Outline of key topics and main takeaways from the session/event
Breakthrough and Adhyayan Quality Education Services proposes to host a session in the CCW 2023 on ‘Equitable Education Systems : Critical Insights and Collective Actions’ with diverse sectoral experts from India, UK and Africa. Achieving gender equality (Goal 5) is imperative to the success of the SDGs, and it is in this context Goal 4 (Quality Education) needs to be looked at from a gender transformative systems approach.
Structural and cultural biases lead to adolescent and young girls being in a constant state of discrimination and marginalisation – the forms changing through their life cycle. In India alone close to 10 million girls are at the risk of dropping out of school and facing early marriage (Praxis 2020). There is contrasting evidence that increased years of school education have positive outcomes on the lives of girls, and working with adolescents on agency and aspiration building actually shifts the needle towards gender equitable behaviour. Hence, one must be cognizant about the way gender systems intersect with other forms of discrimination such as class, race, caste, identity and impact the lives of adolescents. Specifically, the Education System of the future needs to be gender responsive in order to ensure that adolescents live a life without violence and discrimination and reach their full potential and aspirations.
This panel would bring in experts from different parts of the world who have worked in and around systems change initiatives to deliberate on the following questions
Challenges and gaps within current developmental approaches for addressing gender equality
Understanding the systems change approach within the discourse of the Education System and working with different stakeholders.
Evidence and experiences of working on gender transformative systems approach from across the globe