THE IMPORTANCE OF GENDER EQUALITY

The topic of gender gaps and gender equality attracts often strong and differing perspectives and opinions. Clearly, there are many factors that may impact any particular gender gap. And clearly, men and women are represented in various arenas of life and work in ratios that are not always equal.

There are strong differences of opinion within this debate, but in a teacher’s point of view, I believe that teaching our 21st century students on gender equality is a subset of providing the necessary exposure, basic understanding, and efficacy with broader Filipino society’s norms and expectations that students will need in order to make better life choices and succeed beyond school.

Therefore, I would assert that there is a duty for educators to offer better exposure and clear, direct teaching of the relevance, importance, and new norms for gender equality.

However, as many sensitive topics have been and are successfully taught while balancing the wide and strong beliefs and customs associated with human behaviors, gender equality also needs to be definitively taught with a similar balance of information without proscription or denigration.

Besides the fact that equality, not sameness, for all is the law as well as the founding value of our country, I think that gender education should be a primary focus of our educational system.

As part of the education sector, I believe that it is the responsibility of educational institutions to expose, explain, and impart a working understanding of historic and current customs, norms, general laws, social standards, and cultural trends of gender equality to students.

It can be noted that the society impacts males and females differently, possibly more so within our local communities. Women, in general, face different and often more difficult situations than males. This is particularly evident in situations, social activities, and interactions we can witness everyday.

Gender equality is not only an aspect of Filipino culture and society, but has becoming increasingly accepted as an integral part of modern industrialized culture and societies around the world. It is important to teach gender equality because it is a value that will uplift us as a nation, and is reflective of our country’s aspirations and standards. — oOo— III at Pampanga High School The author is Teacher