GEC+ is the exclusive offer for our GEC Members.

Once you have your bespoke DEI data and action plan in the bag, you can ask for our ‘GEC+’ package.

GEC+ is how we bring the Collective to you. This might be virtual, in person or hybrid.

It might be a workshop, webinar or coaching - by one or a group from the Global Equality Collective - for one setting or many.

Personalised to your needs, the GEC+ will be unique and deliver the best in intersectional inclusion to you and yours.

We like collective action - so you you want us to ‘takeover’ your event, or your INSET day, just ask.

Diversity first, our panels include those with lived experience, the world’s finest DEI experts from academics and authors to practising teachers and international organisations.

Recent ‘GEC Takeovers’ include National College of Education (menopause and DEI online safety), the BETT Show (2020, 2022 and the upcoming 2023), National Association of Headteachers (NAHT), Institute of School Business Leaders (ISBL) and schools including Pionner Secondary Academy (Toxic Masculinity, Online Safety, Anti-Racism and Careers) and Galley Hill Primary School (Neurodiversity).

Two members of the Global Equality Collective, Dr Lauren Spinner (University of Kent) and Jordan Day, Primary School teacher, have teamed up to examine the impact of a curriculum designed to challenge gender stereotypes, #SmashingStereotypes.

Global Equality Collective’s Jordan Day of Madginford Primary School, and Dr Lauren Spinner from the University of Kent - along with colleagues from the University of Surrey, assessed primary school children’s gender flexibility along a number of constructs.

Assessments took place before the curriculum intervention began and then again 5 months later. The same procedure was followed in another school, which hadn’t yet introduced the curriculum, to act as a waiting control group.

GEC IN ACTION

The researchers measured flexibility among 6-10 year olds in relation to:

Gender Similarity: how similar children feel to other boys and girls;

Gender Contentedness: how happy children are with their own gender and their desire to be another gender;

Gender Unfairness: children’s perceived unfair treatment due to gender:

Gender Flexibility about toys: the extent to which they are aware of the gender stereotyping of toys and how much they endorse this; and

Occupations: the range of jobs children believe themselves able to do.

Led by Jordan, the students, via weekly 30-minute lessons, learned to identify and challenge stereotypes, and explored similarities between genders and diversity within gender. By the end of the project, compared to the control group, the intervention group felt more similar to the other gender and reported that they could do a wider range of occupations in the future. Those who showed less flexibility around toy play at baseline were more flexible after the intervention. Boys in the intervention group reported that gender stereotypes were more unfair than did the control group.

THE FINDINGS

The findings demonstrate the positive impact of interventions designed in this way on children’s gender flexibility. Flexibility was increased in relation to perceived similarity to the other gender, occupational aspirations, flexibility about toy play, and an increased awareness of the unfairness of gender norms (among boys), without affecting children’s own gender contentedness or perceived similarity to their own gender group, which has been showed by other studies to be important for identity and self-esteem.

Dr. Spinner says, “This piece of research was really special and unique because so few studies in this field involve genuine collaboration between researchers and educators, from the design to the evaluation stage. It is important for us to understand whether children’s gender stereotyping can be effectively challenged in school, outside a laboratory setting, because school is where children spend a lot of their time. It is very promising to find that gender flexibility across a number of domains can be increased via a curriculum programme because this approach could be adopted on a large-scale.”

Jordan says,“I don’t want the children I teach to be held back by anything, and I could see that the children’s endorsement of, and adherence to stereotypes was narrowing their vision of what they could be, and what they could achieve. Platonic friendships were rare, girls suffered from low confidence in STEM subjects and boys were unable to engage with the emotions of others, or themselves. I will always remember an exchange with a Year 3 child at the beginning of the project, who told me ‘I wish I was a girl so I could do ballet.”

When challenged, he expanded “No, I know boys CAN do ballet, but it’s weird.” He was constrained by what he thought was acceptable behaviour for a boy. By looking at how we could teach children to challenge stereotypes around gender, we expanded their horizons and encouraged them to look to each other as equals.”

Children’s adherence to gender stereotypes can be detrimental, yet interventions to tackle stereotyping have achieved mixed success. This project was particularly unique because so few studies have examined interventions developed collaboratively by educators and researchers, and shows that it can be a very successful venture.

Dr Spinner concludes saying, “The GEC Platform is a brilliant way for organisations, including schools, to learn about inequalities which may exist in their workplace. The detailed assessment gathers data on employees’ views and experiences and allows the organisation to pinpoint areas for improvement, which the app provides full support with.”

Founder of the Global Equality Collective, Nicole Ponsford, added “The GEC Collective is all about supporting organisations to do their own research and break their own new ground when it comes to DEI. We are thrilled that our members are doing more than just talking about making a difference in the sector - they are driving it.”

The full article is published in School Psychology International journal.

Press Copy is available at: GEC Education in Action | Gender Research

UPDATE - 2023

Grant funding has been given for the next stage with a ‘Teachers Toolkit’ to be made available following this. The GEC is proud to have been part of this. You can find this free resources here.

The GEC Platform is being used as the basis of intersectional inclusion by the University of Bournemouth.

We will be inviting GEC Members to take part to see if the GEC Platform helps them to understand the diversity of lived experience better of their stakeholders - and create more inclusive classrooms, staff rooms and playgrounds as a result.

Pilot study starting February 2023. Please get in touch if you are school leader and GEC Champion who would like to be part of this research.

We are working with the University of Goldsmith’s London (Teacher Centre) on our next stage of the GEC Platform - the Student Surveys.

Working alongside 45 of our GEC schools, colleges and nurseries, academics have been helping us with age appropriate surveys for all years.

We are now putting this incredible work together with student and school leader focus groups, who are co-designing our next steps with our software development agency, Pixie Labs.

Updates to come!

We want to shine a light on what is happening out there and inspire the next generation of #womenintechnology.

We believe we can do this and improve the take-up of digital opportunities for girls and young women in the UK through education and in particular the #edtech sector.

We are an award winning collective of female leaders in edtech - the #EdTechCollective - some in education and some in business, working towards gender equality.

Please get in touch if you would like to a ‘GEC Takeover’ for STEM, edtech or technology!

#BOYSWILLBEBOYS #CARINGBOYS #LITERACYGAP #SAFERSCHOOLS #METOO #VIOLENCE #TOXICMASCULINITY #BOYSDONTCRY#GENDEREQUALITY #SMASHINGSTEREOTYPES #GLOBALEQUALITY #BOYSRETREAT

MISSION STATEMENT

A collective approach to retreat our boys will reshape the future.

#BOYSRETREAT

Find out more here

We are holding an open webinar on ‘Tate and Radical Misogyny’ January 25th - details here - https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/gec-tate-and-radical-misogyny-in-education-tickets-517473325647

Also, if you would like this as a focus of a ‘GEC Takeover’, just drop us a line.

FREE EARLY YEARS HOME LEARNING BY GEC EDUCATION

In March 2022 as a national lockdown in the UK meant that many of our little GEC ‘Rebels’ were unable to be included in education.

Founder of the Global Equality Collective, Nic Ponsford moved quickly and launched ‘GEC EY HOME’ with several of our early years experts. In this 1,500 followers in the first 3 weeks enjoyed our daily menu of 4 short videos to help learners continue to do just that. Running for the first 4 weeks of lockdown, families could interact with our ‘at home’ home learning for 0-5 year olds - with a daily theme and 4 activities that could be done around snack times!

Our Lockdown project, GEC EYHome had a huge impact in both education and in homes. It engaged, inspired and encouraged inclusive (for all genders, abilities, socio-economic situations) learning activities for early years children that parents could support whilst working from home or homeschooling Early Years kids. It was after this that the BBC and Oak Academy were able to take over from us! :7 )

We have now made this public to all - just visit our FREE and accessible GECEYHome Content at its wonderful new home with Famly.co!

They asked to host it and share with their 10,000 members! We are proud to call it our home from home. Thank you Famly!

OPEN LETTER FROM COLLECTIVE - REVIEW OF SEXUAL ABUSE IN SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES JUNE 2021

Read our Open Letter to Ofsted Chief Inspector from the Global Equality Collective here - we sent this in support of ‘Everyone’s Invited’.