Ei-iE

Jens Kalaene
Jens Kalaene

Equity and inclusion

We defend and promote the principles of equity and equality in education, in education unions and in society. We are fully committed to combating all forms of racism and of bias or discrimination due age, disability, ethnicity or indigeneity, gender, gender identity or sexual orientation, language, marital status, migratory status, political activism, religion, socio-economic status, trade union affiliation, among others. We are committed to addressing these forms of discrimination through an intersectional lens, which enables a deeper understanding of the complexities of lived experiences.

I think Education International has a leadership role to play… If we’re going to have a more civil society, a more inclusive society, then we have to model that by including men but women as well, people of different ethnic groups or religious backgrounds. All of us have to be involved and be at the table and have that kind of respect.

Professor Mary Hatwood Futrell, First elected EI President, 1993–2004

Promoting and advancing gender equality has always been an Education International priority. We believe that education can play a key role in empowering women and girls and can contribute to breaking through the cycle of gender discrimination. The Education International Gender Equality Action Plan highlights three main priorities:

  1. Promoting women’s leadership and participation within education unions;
  2. Taking action to increase intersectional gender equality in and through education;
  3. Promoting and securing women’s economic empowerment.

The unequal and gendered impact of the COVID-19 pandemic risks erasing years of progress on equity and inclusion throughout the world. Together with our member organisations, we mobilise to challenge and help dismantle all structures of inequality in education and beyond. As part of this work, we have called for equity audits to be conducted at all levels of education in order to ensure the pandemic does not define the lives of an entire generation of students.

Our work in this area

  1. News 4 February 2022

    Albania: Education unions' success in combating child labour

    The Albanian trade unions FSASH and SPASH (1) have been involved in projects to combat child labour since 2002, with the support of international partners (2). More than 500 trade union leaders and 6,000 teachers have been trained in preventing dropping-out and in reintegrating former child labourers into school. The...

    Albania: Education unions' success in combating child labour
  2. Worlds of Education 21 December 2021

    Expanding Vaccines Beyond Our Borders

    Randi Weingarten, Mugwena Maluleke

    If there is one thing we never see again, let it be a crematorium waiting list. Let temporary morgue tents be just that—temporary. We have the capacity to make that happen—to prepare for the next global public health crisis, so we never see this level of chaos and destruction again,...

    Expanding Vaccines Beyond Our Borders
  3. Worlds of Education 17 December 2021

    UNATU’s experience supporting teachers in refugee areas

    Baguma Filbert Bates

    Uganda is considered the top refugee-hosting country in Africa and one of the top five hosting countries in the world. Statistics reveal that close to 1.5 million refugees live in Uganda.

    UNATU’s experience supporting teachers in refugee areas
  4. Worlds of Education 17 December 2021

    We only protect ourselves by protecting others

    Kevin Courtney

    It brings such shame on the UK Government that in November 2021, 27 people including a pregnant woman, drowned in utterly miserable and terrifying circumstances just a few miles from being able to claim asylum. Safe legal routes to claim asylum have been increasingly restricted. Airlines are fined if they...

    We only protect ourselves by protecting others
  5. News 16 December 2021

    Education International calls for equity audits to address exacerbated inequities facing refugee students and teachers

    Education International took the floor at the first High Level Officials Meeting hosted by the UN Refugee Agency to highlight the crippling impact of the pandemic on refugee access to quality education and to call for increased support for refugee teachers, as well as teachers in crisis and refugee-hosting contexts.

    Education International calls for equity audits to address exacerbated inequities facing refugee students and teachers
  6. News 16 December 2021

    Education unions in Germany, the UK, Switzerland, Canada, the USA and South Africa call on governments to support vaccine equity

    Education International member organisations in Germany, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Canada, the United States of America and South Africa are calling on governments to support the temporary waiver of intellectual property rights on Covid-19 vaccines and treatments at the World Trade Organization. If adopted, the waiver would enable an expansion...

    Education unions in Germany, the UK, Switzerland, Canada, the USA and South Africa call on governments to support vaccine equity
  7. Statements 13 December 2021

    Better education financing and regulation of private interests is urgent to ensure equitable, inclusive, and resilient education systems

    Education International responds to the 2021 UNESCO Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Report "Non-state actors in education: Who chooses, who loses?"

    The 2021/2022 UNESCO Global Education Monitoring Report (GEM Report) analyses the role and involvement of state and non-state actors in education and in the education sector. The stated aim of the report is to consider non-state actors in education ‘through the lens of equity and inclusion’, which were among the...

    Better education financing and regulation of private interests is urgent to ensure equitable, inclusive, and resilient education systems
  8. Worlds of Education 3 December 2021

    Momentum must be harnessed to tackle scourge of violence against women and girls

    Patrick Roach

    The Covid-19 pandemic has had profound consequences for teachers and students and for global progress in meeting the goal of quality public education for all. But, together with a health crisis, we continue deal with the pandemic of sexism and misogyny which is blighting the lives, education and life chances...

    Momentum must be harnessed to tackle scourge of violence against women and girls
  9. News 3 December 2021

    Afghanistan: Education International “schools should never be targets of terrorism or violence”

    Education International reiterated its support for education, peace, and human rights in Afghanistan as the country faces a deepening humanitarian crisis. Earlier this year, Education International and member organisations expressed grave concerns about the safety of educators and about equal access to education for all, especially for girls , after...

    Afghanistan: Education International “schools should never be targets of terrorism or violence”
  10. Worlds of Education 30 November 2021

    Education unions adapt their approaches to address school-related gender-based violence through the pandemic

    Rex Fyles

    Over the last six years, Gender at Work (G@W) has been collaborating with Education International (EI) to put education unions at the forefront of global efforts to end gender-based violence in and around schools. When we started, I had no idea what ‘SRGBV’ meant, let alone how to pronounce it....

    Education unions adapt their approaches to address school-related gender-based violence through the pandemic
  11. Statements 29 November 2021

    Global Unions demand urgent action for vaccine equity as new Covid-19 variant emerges

    Representing over 200 million workers worldwide, the Council of Global Unions has published a statement urging governments and in particular, the UK, Switzerland, Germany, along with the European Commission, to put people over profit and waive intellectual property rights on Covid-19 vaccines and medical products at the World Trade Organization.

    Global Unions demand urgent action for vaccine equity as new Covid-19 variant emerges
  12. Statements 24 November 2021

    International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women | Mobilising and organising for a world that is safe and affirming for all

    November 25th, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, kicks off the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence around the world. To mark this important day, David Edwards, Education International General Secretary, launched a call for collective and sustained action across our societies to make the...

    International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women | Mobilising and organising for a world that is safe and affirming for all
  13. News 24 November 2021

    New campaign: Latin American unions join forces against harassment and violence in the world of work

    Education International Latin America (IEAL) and the Women Education Workers’ Network (RED de Trabajadoras de la Educación) are campaigning to promote the ratification of International Labour Organization Convention 190 (C190) and Recommendation 206 (R206). C190 is the convention on eliminating violence and harassment in the world of work, adopted on...

    New campaign: Latin American unions join forces against harassment and violence in the world of work
  14. Statements 22 November 2021

    The world is failing millions of refugees. We must act now.

    The recently published Global Compact on Refugees Indicator Report 2021 is a stark reminder of the disproportionate impact of the pandemic on the most vulnerable groups. Education International calls on the international community to ensure the fundamental right to education and the right to decent work for all refugees without...

    The world is failing millions of refugees. We must act now.
  15. News 26 October 2021

    Fiji: Young activists ready to take up the union torch

    Inspiring young educators to improve and develop trade union work in Fiji was the aim of a dedicated training event organised by the Council of Pacific Education (COPE) in October 2020.

    Fiji: Young activists ready to take up the union torch
  16. News 21 October 2021

    Caribbean unions empower women as leaders

    The Caribbean Union of Teachers (CUT) has held a series of virtual leadership training workshops for women within the organisation. The theme of this series, that could happen thanks to the financial support of the Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario (EFTO), member of the Canadian Teachers’ Federation (CTF), was: “Empowering...

    Caribbean unions empower women as leaders
  17. Publications

    Learning from the Past, Looking to the Future: Excellence and Equity for All

    A briefing by Education International for the 2021 International Summit on the Teaching Profession
    21 October 2021

    Never has there been a sharper global focus on teachers than on this 10th anniversary of the International Summit on the Teaching Profession. The pandemic shutdown of in-person schooling, the unsurprising yet remarkable adaptation of teachers to remote practice where possible and the uneven and uncertain return to classrooms have...

    Learning from the Past, Looking to the Future: Excellence and Equity for All
    1. Briefing by Education International for the 2021 International Summit on the Teaching Profession