Gender equality

Year level: Upper secondary Learning outcome Students will examine levels of gender equality in selected countries and suggest means of overcoming identified barriers Select three to five (3-5) contrasting countries to focus upon in this study (eg Australia, a small Pacific nation and a country in South East Asia) Locate population statistics and indicators on women and men for these selected countries. http://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/products/indwm/indwm2.htm Create a table contrasting the numbers of women and men: Population - women/100 men Families - total fertility rate Health - life expectancy Education - primary and secondary enrolment rate; illiteracy rate Work - distribution of labour force by status in employment Political decision making - number of parliamentary seats held by women Write a generalisation about the overall equality of men and women in each of these countries based on these statistics. Discuss How might culture influence these aspects of men's and women's lives? What barriers do women and men face in achieving equality? How does supporting equality and overcoming the barriers traditionally faced by women improve the living conditions for everyone? What programs might be needed to address the barriers faced by women and men to achieve equality? Research a program that has addressed the inequalities of men and women. Script a brief radio report on the common criteria of projects that benefit women. Assessment task Create a series of Questions and Answers about the need for, and ways of, overcoming gender inequality.