You’ve likely seen the splashy, celebrity-packed Equality Can’t Wait campaign videos that recently circulated on social media. The organization is an offshoot of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which focuses on achieving parity for women across sectors: specifically, economic participation and opportunity, political empowerment, health and survival, and educational attainment. At present, the World Economic Forum estimates that it will take the United States 208 years to achieve gender equality. However, Melinda Gates just wrote a lengthy piece for the Harvard Business Review in which she details the steps she believes are necessary to achieve gender equality much sooner. She summarizes her vision as “a future in which an increased number of Americans want women to exert greater power and influence in our society.”
Read MoreCheck back here for twice-monthly updates from AEC! We will provide you with content about current events, tips and resources, and new strategies to try in your districts, schools, and classrooms. To view ongoing and past blog series, click on the links below.
We’ve noticed some new readers around here in the last few months. If that’s you—welcome! We’re so glad you’re here and we want to hear from you. If you’re not new—we will want you to feel welcome. We’ve been running AEC for almost a year and a half and wanted to take the opportunity to re-introduce ourselves. You’ll hear from Lauren this month and from Amy next month.
Read MoreWe 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 third week of each month. If you have ideas or contributions, leave a comment or tweet at us!
Read MoreHappy back to school! I hope that you are enjoying your first weeks back at school and aren’t falling asleep every day on the couch as soon as you walk in the door. I’ve heard it said hundreds of times that there is no tired like first weeks of school tired, and that is no joke. So maybe it was my fatigue or my overload on news stories about the women running for president, but recently I came across an article that made me both sadder and more exhausted. What was it about, you ask?
Read MoreThe first day of school is one of my favorite days of the year—it feels like the new year. I make lists, buy new supplies, and cheerily greet my colleagues in the hallway by chirping, “How was your summer?” This day feels full of the same possibility and promise. As on so many first days of school before (somewhere in the neighborhood of thirty of them, counting my days as both student and as teacher), I picked a first-day-of-school outfit. However, my role as a junior faculty member at a university has changed the way I choose clothing. I chose a dress in a dark color—nothing too flashy. The neckline was high and the hemline was low. I wore a cardigan to cover most of my tattoos. I wore my hair up and pinned back, wore glasses while I usually wear contacts, and wore small pearl stud earrings—all of which were an effort to communicate that I could and should be taken seriously. For purposes of comparison, I noticed that two of my male colleagues wore jeans to teach graduate students on the first night of classes.
Read MoreThis week, many of us are back in school. You’ve printed the schedules and planned the lessons. It may be an exciting time for you – full of new students, new school supplies, or new studies. For others of you, this time of year may be ridden with anxiety and questions – will you get along with your colleagues? Are you up to the tasks ahead of you? In order to get organized for the school year, I usually start with a massive to do list but just writing that list is not nearly as satisfying as checking off the individual items.
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