Thank you for a great discussion.

Gender mainstreaming, yes, by all means! However, depending on the target group and the starting level, it may be a long-term goal which needs many previous gender specific actions for migrant women before it can be reached.

Is gender mainstreaming important in adult education? 

Awareness raising is critical in promoting gender equity, especially when using strategies that involve the generak public, increase visibility and enhance well being among persons effected

Awareness raising is critical in promoting gender equity, especially when using strategies that involve the generak public, increase visibility and enhance well being among persons effected

In a blog posted earlier today, on the occasion of today’s celebration, by the Slovenian Institute for Adult Education the author Dr. Vida Mohorčič Špolar observes that“we need to understand how to motivate women and men to engage in adult education, no easy task, especially in a more traditional environment in which gender roles are strictly observed.”

The author points out that there is an abundance of practice to learn from and consultation of available databases of good practice such as that held by the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning in Hamburg is highly important.

Gender inequality is I feel an issue which whether we admit it or not exists. I work in the field of IT and I can say that although there are women in the field they are greatly outnumbered by men, even though research shows that women who actually study at higher education in the field of IT may get better grades than their male peers. Now the question you ask Mahira, is how can adult learning help to address gender inequality? I'm afraid I don't have a ready answer. I know that the gender inequality is very much a part of our societal structures and I know that education may be key to address this issue but I wonder if that may be enough. I think support structures and communities of practice are very important to help increase gender equality - but rather than equality I keep thinking it's more a matter of helping women find the balance between work and family. Most often the balance seems to tip towards family which may lead to a step back in the career sector. In any way, it might be worth considering that rather than pursuing the gender equality, we strive to achieve a personal balance - each person becomes an individual intent on achieving the maximum benefit on the family-work scale. Maybe that might indirectly affect the gender equality issues. 

How to get men to participate in (informal) adult learning? This is also one of the most important questions in Slovenian adult learning. We can see women who participate in different events, creative workshops etc. But where are men? If you go to an event of Third Age University or Ljubljana City Library, you might meet 2 or 3 men in the group of 25 women. You can see an ilustrative example of this (with no men) in the video about The Study Circle Between History and the Present here: http://llw.acs.si/awards/winners/index.php?did=399&leto=2013. Australian Men's Sheds are a good example where men can learn.

However, we can see another story when it comes to migrant women or women with lower skills. There are stories how difficult was for them to enroll in courses because of the family, language or even local community. So it is important to work with family members and the whole community, which has to adopt adult learning as something that can benefit all their citizens, especially women (with children, lower income, migrants etc.). 

I think before we can look at the question of adult learning addressing gender inequality we must examine gender inequality in adult learning. As the piece by Gina Ebner in the blog section mentions Adult Education is seen as a female endeavour. Perhaps this is something in itself to be addressed. 

For Ireland at least it is true that in the adult and community education sector, male participation is particularly low. Adult education is non-compulsory education that adults choose for themselves, sometimes leading to an award and sometimes for interest only, while community education generally targets those who may have missed out on educational opportunities when younger. But, it seems, they’re not reaching those who need them most.

Michael Hallissy chairs Dublin 8 Community Education Centre (D8CEC). “Across all age groups, men in Ireland have lower levels of educational attainment than women,” he says. “Ironically, however, it has always been far more difficult to attract men into second-chance education than women. In adult learning centres throughout Ireland, it is the norm to have nine or 10 female learners for every man. This challenge of encouraging men to participate in second-chance education became ever more pressing with the recession, when thousands of men who left school early to take up low-skilled, manual jobs suddenly found themselves unemployed.” (Irish Times, Jan 2016) 

So it seems as an 'industry' we are imbalanced. While I agree with the comments above about the benefits of adult education for women it would appear to be a missed opportunity to not also reconcile the imbalance and achieve equality through participation. 

It was great to hear more about activities that are taking place in Montenegro. Are there any interesting measures or adult learning projects happening elsewhere in Europe?

Hello everyone,

My name is Gordana Bošković. I am from Montenegro and I work in the Centre for Vocational Education and Training (EPALE NSS) as adult education adviser. I am the member of EPALE NSS Project Team and National Coordinator for the implementation of European Agenda for Adult Learning. I find top discussion “by education to gender equality” of paramount importance for further planning of measures and activities in European countries which dedicate particular attention to social development and accentuation of equality. Therefore, I would like to point out the significance of adult education for the popularization of the topic of gender equality in the implementation of national plans and measures in this field.

Education represents the key for solving numerous challenges in a society. Approaching the society of equal opportunities and rights has actually been one of today’s challenges for many social communities in Europe. Gender equality is the topic which has long been connecting various stakeholders to jointly strive to make the rights of women visible and equal in practice. Accordingly, the Government of Montenegro, in 2013, adopted the Action Plan for Achieving Gender Equality in Montenegro (PAPRR 2013-2017). This plan represents a developmental document for the implementation of gender equality policy and it is based on international and national sources which treat the issue of gender equality. It is not possible to separate gender policy from equal recognition, exercise and protection of human rights, implementation of social justice, social inclusion and achievement of sustainable development. Out of 12 critical areas with the most expressed gender inequality in Beijing Declaration, Montenegro has opted for nine areas in which it intends to act upon achieving gender equality in the forthcoming period. These are the following areas: Improvement of human rights of women and gender equality, gender sensitive education and upbringing, gender equality in economy, gender sensitive health protection, gender based violence, media and culture, equality in decision making process in political and public life, international policy and cooperation and institutional mechanisms for the implementation of gender equality. In each of these areas, education is the basis for the achievement of defined goals and the only guarantee of success. Education of various target groups (holders of judiciary functions, teachers of civic education, members of multidisciplinary teams, media representatives, secondary school students, university professors, employees in public order authorities, etc.) on the prevention and protection from violence against women and domestic violence, with particular focus on familiarization with Istanbul Convention and its implementation, may be a significant visible progress in the implementation of measures for achieving gender equality. In many countries, as well as in Montenegro, favourable credit lines for women are being established. However, a target-oriented campaign is necessary in order to encourage women to get independent and register their own business which they will offer on the market. It is necessary to implement educational measures which will have social impact such as: to develop inter-subject curriculum on gender equality in primary schools, organize training on gender equality for teachers on the level of pre-primary and primary education, organize teacher training for teaching on gender equality within optional subjects Civic Education and Healthy Lifestyles, develop and licence training programmes for the employed in education on gender based violence and domestic violence, which actually means that the programme of gender equality should be aimed at being integrated within the whole education system.

Mahira, thank you for making such an important distinction, between gender equity and equality.

I read the (very interesting) interview of Maria Pisani: activist, founder of Integra Foundation and mother of 4 children.

I think it goes without saying that women are called to play multiple roles simultaneously juggling professional life, motherhood, being a spouse as well as the need for personal development amongst others.

Just as in the case of M. Pisani who chose to continue her education as an adult, many women are more likely to face gendered obstacles and thus not have the time nor the energy to climb up the career ladder. Cultural and social obstacles aside, these factors are important enough to hinder women from making it into the boardroom and power positions.

A UK organisation published the results of a survey of 8000 people today. The Fawcett Society found that working mothers pay a 'motherhood penalty'. It found that when a woman has a baby, 46% of people believe she becomes less committed to her job (compared to 11% of men). 

Workplace learning can play a role in changing attitudes to women who return to work after having children, which would by extension open up more opportunities for career progression.

This is especially important in male-dominated industries where women are particularly underrepresented in senior positions! Companies must commit to closing the pay gap through equal opportunities for working mothers - and that starts with education.

Adult education can do so much for women and gender equality:

- it gives learners self confidence and helps empowering women to decide for themselves on what is good for them;

- it increases their skills and may help them find (better) jobs, hence increasing their financial independence;

- it allows them to better educate their children and help them at school, therefore breaking the vicious circle of education poverty which is often passed from one generation to the next...

- it is fun, and we all need fun in our lives !!!

Happy International Women's Day!

Closing the gender pay gap is a crucial step to take towards equality, but what adult education can do is change people's perceptions of certain jobs as 'feminine' or 'masculine'. Breaking these stereotypes will increase diversity in gendered sectors (such as education or engineering), which can only be beneficial for women and men.

Happy International Women's Day!

For the purposes of this discussion, I am speaking on behalf of the diverse women and the difference between equality and equity. We've been discussing gender equality/inequality but give less importance to gender equity.  Because of the numbers of people involved and the magnitude of the problems, taking action to improve gender equity is one of the most direct and potent ways to reduce gender inequalities. I truly believe that gender equity can also have a direct impact on motivating and mobilizing governments, people and women themselves.