1. Skirting the classroom: changing bureaucracy, transforming gender in the education system Veerle Dieltiens Gender, Education and Global Poverty Reduction Initiatives

2. GEGPRI What do people working in national and provincial education departments, schools and in NGOs think about global declarations that have been made concerning gender equality, education and poverty. Research was conducted in two countries (South Africa and Kenya) and in five sites in each country (the national education department, an NGO based in a large city, a provincial education department, a primary school and an NGO based in a peri/urban or rural area).

3. Defining gender equity What do people in the DoBE mean by gender equity? –Gender neutrality –Though with some recognition of the need to give girls a leg up –Boys and girls able to compete equally in the race for educational rewards I.e. Equality of opportunity

4. So what’s wrong with equality of opportunity? Firstly, it essentialises girls and boys, counting parity on differences of sex while ignoring the social construction of gender. Secondly, it fails to recognise the way in which poverty intersects with gender and therefore falls prey to an argument that gender equity is an elitist project. Finally, it skirts the classroom in that it never engages directly (or fully) with the central purposes of education, the way in which schools reproduce gender relations and undermine girls’ autonomy.

5. Capabilities approach Equality of outcomes Whether individuals are able to live a life worth living Forces our attention onto the curriculum and classroom practice – increase the range of lives worth living Pulls gender equity from a side-stream, supportive role into the mainstream. Deflates the competitive nature of meritocracy and desert that characterises equality of opportunity

6. In practice? Break down hierarchies between masculine and feminine activities –Put money into netball and take money away from soccer! (And be prepared for the fight) –Encourage mixed-gendered teams Conscientise teachers on sexist teaching practices (only teaching to boys or using stereotypes). Include gender in teaching monitoring tools. (And be prepared for the backlash) Get SGBs to write gender policies for their schools (or at the very least how to address sexism) as part of their missions and visions for schools. No more national competitions and prize-givings and camps (don’t intervene; institutionalise)