More, Different and Better

So, we come to the end of our series to mark International Women’s Day, but not the end of the issues which affect women all over the world. I must thank friends and colleagues from India, South Africa and Sierra Leone, as well as the UK, for their informative, thoughtful and challenging contributions. The messages from around the globe are clear:

• Learning, and literacy in particular, is a vital tool in addressing gender imbalances whether in the industrialised north or the developing south.
• Literacy for functional purposes – to gain skills for a trade, access to health or improve qualifications – is vital if the potential of women is to be realised for personal and collective benefits.
• Lifelong learning policies must be in place – there are no ‘quick learning wins’, learning support must be available long-term.
• Learning for empowerment is even more important than for function, if we are to address both domestic and systemic violence. Support women to participate as active citizens and allow them the same rights as men.

But the issue which emerges most strongly for me in these guest posts is that of the role of men in the gender divide. Education, training and empowering women seems to be only one part of the story. The barriers they face from the power of men at work, in politics, in bringing up children and in violent behaviour will continue if men are not also involved in education to raise awareness of their attitudes, behaviours and values. The evidence from Judith Swift  about gender comparisons in the work-place, the report from South Africa  on learning and leading and the research from India  on the barriers women face, point to ‘man power’ as a key challenge in gender inequalities. Every country needs women to contribute their skills, knowledge and values in work, in communities and in politics. Industrialised and developing countries alike, need their children to be nourished, healthy, supported and educated. Violence against another human being is an abhorrence.

Gender imbalances are about women and men, not just women. We can work to empower and educate women, but without addressing the real barriers a lot of this effort can be wasted. Children are the product of two people – men and women should be able to share their care. Economic success derives from women and men contributing their abilities, skills and knowledge. Social harmony arises when people feel able to live fulfilled lives.

Last Tuesday an All Party Parliamentary Group met to discuss inequalities in relation to education and the post-Millennium Development Goals – a fundamental key to success of future goals and policies is the willingness of men to reflect, learn and change. Many of us advocate strongly and urge politicians, organisations and agencies to ensure that women, and girls, have their due rights: access to learning, health, participation and work. I have spent many years working alongside women, arguing for their rights to learn, writing articles and speaking on platforms, but I fear that all our advocacy will fall on arid soil if the men who hold the power do not rise up with us to help stop the inequities women face.

International Women’s Day provides us with the opportunity to share stories, speak out and sing the strengths of women all over the world. We have done that in 2013, but we must not stop here. The work continues and I firmly believe that it must be women – and men – together, who make a difference.  There must be individual, collective and political will to turn dreams and words into actions and make that change a reality.

Revisit the entire series of blog posts leading up to  International Women’s Day 2013 and beyond:

One Billion Rising – Jane Ward, NIACE Programme Manager

Women leading and learning - Professor Shirley Walters, Director, Division for Lifelong Learning, University of Western Cape, South Africa

The role of learning in ending violence against women - Carol Taylor

Education and women’s lives in India - Malini Ghose and Disha Mullick, authors of ‘Empowerment in Educational Processes: Feminist Re-appropriations’, in More Powerful Literacies (2012)

Women learning literacy for health - Janet Solla – Director of the Community Health and Learning Foundation

Breaking free, finding independence in Sierre Leone - Feed the Minds

Women and skills at work - Judith Swift MBE, Union Development Manager

Is family communication primarily considered a female responsibility? - Tricia Hartley, Chief Executive of  Campaign for Learning

What skills do women need to bring about change in their communities? - Amanda Wait, ‘Welcome to Bolton’ Co-ordinator, WEA North West Region