestral lands from new legislation that would allow land and resources to be sold without their consent.

    EI condemns attacks on Peruvian Indigenous defenders of Amazon jungle
  11. News 10 June 2009

    Education International calls for an end to child labour

    Every year at this time, members of Education International (EI) join with other trade unions and concerned citizens around the globe to mark the World Day Against Child Labour, 12 June.

    Education International calls for an end to child labour
  12. News 12 May 2009

    EI endorses UN statement on sexual orientation and gender identity

    EI issued a statement today on the occasion of the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia taking place on 17 May, highlighting its endorsement of the United Nations' statement on sexual identity and orientation.

    EI endorses UN statement on sexual orientation and gender identity
  13. News 18 March 2009

    Equality progresses at the UN: Outcomes of the 53rd Session of the Commission on the Status of Women

    The United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) has a long track record of civil society participation in its meetings. The advocacy work of the civil society, including trade unions, played an important role again this year in giving coherence to the work of the commission.

    Equality progresses at the UN: Outcomes of the 53rd Session of the Commission on the Status of Women
  14. News 11 March 2009

    Indonesia: teacher union joins the ILO to combat child labour

    In a bid to decrease school drop-out rates, the International Labour Organisation and the Indonesian teachers' union, the Persatuan Guru Republik Indonesia (PGRI), are organising a joint programme aimed at combating child labour.

    Indonesia: teacher union joins the ILO to combat child labour
  15. News 3 March 2009

    International Women's Day, 8th March 2009

    International Women’s Day is an occasion to review the ongoing struggle for women’s rights and gender equality. It is an opportunity to celebrate the progress made, as well as condemn the ongoing difficulties many women and girls face in their efforts to assert their rights to equality and justice. March...

    International Women's Day, 8th March 2009