We return this month with our series which recaps our favorite (or least favorite) moments in gender equity from news, media, and longreads all over the internet. You’ll see installments for This Month in Gender Equity the fourth week of each month. If you have ideas or contributions, leave a comment or tweet at us! We’d love to know what you’re reading and learning.

The U.A.E. Handed Out Gender Equality Awards. All Went to Men.

It shouldn’t escape our notice that when the United Arab Emirates gave out their awards for gender equality and gender balance, only men were recipients. The awards are given in three categories: Best Personality for Supporting Gender Balance, Best Federal Entity for Supporting Gender Balance, and the Best Initiative for Supporting Gender Balance. One award went to an individual and the others to government agencies. Though obviously there are many societal and cultural factors at play here, it does seem to come off as a little strange that there were no women who were worthy of awards in gender equality. Certainly there are women working in the UAE to champion the cause of gender equity, and recognition of their voices and accomplishments would likely go far in advancing gender equity in the UAE. When asked for comment, the Dubai government tweeted, “gender balance has become a pillar in our governmental institutions.” Hopefully in next year’s awards, women will be recognized, as well.

The Classroom Origins of Toxic Masculinity

The phrase “toxic masculinity” is now fairly common, but it’s important to recognize the history of this language. While we’ve seen conversations about masculinity spring up around the Kavanaugh hearings, the CovCath boys, and the Gillette commercial, it’s equally important to consider ways and experiences of masculinity that are not only non-toxic (a low bar) but are instead healthy, generative, and cooperative. Sociologist and men’s studies expert Raewyn Connell says, “Masculinity is not a fixed entity embedded in the body or personality traits of individuals….Masculinities are configurations of practice that are accomplished in social action….” Recognizing these practices and their social history is perhaps the first way to counter and resist them.

Why Girls Beat Boys at School and Lose to Them at the Office

A colleague recently distributed this reading in a class and students’ responses were, to say the least, mixed. Frankly, I (Lauren) am still unsure about my read of it as well. The author suggests, “We need to ask: What if school is a confidence factory for our sons, but only a competence factory for our daughters?” She goes on to suggest that one of the reasons for this perceived differential in outcomes is that parents and schools praise “inefficient overwork” in girls while the boys received praise for “how much they can accomplish simply by counting on their wits.” The author goes on to connect this to the ways in which women tend to fall behind their male colleagues in workplaces. Instead of attributing the problem of promotion to the inefficiency of girls (especially because women tend to do the bulk of home care and tasks), I would have liked to see the author interrogate the ways in which schools and workplaces are structured to advance and celebrate traditionally male attributes and habits of work. What do you think?

-Lauren and Amy