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. 22 December 2009

    Teachers are on the move for equality!

    Bringing gender equality closer to reality in the daily lives of women, including through their participation in education unions, is a key principle of EI. With the current crises in¬ food security, climate change and economic recession, this goal of gender equality demands greater effort if it is to be...

    Teachers are on the move for equality!
  2. News 25 November 2009

    Statement on International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women

    There are NO excuses. Violence against women is a matter of inequality between women and men. Teacher unions have a key role to play in combating gender-based violent attitudes and EI renews its commitments for human rights and equality between women and men.

    Statement on International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women
  3. News 29 October 2009

    Pension reforms in Europe: Keeping women poor in old age?

    Are pension reforms reinforcing the gender wage gap and extending it past women’s working lives and in to retirement? What policies can help minimize the differences between men’s and women’s economic wellbeing in old age? These are among the questions examined in a new study by Education International (EI), the...

    Pension reforms in Europe: Keeping women poor in old age?
  4. News 13 October 2009

    Child labour in Central Asia is a growing concern

    Education International and its member organisations around the world are committed to eradicating child labour wherever it occurs.

    Child labour in Central Asia is a growing concern
  5. News 15 June 2009

    ILO address: EI denounces child labour, supports Employee Free Choice Act

    “There are still too many places where child labour is a more or less socially accepted phenomenon. In Central Asia, where children are forced out of school and into the cotton fields. In South Asia and Africa, where children labour in factories and on the streets. And in households around...

    ILO address: EI denounces child labour, supports Employee Free Choice Act
  6. News 11 June 2009

    EI condemns attacks on Peruvian Indigenous defenders of Amazon jungle

    Education International is raising its voice in solidarity with the Indigenous people of the Peruvian rainforest who are defending their ancestral lands from new legislation that would allow land and resources to be sold without their consent.

    EI condemns attacks on Peruvian Indigenous defenders of Amazon jungle
  7. News 10 June 2009

    Education International calls for an end to child labour

    Every year at this time, members of Education International (EI) join with other trade unions and concerned citizens around the globe to mark the World Day Against Child Labour, 12 June.

    Education International calls for an end to child labour
  8. News 12 May 2009

    EI endorses UN statement on sexual orientation and gender identity

    EI issued a statement today on the occasion of the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia taking place on 17 May, highlighting its endorsement of the United Nations' statement on sexual identity and orientation.

    EI endorses UN statement on sexual orientation and gender identity
  9. News 18 March 2009

    Equality progresses at the UN: Outcomes of the 53rd Session of the Commission on the Status of Women

    The United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) has a long track record of civil society participation in its meetings. The advocacy work of the civil society, including trade unions, played an important role again this year in giving coherence to the work of the commission.

    Equality progresses at the UN: Outcomes of the 53rd Session of the Commission on the Status of Women
  10. News 11 March 2009

    Indonesia: teacher union joins the ILO to combat child labour

    In a bid to decrease school drop-out rates, the International Labour Organisation and the Indonesian teachers' union, the Persatuan Guru Republik Indonesia (PGRI), are organising a joint programme aimed at combating child labour.

    Indonesia: teacher union joins the ILO to combat child labour
  11. News 3 March 2009

    International Women's Day, 8th March 2009

    International Women’s Day is an occasion to review the ongoing struggle for women’s rights and gender equality. It is an opportunity to celebrate the progress made, as well as condemn the ongoing difficulties many women and girls face in their efforts to assert their rights to equality and justice. March...

    International Women's Day, 8th March 2009
  12. News 2 March 2009

    UNCSW: EI, ITUC and PSI parallel panel on 3 March

    The 53rd Session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (UN CSW) opened in New York on 2 March. The 40-strong trade union delegation from the Education International, International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and Public Services International (PSI) will be presenting trade union statement to governments.

    UNCSW: EI, ITUC and PSI parallel panel on 3 March
  13. News 27 February 2009

    Trade unionists ready to influence UN session on Equality for Women and Men

    Over 40 trade unions delegates and union equality officers will gather to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) on Monday, March 2 in New York to advocate and make progress on gender equality and non-discrimination policies within the framework of the decent work, decent lives for...

    Trade unionists ready to influence UN session on Equality for Women and Men
  14. 16 January 2009

    Human rights and gender equality in education

    “Financing gender equality is often preached, but scarcely ever practised,” Jan Eastman, EI Deputy General Secretary, told delegates at the last UN Commission on the Status of Women.

    Human rights and gender equality in education
  15. 16 January 2009

    Teachers defend children’s rights

    Although legal frameworks are in place to protect children’s rights, millions of children are still deprived of their fundamental rights. The right to life, to an identity, to health care, to free education, to be protected from abuse, exploitation and any form of discrimination are among those fundamental rights. All...

    Teachers defend children’s rights
  16. News 9 December 2008

    EI urges greater respect for Indigenous languages and culture

    Bilingual and multicultural education is not only “important for the human rights of Indigenous Peoples, but also for all other children, as well as for humanity as a whole, collecting and conserving relevant knowledge to help our planet survive,” EI Vice-President Susan Hopgood told participants in the EI seminar on...

    EI urges greater respect for Indigenous languages and culture
  17. News 5 December 2008

    EI hosts its largest-ever seminar on Indigenous issues

    “Quality education and social justice for Indigenous peoples” is the theme of Education International’s Indigenous educators’ seminar to be held 6 December 2008 in advance of the World Indigenous Peoples Conference on Education in Melbourne.

    EI hosts its largest-ever seminar on Indigenous issues