Arjan's group final

The podcast discusses gender equality issues in schools and the differences between the UK and Belgium. It highlights the discrimination faced by girls and the conservative mentality that still exists in many countries. Belgium has made progress in achieving gender parity in education, while the UK still has work to do. Gender inequality has a social impact, affecting perceptions of gender roles and the acceptance of equality measures. Women in the UK face challenges in the workplace and caregiving responsibilities. Belgium has implemented legal measures to promote gender equality. Women's influence in politics is limited in both countries. Hello everyone and welcome to our podcast on the UNS Sustainable Development Goals. And in this podcast we will be talking about gender equality. We will be focusing on different aspects of gender equality between the UK and Belgium and whether they have improved or not and why. Today I'm joined by Milice Florian and Theodora. Milice, you have an expertise on gender equality in schools. Would you like to share your thoughts with us? Alright, so firstly let's look at gender equality issues in schools. A lot of girls are being discriminated just for being a female. One of the problems is that this isn't a new issue. This has been going on ever since education was made mandatory for both boys and girls. Throughout time there has always been implemented the mentality that girls are less smarter than boys, that they shouldn't be given the same kind of education as boys and that mentality creates a lot of problems for many girls around the world. Even today there are still many countries where this kind of conservative mentality is still predominant. In Afghanistan, for example, ever since the Taliban came to power, girls have been banned from education due to this very belief that they should fulfill the role of housewives. This obviously leads to a decline in the equality rights and education between males and females. It does seem that Afghanistan does have a lot of obstacles regarding this, but how would you say the UK and Belgium are handling this? Belgium has maintained gender parity in educational achievement with no difference in literacy rates and primary school enrollment for boys and girls. As of 2023, Belgium ranked second in the EU with a score of 74.1 out of 100. As for the UK, the data shows that girls do better than boys at both GCSEs. Of course, there is still a lot that needs to be done, but there is progress being made. That is a very interesting insight indeed. Thank you for your expertise, Mélisse. Florian, you said that gender inequality has a great social impact. Would you like to expand on that? While social norms and cultural expectations may differ, which can affect perceptions of gender roles and equality, these aspects can affect the speed at which change is embraced. The way gender equality is perceived and discussed in society may vary. This can affect the acceptance of equality measures and their speed of change. Men and women face different expectations about how they dress, behave or work. The differences between men and women, whether in the family, the workplace or the public sphere, also reflect understandings of talents, characteristics and behaviour appropriate to women and men. In the UK, women are 50% more likely than men to work in low-paying jobs and 20% more likely than men to be stuck in such jobs for over 10 years. For some women and girls, particularly those in poorer communities, and for women and girls of colour, things have actually become more worse. This has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has led to disproportionate burdens for women. When the public thinks the job is done and gender equality is a problem for elsewhere, our progress on the issue will be stagnant. And the job for women is far from done. Hello everyone and welcome to our podcast on the UN's Sustainable Development Goals. And in this podcast, we will be talking about gender equality. We will be focusing on different aspects of gender equality between the UK and Belgium and whether they have improved or not and why. Today, I'm joined by Mélisse Florian and Theodora. Mélisse, you have an expertise on gender equality in schools. Would you like to share your thoughts with us? All right. So firstly, let's look at gender equality issues in schools. A lot of girls are being discriminated just for being a female. One of the problems is that this isn't a new issue. This has been going on ever since education was made mandatory for both boys and girls. Throughout time, there has always been implemented the mentality that girls are less smart than boys, that they shouldn't be given the same kind of education as boys, and that mentality creates a lot of problems for many girls around the world. Even today, there are still many countries where this kind of conservative mentality still predominates. In Afghanistan, for example, ever since the Taliban came to power, girls have been banned from education due to this very belief that they should fulfill the role of housewives. This obviously leads to a decline in the equality rights in education between males and females. It does seem that Afghanistan does have a lot of obstacles regarding this, but how would you say the UK and Belgium are handling this? Both Belgium and the UK have implemented gender awareness and inclusive education programs to break down gender stereotypes and promote equal opportunities in all sectors of education. Belgium has maintained gender parity in educational achievement with no difference in literacy rates and primary school enrollment for boys and girls. As of 2023, Belgium ranked second in the EU with a score of 74.1 out of 100. Of course, there is still a lot that needs to be done, but there is progress being made. That is a very interesting insight indeed. Thank you for your expertise, Milice. Florian, you said that gender inequality has had a great social impact. Would you like to expand on that? While social norms and cultural expectations may differ, which can affect perceptions of gender roles and equality, these aspects can affect the speed at which change is embraced. The way gender equality is perceived and discussed in society may vary. This can affect the acceptance of equality measures and the speed of change. Men and women face different expectations about how they dress, behave or work. Relations between men and women, whether in the family, the workplace or the public sphere, tends to reflect understandings of talents, characteristics and behaviour appropriate to women and men. In the UK, women are 50% more likely than men to work in low-paying jobs and 20% more likely than men to be stuck in such jobs. Women are less likely to be employed full-time, with a rate of 55% compared to 61% of men. 41% of women provide care for children, grandchildren, older people or people with disabilities compared to 25% of men. So, how would you say Belgium is handling this issue? Well, since the 1980s, Belgium has implemented legal measures to promote gender equality at the federal and regional levels, in both the public and private sectors. In February 2012, the Belgian constitution affirmed the principle of equality between men and women by including a specific provision in an amendment to Article 10. The Gender Act was adopted federally in 2007. It aims to combat discrimination between men and women and prohibits every form of discrimination based on gender, change of gender, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, childbirth and motherhood. Thank you Florian for sharing this information with us. Theodora, you have mentioned to me before the podcast that there have been attempts in solving all the issues we have discussed but it has been difficult because women do not have as much influence in politics as men do. Would you like to share more on this? In Belgium, Article 5 of the 16 December 2002 Act states that the institute is responsible for preparing and implementing government decisions and monitoring European and international policies on gender equality. It carries out these missions under the authority of the Minister in charge of gender equality policies. In the UK, the House of Lords has 228 female Spears but they represent a small proportion, 29% of the House, out of the 784 sitting Spears. There has been a steady increase over time in the House of Commons. Constance Markiewicz was the first woman elected in Parliament in 1918 but as a member of a Seen Fund, did not take her seat. The first woman to sit in Parliament was Nancy Astor, elected in 1919. Since then, the number of female MPs has grown rapidly, reaching 34% under the 2019 general elections. Once again, thank you to Milice, Florian and Theodora for joining me on this podcast and sharing their information. I hope you have enjoyed this podcast and that you have learned something. See you on the next podcast. Bye! Transcribed by https://otter.ai