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Unicef survey: Young people feel that bullying, discrimination and inadequate mental health services impact their well-being

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Unicef survey: Young people feel that bullying, discrimination and inadequate mental health services impact their well-being

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Yle News cited Unicef article on young people's well-being (aged 13 to 18) in Finland. I highlight one very important aspect here.

For Yle, 15 year-old Saara Katainen tells that one big problem is that adults handle poorly the situations where young people feel different:

"In the school being different is something that is kept quiet. It is not talked about enough and one easily has this feeling do I even belong here" , says Saara Katainen.

Also cited from the article: "Many feel that teachers and other adults do not understand how diverse kids and young are and that they do not have enough knowledge of various backgrounds the youth come from. Nearly 40 percent of the respondents have experienced fear for discrimination or bullying. "

Original article by Unicef with a link to survey (in Finnish) https://www.unicef.fi/tiedotus/uutisarkisto/2021/unicefin-kysely-lahes-joka-kolmas-nuori-kokee-ettei-hyvasta-tulevaisuudesta-ole-helppo-unelmoida/

My own thoughts on this:
I bet many teachers believe it would be insensitive to talk about backgrounds, while actually the kids would really seem to want that! So this survey and these kids' voices are really precious. It is so sad to realize that by not talking about these things, the kids grow up to believe different is bad, when it actually is the spice of life! Acknowledging the differences we can also access the huge variety of individual strengths and skills and knowledge the pupils/students have.

Shared by Tiia

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YK:n lastenjärjestön uuden kyselyn mukaan moni nuori kokee, ettei hyvästä tulevaisuudesta ole helppo unelmoida. Koronan ja ilmaston lisäksi nuoret kokevat, että kiusaaminen, syrjintä ja mielenterveyspalvelujen riittämättömyys heikentävät heidän hyvinvointiaan.

Nuorten huoli tulevaisuudesta saröllä

Yhdistyneiden kansakuntien lastenjärjestö Unicef:n uuden kyselyn mukaan teini-ikäisten suurin huoli on tällä hetkellä huoli ilmastonmuutoksesta. Puolet kyselyyn vastanneista nuorista kokee myös koronan lisänneen huolta tulevasta.

Kyselyyn vastanneesta yli tuhannesta nuoresta kokemukset syrjinnästä, kiusaaminen ja mielenterveyspalvelujen huono saatavuus heikentävät myös heidän omaa hyvinvointiaan.

Kysely tehtiin kesällä 13-18-vuotiaille nuorille eri puolille Suomea. Vastanneita oli ympäri Suomea. Valtaosa vastaajista oli tyttöjä.

Nuorten mukaan hyvän elämän ja arjen tärkeimpiä asioita ovat lähellä olevat ihmiset. Kaikista tärkein nuorille on perhe, mutta myös kaverit ja ystävyys nousivat vastauksissa selvästi esille.

Perheen merkitys korona-aikana on tullut esille myös aikaisemmassa kyselyssä (siirryt toiseen palveluun) vähän nuoremmille.

Pitkittynyt korona syö kyselyn mukaan tulevaisuususkoa. Kun nuorien harrastusmahdollisuudet ovat kaventuneet ja epävarmuus tulevasta on lisääntynyt, nuoret ovat huolestuneet omasta jaksamisestaan ja mielenterveydestään. Huolta lisää se, että he kokevat joutuvansa kärsijöiksi ilmastonmuutoksessa.

Nuoret haluavat keskustella ja olla oma itsensä

Kyselyn mukaan joka kolmas nuori Suomessa kokee, ettei voi olla koulussa vapaasti oma itsensä. Nuoret kokevat, että erilaisuus johtaa helposti kiusaamiseen ja syrjintään.

- Koulussa ehkä vaietaan erilaisuudesta. Siitä ei puhuta tarpeeksi, ja siitä tulee helposti olo, että kuulunko tänne, kertoi espoolainen Saara Katainen, 15, Ylen aamun lähetyksessä torstaiaamuna.

Monet kokevat, etteivät opettajat ja muut aikuiset ymmärrä kuinka erilaisia lapset ja nuoret ovat eivätkä he tunne nuorten erilaisia taustoja tarpeeksi hyvin. Lähes 40 prosenttia vastanneista kokee, että koulussa joutuu pelkäämään syrjintää tai kiusaamista.

Unicefin Suomen-osaston erityisasiantuntija Sanna Koskisen mukaan vastausten joukosta tulee esille pysäyttävä viesti siitä, että joka viidennellä nuorella ei ole aikuista, jolle voi puhua ongelmistaan.

- Koulussa saattaa tuntua vieraalta mennä juttelemaan vaikka kuraattorille. Siitä tulee ikään kuin leima, Saara Katainen kertoo.

Lähes kaksi kolmesta vastaajasta toivoo, että mielenterveyteen liittyvistä asioista puhuttaisiin kouluissa enemmän. Nuoret toivoivat myös, että mielenterveyspalveluihin, kuten koulupsykologille ja -kuraattorille, pääsisi helpommin.

Lisäksi nuoret eivät koe tulevansa kuulluiksi kuntien päätöksenteossa. Joka neljäs nuori kokee, että kuntapäättäjät ymmärtävät lasten ja nuorten huolia päätöksiä tehdessään.

Unicef kampanjoi tällä hetkellä nuorten aseman parantamiseksi kunnissa.
Lue myös: "Olin vihainen, pettynyt ja katkera" - ympäristöahdistus voi olla lamauttavaa, mutta tuskan voi muuttaa toivoksi ja toiminnaksi Viisi asiaa, jotka korona muutti pitkäksi aikaa nuorten elämässä - Suomessa on nyt uusia "laman lapsia" Sairaalat täyttäneistä nuorista nousi huoli - asiantuntijan mukaan oireilevaa nuorta voi auttaa yksinkertaisella keinolla, kuuntelemalla

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Nuorten usko tulevaan säröilee, ja Saara Katainen, 15, tietää ainakin yhden syyn: "Erilaisuudesta ei puhuta tarpeeksi" - Unicef listaa tukun muita tekijöitä

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YK:n lastenjärjestön uuden kyselyn mukaan moni nuori kokee, ettei hyvästä tulevaisuudesta ole helppo unelmoida. Koronan ja ilmaston lisäksi nuoret kokevat, että kiusaaminen, syrjintä ja mielenterveyspalvelujen riittämättömyys heikentävät heidän hyvinvointiaan. Yhdistyneiden kansakuntien lastenjärjestö Unicef:n uuden kyselyn mukaan teini-ikäisten suurin huoli on tällä hetkellä huoli ilmastonmuutoksesta. Puolet kyselyyn vastanneista nuorista kokee myös koronan lisänneen huolta tulevasta.

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Towrds more equity and equality in teaching bullying must be minimised and tackled more seriously and strictly at schools.

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Towrds more equity and equality in teaching bullying must be minimised and tackled more seriously and strictly at schools.

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I an article publish by Yle news agency on September the 25 of 2020, according to Mannerheim League for Child Welfare (MLL), one fifth of students in Finnish schools  were found out seeking approval from other student by bulling others, a survey revealed. Sixth of the surveyed 14000 students reported that they we bullied. Only one quarter of them recieved help and support by school staff. The MLL Program Manager Jenni Helenius commented that teachers and administrators at schools should pay more attention to bullying situations and provide aid for those who need it. Besides, teachers must raise awarenesss among students  to seek help when bullied. (Yle, 2020)
As a teacher who have been teaching in Finnish schools for two years and a half, I have noticed that bullying is quite common. Besides, I have noticed that some teachers deal mildly with it. For example, one of my students said that she is bullied by her best friend who when finding another school friend, she becomes aggressive to my student and says words like, "you smell bad, or your mouth stinks." A third-grade student told me that her classmate is black; other classmates point at the Africanclassmate and shout the word "poop". The third-grader student said that she defended her African classmate, but mentioned nothing about the classroom teacher's role. An Iraqi, fourth-grader student shared with me a stroy that few of her Finnish classmates were telling and immigrant classmate to go back to his country. The Iraqi student felt mad and told the teacher about the incident; the teacher did nothing, but said "Sano anteeks.".
In my classrooms of Arabic as a Heritage language, bullying takes place. For my part, I instantly stop the lesson; I inquire more information of why the tension has risen. Then I explain to my students why it is not proper to do or say what have been sone or said. Silence of teachers, according to me, should not continue. The slightest bullying action must be highlighted. From schools can graduate generations of students who lack social intelligence and empathy. Our future world does not only need masses of smart people in mathematics, science, history or literature, but it urgently needs people who can sympethise and empethise whith the others, especially the ones who are different.

Resources:
Yle, September 2020. Youth survey: Bullying may bring street cred. Accessed on September 6th, 2021: https://yle.fi/uutiset/osasto/news/youth_survey_bullying_may_bring_street_cred/11563887

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Academics: Outdated structures, discrimination behind migrant students' poor performance in Finland

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Academics: Outdated structures, discrimination behind migrant students' poor performance in Finland

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This news highlights outdated education structure and racist attitude towards migrant students as the main reasons of their poor performance in schools. International student assessment PISA results of 2012 and 2015 also indicate that migrant background affects learning outcomes in Finland more than in many other countries. Assistant sociology prof. of Turku university states that Finland's approach to early education and teaching Finnish to migrant- background children as second language(S2) is responsible for the phenomena. Aisha, who has migrant background, has shared her personal experience about learning Finnish language in upper secondary school. She says that she has attended classes for both Finnish as native language and as second language. According to her, teacher was the same but there was a remarkable difference in terms of learning goals and learning activities planned for students. It is reported that difficulties with Finnish language are misinterpreted as learning difficulties. In addition to this outdated education structure, migrant-background students have also experienced racism and discrimination in the class. One of the students shared that they were kept back after school to re-do the tests under teacher's supervision because the teacher did not believe in the outcomes and thought to have cheated answers. Migrant-background students still remembered the comments their teachers or student counsellors passed to them intentionally or unintentionally. Many students with immigrant background are directed to vocational studies that is why  Finland has the largest gap between university education of ethnic Finns and immigrant-background students.
I think Finland needs to restructure the education. Finnish education system needs to know how to respond to immigrant's special needs. It is important not only to train the teachers according to the new demands but teachers with different backgrounds should be recruited to bridge the gaps in education system of Finland.
link to news:
https://yle.fi/uutiset/osasto/news/academics_outdated_structures_discrimination_behind_migrant_students_poor_performance_in_finland/11434180

Shared by: Bushra

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Image: Petteri Bülow / Yle

A combination of outdated education structures and racist attitudes are the main reasons that migrant-background students lag behind their Finnish peers, researchers say.

A review by Jyväskylä University researchers (in Finnish) of results from the 2012 and 2015 international student assessments PISA, indicate that a migrant background affects learning outcomes in Finland more than in many other countries.

For example, research based on the 2012 results show that primary school mathematics skills in second-generation migrants lag two years behind that of ethnic Finns.

Assistant Sociology Professor Elina Kilpi-Jakonen of Turku University said that Finland's approach to early education is partly responsible for the phenomenon. She noted that in Finland only a small proportion of children participate in early years education compared to other Nordic countries. In addition, children begin primary school at the age of seven and school days are short. She said that is not necessarily the best combination when it comes to learning a language.

Another problem lies in how Finnish is taught to migrant-background children. Schools teach Finnish and Swedish as a second language (designated S2 in the case of Finnish).

Aisha, one of five migrant-background young adults teaching Somali-background youngsters at a summer school in Helsinki's Itä-keskus district, told Yle that in upper secondary school she attended classes for both Finnish as a native language and as a second language.

According to Aisha, the teacher was the same, but that's where the similarity ended. She said that the teacher did not always review assignments and tests for students learning Finnish as a second language and that sometimes the teacher did not show up for class at all.

She said there were also marked differences in learning content. "For students studying Finnish as their mother tongue, the goal is to develop and the tests get harder all the time. But for students of Finnish as a second language (S2) we always do the same easy assignments and watch movies. So the difference between students gets larger all the time. Then people wonder why our results are bad," she noted.

The stigma of Finnish as a second language

According to Helsinki University doctoral researcher Tuuli Kurki immigrant-background children are often stigmatised by being placed in S2 classes, even when they have been born in Finland.

"The rationale for placing [students] in S2 classes can be seen as racialisation," she said, referring to the practice of attaching racial or ethnic identities and related prejudices to individuals or groups.

The group of five young people also noted that schools may shy away from conducting reading tests or from interpreting the results because they are not seen as appropriate for S2 students.

Helsinki University doctor of political science Mira Kalalahti also agreed that difficulties with the Finnish language can easily be misinterpreted as learning difficulties.

Meanwhile, while many children are placed in S2 classes against their will, others who would like to learn Finnish as a second language do not get the opportunity. A 2015 report by the Finnish Education Evaluation Centre found that 37 percent of upper secondary schools and 16 percent of vocational schools did not offer S2 courses.

Discrimination, racism also to blame

The Finnish language problem is not just about poor teaching. Outright discrimination and racism are also part of the equation, the five young people speculated. While they all said they got the support they needed at school, they also recalled unpleasant experiences.

"Just don't get married at 18 and start having kids," one of the volunteer teachers said, recalling the words of a student counsellor to her 14-year-old friend.

"Can't you afford to buy books?" one teacher told Aisha when she went to her first upper secondary school class without the required textbooks.

"Advanced mathematics is not for you, you should switch to basic," one maths teacher reportedly told a student they assumed to be immigrant-background during a class.

"Wow, I didn't expect this from you," another teacher allegedly told a student in reaction to a good test score.

Four of the volunteers said that they were kept back after school to re-do tests or assignments under the teacher's supervision because they were thought to have cheated or copied answers from the internet. Aisha said that in primary school she was forced to do the same test three times. When the teacher still did not believe the outcome, she was subjected to an oral assessment during recess.

Internalised discrimination affects students

Constant discrimination and put-downs naturally affect students' success at school. When others constantly question your performance, you also begin to doubt yourself, one holiday teacher, Farhia, said.

Doctoral researcher Kurki said that in theoretical terms, the volunteers' experiences reveals how structural and interpersonal racism can easily lead to internalised racism when people begin to believe the messages they receive from their environment.

"Student counselling and other teaching has been and continues to be both consciously and unconsciously racialised," she added.

"I am not claiming that all teachers are racist. But if no one is racist, why do so many people experience racism?" she added.

The PISA comparison also contains other revelations about Finland. Among OECD countries, Finland tends to corral immigrants into separate schools more than others.

Meanwhile, different studies also suggest that Finland has the largest gap between university education of ethnic Finns and immigrant-background students. According to a European Commission report, in 2017 just 27 percent of immigrant-background people had university degrees in Finland, the lowest among all of the Nordic countries.

Additionally, an OECD education report from 2018 found that first- and second-generation immigrants were clearly under-represented among university graduates. In fact just two percent of 20-29-year-old graduates were first- or second-generation migrants. Overall, this group accounted for only eight percent of all university graduates -- a situation that is more unequal than in any other country in the analysis.

Teachers' words can shape students' future

Ulkar Aghayeva, 28, related her experiences with a doubtful student counsellor. When she had completed eighth grade with an average grade of 9 (10 being the highest) her counseller said that she would not get into upper secondary school.

"I was told that I should study to become a practical nurse. I actually wanted to study medicine," she added.

Aghayeva said that her grade average allowed her to enter a natural sciences upper secondary school. But that student counsellor also said that her dreams of becoming a doctor were useless.

She then began to look at other options and took at interest in social issues, especially the EU. "I very excitedly said that I would become a member of the European Parliament. The teacher then said that if I as a Finn won't find it easy to become an MEP then you have no chance," she recalled.

The teachers' union OAJ said that it is aware of the tendency toward othering among some school counsellors.

"It is still too easy for us to direct immigrant-background pupils to the vocational side after primary education," OAJ specialist Päivi Lyhykäinen said.

"I always try to speak up and ask why we are directing immigrants to become practical nurses, why not nurses or doctors," she added.

Finland blind to immigrants' special needs

In some cases, students may not have access to counselling at all. The Finnish school system relies heavily on parental support. However not all parents know the Finnish school system or even speak Finnish.

"Finland doesn't know how to respond to immigrants' special needs, for example in secondary education," Kilpi-Jakonen said.

According to a 2018 report by the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), nine percent of ethnic Finns and 37 percent of immigrant-background young people between the ages of 17 and 24 did not go on to secondary education.

The expansion of primary education by one year to the age of 18 could provide a secondary level education to all primary school graduates -- at least on paper. Doctoral researcher Mira Kalalahti noted however, that the right to primary education alone will not solve the problem unless schools beef up their support systems.

Even getting a secondary education will not suffice because students need adequate support for their studies. The same THL report found that five percent of Finns dropped out of secondary education, compared to eight percent of foreign-background students.

In summary, the OAJ's Lyhykäinen described Finnish school structures as "backward".

"Immigrant education has not previously been seen as something that should be invested in. We have many municipalities that have not had a single immigrant before 2015."

However she noted that there has been a change in recent years. "The Finnish government is waking up to the fact that we have people coming from elsewhere, who have certain needs."

In practice new teachers should be trained to deal with the new situation and teachers with different backgrounds need to be recruited, she said. "In the education world we have experienced folk who were trained in the 1980s and 1990s. Society has become more diverse since then," she commented.

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Academics: Outdated structures, discrimination behind migrant students' poor performance in Finland

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A combination of outdated education structures and racist attitudes are the main reasons that migrant-background students lag behind their Finnish peers, researchers say. A review by Jyväskylä University researchers (in Finnish) of results from the 2012 and 2015 international student assessments PISA, indicate that a migrant background affects learning outcomes in Finland more than in many other countries.

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Women and equal representation in municipal board level roles

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Women and equal representation in municipal board level roles

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This is  a news snippet from YLE online from 10/9/21. https://yle.fi/uutiset/3-12094849
It talks about gender issues and women representation in public boards at senior level.It informs how in three relatively small municipals the chairs' leading the municipals were women . It continues  to inform that women have 40% of municipal representation seats throughout Finland.
It relates the good news of these three leading women to overall significant negative trend on women having board executive level roles in municipal boards.
It was not a huge headline as such but it reminded me that though women and gender equality is good in Finland. Women rights and gender issues need continuous work to maintain the status quo and further work need to happen to increase and level up opportunities with men.You cannot take the foot off the pedal so to speak.  Also it highlights that sometimes you have to skim deeper into the statistics to get a true account what is really occurring and why.

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Ennen kuntavaaleja Paltamossa, Ristijärvellä ja Suomussalmella valtuustojen puheenjohtajana oli nainen. Nyt Kainuussa valtaa naisille on kertynyt valtuustojen puheenjohtajina, sillä puolet paikoista on naisilla. Uudet kunnanvaltuustot valitsivat puheenjohtajansa elokuussa.

Kainuun kunnissa on valtuustoissa keskimäärin 40 prosenttia naisia, joka myötäilee valtakunnan lukuja. Kuva: Timo Nykyri / Yle

Naiset ovat kohentaneet asemiaan valtuustojen puheenjohtajina Kainuussa. Sotkamossa, Kajaanissa, Suomussalmella ja Hyrynsalmella puhetta johtaa nainen.

Ennen kuntavaaleja Paltamossa, Ristijärvellä ja Suomussalmella valtuustojen puheenjohtajana oli nainen.

Kainuun kunnissa on valtuustoissa keskimäärin 40 prosenttia naisia, joka myötäilee valtakunnan lukuja.

Sen sijaan hallituksissa naisten valta heikkenee rajusti.

Kunnanhallitusten puheenjohtajistoihin sopii vain neljännes naisia ja ykköspuheenjohtajia on Kainuussa vain yksi, Paltamossa. Muissa kunnissa luottamusmiesten vaikutusvaltaisin paikka on miehillä.

Uudet kunnanvaltuustot valitsivat puheenjohtajansa elokuussa.
Lisää Kain uun uutisia Yle Areenassa: kuuntele, katsele ja lue mitä lähelläsi tapahtuu.

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Sotkamon, Kajaanin, Suomussalmen ja Hyrynsalmen valtuustoissa puhetta johtavat naiset - hallituksissa naisten valta heikkenee

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Ennen kuntavaaleja Paltamossa, Ristijärvellä ja Suomussalmella valtuustojen puheenjohtajana oli nainen. Nyt Kainuussa valtaa naisille on kertynyt valtuustojen puheenjohtajina, sillä puolet paikoista on naisilla. Uudet kunnanvaltuustot valitsivat puheenjohtajansa elokuussa. Naiset ovat kohentaneet asemiaan valtuustojen puheenjohtajina Kainuussa. Sotkamossa, Kajaanissa, Suomussalmella ja Hyrynsalmella puhetta johtaa nainen. Ennen kuntavaaleja Paltamossa, Ristijärvellä ja Suomussalmella valtuustojen puheenjohtajana oli nainen.

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This interesting snippet of news highlights women's participation in municipal  political life. It highlights that in these 4 municipal towns in Finland women are leading the executive council.This is great news for women equality .It continues to share news 40% of councillors are women. The other story that runs through is the decline in women leaders at board and executive level. This is an interesting story as it highlights equality can be appear fully present with 40% representation active councillors . Actually the shared power with other gender groups is crucial. The decisions are made in executive meetings and if there is no women it does not reflect the society and important contributions are not been made to decision-making. I feel also it highlights you can not take foot off the pedal so to speak when you are evaluating equality even in Finland.

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Ennen kuntavaaleja Paltamossa, Ristijärvellä ja Suomussalmella valtuustojen puheenjohtajana oli nainen. Nyt Kainuussa valtaa naisille on kertynyt valtuustojen puheenjohtajina, sillä puolet paikoista on naisilla. Uudet kunnanvaltuustot valitsivat puheenjohtajansa elokuussa.

Kainuun kunnissa on valtuustoissa keskimäärin 40 prosenttia naisia, joka myötäilee valtakunnan lukuja. Kuva: Timo Nykyri / Yle

Naiset ovat kohentaneet asemiaan valtuustojen puheenjohtajina Kainuussa. Sotkamossa, Kajaanissa, Suomussalmella ja Hyrynsalmella puhetta johtaa nainen.

Ennen kuntavaaleja Paltamossa, Ristijärvellä ja Suomussalmella valtuustojen puheenjohtajana oli nainen.

Kainuun kunnissa on valtuustoissa keskimäärin 40 prosenttia naisia, joka myötäilee valtakunnan lukuja.

Sen sijaan hallituksissa naisten valta heikkenee rajusti.

Kunnanhallitusten puheenjohtajistoihin sopii vain neljännes naisia ja ykköspuheenjohtajia on Kainuussa vain yksi, Paltamossa. Muissa kunnissa luottamusmiesten vaikutusvaltaisin paikka on miehillä.

Uudet kunnanvaltuustot valitsivat puheenjohtajansa elokuussa.
Lisää Kain uun uutisia Yle Areenassa: kuuntele, katsele ja lue mitä lähelläsi tapahtuu.

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Sotkamon, Kajaanin, Suomussalmen ja Hyrynsalmen valtuustoissa puhetta johtavat naiset - hallituksissa naisten valta heikkenee

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Ennen kuntavaaleja Paltamossa, Ristijärvellä ja Suomussalmella valtuustojen puheenjohtajana oli nainen. Nyt Kainuussa valtaa naisille on kertynyt valtuustojen puheenjohtajina, sillä puolet paikoista on naisilla. Uudet kunnanvaltuustot valitsivat puheenjohtajansa elokuussa. Naiset ovat kohentaneet asemiaan valtuustojen puheenjohtajina Kainuussa. Sotkamossa, Kajaanissa, Suomussalmella ja Hyrynsalmella puhetta johtaa nainen. Ennen kuntavaaleja Paltamossa, Ristijärvellä ja Suomussalmella valtuustojen puheenjohtajana oli nainen.

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Switzerland to legalize same-sex marriage

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Switzerland to legalize same-sex marriage

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64 percent of Swiss voters have voted to legalize same-sex marriage in Switzerland. The new law was passed in Swiss parliament already in December 2020, but opponents of same-sex marriage gathered enough votes to force a referendum on the matter.

Same-sex couples have been able to register their partnership since 2007 in Switzerland. Switzerland is one of the last countries in Western Europe to allow same-sex couples to marry.

Some food for thought:
Whenever there is discussion on different minority groups, such as the LGBTQ+, immigrants, or such, people often forget that the people in question have to read/hear/see other people opposing to their rights to be equal on the news, tv, newspapers etc. when matters regarding them are brought up. Imagine having to experience how other people do not consider you worth the same rights that they themselves have.

Article shared by Mariia

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"It is a historic day for Switzerland, a historic day when it comes to equality for same-sex couples, and it is also an important day for the whole LGBT community," Jan Muller, of the "yes" campaign committee, told AFP news agency.

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Switzerland same-sex marriage: Two-thirds of voters back yes

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"It is a historic day for Switzerland, a historic day when it comes to equality for same-sex couples, and it is also an important day for the whole LGBT community," Jan Muller, of the "yes" campaign committee, told AFP news agency.

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Women roles in municipal  boards
This snippet from 10/9/21 YLE brings women and equality to forefront. It mentions how well women are represented in  municipal seats across the country approx 40% of seats are taken by women. The extract snippet of information is concerned of the downward trend on senior board level roles for women in municipals.It speaks about significant downward trend of representation for women in municipals.
This reminds me how quickly balance and equality can shift.It also reminds me of how meaningful it is to have women at senior roles in all aspects of public life.

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Ennen kuntavaaleja Paltamossa, Ristijärvellä ja Suomussalmella valtuustojen puheenjohtajana oli nainen. Nyt Kainuussa valtaa naisille on kertynyt valtuustojen puheenjohtajina, sillä puolet paikoista on naisilla. Uudet kunnanvaltuustot valitsivat puheenjohtajansa elokuussa.

Kainuun kunnissa on valtuustoissa keskimäärin 40 prosenttia naisia, joka myötäilee valtakunnan lukuja. Kuva: Timo Nykyri / Yle

Naiset ovat kohentaneet asemiaan valtuustojen puheenjohtajina Kainuussa. Sotkamossa, Kajaanissa, Suomussalmella ja Hyrynsalmella puhetta johtaa nainen.

Ennen kuntavaaleja Paltamossa, Ristijärvellä ja Suomussalmella valtuustojen puheenjohtajana oli nainen.

Kainuun kunnissa on valtuustoissa keskimäärin 40 prosenttia naisia, joka myötäilee valtakunnan lukuja.

Sen sijaan hallituksissa naisten valta heikkenee rajusti.

Kunnanhallitusten puheenjohtajistoihin sopii vain neljännes naisia ja ykköspuheenjohtajia on Kainuussa vain yksi, Paltamossa. Muissa kunnissa luottamusmiesten vaikutusvaltaisin paikka on miehillä.

Uudet kunnanvaltuustot valitsivat puheenjohtajansa elokuussa.
Lisää Kain uun uutisia Yle Areenassa: kuuntele, katsele ja lue mitä lähelläsi tapahtuu.

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Sotkamon, Kajaanin, Suomussalmen ja Hyrynsalmen valtuustoissa puhetta johtavat naiset - hallituksissa naisten valta heikkenee

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Ennen kuntavaaleja Paltamossa, Ristijärvellä ja Suomussalmella valtuustojen puheenjohtajana oli nainen. Nyt Kainuussa valtaa naisille on kertynyt valtuustojen puheenjohtajina, sillä puolet paikoista on naisilla. Uudet kunnanvaltuustot valitsivat puheenjohtajansa elokuussa. Naiset ovat kohentaneet asemiaan valtuustojen puheenjohtajina Kainuussa. Sotkamossa, Kajaanissa, Suomussalmella ja Hyrynsalmella puhetta johtaa nainen. Ennen kuntavaaleja Paltamossa, Ristijärvellä ja Suomussalmella valtuustojen puheenjohtajana oli nainen.

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Women less likely to win major research awards

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Women less likely to win major research awards

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I picked this piece from Nature that explores how women are less likely to win major research awards. The gender gap in higher ed, concerning number of full professorships, papers, citations and grants  has been discussed more widely in the higher education community.
In the article, the point is made that the reason for this gap is not the quality of work, but an implicit bias in a system that undervalues women and minority groups and gives preferential treatmen to white men.

Article shared by Sarah

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Women's share of international prizes rewarding research excellence is increasing, but still lags behind the proportion of professorial positions held by women, according to an analysis of 141 top science prizes awarded over the past two decades.

Lokman Meho, an information scientist at the American University of Beirut, examined whether gains in professorships for women have translated into awards honouring their work. His findings, published in Quantitative Science Studies, show a narrowing but persistent gender gap in the highest tiers of awards (see 'Closing the gap'). The disparity is greatest in disciplines including life sciences, computer science and mathematics.

Hans Petter Graver, a legal scholar and president of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters in Oslo, which administers the Abel Prize in mathematics and the Kavli prizes in astrophysics, nanoscience and neuroscience, says the results send "a signal to institutions awarding prestigious science prizes to do more for diversity".

Women have comparable publication and citation rates to men, but tend to have shorter careers and publish fewer papers as first or last author, according to other studies in the past few years.

Harder to succeed

In his analysis, Meho identified 141 highly prestigious international prizes - including the Nobel prizes, the Fields Medal for mathematics and the Robert Koch Award for biomedical sciences - awarded to 2,011 men and 262 women between 2001 and 2020. He grouped recipients into five-year intervals.

The results show that the number of awards honouring female scientists has increased in the past 20 years, but women remain under-represented in these career-defining prizes, which are often peer-nominated and decided on by previous recipients. "We are moving in the right direction, although slowly," Meho says.

Although the study did not examine causes of gender bias, he argues that women are not receiving fewer awards because of the quality or quantity of their research. Instead, he puts it down to implicit bias, coupled with a lack of proactive efforts to address inequities in science.

Nalini Joshi, a mathematician at the University of Sydney, Australia, says the results speak to the visibility of people nominated and how award nomination and selection committees operate, pointing to "an embedded culture of exclusionary behaviour".

Around two-thirds of the 141 awards recognized women at some point between 2016 and 2020, up from 30% of the 111 awards that were offered in 2001-05. Women's average share of the prizes, when counting all recipients, neared 20% in 2016-20. However, this fell short of the proportion of professorial positions held by women over the same period, Meho found.

And since 2001, 16% - 22 of the 141 available awards - have never recognized distinguished women. That includes two awards included in the analysis that are named after women.

Meho's findings echo earlier analyses showing that there is less of a disparity in early-career prizes, but, as the status of awards increases, the gender gap widens. Women are also over-represented in awards recognizing mentoring and teaching, which probably reflects the unequal division of these duties, researchers say.

Systemic problem

Bas Hofstra, a computational sociologist at Radboud University in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, says the ramifications are far reaching. Gender disparities, especially at the highest levels, reinforce a system that undervalues women and other under-represented groups. "From the outset of their careers, women are credited less," he says.

A number of scientific societies have already been taking steps to remedy the disparities. The UK Royal Society, for example, has appointed committees to solicit a diverse range of otherwise overlooked nominees.

"There is still a long way to go, but we hope that these changes will start to bring greater recognition to the wide range of talented people who contribute to UK and international science," says geneticist Veronica van Heyningen, chair of the Royal Society's diversity committee.

The American Geophysical Union has had some success in recognizing women, with women representing half of the society's honours in 2019, but women remain under-represented among scientists nominated for awards and on selection panels. Selection committees for the Abel and Kavli prizes have reached gender parity, says Graver.

Joshi says appointing diverse award committees that do not solely consist of previous award recipients could influence practices and see more women recognized. "When you are the sole person arguing against such influences, it's very difficult to shift those points of view on the committee," she adds.

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Women less likely to win major research awards

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Although the gap is narrowing, prestigious prizes are still more likely to go to men, finds an analysis of gender bias in the world's top science awards. Although the gap is narrowing, prestigious prizes are still more likely to go to men, finds an analysis of gender bias in the world's top science awards.

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Why Diverse Educator Pipelines Are Necessary For Educational Equity

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Why Diverse Educator Pipelines Are Necessary For Educational Equity

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This excerpted text article highlights the importance of authentic connections among educators, students, and community in all for the success of a school.  According to this text, these connections are essential in pursuing equity, addressing opportunity gaps, and supporting students. When authentic connection is in precariously short supply, it reinforces deficiencies that push children further behind their learning progress.

Although this article focuses only on the underrepresentation of diverse teachers and school leaders faced in the US based on their cultural backgrounds,  this observation applies to a broader range of diversity unaddressed worldwide. The texts mentions that research supports a positive impact and effect on students and the larger school community from diverse educators who can empath and connect with them.

What I can take from this excerpt is the awakening and open dialogue based on the needs of the students. As a concluding reflection, the students need to feel they own their learning processes. They need to feel the support from educators who connect with them and facilitate that means to succeed. It can be that the educator shares the same cultural background, sexual orientation, beliefs, or not. The assumption to disaggregate groups of students that match in their diversity does not appeal to me. Instead, the need for more diverse educators who empathize and connect with diverse students do. Classes are becoming more diverse over time, and it is healthy to embrace diversity. The most important is that educators feel motivated to train and reflect on their own beliefs for adapting and guiding students to this path.

Excerpt share by Ana.
Resource: Giving compass, Oct 14, 2021. Why Diverse Educator Pipelines Are Necessary For Educational Equity. Accessed on 16.10.2021.
https://givingcompass.org/article/why-diverse-educator-pipelines-are-necessary-for-educational-equity/

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Giving Compass' Take:

To pursue educational equity, it is critical to have diverse educators in the education pipelines, and this can start with diversity at the school board level.

How can donors support school leaders looking to increase educator diversity?

Read more on the importance of racially diverse teachers.

Authentic connections among educators, students, parents and their community are critical for the success of a school. These connections are essential in pursuing equity, addressing opportunity gaps and supporting Black and brown students.

Unfortunately, between the underrepresentation of Black teachers and school leaders and the utter failure of teacher training programs to adequately prepare educators to adequately prepare all teachers to effectively serve Black and brown students, that authentic connection is in precariously short supply.

African Americans account for just 7 percent of the teaching population and 11 percent of school leaders, while 15 percent of students are Black. And while nearly 30 percent of public school students identify as Hispanic, just 8 percent of teachers and 9 percent of principals do. These aren't just harrowing mismatches; they're self-reinforcing deficiencies that push children further behind.

Research has shown the profoundly positive impact that Black and brown teachers and leaders have on students, but it also has demonstrated the effect they can have on the larger school community. Black- and brown-led schools are more effective recruiters of Black and brown teachers. Black, brown and Indigenous school founders and leaders more easily build trusting relationships with the communities in which their schools are located.

With a push to acknowledge these too often ignored facts, there has been a welcome swell in the number of voices calling for more Black and brown leaders to be put in top roles. But a truly effective effort will take more than just replacing white faces with Black or brown ones. These leaders need the resources to create institutions and systems of their own design and vision, and there has to be a broader vision of what it means to lift up leaders of color. For that to happen, our public schools and the organizations that contribute to their effective operation need to construct systems of support and preparation that liberate Black and brown educators to thrive.
Read the full article about why diverse educators are important for educational equity by Naomi Shelton at The 74.

Storytelling is the best tool we have for effectively communicating about big, systemic issues like racism, classism, and transphobia. People think in stories. When we don't have a narrative that tells us how to think about an issue or when the narrative is inaccurate, partial, or too abstract, we fill in the gaps, and the stories we build in our own minds can be flawed and full of biases and assumptions. Great stories help us understand systemic issues because they transport us into the lives of the characters. We see the world through their eyes, and we are changed by their experiences because they feel like our own. Great stories can counter existing beliefs by rewriting someone's understanding. They can help communities radically imagine new ways of being and seeing. Many people communicating for social change are exploring how to tell diverse and inclusive stories that do the important work of centering marginalized communities while building understanding about how inequality persists. Intersectionality-a theory with roots in Black feminist thought, including the work of Sojourner Truth, Anna Julia Cooper, Barbara Smith, Audre Lorde, Angela Davis, bell hooks, Patricia Hill Collins, and Kimberlé Crenshaw-can help. In short, intersectionality is a prism for illuminating how racism, sexism, and classism (and many other "isms" that affect people based on their religion, disabilities, physical appearance, sexuality, and nationality) interact and shape experiences within social institutions like education, health care, criminal justice, government policy, and media. Intersectionality scholars analyze the widespread influence of these isms in every fiber of our society- the stories we celebrate, the policies we implement, and how we interact with each other. These isms never act alone. They are interlocking, and they affect individuals differently. When we don't apply an intersectional lens to communications about systemic issues, we're likely to get our communications wrong. Read the full article about intersectional storytelling by Annie Neimand, Natalie Asorey, Ann Christiano, and Zakyree Wallace at Stanford Social Innovation Review.

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Why Diverse Educator Pipelines Are Necessary for Educational Equity

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To pursue educational equity, it is critical to have diverse educators in the education pipelines, and this can start with diversity at the school board level. How can donors support school leaders looking to increase educator diversity? Read more on the importance of racially diverse teachers.

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Lockdown & Distance Learning Likely Increase Social Class Achievement Gap

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Lockdown & Distance Learning Likely Increase Social Class Achievement Gap

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This article discusses the ways in which the lockdown and distance learning caused by the recent pandemic has effected economic, structural, digital and cultural divides amongst young learners. All of these aspects have therefore resulted in a huge impact on students' (and parents') psychological functioning in a way that amplifies inequalities.

I agree with the article in its' findings and just wonder the ways in which we can effectively fill in this gap in the years following the pandemic.

-Sierra Gentleman

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Main

The widespread effects of the COVID-19 pandemic that emerged in 2019-2020 have drastically increased health, social and economic inequalities1,2. For more than 900 million learners around the world, the pandemic led to the closure of schools and universities3. This exceptional situation forced teachers, parents and students to quickly adapt to a new educational context: distance learning. Teachers had to develop online academic materials that could be used at home to ensure educational continuity while ensuring the necessary physical distancing. Primary and secondary school students suddenly had to work with various kinds of support, which were usually provided online by their teachers. For college students, lockdown often entailed returning to their hometowns while staying connected with their teachers and classmates via video conferences, email and other digital tools. Despite the best efforts of educational institutions, parents and teachers to keep all children and students engaged in learning activities, ensuring educational continuity during school closure-something that is difficult for everyone-may pose unique material and psychological challenges for working-class families and students.

Not only did the pandemic lead to the closure of schools in many countries, often for several weeks, it also accelerated the digitalization of education and amplified the role of parental involvement in supporting the schoolwork of their children. Thus, beyond the specific circumstances of the COVID-19 lockdown, we believe that studying the effects of the pandemic on academic inequalities provides a way to more broadly examine the consequences of school closure and related effects (for example, digitalization of education) on social class inequalities. Indeed, bearing in mind that (1) the risk of further pandemics is higher than ever (that is, we are in a 'pandemic era'4,5) and (2) beyond pandemics, the use of digital tools in education (and therefore the influence of parental involvement) has dramatically increased during this crisis, and is set to continue, there is a pressing need for an integrative and comprehensive model that examines the consequences of distance learning. Here, we propose such an integrative model that helps us to understand the extent to which the school closures associated with the pandemic amplify economic, digital and cultural divides that in turn affect the psychological functioning of parents, students and teachers in a way that amplifies academic inequalities. Bringing together research in social sciences, ranging from economics and sociology to social, cultural, cognitive and educational psychology, we argue that by getting students to work predominantly via digital resources rather than direct interactions with their teachers, and by making the learning process rely more than ever on families rather than teachers, school closures exacerbate social class academic disparities.

First, we review research showing that social class is associated with unequal access to digital tools, unequal familiarity with digital skills and unequal uses of such tools for learning purposes6,7. We then review research documenting how unequal familiarity with school culture, knowledge and skills can also contribute to the accentuation of academic inequalities8,9. Next, we present the results of surveys conducted during the 2020 lockdown showing that the quality and quantity of pedagogical support received from schools varied according to the social class of families (for examples, see refs. ). We then argue that these digital, cultural and structural divides represent barriers to the ability of parents to provide appropriate support for children during distance learning (Fig. 1). These divides also alter the levels of self-efficacy of parents and children, thereby affecting their engagement in learning activities13,14. In the final section, we review preliminary evidence for the hypothesis that distance learning widens the social class achievement gap and we propose an agenda for future research. In addition, we outline recommendations that should help parents, teachers and policymakers to use social science research to limit the impact of school closure and distance learning on the social class achievement gap.

Economic, structural, digital and cultural divides influence the psychological functioning of parents and students in a way that amplify inequalities.

The digital divide

Unequal access to digital resources

Although the use of digital technologies is almost ubiquitous in developed nations, there is a digital divide such that some people are more likely than others to be numerically excluded15 (Fig. 1). Social class is a strong predictor of digital disparities, including the quality of hardware, software and Internet access. For example, in 2019, in France, around 1 in 5 working-class families did not have personal access to the Internet compared with less than 1 in 20 of the most privileged families19. Similarly, in 2020, in the United Kingdom, 20% of children who were eligible for free school meals did not have access to a computer at home compared with 7% of other children20. In 2021, in the United States, 41% of working-class families do not own a laptop or desktop computer and 43% do not have broadband compared with 8% and 7%, respectively, of upper/middle-class Americans21. A similar digital gap is also evident between lower-income and higher-income countries22.

Data from non-Western countries highlight a more general digital divide, showing that developing countries have poorer access to digital equipment. For example, in India in 2018, only 10.7% of households possessed a digital device25, while in Pakistan in 2020, 31% of higher-education teachers did not have Internet access and 68.4% did not have a laptop26. In general, developing countries lack access to digital technologies27,28, and these difficulties of access are even greater in rural areas (for example, see ref. 29). Consequently, school closures have huge repercussions for the continuity of learning in these countries. For example, in India in 2018, only 11% of the rural and 40% of the urban population above 14 years old could use a computer and access the Internet25. Time spent on education during school closure decreased by 80% in Bangladesh30. A similar trend was observed in other countries31, with only 22% of children engaging in remote learning in Kenya32 and 50% in Burkina Faso33. In Ghana, 26-32% of children spent no time at all on learning during the pandemic34. Beyond the overall digital divide, social class disparities are also evident in developing countries, with lower access to digital resources among households in which parental educational levels were low (versus households in which parental educational levels were high; for example, see ref. 35 for Nigeria and ref. 31 for Ecuador).

Unequal digital skills

In addition to unequal access to digital tools, there are also systematic variations in digital skills36,37 (Fig. 1). Upper/middle-class families are more familiar with digital tools and resources and are therefore more likely to have the digital skills needed for distance learning. These digital skills are particularly useful during school closures, both for students and for parents, for organizing, retrieving and correctly using the resources provided by the teachers (for example, sending or receiving documents by email, printing documents or using word processors).

Social class disparities in digital skills can be explained in part by the fact that children from upper/middle-class families have the opportunity to develop digital skills earlier than working-class families41. In member countries of the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), only 23% of working-class children had started using a computer at the age of 6 years or earlier compared with 43% of upper/middle-class children42. Moreover, because working-class people tend to persist less than upper/middle-class people when confronted with digital difficulties23, the use of digital tools and resources for distance learning may interfere with the ability of parents to help children with their schoolwork.

Unequal use of digital tools

A third level of digital divide concerns variations in digital tool use18,43 (Fig. 1). Upper/middle-class families are more likely to use digital resources for work and education, whereas working-class families are more likely to use these resources for entertainment, such as electronic games or social media6,45. This divide is also observed among students, whereby working-class students tend to use digital technologies for leisure activities, whereas their upper/middle-class peers are more likely to use them for academic activities46 and to consider that computers and the Internet provide an opportunity for education and training23. Furthermore, working-class families appear to regulate the digital practices of their children less47 and are more likely to allow screens in the bedrooms of children and teenagers without setting limits on times or practices48.

In sum, inequalities in terms of digital resources, skills and use have strong implications for distance learning. This is because they make working-class students and parents particularly vulnerable when learning relies on extensive use of digital devices rather than on face-to-face interaction with teachers.

The cultural divide

Even if all three levels of digital divide were closed, upper/middle-class families would still be better prepared than working-class families to ensure educational continuity for their children. Upper/middle-class families are more familiar with the academic knowledge and skills that are expected and valued in educational settings, as well as with the independent, autonomous way of learning that is valued in the school culture and becomes even more important during school closure (Fig. 1).

Unequal familiarity with academic knowledge and skills

According to classical social reproduction theory8,49, school is not a neutral place in which all forms of language and knowledge are equally valued. Academic contexts expect and value culture-specific and taken-for-granted forms of knowledge, skills and ways of being, thinking and speaking that are more in tune with those developed through upper/middle-class socialization (that is, 'cultural capital'8,50,51,52,53). For instance, academic contexts value interest in the arts, museums and literature54,55, a type of interest that is more likely to develop through socialization in upper/middle-class families than in working-class socialization54,56. Indeed, upper/middle-class parents are more likely than working-class parents to engage in activities that develop this cultural capital. For example, they possess more books and cultural objects at home, read more stories to their children and visit museums and libraries more often (for examples, see refs. ). Upper/middle-class children are also more involved in extra-curricular activities (for example, playing a musical instrument) than working-class children.

Beyond this implicit familiarization with the school curriculum, upper/middle-class parents more often organize educational activities that are explicitly designed to develop academic skills of their children. For example, they are more likely to monitor and re-explain lessons or use games and textbooks to develop and reinforce academic skills (for example, labelling numbers, letters or colours57,60). Upper/middle-class parents also provide higher levels of support and spend more time helping children with homework than working-class parents (for examples, see refs. 61,62). Thus, even if all parents are committed to the academic success of their children, working-class parents have fewer chances to provide the help that children need to complete homework63, and homework is more beneficial for children from upper-middle class families than for children from working-class families64,65.

School closures amplify the impact of cultural inequalities

The trends described above have been observed in 'normal' times when schools are open. School closures, by making learning rely more strongly on practices implemented at home (rather than at school), are likely to amplify the impact of these disparities. Consistent with this idea, research has shown that the social class achievement gap usually greatly widens during school breaks-a phenomenon described as 'summer learning loss' or 'summer setback'. During holidays, the learning by children tends to decline, and this is particularly pronounced in children from working-class families. Consequently, the social class achievement gap grows more rapidly during the summer months than it does in the rest of the year. This phenomenon is partly explained by the fact that during the break from school, social class disparities in investment in activities that are beneficial for academic achievement (for example, reading, travelling to a foreign country or museum visits) are more pronounced.

Therefore, when they are out of school, children from upper/middle-class backgrounds may continue to develop academic skills unlike their working-class counterparts, who may stagnate or even regress. Research also indicates that learning loss during school breaks tends to be cumulative66. Thus, repeated episodes of school closure are likely to have profound consequences for the social class achievement gap. Consistent with the idea that school closures could lead to similar processes as those identified during summer breaks, a recent survey indicated that during the COVID-19 lockdown in the United Kingdom, children from upper/middle-class families spent more time on educational activities (5.8 h per day) than those from working-class families (4.5 h per day)7,69.

Unequal dispositions for autonomy and self-regulation

School closures have encouraged autonomous work among students. This 'independent' way of studying is compatible with the family socialization of upper/middle-class students, but does not match the interdependent norms more commonly associated with working-class contexts9. Upper/middle-class contexts tend to promote cultural norms of independence whereby individuals perceive themselves as autonomous actors, independent of other individuals and of the social context, able to pursue their own goals70. For example, upper/middle-class parents tend to invite children to express their interests, preferences and opinions during the various activities of everyday life54,55. Conversely, in working-class contexts characterized by low economic resources and where life is more uncertain, individuals tend to perceive themselves as interdependent, connected to others and members of social groups. This interdependent self-construal fits less well with the independent culture of academic contexts. This cultural mismatch between interdependent self-construal common in working-class students and the independent norms of the educational institution has negative consequences for academic performance9.

Once again, the impact of these differences is likely to be amplified during school closures, when being able to work alone and autonomously is especially useful. The requirement to work alone is more likely to match the independent self-construal of upper/middle-class students than the interdependent self-construal of working-class students. In the case of working-class students, this mismatch is likely to increase their difficulties in working alone at home. Supporting our argument, recent research has shown that working-class students tend to underachieve in contexts where students work individually compared with contexts where students work with others72. Similarly, during school closures, high self-regulation skills (for example, setting goals, selecting appropriate learning strategies and maintaining motivation73) are required to maintain study activities and are likely to be especially useful for using digital resources efficiently. Research has shown that students from working-class backgrounds typically develop their self-regulation skills to a lesser extent than those from upper/middle-class backgrounds.

Interestingly, some authors have suggested that independent (versus interdependent) self-construal may also affect communication with teachers77. Indeed, in the context of distance learning, working-class families are less likely to respond to the communication of teachers because their 'interdependent' self leads them to respect hierarchies, and thus perceive teachers as an expert who 'can be trusted to make the right decisions for learning'. Upper/middle class families, relying on 'independent' self-construal, are more inclined to seek individualized feedback, and therefore tend to participate to a greater extent in exchanges with teachers. Such cultural differences are important because they can also contribute to the difficulties encountered by working-class families.

The structural divide: unequal support from schools

The issues reviewed thus far all increase the vulnerability of children and students from underprivileged backgrounds when schools are closed. To offset these disadvantages, it might be expected that the school should increase its support by providing additional resources for working-class students. However, recent data suggest that differences in the material and human resources invested in providing educational support for children during periods of school closure were-paradoxically-in favour of upper/middle-class students (Fig. 1). In England, for example, upper/middle-class parents reported benefiting from online classes and video-conferencing with teachers more often than working-class parents10. Furthermore, active help from school (for example, online teaching, private tutoring or chats with teachers) occurred more frequently in the richest households (64% of the richest households declared having received help from school) than in the poorest households (47%). Another survey found that in the United Kingdom, upper/middle-class children were more likely to take online lessons every day (30%) than working-class students (16%)12. This substantial difference might be due, at least in part, to the fact that private schools are better equipped in terms of online platforms (60% of schools have at least one online platform) than state schools (37%, and 23% in the most deprived schools) and were more likely to organize daily online lessons. Similarly, in the United Kingdom, in schools with a high proportion of students eligible for free school meals, teachers were less inclined to broadcast an online lesson for their pupils78. Interestingly, 58% of teachers in the wealthiest areas reported having messaged their students or their students' parents during lockdown compared with 47% in the most deprived schools. In addition, the probability of children receiving technical support from the school (for example, by providing pupils with laptops or other devices) is, surprisingly, higher in the most advantaged schools than in the most deprived78.

Similarly, access to educational resources and support was lower in poorer (compared with richer) countries81. In sub-Saharan Africa, during lockdown, 45% of children had no exposure at all to any type of remote learning. Of those who did, the medium was mostly radio, television or paper rather than digital. In African countries, at most 10% of children received some material through the Internet. In Latin America, 90% of children received some remote learning, but less than half of that was through the internet-the remainder being via radio and television81. In Ecuador, high-school students from the lowest wealth quartile had fewer remote-learning opportunities, such as Google class/Zoom, than students from the highest wealth quartile31.

Thus, the achievement gap and its accentuation during lockdown are due not only to the cultural and digital disadvantages of working-class families but also to unequal support from schools. This inequality in school support is not due to teachers being indifferent to or even supportive of social stratification. Rather, we believe that these effects are fundamentally structural. In many countries, schools located in upper/middle-class neighbourhoods have more money than those in the poorest neighbourhoods. Moreover, upper/middle-class parents invest more in the schools of their children than working-class parents (for example, see ref. 82), and schools have an interest in catering more for upper/middle-class families than for working-class families83. Additionally, the expectation of teachers may be lower for working-class children84. For example, they tend to estimate that working-class students invest less effort in learning than their upper/middle-class counterparts85. These differences in perception may have influenced the behaviour of teachers during school closure, such that teachers in privileged neighbourhoods provided more information to students because they expected more from them in term of effort and achievement. The fact that upper/middle-class parents are better able than working-class parents to comply with the expectations of teachers (for examples, see refs. 55,86) may have reinforced this phenomenon. These discrepancies echo data showing that working-class students tend to request less help in their schoolwork than upper/middle-class ones87, and they may even avoid asking for help because they believe that such requests could lead to reprimands88. During school closures, these students (and their families) may in consequence have been less likely to ask for help and resources. Jointly, these phenomena have resulted in upper/middle-class families receiving more support from schools during lockdown than their working-class counterparts.

Psychological effects of digital, cultural and structural divides

Despite being strongly influenced by social class, differences in academic achievement are often interpreted by parents, teachers and students as reflecting differences in ability89. As a result, upper/middle-class students are usually perceived-and perceive themselves-as smarter than working-class students, who are perceived-and perceive themselves-as less intelligent or less able to succeed93. Working-class students also worry more about the fact that they might perform more poorly than upper/middle-class students94,95. These fears influence academic learning in important ways. In particular, they can consume cognitive resources when children and students work on academic tasks96,97. Self-efficacy also plays a key role in engaging in learning and perseverance in the face of difficulties13,98. In addition, working-class students are those for whom the fear of being outperformed by others is the most negatively related to academic performance99.

The fact that working-class children and students are less familiar with the tasks set by teachers, and less well equipped and supported, makes them more likely to experience feelings of incompetence (Fig. 1). Working-class parents are also more likely than their upper/middle-class counterparts to feel unable to help their children with schoolwork. Consistent with this, research has shown that both working-class students and parents have lower feelings of academic self-efficacy than their upper/middle-class counterparts100,101. These differences have been documented under 'normal' conditions but are likely to be exacerbated during distance learning. Recent surveys conducted during the school closures have confirmed that upper/middle-class families felt better able to support their children in distance learning than did working-class families10 and that upper/middle-class parents helped their children more and felt more capable to do so11,12.

Pandemic disparity, future directions and recommendations

The research reviewed thus far suggests that children and their families are highly unequal with respect to digital access, skills and use. It also shows that upper/middle-class students are more likely to be supported in their homework (by their parents and teachers) than working-class students, and that upper/middle-class students and parents will probably feel better able than working-class ones to adapt to the context of distance learning. For all these reasons, we anticipate that as a result of school closures, the COVID-19 pandemic will substantially increase the social class achievement gap. Because school closures are a recent occurrence, it is too early to measure with precision their effects on the widening of the achievement gap. However, some recent data are consistent with this idea.

Evidence for a widening gap during the pandemic

Comparing academic achievement in 2020 with previous years provides an early indication of the effects of school closures during the pandemic. In France, for example, first and second graders take national evaluations at the beginning of the school year. Initial comparisons of the results for 2020 with those from previous years revealed that the gap between schools classified as 'priority schools' (those in low-income urban areas) and schools in higher-income neighbourhoods-a gap observed every year-was particularly pronounced in 2020 in both French and mathematics102.

Similarly, in the Netherlands, national assessments take place twice a year. In 2020, they took place both before and after school closures. A recent analysis compared progress during this period in 2020 in mathematics/arithmetic, spelling and reading comprehension for 7-11-year-old students within the same period in the three previous years103. Results indicated a general learning loss in 2020. More importantly, for the 8% of working-class children, the losses were 40% greater than they were for upper/middle-class children.

It is likely that school closures have also amplified racial disparities in learning and achievement. For example, in the United States, after the first lockdown, students of colour lost the equivalent of 3-5 months of learning, whereas white students were about 1-3 months behind. Moreover, in the Autumn, when some students started to return to classrooms, African-American and Latinx students were more likely to continue distance learning, despite being less likely to have access to the digital tools, Internet access and live contact with teachers106.

These findings show that school closures have exacerbated achievement gaps linked to social class and ethnicity. However, more research is needed to address the question of whether school closures differentially affect the learning of students from working- and upper/middle-class families.

Future directions

First, to assess the specific and unique impact of school closures on student learning, longitudinal research should compare student achievement at different times of the year, before, during and after school closures, as has been done to document the summer learning loss66,109. In the coming months, alternating periods of school closure and opening may occur, thereby presenting opportunities to do such research. This would also make it possible to examine whether the gap diminishes a few weeks after children return to in-school learning or whether, conversely, it increases with time because the foundations have not been sufficiently acquired to facilitate further learning110.

Second, the mechanisms underlying the increase in social class disparities during school closures should be examined. As discussed above, school closures result in situations for which students are unevenly prepared and supported. It would be appropriate to seek to quantify the contribution of each of the factors that might be responsible for accentuating the social class achievement gap. In particular, distinguishing between factors that are relatively 'controllable' (for example, resources made available to pupils) and those that are more difficult to control (for example, the self-efficacy of parents in supporting the schoolwork of their children) is essential to inform public policy and teaching practices.

Third, existing studies are based on general comparisons and very few provide insights into the actual practices that took place in families during school closure and how these practices affected the achievement gap. For example, research has documented that parents from working-class backgrounds are likely to find it more difficult to help their children to complete homework and to provide constructive feedback63,111, something that could in turn have a negative impact on the continuity of learning of their children. In addition, it seems reasonable to assume that during lockdown, parents from upper/middle-class backgrounds encouraged their children to engage in practices that, even if not explicitly requested by teachers, would be beneficial to learning (for example, creative activities or reading). Identifying the practices that best predict the maintenance or decline of educational achievement during school closures would help identify levers for intervention.

Practical recommendations

We are aware of the debate about whether social science research on COVID-19 is suitable for making policy decisions114, and we draw attention to the fact that some of our recommendations (Table 1) are based on evidence from experiments or interventions carried out pre-COVID while others are more speculative. In any case, we emphasize that these suggestions should be viewed with caution and be tested in future research. Some of our recommendations could be implemented in the event of new school closures, others only when schools re-open. We also acknowledge that while these recommendations are intended for parents and teachers, their implementation largely depends on the adoption of structural policies. Importantly, given all the issues discussed above, we emphasize the importance of prioritizing, wherever possible, in-person learning over remote learning115 and where this is not possible, of implementing strong policies to support distance learning, especially for disadvantaged families.

Table 1 Synthesis of practical recommendations

Where face-to face teaching is not possible and teachers are responsible for implementing distance learning, it will be important to make them aware of the factors that can exacerbate inequalities during lockdown and to provide them with guidance about practices that would reduce these inequalities. Thus, there is an urgent need for interventions aimed at making teachers aware of the impact of the social class of children and families on the following factors: (1) access to, familiarity with and use of digital devices; (2) familiarity with academic knowledge and skills; and (3) preparedness to work autonomously. Increasing awareness of the material, cultural and psychological barriers that working-class children and families face during lockdown should increase the quality and quantity of the support provided by teachers and thereby positively affect the achievements of working-class students.

In addition to increasing the awareness of teachers of these barriers, teachers should be encouraged to adjust the way they communicate with working-class families due to differences in self-construal compared with upper/middle-class families77. For example, questions about family (rather than personal) well-being would be congruent with interdependent self-construals. This should contribute to better communication and help keep a better track of the progress of students during distance learning.

It is also necessary to help teachers to engage in practices that have a chance of reducing inequalities53,116. Particularly important is that teachers and schools ensure that homework can be done by all children, for example, by setting up organizations that would help children whose parents are not in a position to monitor or assist with the homework of their children. Options include homework help groups and tutoring by teachers after class. When schools are open, the growing tendency to set homework through digital media should be resisted as far as possible given the evidence we have reviewed above. Moreover, previous research has underscored the importance of homework feedback provided by teachers, which is positively related to the amount of homework completed and predictive of academic performance117. Where homework is web-based, it has also been shown that feedback on web-based homework enhances the learning of students118. It therefore seems reasonable to predict that the social class achievement gap will increase more slowly (or even remain constant or be reversed) in schools that establish individualized monitoring of students, by means of regular calls and feedback on homework, compared with schools where the support provided to pupils is more generic.

Given that learning during lockdown has increasingly taken place in family settings, we believe that interventions involving the family are also likely to be effective. Simply providing families with suitable material equipment may be insufficient. Families should be given training in the efficient use of digital technology and pedagogical support. This would increase the self-efficacy of parents and students, with positive consequences for achievement. Ideally, such training would be delivered in person to avoid problems arising from the digital divide. Where this is not possible, individualized online tutoring should be provided. For example, studies conducted during the lockdown in Botswana and Italy have shown that individual online tutoring directly targeting either parents or students in middle school has a positive impact on the achievement of students, particularly for working-class students122,123.

Interventions targeting families should also address the psychological barriers faced by working-class families and children. Some interventions have already been designed and been shown to be effective in reducing the social class achievement gap, particularly in mathematics and language. For example, research showed that an intervention designed to train low-income parents in how to support the mathematical development of their pre-kindergarten children (including classes and access to a library of kits to use at home) increased the quality of support provided by the parents, with a corresponding impact on the development of mathematical knowledge of their children. Such interventions should be particularly beneficial in the context of school closure.

Beyond its impact on academic performance and inequalities, the COVID-19 crisis has shaken the economies of countries around the world, casting millions of families around the world into poverty. As noted earlier, there has been a marked increase in economic inequalities, bringing with it all the psychological and social problems that such inequalities create130,131, especially for people who live in scarcity132. The increase in educational inequalities is just one facet of the many difficulties that working-class families will encounter in the coming years, but it is one that could seriously limit the chances of their children escaping from poverty by reducing their opportunities for upward mobility. In this context, it should be a priority to concentrate resources on the most deprived students. A large proportion of the poorest households do not own a computer and do not have personal access to the Internet, which has important consequences for distance learning. During school closures, it is therefore imperative to provide such families with adequate equipment and Internet service, as was done in some countries in spring 2020. Even if the provision of such equipment is not in itself sufficient, it is a necessary condition for ensuring pedagogical continuity during lockdown.

Finally, after prolonged periods of school closure, many students may not have acquired the skills needed to pursue their education. A possible consequence would be an increase in the number of students for whom teachers recommend class repetitions. Class repetitions are contentious. On the one hand, class repetition more frequently affects working-class children and is not efficient in terms of learning improvement133. On the other hand, accepting lower standards of academic achievement or even suspending the practice of repeating a class could lead to pupils pursuing their education without mastering the key abilities needed at higher grades. This could create difficulties in subsequent years and, in this sense, be counterproductive. We therefore believe that the most appropriate way to limit the damage of the pandemic would be to help children catch up rather than allowing them to continue without mastering the necessary skills. As is being done in some countries, systematic remedial courses (for example, summer learning programmes) should be organized and financially supported following periods of school closure, with priority given to pupils from working-class families. Such interventions have genuine potential in that research has shown that participation in remedial summer programmes is effective in reducing learning loss during the summer break. For example, in one study137, 438 students from high-poverty schools were offered a multiyear summer school programme that included various pedagogical and enrichment activities (for example, science investigation and music) and were compared with a 'no-treatment' control group. Students who participated in the summer programme progressed more than students in the control group. A meta-analysis138 of 41 summer learning programmes (that is, classroom- and home-based summer interventions) involving children from kindergarten to grade 8 showed that these programmes had significantly larger benefits for children from working-class families. Although such measures are costly, the cost is small compared to the price of failing to fulfil the academic potential of many students simply because they were not born into upper/middle-class families.

Conclusion

The unprecedented nature of the current pandemic means that we lack strong data on what the school closure period is likely to produce in terms of learning deficits and the reproduction of social inequalities. However, the research discussed in this article suggests that there are good reasons to predict that this period of school closures will accelerate the reproduction of social inequalities in educational achievement.

By making school learning less dependent on teachers and more dependent on families and digital tools and resources, school closures are likely to greatly amplify social class inequalities. At a time when many countries are experiencing second, third or fourth waves of the pandemic, resulting in fresh periods of local or general lockdowns, systematic efforts to test these predictions are urgently needed along with steps to reduce the impact of school closures on the social class achievement gap.

Acknowledgements

We thank G. Reis for editing the figure. The writing of this manuscript was supported by grant ANR-19-CE28-0007-PRESCHOOL from the French National Research Agency (S.G.).

Author information

Affiliations

1. Université de Poitiers, CNRS, CeRCA, Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition et l'Apprentissage, Poitiers, France

Sébastien Goudeau & Camille Sanrey

2. Université Clermont Auvergne, CNRS, LAPSCO, Laboratoire de Psychologie Sociale et Cognitive, Clermont-Ferrand, France

Arnaud Stanczak & Céline Darnon

3. School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK

Antony Manstead

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sébastien Goudeau.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

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Peer review information Nature Human Behaviour thanks Daniele Checchi and the other, anonymous, reviewer(s) for their contribution to the peer review of this work.

Publisher's note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

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Goudeau, S., Sanrey, C., Stanczak, A. et al. Why lockdown and distance learning during the COVID-19 pandemic are likely to increase the social class achievement gap. Nat Hum Behav (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-021-01212-7
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Why lockdown and distance learning during the COVID-19 pandemic are likely to increase the social class achievement gap - Nature Human Behaviour

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The COVID-19 pandemic led to school closures and distance learning that are likely to exacerbate social class academic disparities. This Review presents an agenda for future research and outlines recommendations to help parents, teachers and policymakers to limit the impact of school closures.

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Iltalehti: Helsinki University offered jobs to students based on 'Finnish-sounding' surnames

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Iltalehti: Helsinki University offered jobs to students based on 'Finnish-sounding' surnames

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This YLE article reports a discriminatory employment practice by a Finish university. 4 students were informed that they had been chosen to fill the vacancy (about the possibility of providing lessons on Islam at a primary school) based on their "Finnish-sounding" surnames. The Dean of the Faulty has admitted this mistake and the investigation is on-going.

My reflection:
This news points out a potential discrimination based on names. Sometimes, names can reveal gender and ethnical information. For example, people could easily guess my ethnical background is a Chinese (from mainland) according to my surname "Qin".  Another example, "Alice" might be a female, while "Alex" might be a male. However, it is superficial to portray a person depending on his/her name, not to mention making employment decisions. The similar discrimination also happens in academia, e.g. research publications.

Shared by Paiwei Qin

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Image: Tiina Jutila / Yle

The University of Helsinki is investigating accusations that a department engaged in discriminatory recruitment practices when choosing students to fill open positions.

According to a report (in Finnish) by tabloid Iltalehti, the Faculty of Theology approached four students about the possibility of providing lessons on Islam at a primary school and informed them they had been selected based on their 'Finnish-sounding' surnames.

The paper wrote that the practice first came to light when one student tweeted a question to the faculty, requesting confirmation of rumours that several students had been called about the position based on their surnames.

The faculty's official account replied to confirm that, based on a preliminary probe, this information was correct, and further noted that the preferential treatment for students with Finnish surnames was completely inappropriate.

Dean of the faculty Antti Räsänen admitted to Iltalehti that a mistake had been made, but pointed out that the investigation into the matter is still ongoing.

"This procedure was wrong. There is of course no reason for such a procedure and it is not part of the faculty's policies. On the contrary, we are very strict about fairness and equal treatment for everyone," Räsänen told IL.

An extensive University of Helsinki report, published in 2019, had highlighted the extent to which Finnish employers choose interview candidates based on their surnames.

The episode marks the second time this week the university has been at the centre of a controversy, following the debate that followed reports first year geography students at the university had dressed as Star of Africa characters to attend a game-themed, student-organised event.
Yle News' weekly podcast All Points North looked into the issue of discriminatory hiring practices in 2019. You can listen to the full episode using the embedded player here, via Yle Areena, Spotify or Apple Podcasts or on your usual podcast player using the RSS feed.

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Iltalehti: Helsinki University offered jobs to students based on 'Finnish-sounding' surnames

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The University of Helsinki is investigating accusations that a department engaged in discriminatory recruitment practices when choosing students to fill open positions. According to a report (in Finnish) by tabloid Iltalehti, the Faculty of Theology approached four students about the possibility of providing lessons on Islam at a primary school and informed them they had been selected based on their 'Finnish-sounding' surnames.

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In this article, they discuss about securing the well-being of children is a key element of what is called the Nordic Model. Programs like subsidized daycare, tuition-free college education and generous educational support are supposed to eliminate social class differences based on social class. In a recent study, mainly focusing on Denmark, reveals that the children of less well-educated parents are likely to be far less well educated than their middle-class peers. College-educated parents have learned how to stimulate their toddlers’ learning. They set examples for their kids and nudge them in the direction of higher education. There are promising strategies to lessen the inequalities for low-income and immigrant students, and they will dig deeper in future columns. They recognize that Finland’s generous, universally available provision of social services will not eliminate inequality in many important life outcomes.

Shared by Leif

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Securing the well-being of children is a key element of what is called the Nordic Model. Programs like subsidized daycare, tuition-free college education and generous educational support are supposed to eliminate social class differences based on social class. If the strategy works, every child is assured of an equal chance to succeed and social class differences across generations are wiped out. (Indeed, it's almost verboten to talk about social class.)

This safety net is the envy of liberals is less generous nations-myself included. It explains why researchers have highlighted Nordic nations generally, and Finland in particular, as the happiest nations in the world.
But a just-published study, co-authored by Nobel Prize-winning economist James Heckman and Rasmus Landerso, complicates this storyline.

The study focuses on Denmark, the epitome of the Nordic Model, where there are low levels of income inequality and high levels of income mobility across generations-even more striking than in Finland.

Still, despite ample public support for children, families and neighborhoods exercise a decisive influence on their futures.

Denmark has not levelled the intergenerational playing field by building children's skills across generations or by doing a bang-up job of promoting their human potential. As the research shows, it has done so through government largesse, in the form of Robin Hood tax and transfer programs.

What is especially startling, the impact of the family on children's future is as powerful as in the United States, with its tattered safety net. In Denmark, but not the U.S., the welfare state expanded dramatically in the past half-century. Nonetheless, the same fundamental inequalities persist in educational outcomes.

The reverberations are intergenerational-the children of less well-educated parents are likely to be far less well educated than their middle-class peers.

While Heckman's study draws on evidence from Denmark, there is nothing Danish about it. This is a story about the Nordic Model. Indeed, the impact of family and neighborhood on the lives of children is likely to be bigger in Finland, since the income gap is greater here.

If you have any doubt, have a look at the family background of University of Helsinki undergraduates. How many sons and daughters of poor families and immigrant families do you anticipate finding there?

What's the explanation? In a word, families.

Higher education is the gateway to well-paying, knowledge-worker careers. Here's where social class influence is most apparent-whether Danish youngsters earn a university degree is closely linked to their parents' education. Among children born in 1985, a decade after the raft of youth-friendly policies took effect in Denmark, youth whose fathers had less than a high school diploma had a 20% shot of graduating. Those whose fathers graduated from high school had a 30% chance.

Here's the kicker-the chances of receiving a university diploma were twice as good for those whose fathers were college graduates. Sixty percent of them received a degree. Equally surprising-and equally depressing, for those of us who regard true social mobility as critical to the wellbeing of any society-this graduation gap actually widened after the child-focused policies were introduced.

What's going on? College-educated parents have learned how to stimulate their toddlers' learning. They set examples for their kids to emulate, including supporting and supplementing what is happening in school. They nudge them in the direction of higher education.

These parents also choose to live in communities where most of their neighbours also have college degrees. That's intentional-university-educated parents are especially likely to move to these highly educated, well-to-do neighborhoods after their first child is born. By the time she or he reaches school age, the average household income in neighborhoods where mothers have a university degree is around 30% above the national average.

These decisions about where to live exert an obvious influence on their children's lives. Youngsters learn from their peers, and kids whose parents have earned a university degree are likely to have absorbed their parents' attitude about the value of education. As well, the researchers found that the teachers in these communities, although paid no more than every Danish teacher, had a better track record in the classroom.

It's the "Matthew Effect" in action-as the New Testament avers, "to those who have more is given." In modern parlance, that's "the more, the more."

Let me be clear-I wouldn't consider swapping the Nordic Model for the American sink-or-swim approach. However, simply maintaining the status quo cannot secure equal opportunity for all children.

There are promising strategies to lessen the inequalities for low-income and immigrant students, and I'll be writing about them in future columns. The first step is to recognize that Finland's generous, universally available provision of social services will not eliminate inequality in many important life outcomes-not only for this generation but for their children as well.
David Kirp
David Kirp, professor of public policy at the University of California at Berkeley, is a contributing writer to the Helsinki Times.

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Generous social benefits aren't enough to change the life prospects of kids from low-income families. Nordic nations are proud of their social policies-justifiably so. As we know, high taxes fund social security, education, disability, housing and unemployment benefits that reduce inequality and increase social mobility.

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News articles on Equity and Equality: Bhavani Ramamoorthi

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News articles on Equity and Equality: Bhavani Ramamoorthi

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Focused on promoting equality, reducing bullying and improving the educational experiences of LGBT children and young people, Scotland has introduced subjects across age groups That will now includes LGBT history and related topics. In order to implement this, there is  a website where school staff, parents, carers, children and young people can access information to support LGBT children and young people, a basic awareness course for staff  and a teaching tool-kit to support the endeavor.

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Roll-out of LGBT inclusive education.

Scotland has become the first country in the world to embed lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) inclusive education across the school curriculum.

Focused on promoting equality, reducing bullying and improving the educational experiences of LGBT children and young people, subjects across age groups will now include LGBT identities, issues and history.

Support to help schools deliver this includes:

a website where school staff, parents, carers, children and young people can access information to support LGBT children and young people

a basic awareness e-learning course for education staff on LGBT inclusive education

a toolkit of LGBT inclusive education teaching resources

Parents, teachers, young people and LGBT organisations helped to develop the website, e-learning course and teaching resources.

Children's Minister Clare Haughey said:

"I am proud to say that Scotland is leading the way as the first country in the world to embed LGBT inclusive education right across the curriculum. By doing so, we can help young people to reach their full potential and flourish in a diverse and inclusive society.

"The launch of this ground-breaking suite of resources for schools takes us another step forward in ensuring that our curriculum is as diverse as the young people who learn in our schools.

"The Scottish Government, in partnership with COSLA, is determined to provide a fully inclusive education for Scotland's children and young people."

COSLA Children and Young People Spokesperson Cllr Stephen McCabe said:

"Improving inclusion in our schools is a priority for Local Government. We welcome the materials published today, which will assist schools, teachers and education staff to drive this important agenda forward, ensuring all children and young people receive the support they need."

Time for Inclusive Education co-founder Jordan Daly said:

"I experienced bullying and prejudice at school for being gay, and it had a detrimental impact on my confidence and wellbeing for some time.

"This new website, and the supporting resources, which have been co-developed with teachers across Scotland, will support teachers to take a proactive, educational approach to tackling prejudice. Most importantly, this work will empower young people and provide them with an opportunity I didn't have at school - to feel valued, confident, and proud of who they are."

National Parent Forum of Scotland Chair Margaret Wilson said:

"We welcome the roll-out of LGBT inclusive education across the school curriculum. With other stakeholders, we have developed an information resource on LGBT inclusive education for parents and carers to help them to support their children and ensure they have a positive educational experience, using an approach underpinned by children's rights, kindness and respect."
Background
The new website is here: www.lgbteducation.scot

An LGBTI Inclusive Education Working Group was established in 2017 to improve LGBT young people's learning experience and to address bullying and discrimination. The group made 33 recommendations, which the Scottish Government has accepted in full.

The LGBT Inclusive Education Implementation Group, jointly chaired by COSLA and Scottish Government officials, is taking forward those recommendations.

Many schools across Scotland already take positive steps to educate learners, in age-appropriate ways, about LGBT identities and issues. LGBT inclusive education will help build upon this existing good practice, equipping teachers and school leaders with the training and resources they need to approach these topics with knowledge and confidence, and to help effectively challenge homophobia, biphobia and/or transphobia in the school environment and wider community.

Membership of LGBT Inclusive Education Implementation Group:

Association of Directors of Education in Scotland

COSLA

Education Scotland

EIS

Equality and Human Rights Commission

Equality Network

LGBT Youth Scotland

NASUWT

National Parent Forum of Scotland

School Leaders Scotland

Scottish Government

Scottish Qualifications Authority

Scottish Youth Parliament

Stonewall Scotland

Time for Inclusive Education

See details of the LGBTI Inclusive Education Working Group.

Read the report and recommendations of the Working Group in full.

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Milestone for equality in schools *UPDATED RELEASE*

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Roll-out of LGBT inclusive education. Scotland has become the first country in the world to embed lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) inclusive education across the school curriculum. Focused on promoting equality, reducing bullying and improving the educational experiences of LGBT children and young people, subjects across age groups will now include LGBT identities, issues and history.

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New focus on equity in North Carolina schools( U.S)

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New focus on equity in North Carolina schools( U.S)

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An eye-opening honest article on the existence of racial discrimination in schools in North Carolina (U.S). The article throws light on how students were given differential treatment for suspensions based on their racial background and how this affected the grades. Under the leadership of both a new superintendent and a deputy superintendent, the district is aiming to develop more equitable practices and to craft more restorative policies

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Last spring, the Winston Salem/Forsyth County Schools in North Carolina decided it was time to overhaul their disciplinary policies in light of jarring data which showed that Black students in the district were five times more likely to get suspended than white students.

Under the leadership of both a new superintendent and a deputy superintendent, the massive district which serves 53,000 students, of which 29 percent are Black students, partnered with a Massachusetts based nonprofit group, Engaging Schools, which helps schools develop more equitable practices, to craft more restorative policies.

"A large portion of our strategic plan as we move forward is equity and making sure that we look at things through an equity lens within the district," Jesse Pratt, the district's deputy superintendent, said. "When we saw the disproportion of suspensions between our students, we knew that that had to be addressed. We want to do right by these kids."

The district is in a yearlong process and a final plan won't be implemented until the next school year, he said. Part of the process is changing a student code of conduct and also giving teachers training on better ways to approach disciplinary issues, he added.

The North Carolina district was part of a wave of institutions that reached out to Engaging Schools over the last year to revise punishment protocols in light of racial equity, the organization said.

With kids readjusting to in-person classrooms, discipline issues are increasing and policies governing them are returning to the forefront, but this time, after the traumas of Covid-19 and a national movement for racial justice, many districts are re-evaluating disciplinary protocols with equity in mind.

Districts across the country, including Dallas and Iowa City, are scrapping punishment policies that disproportionately impact students of color who have historically borne the brunt of suspensions, expulsions and other severe penalties.

In place of the old practices, many are implementing programs and policies that are more restorative, trauma-informed and aimed at less heavy-handed punishments, especially for subjective infractions such as disorderly conduct or insubordination. Under some of these approaches, educators are given more culturally responsive training, more classroom management skills to manage misbehavior, and will limit the use of suspensions, especially for younger students.

"From the very moment that you saw integration of school systems, you began to see an unfair distribution of school suspensions being placed on, particularly at that time, Black kids, and now Latinx kids," said Howard Henderson, the founding director of the Center for Justice Research at Texas Southern University.

A 2020 study by the Center for Civil Rights Remedies at the UCLA Civil Rights Project and the Learning Policy Institute, that analyzed federal data from the 2015-16 school year found that Black students lost five times as many instructional days from suspensions than white students.

This overuse of harsh disciplinary measures has created a host of negative impacts on these kids, he said. "You begin to see these students don't do as well academically, they don't do as well in civic engagement. They're not as engaged in society. From an educational level, they just don't achieve like everyone else who's not suspended," he said. "They're more likely to end up in juvenile detention, which means they're also more likely to end up in the adult prison system at a later point in life."

The school-to-prison pipeline, which funnels students - largely of color - into the criminal justice system has been well documented through robust research. According to a working paper published in 2019 by the National Bureau of Economic Research, students assigned to schools with high suspension rates are up to 20 percent more likely to be arrested and incarcerated later and are also less likely to attend a four-year college.

A 2021 study published in the journal American Psychologist found that "among Black students, those who were suspended for a minor infraction during the first year of the study had significantly lower grades both one and two years later than students who weren't suspended."

The Obama administration attempted to tackle racial disparities in school punishments by issuing federal guidelines on classroom discipline, but the measures were later rescinded by then-President Donald Trump, who said the guidance was overbearing.

But Henderson feels that the combination of Covid and the movement sparked by the murder of George Floyd has sparked awareness and heightened momentum around the issue again, especially among educators and administrators.

"Going through a pandemic and having to recognize how you teach school and students in the online format, you recognize how much racial disparities exist," he said. "This is definitely on their mind."

Richard Welsh, an associate professor of educational leadership and policy studies at New York University, is partnering with districts to help them reduce racial inequality in school discipline.

He said behavior issues and fighting in schools have increased with the return to in-person schooling. Many kids are needing to relearn how to behave in classrooms, so school discipline is very much on the radar of district and school administrators right now, he said.

"What schools are going to realize is that many of the school discipline reforms that have seen positive benefits are very applicable to the school environment that we have now in 2021-22 with the pandemic socialization of students returning to classrooms," he said. "I do think you're going to have a lot more districts that can sell school discipline reforms, not only to reduce suspensions, but to improve the overall school climate and to ensure that we can actually improve academic outcomes as well."

An important thing to note, Welsh said, is that while certain interventions like changing codes of conduct have shown to reduce the suspension rates, there is still little evidence that they will also reduce racial disparities. For that, teacher classroom management and enhancing the cultural responsibility of educators are better solutions, he said.

There is also a challenge in implementing these programs, getting the buy-in, and replacing an established punitive mindset in schools, he said.

"There's a dissonance because what you're really uprooting is a punitive mindset where educators leaned on suspensions as the primary way to manage behavior. So you still have these two mindsets existing in the same district, this tension of sorts where there's an appreciation and demand for alternatives such as restorative justice, but administrators still may feel they are using suspensions appropriately."

Another more emerging challenge to bridge the racial gaps is the all consuming anti-critical race theory movement, which resists any racial lens in schools, said Kaitlin Anderson, a professor at Lehigh University who focuses on issues of equity and opportunity in educational organizations.

"I think that's important to keep in mind is that regardless of what some schools are starting to do, there's also state legislatures that are actively trying to keep schools from doing that in certain states," she said. "Some have made it so difficult to mention race at all in certain types of context that it's very difficult to really address the systemic issues, which when it comes to student discipline often center on race, as well as disability status, so that push at the state level is really going to hamper some of those efforts."

Despite that, Anderson said she has seen many schools that are or at least starting to make strides toward equity in the form of audits and plans. She said she has also seen a significant bump in interest by schools to utilize more trauma-informed approaches post Covid and Floyd's death.

"There is a growing awareness, not only with conversations around anti-racism, but also just the fact that we need to reintegrate kids in a more supportive environment, and that punishing them for acting out in class is not going to be productive."

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Schools focus new policies on equity with students back in school

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Last spring, the Winston Salem/Forsyth County Schools in North Carolina decided it was time to overhaul their disciplinary policies in light of jarring data which showed that Black students in the district were five times more likely to get suspended than white students.

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UK primary school asks boys to wear skirts to 'promote equality': Bhavani Ramamoorthi

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UK primary school asks boys to wear skirts to 'promote equality': Bhavani Ramamoorthi

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Children as young as three were encouraged to wear skirts to school to give out a message that clothes do not have gender and as an experience of free expression. They received a lot of support and criticism for this act and people had mixed views of how equality must be taught and expressed in a school environment. The parents largely supported the move and appreciated the act by the school.

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A grade in asked male and female and teachers to wear skirts to class to "promote equality."

"We want our school to be inclusive and promote equality," an email from Castleview Primary in Edinburgh said to parents, the Daily Mail reported Wednesday. Boys as young as 3-years-old were asked to participate, the outlet noted.

The email added that the school wants children to be "comfortable," and leggings or other pants could be worn under the skirts. Skirts will even be offered to students who don't have any in their possession, the Daily Mail reported.

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"We're keen to spread the message that clothes don't have a gender and that we should all be free to express ourselves as we choose," teachers wrote in a message to parents, according to the outlet.

The announcement follows protests in Spain last year after a teenage male student reportedly wore a skirt to a school in the country, and was sent to a psychologist over the matter and expelled from school. On Nov. 4 of last year, male students and teachers in the county wore skirts to school in support of the student, and the date is now known as "wear a skirt to school day."

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"Today is 'wear a skirt to school day' in Spain and this year Castleview Primary in Edinburgh are encouraging staff and pupils to take part to 'break down gender stereotypes' and 'promote equality,'" BBC Scotland tweeted Thursday. P6 level students at Castleview, the equivalent of fifth graders in the U.S., reportedly came up with the idea after the Spain protests.

Responses to the tweet ranged from criticisms of Castleview for celebrating "wear a skirt to school day" to people supporting the day.

"Then castleview needs a new head teacher teachers are there to teach not bang on about gender," one Twitter user posted.

"My son goes to this school and decided he wanted to wear a skirt in support. These kids should be praised not frowned on. I can't believe the vile single minded comments that some people have made. These kids and the school are amazing and cover lots of topics," one parent on Twitter said.
ACADEMY OF BREASTFEEDING MEDICINE URGES USE OF 'CHESTFEEDING' AND 'PARENT'S MILK' IN NEW GUIDANCE
"'Wear a skirt to school day' staff and pupils encouraged to take part 'break down gender stereotypes' and 'promote equality' they're to be praised so the boys and staff who won't wear a skirt to school today to promote equality will they be frowned on?" another user tweeted.

The Edinburgh city council said that students don't have to participate if they don't want to, and noted that the city is "fully committed to promoting equality."

"As Scotland's capital city we are fully committed to promoting equality and diversity, and are keen to increase respect, tolerance and understanding especially in our schools," spokesperson for the Edinburgh Council said, the Evening Edinburgh News reported Thursday.

"The school has had positive feedback from parents however pupils don't have to take part if they don't want to," the council added.

Though the new "wear a school to skirt day" is celebrated in Europe, the day does not appear to be celebrated in schools in the United States.

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UK primary school asks boys to wear skirts to 'promote equality'

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A grade in asked male and female and teachers to wear skirts to class to "promote equality." "We want our school to be inclusive and promote equality," an email from Castleview Primary in Edinburgh said to parents, the Daily Mail reported Wednesday . Boys as young as 3-years-old were asked to participate, the outlet noted.

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Equity and Equality in schools and news about it! - Bhavani Ramamoorthi

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Equity and Equality in schools and news about it! - Bhavani Ramamoorthi

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Here is a short summary of three articles related to this topic!

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COVID-19 and equality

Because of COVID-19 and the resulting lockdowns, many worried then that this might negatively impact

educational outcomes. As a result, OECD( Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development)

made a recommendation for fast and extensive adoption of Online teaching/education.

Results of online teaching have improved equality variously.First. It has provided more access to learning for students. Many IT resources became available to both teachers and students. Students are no longer bound by time or space. Secondly, it creates better conversation and ideas in the classroom because it exposes students to ideas that are different from theirs, therefore, improving cooperation, team building, and other soft skills necessary in the future. Thirdly, it provides better teaching. Some or repetitive tasks can be done online which helps the student to gain expertise on certain problematic areas in their study that they might be too shy or embarrassed about. You can make mistakes as many times on such online lessons Furthermore, It puts students at the driver's seat of their learning. It gives flexibility and allows students to balance personal life and that of education. Other benefits include connecting the developing world and the development of human capital.

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Sal Khan, founder and CEO of the nonprofit Khan Academy, one of the world's largest free online education providers, was hugely impressed by the rapid adoption of digital learning technologies during the lockdown. He believes it helped 'level up' the playing field for many students, giving more young people the opportunity to pursue higher education and a professional career. "It's about access," says Khan. "Learning does not have to be bound by time and space anymore. Online classes have no logistical barriers. A global connection is completely possible, and, thanks to a simple recording function, classes can be accessed in any time zone."
Online education creates better conversations in the classroom
According to a report from the Inside Higher Ed Student Voice survey, remote students feel more comfortable sharing their thoughts in class than those studying in person. Some educational experts believe this could be the biggest lesson learned from online education during the pandemic. An intellectually diverse classroom environment exposes students to ideas and opinions that differ from their own, encouraging them to develop important soft skills like empathy, cooperation, and negotiation. Moreover, a more welcoming and tolerant classroom can give all students, regardless of their race, religion, ethnicity, or sexuality, the confidence to speak up against preconceived notions and speak up about what matters to them.
Better teaching through technology
Many countries are struggling with teacher shortages, especially in core subjects such as science, mathematics, and computer science. Experts believe long working hours and relatively low pay are deterring many talented graduates from taking up teaching. For example, in the UK, many newly qualified teachers regularly work over 60 hours a week, with much of that time taken up by administrative tasks. Online learning can change this. Educational tools like Edmodo can automate many of these repetitive and time-consuming tasks, giving teachers the time to focus on what really counts - helping children learn. It might not be too long before teachers are getting even more help...in the form of robots. There have been various moves to implement robotics in the classroom. For instance, a team of researchers from Plymouth University has created a humanoid robot that can learn to become a useful classroom assistant by working alongside a human teacher for just three hours. "Using robots to help in a classroom setting can provide consistent support to all pupils, in a way that teachers can trust," says lead developer Professor Tony Belpaeme.
Preparing all students for the future of work
Whether it's robotics, AI, data science, or software engineering, the future's most exciting and lucrative industries will be digitally based. So it's vital all young people are given a chance to get the skills and tools they need to succeed in the future of work. Some schools and universities are playing their part by providing laptops and other devices to students who can't afford their own. At the same time, companies and charities are offering free digital skills classes for educators, teachers, and parents. Earlier this year, Verizon Innovative Learning HQ expanded its online education portal to include courses on digital design, 3D printing, computer game design, and coding. Verizon aims to provide digital skills training to 10 million young people by 2030.
Investing in infrastructure and people
Verizon's plans to provide free digital skills training are part of a much larger project to bridge the 'digital divide.' The Citizen Verizon initiative includes giving one million small businesses the resources to establish a digital presence by 2030 and a $3 billion wireless infrastructure investment to connect people in rural communities to the digital network. Verizon Innovative Learning is also resuming its STEM learning programs for Young Men of Color and Rural Young Women. The year-round programs, which can now be done remotely, give 5,000 young people from underrepresented groups an opportunity to learn digital skills and explore career options in STEM subjects.
Digital development in Cambodia
Cambodia's adoption of virtual learning tools was recognized by the international community earlier this year when the nation's Virtual Angkor project won the 2021 Digital Humanities and Multimedia Studies Prize. Using innovative virtual reality technology, the Virtual Angkor project has recreated the spectacular ancient Cambodian metropolis of Angkor at the height of the Khmer empire's power and influence in 1300. Designers also created a learning app about the tragic events that blighted the country during the Khmer Rouge's brutal rule from 1975-1979. These digital platforms are ensuring that younger generations of Cambodians understand their country's past. Familiarizing young Cambodians with digital technologies from an early age is also the first step to creating highly-skilled tech entrepreneurs who can help Cambodia thrive in what experts are calling the fourth industrial revolution.
Putting students in charge of their education
Lindsay Tan is a design ecologist and Associate Professor of Interior Design at Auburn University. Like many teachers, Lindsay was worried that virtual classes would dilute the learning experience. However, she soon realized they can open up new opportunities for teachers and students. "I pre-recorded lecture videos and used Top Hat to distribute the lecture slides and weekly homework assignments," says Lindsay. "My students really appreciated the flexibility of online learning. It meant they could balance their personal life with their education. And it helped them feel a sense of belonging and ownership of their education, even though many things were happening outside of their control. And it helped me ensure an equitable learning experience for everyone. I think online learning has empowered all of us."
Connecting the developing world
Around 60% of the world's population has no access to the internet. As such, over 4.5 billion people are still excluded from any form of online learning. Learning Equality is on a mission to change that. Set up in 2012, this nonprofit educational technology company provides low-cost computer hardware and free, open-source platforms to those most in need, including children in rural schools, orphanages, community centers, and refugee camps.

Learning Equality's newest platform, Kolibri, connects to thousands of free mathematics, languages, and literacy lessons. There are also special courses that encourage young girls in developing countries to pursue professional careers. Learning Equality recently sent 2,000 tablets loaded with lessons to school teachers in Uganda. These devices are ensuring children can continue their education while the country battles against COVID-19. They're also equipping young Ugandans with digital skills. "These devices are so important for us," says Micah Egessa, a 26-year-old secondary school teacher working in Uganda. "They help me do my job better, and they're rapidly improving the children's computer skills and boosting their creativity."

There is still a long way to go in creating a world everyone deserves. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way we learn forever, and it looks like it will be a change for the better...

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Has COVID Led to More Equality in Education?

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Last November, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) published a report on how COVID-19 lockdowns had impacted educational outcomes. Worryingly, it stated students from diverse and less privileged backgrounds were the most likely to fall behind.

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In the aftermath of COVID-19, women find it hard to return to the office- Shekhar Acharya 

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In the aftermath of COVID-19, women find it hard to return to the office- Shekhar Acharya 

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As an increasing number of organisations are asking employees to return to office, companies that are unable to provide flexible working options to their female staff are finding it difficult to retain women.

According to data put together for ET by the Avtar Group, four out of every 10 women surveyed by the diversity and inclusion consulting firm reported child care as a challenge when returning to office for a 9 am to 5 pm work setup.

Several women, especially mothers with yo ..

Read more at:
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/company/corporate-trends/in-the-aftermath-of-covid-19-women-find-it-hard-to-return-to-the-office/articleshow/86602118.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

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Agencies

As an increasing number of organisations are asking employees to return to office, companies that are unable to provide flexible working options to their female staff are finding it difficult to retain women.

According to data put together for ET by the Avtar Group, four out of every 10 women surveyed by the diversity and inclusion consulting firm reported child care as a challenge when returning to office for a 9 am to 5 pm work setup.

Several women, especially mothers with young children who earlier had a supportive ecosystem because of the infrastructure of creches and play schools, have no option but to quit their jobs with most primary schools not having reopened and creches still closed. Avtar's data show that in a majority of organisations in India, child-care continues to be an employee's issue and not a concern of the employer.

Data on post-Covid attrition rate show that some sectors have more women leaving the workforce than men. For instance, industries such as FMCG and manufacturing, which have a larger number of jobs that offer fewer options for flexibility - remote or hybrid working - are facing much higher attrition of female employees compared with men.

In FMCG, the difference in attrition rate between women and men is 7 percentage points (women 24% vs men 17%), and in manufacturing, it is 4 percentage points (women 7% vs men 3%), according to the data.

In IT/ITeS, which provides more flexibility to women, the difference is much narrower at just over 1 percentage point, though the overall attrition is high (women 29.4% vs 28% men).

Another survey by Avtar shows that among women who quit work in India, the reason for 77% was lack of flexible work options.

"Companies that are unable to provide enablers for women in terms of work from home and other flexible work options are not equipped to take the aftershocks of Covid-led disruptions and those are the ones witnessing a higher attrition rate for women," Avtar Group founder-president Saundarya Rajesh said.

"Industries and organisations which are early adopters of flexible working will be able to engage and retain women talent," she added. Many progressive organisations are proactively engaged to ensure that they do not lose out on their female talent.

"Employers need to be sensitive ...We are not insisting our female employees with school-going children in places where schools have not reopened to come to office five days a week. We are giving them the leeway," said Ruzbeh Irani, president, group human resources at automaker Mahindra & Mahindra.

According to experts, flexibility gives a strong competitive edge not just to retain but to attract talent. "If you are opening up the workplace, you need to see how the supporting ecosystem is opening up too. In the hypercompetitive tech, startups world - which is already facing a war for talent - flexibility today is a very strong talent retention and acquisition tool," said Naiyya Saggi, founder of online mother and babycare brand BabyChakra, which was recently acquired by MyGlamm.

"There is no push for our employees to come back to work. Even if we do eventually, it will be in a phased manner and not enforced on anyone," said Saggi.

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In the aftermath of COVID-19, women find it hard to return to the office

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According to data put together for ET by the Avtar Group, four out of every 10 women surveyed by the diversity and inclusion consulting firm reported child care as a challenge when returning to office for a 9 am to 5 pm work setup.

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Majority of employees want to work for a company that values diversity, equity and inclusion, survey shows- Shekhar Acharya 

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Majority of employees want to work for a company that values diversity, equity and inclusion, survey shows- Shekhar Acharya 

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Workers want business leaders to speak up on social and political issues and think companies can do more when it comes to diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, according to the latest CNBC|SurveyMonkey Workforce Survey. The C-suite should take notice: a majority of employees say it's important for them to work at an organization that prioritizes diversity and inclusion. More than half say it's very important to them. The poll was conducted among 8,233 employed adults across the U.S. between April 8 and 18, using the SurveyMonkey platform.

The wave of news events over the past several months-voting rights debates in Georgia and other states, anti-Asian violence, and the trial and conviction in the George Floyd death-have prompted business leaders to wade into heated issues in a very public way. And while 60% of workers in the survey say they approve of business leaders speaking up about these hot-button social and political issues, far fewer (36%) say they would back their own company's leadership speaking out regardless of what they were advocating.

Those at the top of the organization-CEOs, business owners, and other C-suite leaders-are the least likely to say business leaders should be speaking out. A little over half in this group approve of those in leadership positions speaking out on social and political issues, compared with 62% of the rank and file.

Diversity and inclusion matters, say employees

There's far more agreement on diversity and inclusion issues. Nearly 80% of those surveyed said they want to work for a company that values diversity, equity, and inclusion issues, and a third said their companies are doing "a lot" of work on this area.

"Workers who are satisfied with their company's efforts on [DEI] issues are actually happier with their jobs," says Laura Wronski, a research science manager at SurveyMonkey. "They are more likely than others to say that they have good opportunities to advance their careers, and they are more likely to feel like they are paid well for the work they do."

Workers who are satisfied with their company's efforts on [DEI] issues are actually happier with their jobs.

Laura Wronski, research science manager, SurveyMonkey

While the social implications for valuing diversity and inclusion resonate with workers, the business case is equally strong. As companies position themselves for growth in the wake of the pandemic, they need the very qualities that define diverse and inclusive cultures-innovation and resilience.

"Our business came to standstill last year, and it would have been really easy for us to say 'let's have a time out and focus on the financials,'" says Laura Fuentes, chief human resources officer at Hilton and a Workforce Executive Council (WEC) member. "Instead, we leaned into conversations around privilege, racism, and how men need to show up and become an ally."

Greg Cunningham, chief diversity officer at U.S. Bank and a WEC member, says that enlightened companies understand that equity is a catalyst for business growth. "It's not just the Black community or the Asian community or women," he says. "This time it feels like we're all in solidarity with each other."

Indeed, nearly 40% of the workers surveyed said that the events of the past year have made diversity and inclusion more of a priority at their companies.

"I think we're at this inflection point where employees and leaders realize that the only way to grow and move forward is to bring more people into the tent," Cunningham adds. "We all win when we all win."

One of the biggest challenges companies are facing as the country works its way out of the pandemic is the ability to find the right talent. Tech companies have long struggled to fill demand, and the skills gap remains a significant hurdle. Respondents to the CNBC Technology Executive Council quarterly survey, for instance, said it had become harder to find qualified job candidates. In fact, the survey shows that almost half of respondents say that finding qualified employees remains their biggest risk.

Keeping employees happy and engaged is therefore a crucial element in this talent war. And an employee's perception of his or her company's DEI efforts has an impact on their job satisfaction, according to the SurveyMonkey poll. Those workers who say their company is "not doing enough" to prioritize diversity and inclusion have a Workforce Happiness Index score of 63, well below the average score of 72.

DJ Casto, chief human resources officer at Synchrony, and a WEC member, says millennials, Gen X and Gen Z are purpose-driven generations that act on principle and hold organizations accountable. "They're opting to work for companies with clear value systems and corresponding behaviors around inclusion, transparency, fairness and sustainable business practices," he adds.

Keeping and attracting the best talent, says Kevin Price, a WEC member and head of inclusion and diversity for Dixon Hughes Goodman, will be determined by "how well a company can saturate the talent lifecycle with the key principles of diversity and inclusion," he says. "Remember, you want the culture on your walls to align with the culture in the halls."

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Majority of employees want to work for a company that values diversity, equity and inclusion, survey shows

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Workers want business leaders to speak up on social and political issues and think companies can do more when it comes to diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, according to the latest CNBC|SurveyMonkey Workforce Survey. The C-suite should take notice: a majority of employees say it's important for them to work at an organization that prioritizes diversity and inclusion.

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Why equality and equality are essential in  today's education?

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Why equality and equality are essential in  today's education?

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Are equity and equality the same or different?
Equity means fairness and it comes when every student gets the same  opportunities and resources. It is also implies getting same funding, same quality, same facilities and same standers for for all schools.
Whereas equality is sameness which means that each student gets the kinds of opportunities and resources they need depending on their particular situation. So that both of them are essential in to day's education

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National Society of High School Scholars

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Equity vs Equality in Education: Why Both Are Essential in Today's Classrooms | National Society of High School Scholars

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At first glance, the ideas of equity and equality might seem pretty similar. Equity and equality are about fairness, right? However, while the two terms seem nearly identical, equity and equality actually have vastly different meanings . And educators already know that the difference between equality and equity is extremely important when it comes to policy decisions and education legislation.

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Making room for girls:

Developing countries are making progress in improving girls' education, but only slowly and inconsistently.IN THIS week's print edition we look at an important issue in development economics: how to reduce the gap between the number of girls and boys being educated in poor countries.
Economists see reducing sexual inequality in education as a vital part of promoting development. The failure to educate girls limits economic growth in the developing world by wasting human capital. As a result, the UN set itself the target of eliminating gender disparity in education at all levels by 2015, as one of its Millennium Development Goals.
Although places like China, Bangladesh and Indonesia look likely to achieve the target, Africa, in particular, will not. For every 100 boys in secondary school on the continent in 2010, there were only 82 girls. The most common response is to channel more money to girls’ education.

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Equality and equity challenges in South Africa

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Equality and equity challenges in South Africa

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https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2020/02/south-africa-broken-and-unequal-education-perpetuating-poverty-and-inequality/

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South Africa's broken and unequal education laid bare

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The South African education system, characterized by crumbling infrastructure, overcrowded classrooms and relatively poor educational outcomes, is perpetuating inequality and as a result failing too many of its children, with the poor hardest hit according to a new report published by Amnesty International today.

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Should Scotland have women-only rail carriages?

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Should Scotland have women-only rail carriages?

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This article brings discussion if Scotland should have women-only rail carriages. Many women have expressed that they feel too scared to travel on public transport "because of men's behaviour". Sexual harassment is an issue in the first place. It also pointed out that many countries, including Mexico, Japan and India, have provided  women-only rail carriages. Some academics believe this move will not remove the issues for women from the root, it would nomalise asssults on women.

-Article shared by Yue Dong

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Women's rights activist Kelly Given, from the Young Women's Movement Scotland, said: "I know all too well the feeling of going home on a train at night, clenching your jaw and sitting tense and dreading getting on the train in the first place - it absolutely needs to be addressed."

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Should Scotland have women-only rail carriages?

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Women's rights activist Kelly Given, from the Young Women's Movement Scotland, said: "I know all too well the feeling of going home on a train at night, clenching your jaw and sitting tense and dreading getting on the train in the first place - it absolutely needs to be addressed."

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Inequality

Seminal events during the pandemic – such as the protests over the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police in 2020 and the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on communities of color – have brought the issues of systemic racism and injustice to the forefront of the public’s consciousness.

For some health care providers, the moment also has presented an opportunity to leverage the national conversation into new efforts to examine how existing policies and practices in medicine may be perpetuating racial health inequities.

“We’re at a pivotal time,” says Dr. Nichola Davis, chief population health officer for NYC Health + Hospitals, New York City’s public hospital and health care system. “People’s ears are open and they are willing to hear and have these courageous conversations that they maybe weren’t able to have in 2019.”

At issue are clinical algorithms that factor in race when assessing a patient’s risk for a host of health conditions, ranging from death in connection with heart surgery to urinary tract infections in children. Critics of such calculations contend they may result in patients of color receiving less access to and poorer quality of care than their white counterparts, fueling long-standing racial health disparities.

“Race was never necessary or needed” in these algorithms, says Dr. Milda Saunders, an ethicist and health equity researcher and associate professor of medicine at the University of Chicago. “I think a lot of times when we’re measuring race we’re measuring racism, both structural and interpersonal racism.”

More

HEALTHIEST COMMUNITIES HEALTH NEWS
Erasing Race in Medicine
The pandemic's spotlight on inequity offers fuel for efforts to remove race as a factor in clinical equations.
Steven Ross JohnsonFeb. 3, 2022

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Seminal events during the pandemic - such as the protests over the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police in 2020 and the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on communities of color - have brought the issues of systemic racism and injustice to the forefront of the public's consciousness.

For some health care providers, the moment also has presented an opportunity to leverage the national conversation into new efforts to examine how existing policies and practices in medicine may be perpetuating racial health inequities.

"We're at a pivotal time," says Dr. Nichola Davis, chief population health officer for NYC Health + Hospitals, New York City's public hospital and health care system. "People's ears are open and they are willing to hear and have these courageous conversations that they maybe weren't able to have in 2019."

At issue are clinical algorithms that factor in race when assessing a patient's risk for a host of health conditions, ranging from death in connection with heart surgery to urinary tract infections in children. Critics of such calculations contend they may result in patients of color receiving less access to and poorer quality of care than their white counterparts, fueling long-standing racial health disparities.

"Race was never necessary or needed" in these algorithms, says Dr. Milda Saunders, an ethicist and health equity researcher and associate professor of medicine at the University of Chicago. "I think a lot of times when we're measuring race we're measuring racism, both structural and interpersonal racism."

Race-based adjustments within algorithms that help make clinical assessments have been around for decades. But while there is widespread acceptance within the scientific and medical communities that the concept of race is not based on biology and is instead a social construct, race correction continues to influence patient diagnoses and treatments.

And despite growing acknowledgment of the potential harms caused by race correction in medicine, so ingrained are these calculations in clinical assessments that the effort to overhaul them is often complicated with questions over what factors can be an adequate replacement.

"These are conversations that have been happening among certain subsets of people for years," Davis says. "This isn't new work for some people."

There has been notable movement of late, however: Last May, for example, NYC Health+Hospitals announced its removal of a patient's race from calculations used to assess kidney function - part of the launch of the health system's broader " Medical Eracism" initiative.

Race was first introduced in the late 1990s to calculate estimated glomerular filtration rate, or eGFR, which is commonly used by clinicians to measure the kidneys' ability to filter waste from the blood. A higher eGFR score normally suggests better kidney function.

Black patients, though, are typically assigned a race adjustment that raises their eGFR by approximately 16% or more than non-Black patients, depending on the equation used. The adjustment is tied to past findings showing higher levels of the waste product creatinine among Black people.

"Explanations that have been given for this finding include the notion that Black people release more creatinine into their blood at baseline, in part because they are reportedly more muscular," a 2020 article in The New England Journal of Medicine states. "Analyses have cast doubt on this claim, but the 'race-corrected' eGFR remains the standard."

Davis says this adjustment can negatively impact the quality of health care Black patients receive, causing delays in receiving medical interventions such as referrals to a nephrologist or dialysis. One such potential consequence was outlined in a November piece published by STAT, in which Glenda V. Roberts - a woman with kidney disease who identified as Black - wrote of how the equation delayed her evaluation for a kidney transplant.

"Unfortunately, when you look at the clinical algorithms, what many of them do is they may downplay the severity of some illnesses when you do that race correction," Davis says.

"The big change is that more institutions like the hospital system, hospital leadership and administrators are more on board with efforts toward equity than they were in prior years," says Dr. Monica Maalouf, associate program director of internal medicine for Loyola Medicine, a health system based in the Chicago area.

Maalouf says Loyola is in the process of determining how to remove race as a variable within the health system's eGFR calculations. That process has involved talks with physicians and laboratory coordinators and directors, as well as working with information technology specialists on how to remove the racial designation from the risk score's automated reporting system.

National Kidney Foundation President Dr. Paul Palevsky says the new equation marks an important step toward efforts to achieve equity in health care by providing a more accurate, race-free approach to assessing kidney function.

"It was the most common equation used in medicine that incorporated race that was reported to be used in clinical care," Palevsky says, estimating a race-inclusive equation for kidney function is used approximately 240 million times a year.

But while the change in the eGFR calculation signifies a substantial step forward, eliminating race correction in calculations for other health conditions has been more challenging, despite increased recognition about the potential harms and health disparities that can come from their continued use.

"The field has realized that when we are using race as a factor in our clinical assessments that we're actually not using a precise measure like we would do for measuring sex, or age, or other things that we use to make our clinical decisions," says Saunders, with the University of Chicago. "But we want to find the best answer, so that may involve sort of reexamining the questions and not just saying, 'Let's just drop race,' but asking what was race measuring, and then substituting that measure."

Saunders says University of Chicago Medicine recently removed race in calculating eGFR in patients, opting to adopt the algorithm endorsed by the National Kidney Foundation. She notes there also has been a broader push among clinicians in recent years to consider the impact of social drivers like income, access to food, housing status and access to transportation on patients of color when making clinical assessments.

Much of the recent attention toward removing race in clinical assessments began with the 2020 article published in the The New England Journal of Medicine, which listed about a dozen tools that included race in assessing clinical areas such as patients' lung function, risk of in-hospital death from heart failure and survival from cardiac surgery. Such tools hold the potential for harmful consequences, the article noted, and could lead to issues such as nonwhite patients not getting health care interventions as early as white patients.

"Many of these race-adjusted algorithms guide decisions in ways that may direct more attention or resources to white patients than to members of racial and ethnic minorities," wrote the authors, from Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School and NYU Langone Health. "If doctors and clinical educators rigorously analyze algorithms that include race correction, they can judge, with fresh eyes, whether the use of race or ethnicity is appropriate."

Last May, a study published by the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology introduced an updated model that does not factor in patient race for use in estimating the chance of a successful vaginal birth for women who previously had a cesarean section. By lowering the estimated chance of success for women of color, a previous version of the VBAC calculator - a tool singled out in the NEJM piece - could push them toward a C-section, which is a major surgical procedure many maternal health experts believe is performed too often.

At the same time, adjusting for race in some cases may raise the question of whether doing so is useful if it results in minority groups potentially receiving more consideration.

For example, race adjustment within an atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease risk estimator - which estimates the risk of having an event like a stroke and helps clinicians determine when to start patients on cholesterol-lowering medication - can put patients who identify as Black at higher risk than white patients. Having race correction within the tool could make it more likely clinicians will intervene earlier for Black patients.

"Using race in these clinical algorithms hasn't been all bad," says Dr. Malika Fair, senior director of equity and social accountability for the Association of American Medical Colleges. "Their intent when they were being used sometimes was to identify health inequities."

Fair says unilaterally removing race from every algorithm is a feasible approach, but fails to answer whether doing so would make things better or worse for patients. "We have to take the time to figure that out so that we don't end up inadvertently creating more racial health inequities when we remove race from the equation," Fair says.

Notably, a study published last year in The Lancet Oncology found that removing race from an eGFR equation could undercut cancer treatment in Black patients.

Dr. Megan Mahoney, chief of staff for Stanford Health Care and a clinical professor of medicine at Stanford University, says professional medical societies can play a huge part in providing and promoting guidance on alternatives that clinicians can use to assess disease risk without factoring race. Yet much of the action taken thus far aimed at eliminating race-based clinical assessment has been led by individual hospitals and health systems, which have made policy decisions after deliberation and consideration from their own experts.

Mahoney says medical societies can streamline the decision process for hospitals by serving as a trusted arbiter to review the evidence and provide guidance that most will accept.

"A particular health care system can do it, it's just that it's going to be harder to get buy-in from those who are actually implementing the change - the physicians on the front line - without the professional societies backing them," Mahoney says.

Mahoney agrees it's important to identify the root causes of health disparities for patients of color that have led to differences in risk outcomes. But she fears leaving race-based algorithms in place could reinforce concepts that tie race to biology, and could have long-term social and clinical ramifications.

"Even if there are going to be downstream changes that might put African Americans at a disadvantage, the perpetuation of race as a biological factor both in medical education and in medicine in general, the risk of that far outweighs that minor benefit some racial groups might be getting from the current state," Mahoney says. "We are really putting our medical students and a whole generation of trainees at a disadvantage when the concept of biological race is reinforced in their training."

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Seminal events during the pandemic - such as the protests over the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police in 2020 and the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on communities of color - have brought the issues of systemic racism and injustice to the forefront of the public's consciousness.

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Tucker: The key difference between 'equality' and 'equity'

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Tucker: The key difference between 'equality' and 'equity'

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We're in reporter mode tonight here with some key stats on your government. Here they are: 42 days into the administration and still no solo press conference from Joe Biden. That is the longest stretch of silence from any new President in at least a century.

So by refusing to speak directly to the media, Joe Biden is attacking our most cherished democratic norms. Even CNN is complaining about it. And we would echo those complaints if we really cared. But honestly, we're just as happy that Joe Biden remains in seclusion.

Imagine a full press conference from Joe Biden, an endless hour of blank spots and mumbling and his wife interjecting with the right answer. How depressing would that be?

It is one thing to know your country is being led by a guy in cognitive decline. It's another thing to see it and we don't want to see it. And what will reporters ask anyway?

We got a taste the other day when one shouted this as Biden shuffled by: "What did you learn from your classified briefing on border security?" That was the question, Joe Biden's answer, "A lot." That was it.

Now do you believe him? Did Joe Biden really learn a lot now or at any time in the past five years? Come on. As we said, the whole thing is too sad to watch, so we're not going to.

Instead we're happy to listen to Joe Biden's flaks. They hold the press conferences now.

In the last month, Joe Biden's mouthpieces have had to explain why he bombed Syria, why he blocked the passage of a $15.00 minimum wage, why Dr. Seuss is racist, and then in their spare time, Joe Biden's scribes produce an awful lot of presidential proclamations.

They're heavy on the proclamations in Washington these days, a lot of proclaiming. One of Joe Biden's very first was entitled "An Executive Order on Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities through the Federal Government," end quote.

This was the document that introduced the administration's new Equity Plan, which is going to -- and we're quoting, "Eliminate systemic barriers to opportunities and benefits for people of color and other underserved groups." It's quite a mouthful. But what does it mean? Has anyone asked what it means? Or did everyone in Washington just graduated from Yale and intuitively understand sloppy, meaningless words like this. Possible.

But the rest of us might still like to know what a systemic barrier is and how Joe Biden plans to eliminate it. That's easy, with equity, of course. But that raises a whole new question, what exactly is equity? And how is it different from equality? Equality being the central principle this country was founded on.

Well, the first thing to know about equality is that it is designed to challenge power. Equity, by contrast, is designed to protect power. Equity is what the British monarchy had. Equality is what the American colonists wanted.

Equality is what allowed Andrew Jackson to rise from a childhood of bitter poverty in the Carolina woods where he was born in 1867, and make it all the way to the White House.

Andrew Jackson was tough, smart and energetic. He lived a remarkable life and America rewarded him for it. That's equality. People like that, rising to the top.

Equity is the opposite. Equity is what allowed Kamala Harris, the privileged child of two PhDs, to stay privileged, and in the end to become one of the most powerful people on the planet, despite having achieved nothing impressive or worthwhile over the span of 56 years.

So, Andrew Jackson and Kamala Harris, both Democrats, one child of equality; the other the child of equity. That's the difference in a nutshell.

So to recap, equality challenges power; equity protects power. That principle has never been on starker display than in the case of the teachers unions, which is some of the most powerful institutions in America. Naturally, you are using the term equity to justify their own prerogatives as they hurt the weak, in this case, school children and their increasingly desperate parents.

Last night, we told you what the President of the Los Angeles Teachers Union, an equity promoter called, Cecily Myart-Cruz.

For months, parents whose kids use public education in Los Angeles have been begging Cecily Myart-Cruz to reopen the schools, and why wouldn't they?

How has Cecily Myart-Cruz responded? Well, by demanding those parents shut up immediately. Those parents, she explained, have the wrong skin color. Therefore, unlike entitled unionized teachers who can never be fired, those parents have privilege.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CECILY MYART-CRUZ, PRESIDENT, UNITED TEACHERS LOS ANGELES: Some voices are being allowed to speak louder than others. We have to call out the privilege behind the largely white, wealthy parents driving the push for a rushed return.

Their experience of this pandemic is not our students' families' experiences.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARLSON: Calling out the privileged, says the lady who can literally never be fired from her job no matter how she acts including like that. Never mind the hundred percent increase in suicides among school-aged children, Cecily Myart-Cruz is not interested in that.

She is interested in equity, which means she is interested in protecting her own unearned privilege by attacking the people below her.

What do the parents and children being attacked think of this? Well, Cecily Myart-Cruz wouldn't think to ask them because she doesn't care.

So yesterday, FOX Los Angeles reporter, Bill Melugin, stepped up and asked them himself, and here's what they said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's almost like minority families want the school to open more than anybody else, and the reason why I say that is because education for us, for our culture, is a stairway out of poverty.

So every day that our children is not in school, that's just a day closer to poverty for them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARLSON: Lamar Freeman coaches, a youth football team called the LA Rampage. He told Bill Melugin that every parent he spoke to wants his or her kids back in class. Now, these parents are not racists, they just want their kids educated.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LAMAR FREEMAN, YOUTH FOOTBALL TEAM COACH: Most of our kids before the pandemic, we had 80 percent honor roll rate. Now, since the distance learning Zoom precedent, it dropped to about maybe 20 percent, like most of my A's and B's kids are getting B's and C's.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARLSON: So purely because the most privileged government workers in the United States won't have to work, an entire generation of children is being destroyed. That's equity, the strong hurting the weak and calling it justice.

Everyone who thinks about this for just a moment knows that it's true and that's why you never hear equity debated or even defined. They won't define the term because they can't defend its definition.

Instead, they bully the population into silence. Cecily Myart-Cruz and the teachers unions are doing that right now.

Jorge Ventura of "The Daily Caller" has obtained a recent e-mail sent by someone who identifies himself as Albert Lowe, an employee at the Los Angeles Teachers Union.

Now, there is an Albert Lowe, who works at the union. We called him tonight, though he didn't pick up to confirm that he sent the e-mail in question.

This e-mail was addressed to a mother who has publicly called a couple of times for reopening schools in Los Angeles, and the e-mail from the union apparently demands to know what race she is, quote, "I'm working on a research project on who speaks on union issues in the 'Los Angeles Times' and coding for race and class," it begins, "You were quoted twice in the last eight months in the paper. Could you tell me how you racially self- identify or point me to a citation on your identity," end quote.

Now, what could possibly be the point of this? Seriously? Why is a parent or a child's skin color relevant in any way to what is supposed to be a medical question, whether the public schools reopen? Well, there's of course, there's only one point to this. It is racial intimidation.

We saw you complained, tell us your race.

How is that not a violation of our civil rights laws? Of course, it'll never be prosecuted or even criticized by anyone in power, because the teachers union is doing it, and they're doing it in the name of equity.

The hunt for white supremacy justifies all including injuring children and scaring their parents into silence. It's not just happening in schools. We're seeing this everywhere in our society right now.

Zaid Jilani is one of the few people brave enough to note it. He writes for "The Spectator" and is also on the Board of Advisors of a new organization called the Foundation against Intolerance and Racism. And boy, do we need that. We're happy to have him on tonight.

Zaid Jilani, only thank you so much for coming on. You must have noticed, and of course, I know you've written about it extensively, that virtually every debate of significance over things that actually matter, will the schools reopen? How do we respond to COVID? What does our economy look like?

All of them immediately, at the direction of those in power, go to race, why is that?

ZAID JILANI, "THE SPECTATOR": Right, Tucker. Well, I think it's important to be sensitive to the fact that race does sometimes correlate with other factors, like the quality of your health, your exposure to pollution, public safety, your income.

The problem is, why are they using a middleman to correlate for that instead of just going directly to that? Why not directly address the needs of those who are poor, of those who are sick, of those who are not well off or those who have public safety problems.

The reason why is because it's often used as a tactic or a tool of elites to flatten the universe, right, to pretend that everybody who is of a certain skin color or have the exact same social status and they have to be deferred to.

Let me give you an example. I think your viewers should pay very close attention to what's happening in Alabama right now. There's an Amazon warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama. This is a very poor place, about a third of the population is in poverty that's trying to unionize.

Jeff Bezos spent the last year telling us how much he cares about Black Lives Matter. He brands his entire website that way. He donated a bunch of money that way, yet his company is doing everything they can to crush that union.

These are -- this is a workforce that's 85 percent black, right? But he is not talking about poor people's lives matters. He is not talking about working class people's lives that matter, right? He wants to talk about race, because he wants to distract from the fact that there are rich people of every single race out there. Right?

His greatest fear is the same fear of, let's say, old time George Wallace and Lester Maddox, that poor white people, poor black people, Asians, Latinos and Native Americans recognize that, yes, there are differences between them. They have different cultures, they have different histories, and sometimes different challenges. But they're also all poor, and they have more in common with each other, certainly than they do with Jeff Bezos.

CARLSON: That is such a wise point. Why does no one say this out loud? And why don't you ever hear people raise their hand on behalf of poor people?

I'm not a poor person. I'm just noticing this. So there's no self-interest involved. But like, why doesn't anybody say the poor are being oppressed. It's always in racial terms.

They don't actually want to help the poor, I'm starting to conclude.

JILANI: Well, look, there was a really interesting study that came out a few years ago that showed me that something like half of the top editors and reporters at "The New York Times" come from a small batch of elite colleges, right?

These people, I think, often see themselves as victims through, you know, their gender, through their racial status. But they have very little interaction or engagement with I think, working class people, with poor people, with the people who are dying in massive homicide spikes last year, which is why crime is rarely ever talked about, even though it's a huge concern if you poll poor people of every race, particularly black and Latino, but I think of every race.

I mean, we see a sort of a structural tilt in our country, towards an upper class elite, which increasingly as the country becomes racially diverse, is a racially diverse elite, but it doesn't necessarily help the poor person in Bessemer, Alabama to be talking about the symbolism of Dr. Seuss.

Or to be talking about, you know, diversity and equity inclusion when you're not talking about redistributing actual power, which in this case, could be in the form of getting those people in Bessemer, Alabama a union that actually gives them wages that they can spend in their community and improve their lives.

And unfortunately, I think elites have played on a very proud tradition of civil rights to divide people, rather than for them to actually address each other's common humanity, which is the actual way that you address racism, not only racism, but also economic inequality and deprivation and sort of the larger issues that we're all facing as a people.

CARLSON: Well, the traditional civil rights they refer to is based on the goal of equality, and the goal of equity is entirely different and they -- I don't think they've told us that clearly enough.

Zaid Jilani, I appreciate it, and good luck with your new effort. Thanks.

JILANI: Thank you.

CARLSON: Well, in the name of equity, schools all over this country just celebrated Black History Month. At one school, a student dared to praise the work of Candace Owens in a presentation. That didn't go over well at all. That student joins us to tell us what happened and what it means, straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CARLSON: Julia Saville is a high school student in Virginia. Last month, her School, St. Margaret's in Tappahannock, Virginia asked her to choose someone to honor for Black History Month. Julia Saville made the mistake of assuming she could pick a black person who wasn't on the list of approved black people, so she picked Candace Owens who she likes.

That's when a school-wide e-mail circulated calling Candace Owens -- wait for it -- a racist.

Julia Saville joins us now to explain what happened. Julia, I really appreciate your coming on. It must be weird to be doing this. You're brave, too. Tell us what happened at your school.

JULIA SAVILLE, HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT: Thank you for having me on tonight, Mr. Carlson.

So I picked Candace Owens to present for a Black Trailblazer that I admired, and I stated why I admired her and I admired her hard work within the black community. And I received an e-mail that morning of my presentation that it was disrespectful of me to highlight her as a Black Trailblazer, and she stated how she believed Candace was racist, and she has done absolutely nothing for the black community.

CARLSON: So, I'm sorry to laugh. So presumably you picked Candace Owens, not, I don't know what your politics are not just because you agree with her, but she is demonstrably strong and independent minded. She says what she thinks.

This isn't -- she is kind of the person that we teach our daughters to be. Did this teacher explain how Candace Owens was racist?

SAVILLE: No, it was the student who said that Candace was racist, and that's all she said in the e-mail that she was racist and she had done nothing for the black community. She never went in detail to explain why.

CARLSON: Yes, I bet she didn't. So how did the school itself -- how did the administration respond to this?

SAVILLE: So the Dean of Students arranged a Zoom meeting with me and the student who had addressed this in an e-mail and she apologized personally to me.

Me and my family requested that she apologize in the same format that she attacked me through e-mail, which they did not want to do.

CARLSON: They, being the school didn't want to do that?

SAVILLE: Yes, sir.

CARLSON: Why?

SAVILLE: I'm not sure. I guess, they just thought an apology wasn't nice to be addressed to the group that she sent the e-mail to.

CARLSON: What lesson have you learned for this? I mean, Candace Owens, Black History Month, she's obviously black. She is well-known. She is playing a role in American culture. I can see why you thought she would be allowed.

Now, that you have been through this experience, what have you concluded? What have you learned?

SAVILLE: I think I've learned that experiences like this cannot make me be silenced and other conservatives be silenced, and back down just because administration or other students will attack you and call you racist.

So I think it was just the biggest lesson to me was to not be silenced and not back down and just to keep sharing my opinion and being vocal about what I believe.

CARLSON: I think I'm -- I'm glad for you that you had this experience, because you've learned the best lesson of all, which is that nothing matters if you're not strong enough to say it out loud.

Julia, I appreciate your coming on tonight. Thank you.

SAVILLE: Thank you.

CARLSON: So Democrats won everything in November really in January, but they control the entire Federal government now. The last thing they want to do is have another real election, so to forestall that possibility, they are trying to add millions of new voters to the rolls, who they believe will be loyal to them.

Now they want 16-year-olds to vote. Heard anything more cynical this week? Probably not. Newt Gingrich is here to assess the whole picture. What are they doing and why?

Plus, unlike you, illegal immigrants are allowed to travel everywhere in this country. Nobody is worried about them spreading COVID, some apparently are. Johnny Burtka though is being shut down in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The State doesn't like his politics. He joins us in a moment to say what happened to him. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CARLSON: The first thing Joe Biden did when he was sworn in was to promise unity, and that's something that almost every American, no matter who you voted for, really wanted. Let's bring the country back together.

The question is, did Joe Biden mean it? Did he know what he was saying? Well, look at what he has done, and it answers the question very clearly.

In his first two months in office, Joe Biden has pushed a series of policies that polls show are both unpopular and deeply divisive. In fact, maybe the most divisive policies any President could push.

Like if you sat down and thought, what probably is the most divisive thing you would -- force girl sports teams take biological men? You would hand out money to farmers based on their skin color? You will completely open our southern border and change the composition of the United States without taking a vote on it.

Today, Democrats pushed another policy that no sane person wants. It's hard to believe, but a majority of House Democrats voted to lower the voting age to 16. Do you have a 16-year-old? Should they be voting?

The measure ultimately failed, thank God, but the fact they raised it and voted for the majority tells you a lot. One Republican Congressman from Texas, Pat Fallon pointed out the Democrats don't want 16 or 17-year-olds charged as adults when they commit murder, but they are fine with letting them vote.

Can't have guns, but they can choose the President. What?

Newt Gingrich is the former Speaker of the House. He is a very smart man and we thought we'd invite him on tonight and ask him: what is going on here? Why did Biden pick the most divisive policies upfront?

Mr. Speaker, thanks for coming on tonight. What do you think we're watching here? What's going on?

NEWT GINGRICH, FOX NEWS CHANNEL CONTRIBUTOR: Well, you know, it occurred to me that Biden had lived through two Democratic disasters. When Clinton was elected, two years later, they lost 54 seats, and we became a majority for the first time in 40 years. When Obama was elected, two years later, they lost 63 seats.

And I think what they've done is a very calculating, and I think, cynical ploy, which is they have given up on keeping the House. What they are doing is ramming through everything they can get done before they lose in 2022.

So this is kind of a sprint to radicalism, even though it's going to cost - - you look at these votes in the House, you've got 30, 40, 50 members who are not going to be able to go home and defend them. They're not going to be able to explain it.

And I think that the Biden-Harris model is we're going to lose the House anyway, we might as well grab everything we can while we've got the power, and it's astonishing.

Just take the $1.9 trillion political pork bill, which is not a COVID bill, only nine percent of it is COVID. The other 91 percent is just political pork. That bill has more radicalism in it than the eight years of Clinton and the eight years of Obama combined. Just that one bill. And you're going to see wave after wave. I describe it as a flood tide radicalism.

CARLSON: I've got to wonder though and your analysis makes total sense and you -- I mean, you know, you ran the house so you know how it works, but I just wondered the motive behind the things that they want.

You said they want to get the stuff they want upfront, it makes total sense. But all the things that they want hurt the country in measurable ways.

We're energy independent, they want us not to be. They want to totally destroy our control over the border. They're letting foreign nationals roam the country unimpeded with COVID. Like, why would you want those things?

GINGRICH: Yes, I mean, I just did a tweet this afternoon, saying if there's a problem with COVID in Texas, it's not Governor Abbott, it is Biden's illegals. And we just had to call them, these are Biden's illegals coming in the country. No public health check.

Many of them back in the 1880s, we had public health checks if you came to America.

CARLSON: Oh, yes.

GINGRICH: But, Tucker, I really admire your show. I really think you're remarkably trenchant in your insights. But I just want to offer you a thought. They don't want to protect your America. They want to create an alternative America.

It is an America of racial deep inequality and an anti-white, and by the way, anti-Asian basis. It's an America in which transgender dominates Christianity and Judaism.

It's an America in which they want to actually pass a bill to create a permanent machine, just like California, Chicago, and New York, and that's not --

So when you and I talk about why would they do this for America? It's because they really want a radically different country. And they realize -- they just proved it with Dr. Seuss, they really despise America.

CARLSON: Man, that's not democracy as we've defined it, at all, and I appreciate your analysis. Speaker Gingrich, thank you.

GINGRICH: Thank you.

CARLSON: So tens of thousands of small businesses, not Amazon, not Apple, but small businesses, the ones working right in the margin are still closed because of coronavirus lockdowns.

Meanwhile, as we just alluded to, the Biden administration is allowing foreign nationals here illegally who are infected with the coronavirus to travel wherever they want.

The numbers are hard to track, but FOX News's Griff Jenkins is reporting that at least 108 coronavirus positive migrants in Texas have been allowed to hop on buses bound for the interior of the United States, which is insane and getting almost no coverage.

Joe Biden's top flak was asked today about all of this. She admitted that the White House was just issuing guidance, which everyone is ignoring.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: While their cases are being adjudicated, testing for COVID-19 is done at the State and local level.

Our guidance, regardless of status is testing positive for COVID-19 or experiencing COVID-like symptoms is to isolate, continue to social distance, and wear a mask.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARLSON: So that's what's happening with foreign nationals breaking our laws by being here. That's how they're being tricked. Yes, right, whatever you want. We don't need to be too tough on you.

But what about you? An American citizen who pay taxes and obey the law. Johnny Burtka is an American who pays taxes and obeys law. He's not here illegally.

He is the President and CEO of the Intercollegiate Studies Institute. The Virginia Department of Health just shut down his conference this week. Why'd they do that? They don't like his politics. He joins us to explain. Johnny, thanks for coming on. Tell us what happened to you.

JOHNNY BURTKA, PRESIDENT AND CEO, INTERCOLLEGIATE STUDIES INSTITUTE: Yes, thanks, Tucker.

So this week, 72 hours before our Annual Collegiate Network Student Journalism Conference, which brings together some of the smartest, most courageous young reporters from campuses like Stanford University, University of Chicago and Hillsdale College for a weekend of educational formation and career development, we received news from our hotel that the local Department of Health in Alexandria, Virginia, in response to an anonymous health complaint, someone called allegedly expressing concerns about the safety of the attendees at our conference.

In response to that complaint, an eager and willing bureaucrat, complied and reclassified ISI's Educational Program as a social event and all social events in the State of Virginia are limited to only 10 people, effectively canceling our student journalism conference this weekend.

CARLSON: In what kind of country A, do we punish people on the basis of anonymous complaints? East Germany, anyone? And B, this doesn't seem to have anything to do with actual medical guidance, because aren't there other conferences going on the same weekend in the Commonwealth of Virginia?

BURTKA: Tucker, there have been conferences week in and week out in Northern Virginia and throughout the State of Virginia and we were willing and eager to comply with all of the local and State COVID Health Guidelines, but that didn't seem to be enough.

This had nothing to do with public health. What it had to do with is there was someone who clearly did not want this event to happen. They didn't want our young and courageous student journalists interacting with some of the editors of the most major conservative publications in the country. So they went out of our way to get us cancelled.

But we refuse to let our student journalists be canceled, and we're working to find another city. I won't say where, but another city and another valley that welcomes free speech, that welcomes freedom of assembly, and welcomes civil discourse across a variety of perspectives.

So I'm hoping that our problem will be resolved by the end of the week. But America has a much bigger problem with cancel culture, and if we don't address it now, and if we don't bring together people from across the political spectrum to say enough is enough, we're going to destroy this country.

CARLSON: Yes, that's for sure. Thank heaven, there are still free states. Federalism really is our last resort, thank heaven, so I hope you find your way to one.

Johnny, great to see you tonight.

BURTKA: Thanks, Tucker.

CARLSON: Well, last night, we told you that they're going after Dr. Seuss, not because he was a racist, but because he wasn't, because he believed in what Martin Luther King believed -- a colorblind society.

Now one of the main voices driving the propaganda and shutting down honest conversation in this country, the Southern Poverty Law Center is out right admitting this. We will tell you what they said, next.

Plus, we have another example of woke-washing for you tonight courtesy of the men and womxn -- W-O-M-X-N. I am not clear what that means, maybe it is women. Anyway, they are Bain & Company. Mark Steyn is here to assess all of this, our rapidly changing nation under his lens. Stay tuned.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CARLSON: Behold hold the multilayered complexity of Mr. Jeff Bezos. Bezos isn't simply the CEO of amazon.com, the world's largest retailer, not simply the owner of "The Washington Post," our capitalist hometown newspaper, not simply depending on that he is the richest man in the world who seeks control over every part of your life. No, he's more than that.

If you ask Jeff Bezos, he will tell you that he is really a kind of secular Pope, he sets our moral standards.

Jeff Bezos tells us what behavior is acceptable, and he punishes anyone who steps out of line. And that's why when professional activists would like a book banned, and let's pause here to consider -- have good people ever banned books? No, they haven't.

But they're being banned now, and they're being banned because they are racist or transphobic or insufficiently deferential to Tony Fauci. And when they are banned, it's Jeff Bezos who does the banning because he's the world's largest bookseller.

Over the past few years, Jeff Bezos has given these activists exactly what they wanted. We've talked to several authors who have been affected by censorship.

In the process of censoring these authors, Jeff Bezos has set a new standard for anyone who wants to sell products in amazon.com. If you're accused of something, then you're guilty of it. There's no trial. It's not adjudicated.

If some person accuses you of a crime, Jeff Bezos says you're guilty. If a mob calls you a racist on Twitter, then you're a racist. It's that simple.

So why are we telling you all this? Because we've got some sad news to share with you tonight.

We mentioned at the top of the show, we want to give you some more detail. Jeff Bezos is a racist, it turns out. How do we know this? Because one of Jeff Bezos's employees, he is a manager at Amazon called Charlotte Newman has just filed a lawsuit against Amazon.

Newman, who is a Business Development Manager at Amazon Web Services says that Amazon underpaid her for years, gave her jobs she was overqualified for. She also says that a male supervisor used racist language around her.

Specifically, the manager allegedly said that Newman was aggressive and too direct, and quote, "just scary."

Now, is that racist? We don't know. We don't set the standards. Jeff Bezos sets the standards.

Thanks to Jeff Bezos, now that Jeff Bezos has been accused of racism we can know for a fact that Jeff Bezos is in fact a racist. A dangerous bigot who in the name of equity must be silenced for our collective safety. And if Jeff Bezos is a racist, think this through, class, then so is his personal media outlet/dream journal, "The Washington Post."

Ponder this. We have a white nationalist newspaper operating freely in Washington, D.C. This poison, this filth is being directly into the computers and the iPhones of members of Congress.

How long can this continue?

Well, last night we told you that people calling Dr. Seuss a racist aren't doing it because he was, they know he wasn't. Dr. Seuss devoted basically his whole life to combating racism.

They're doing it because Dr. Seuss believed in equality. Equality. They don't want equality anymore. They hate it. They want equity.

Now one of the groups leading this charge against Dr. Seuss and this show and every other person who tries to speak the truth, tries to say things that bring the country together, to encourage others to judge each other on who they are, and what tribe they're from, the group that is pushing so much of this garbage, the Southern Poverty Law Center, has explained why they're doing it.

This is a direct quote from an essay from the SPLC. Quote: "This message of acceptance [in the book the "Sneetches," one of the most beautiful stories ever written about the universal brotherhood of man] does not, acknowledge structural power imbalances. Instead of encouraging young readers to take action against injustice, the story promotes a race neutral approach."

Oh, so a race neutral approach in which we recognize that we're all human beings, we're all equal in the most fundamental sense. That's not allowed anymore.

Colorblindness is immoral. Racism is demanded. So they want you to think that Dr. Seuss is evil, so you won't notice that people didn't always have diseased brains in this country. There were once clear thinking liberals.

Here's another example. This week, Bain & Company, this is a management consulting company. What have they done for the management of American companies? Have they made this a better country? They don't want to have that conversation.

So instead, they send tweets like this and we'll try to read it verbatim, "Womxn's" the word is W-O-M-X-N-apostrophe-S, presumably, it's some kind of stand-in for women in which women aren't included.

"Womxn's History Month is a time of reflection, celebration, and deep consideration for how we can continue to improve as a workplace that empowers all womxns to thrive, personally and professionally. We are amplifying womxns' voices to educate our communities through the month."

They provided no actual example of womxns. They didn't explain what one was. But by sending that tweet, maybe they got you to pause from considering what they do for a living for just a moment.

Mark Steyn has thought a lot about this. He's one of the smartest people on television. Tonight, he joins us to assess woke-washing and what it is.

Mark, it is great to see you. Womxns. Have you celebrated their inclusion and their equity?

MARK STEYN, AUTHOR AND COLUMNIST: Well as my distinguished compatriot, Shania Twain used to sing, "Man, I feel like a womxn." I would -- I don't think there are many in my part of the world, unfortunately.

You know, you explained the whole Dr. Seuss thing so well last night, Tucker. And basically the appeal of that kind of mid-century ideological liberalism. You know, I don't particularly like Dr. Seuss and you can argue that that kind of ideological -- idealistic liberalism; man, we're all the same. I can sing a rainbow, "I'd like to buy the world" of Coke that mid- 20th Century liberalism is actually quite appealing as sappy and sentimental as they are.

CARLSON: Yes, I agree.

STEYN: So it has to be destroyed. The way you change the way people think, so that they are seriously going around thinking, well, we used to have men and women, but now we got men and womxn and we've got trans-womxn, and we've got cis-womxn, and there'll be another kind of womxn along any moment.

The way -- the only way you can do that is to absolutely destroy the past. So that people just live bobbing around in the flotsam and jetsam of a hyper present tense, so that even people from the day before yesterday like Dr. Seuss, or even more recently, the poor old woman, Eve Ensler, who wrote "The Vagina Monologues," which was a play you had to do at American campuses two decades ago and now cannot be performed, because it's transphobic.

So she had to write in scenes in which women with things other than the titular body part in "The Vagina Monologues" were included in it.

That's the thing. If you were a principled liberal, you'd think to yourself, what's the point? Because it is necessary to destroy not just the long ago past, but as I said the day before yesterday, because only when people are unmoored, and living in a hyper present tense, are they right for the crazy social engineering by which they can be seriously persuaded to go around thinking that the female sex are called womxn.

CARLSON: I mean, it's just -- I hadn't heard that about "The Vagina Monologues," but it just tells you everything. I mean, remember when liberals used to say, you know, the right is attacking women's bodies?

STEYN: Right, right.

CARLSON: I think most normal people, men and women, like women's bodies, you know, right?

STEYN: No, yes --

CARLSON: But, they are literally attacking women's bodies. I mean, saying that you can't describe a woman's body anymore.

STEYN: No, no, and all of that stuff. Keep your rosaries off my ovaries. Now, it's how dare you suggest that having ovaries is anything to do with being a woman. You know? I mean, that's the point. You're actually -- it's very important, this, because they're actually detonating, blowing up the key pillars of any functioning society.

CARLSON: That's right.

STEYN: And in the rubble, they can remake us in the most basic sense, including -- you know, on the right we just -- where we get all excited about a corporate tax cut, and on the left they are abolishing biological sex. That's not an equal contest.

CARLSON: This is a war on nature, which is the only thing that endures. The only thing we learn from is nature and they hate it because it's in their way. It proves they're not God. It's really shocking.

Mark Steyn, I appreciate your coming on and your wisdom as always.

STEYN: No, my pleasure, Tucker. Thanks a lot.

CARLSON: Thank you. Well, Texas has just lifted its mask mandate and reopened. Other states are still under strict lockdowns and small businesses are struggling. Very few are doing much to help. We're going to talk to one man who is doing a lot to help -- help those businesses. That's just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CARLSON: The Barstool Fund started by Dave Portnoy has raised an awful lot of money, tens of millions of dollars for small businesses who have been abandoned by their government.

Portnoy's latest call was the owner of Ramsey Corner Cafe in Ramsey, New Jersey.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVE PORTNOY, FOUNDER, BARSTOOL SPORTS: It's happening.

JOHN SIDERIS, OWNER, RAMSEY CORNER CAFE: Oh my God. I can't believe this dude. You can't be serious.

PORTNOY: Yes. Your persistence paid off.

SIDERIS: Dude, come on, bro. You just saved my life here. I mean, thank you so much, bro. You're -- I don't even know what to say right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARLSON: It's a heartening thing to watch and he is not doing it alone. Jeff Bartos is a partner of Portnoy's. He's a businessman in Pennsylvania. He's the cofounder of the Pennsylvania 30-Day Fund.

He is overseeing the disbursement of about $3.5 million dollars to more than a thousand businesses, obviously save jobs, every time.

He joins us tonight. Jeff, thanks so much for coming. I just cannot get enough of this because the headline is, everyone else abandons some of the most vulnerable in our society, small business owners and people like you step up. What's it been like? Are you shocked, you had to do it? How long will it continue?

JEFF BARTOS, COFOUNDER, PENNSYLVANIA 30-DAY FUND: Tucker, thank you so much. We started this work 10 months ago, if you can believe it. I mean, in that time, as you mentioned, we've raised $3.3 million, and helped over a thousand small business owners across all of Pennsylvania, keep the lights on and save thousands and thousands of jobs.

And to your point, I've spoken to 500 or more of these small business owners and they're amazing people, as you would expect.

And you see it in Dave's calls, and we do those calls as well. And they love their communities, they love their employees. They're worried about making sure that they can provide for everyone.

And they're also furious. They don't want anything from the government. The only thing they want is to be open. And so when they look --- when we talk to them, they say, you know, every step that the government has taken, whether it's a state government or the Federal government over the past year, has favored giant companies over small companies, and all they're asking for is a level playing field.

And I think we have to ask ourselves, and I love the work that you are doing and what Dave is doing to cover all this. Who are we as a society when this pandemic is over, if all that's left are giant companies?

And so Dave's work, our work, this collective work, and thank you so much for highlighting it, we are determined to make sure that these small businesses survive across Pennsylvania and across the United States.

CARLSON: Who are we if all we're left with is the big companies? I think that is such a smart and deep point. I just keep thinking as I talk to you and Portnoy, it's like, why has it fallen to you? I don't think you're a billionaire. Where are the billionaires? Sincere question. Why aren't they doing this?

BARTOS: It's a great question. I mean, I am heartened every day. As soon as I leave here, I'm heading to Altoona and Blair County. I don't know if you've ever been to Altoona, Pennsylvania.

CARLSON: I have.

BARTOS: But the business community there, Tucker, it's unbelievable. They have rallied to help the small businesses in their community. That community alone has raised $300,000.00 and helped the hundreds of small businesses just in Blair County as part of our statewide effort.

And it is -- it's amazing, and you know, it's interesting, to your point about unity. This is what unity is. This is what unity is. The business community coming together because politicians have failed us.

The elected officials that we rely on have crushed small businesses and in effect, have crushed our communities.

CARLSON: And in some places, and with the help of leaders like you, those communities are rallying and saving their own people, and I just think it's so inspiring and I probably should do a lot more segments like this, but I'm grateful you came on tonight.

Jeff Bartos, thank you, from Pennsylvania.

BARTOS: Thank you for having us. I'll come back anytime Take care.

CARLSON: Thanks a million.

Well, we are out of time tonight. Unfortunately, we could go on forever. But we're going to wait until tomorrow at 8:00 p.m. and every weeknight.

The show that is the sworn enemy of lying, pomposity, smugness and groupthink.

It is still a great country, no matter what they tell you. You have no reason to feel guilty for being an American, no matter what they claim and you don't have to obey.

With that, have a great evening.

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NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

This is a rush transcript from "Tucker Carlson Tonight," March 3, 2021. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

TUCKER CARLSON, FOX NEWS HOST: Good evening. Welcome to TUCKER CARLSON TONIGHT.

We're in reporter mode tonight here with some key stats on your government. Here they are: 42 days into the administration and still no solo press conference from Joe Biden. That is the longest stretch of silence from any new President in at least a century.

So by refusing to speak directly to the media, Joe Biden is attacking our most cherished democratic norms. Even CNN is complaining about it. And we would echo those complaints if we really cared. But honestly, we're just as happy that Joe Biden remains in seclusion.

Imagine a full press conference from Joe Biden, an endless hour of blank spots and mumbling and his wife interjecting with the right answer. How depressing would that be?

It is one thing to know your country is being led by a guy in cognitive decline. It's another thing to see it and we don't want to see it. And what will reporters ask anyway?

We got a taste the other day when one shouted this as Biden shuffled by: "What did you learn from your classified briefing on border security?" That was the question, Joe Biden's answer, "A lot." That was it.

Now do you believe him? Did Joe Biden really learn a lot now or at any time in the past five years? Come on. As we said, the whole thing is too sad to watch, so we're not going to.

Instead we're happy to listen to Joe Biden's flaks. They hold the press conferences now.

In the last month, Joe Biden's mouthpieces have had to explain why he bombed Syria, why he blocked the passage of a $15.00 minimum wage, why Dr. Seuss is racist, and then in their spare time, Joe Biden's scribes produce an awful lot of presidential proclamations.

They're heavy on the proclamations in Washington these days, a lot of proclaiming. One of Joe Biden's very first was entitled "An Executive Order on Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities through the Federal Government," end quote.

This was the document that introduced the administration's new Equity Plan, which is going to -- and we're quoting, "Eliminate systemic barriers to opportunities and benefits for people of color and other underserved groups." It's quite a mouthful. But what does it mean? Has anyone asked what it means? Or did everyone in Washington just graduated from Yale and intuitively understand sloppy, meaningless words like this. Possible.

But the rest of us might still like to know what a systemic barrier is and how Joe Biden plans to eliminate it. That's easy, with equity, of course. But that raises a whole new question, what exactly is equity? And how is it different from equality? Equality being the central principle this country was founded on.

Well, the first thing to know about equality is that it is designed to challenge power. Equity, by contrast, is designed to protect power. Equity is what the British monarchy had. Equality is what the American colonists wanted.

Equality is what allowed Andrew Jackson to rise from a childhood of bitter poverty in the Carolina woods where he was born in 1867, and make it all the way to the White House.

Andrew Jackson was tough, smart and energetic. He lived a remarkable life and America rewarded him for it. That's equality. People like that, rising to the top.

Equity is the opposite. Equity is what allowed Kamala Harris, the privileged child of two PhDs, to stay privileged, and in the end to become one of the most powerful people on the planet, despite having achieved nothing impressive or worthwhile over the span of 56 years.

So, Andrew Jackson and Kamala Harris, both Democrats, one child of equality; the other the child of equity. That's the difference in a nutshell.

So to recap, equality challenges power; equity protects power. That principle has never been on starker display than in the case of the teachers unions, which is some of the most powerful institutions in America. Naturally, you are using the term equity to justify their own prerogatives as they hurt the weak, in this case, school children and their increasingly desperate parents.

Last night, we told you what the President of the Los Angeles Teachers Union, an equity promoter called, Cecily Myart-Cruz.

For months, parents whose kids use public education in Los Angeles have been begging Cecily Myart-Cruz to reopen the schools, and why wouldn't they?

How has Cecily Myart-Cruz responded? Well, by demanding those parents shut up immediately. Those parents, she explained, have the wrong skin color. Therefore, unlike entitled unionized teachers who can never be fired, those parents have privilege.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CECILY MYART-CRUZ, PRESIDENT, UNITED TEACHERS LOS ANGELES: Some voices are being allowed to speak louder than others. We have to call out the privilege behind the largely white, wealthy parents driving the push for a rushed return.

Their experience of this pandemic is not our students' families' experiences.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARLSON: Calling out the privileged, says the lady who can literally never be fired from her job no matter how she acts including like that. Never mind the hundred percent increase in suicides among school-aged children, Cecily Myart-Cruz is not interested in that.

She is interested in equity, which means she is interested in protecting her own unearned privilege by attacking the people below her.

What do the parents and children being attacked think of this? Well, Cecily Myart-Cruz wouldn't think to ask them because she doesn't care.

So yesterday, FOX Los Angeles reporter, Bill Melugin, stepped up and asked them himself, and here's what they said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's almost like minority families want the school to open more than anybody else, and the reason why I say that is because education for us, for our culture, is a stairway out of poverty.

So every day that our children is not in school, that's just a day closer to poverty for them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARLSON: Lamar Freeman coaches, a youth football team called the LA Rampage. He told Bill Melugin that every parent he spoke to wants his or her kids back in class. Now, these parents are not racists, they just want their kids educated.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LAMAR FREEMAN, YOUTH FOOTBALL TEAM COACH: Most of our kids before the pandemic, we had 80 percent honor roll rate. Now, since the distance learning Zoom precedent, it dropped to about maybe 20 percent, like most of my A's and B's kids are getting B's and C's.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARLSON: So purely because the most privileged government workers in the United States won't have to work, an entire generation of children is being destroyed. That's equity, the strong hurting the weak and calling it justice.

Everyone who thinks about this for just a moment knows that it's true and that's why you never hear equity debated or even defined. They won't define the term because they can't defend its definition.

Instead, they bully the population into silence. Cecily Myart-Cruz and the teachers unions are doing that right now.

Jorge Ventura of "The Daily Caller" has obtained a recent e-mail sent by someone who identifies himself as Albert Lowe, an employee at the Los Angeles Teachers Union.

Now, there is an Albert Lowe, who works at the union. We called him tonight, though he didn't pick up to confirm that he sent the e-mail in question.

This e-mail was addressed to a mother who has publicly called a couple of times for reopening schools in Los Angeles, and the e-mail from the union apparently demands to know what race she is, quote, "I'm working on a research project on who speaks on union issues in the 'Los Angeles Times' and coding for race and class," it begins, "You were quoted twice in the last eight months in the paper. Could you tell me how you racially self- identify or point me to a citation on your identity," end quote.

Now, what could possibly be the point of this? Seriously? Why is a parent or a child's skin color relevant in any way to what is supposed to be a medical question, whether the public schools reopen? Well, there's of course, there's only one point to this. It is racial intimidation.

We saw you complained, tell us your race.

How is that not a violation of our civil rights laws? Of course, it'll never be prosecuted or even criticized by anyone in power, because the teachers union is doing it, and they're doing it in the name of equity.

The hunt for white supremacy justifies all including injuring children and scaring their parents into silence. It's not just happening in schools. We're seeing this everywhere in our society right now.

Zaid Jilani is one of the few people brave enough to note it. He writes for "The Spectator" and is also on the Board of Advisors of a new organization called the Foundation against Intolerance and Racism. And boy, do we need that. We're happy to have him on tonight.

Zaid Jilani, only thank you so much for coming on. You must have noticed, and of course, I know you've written about it extensively, that virtually every debate of significance over things that actually matter, will the schools reopen? How do we respond to COVID? What does our economy look like?

All of them immediately, at the direction of those in power, go to race, why is that?

ZAID JILANI, "THE SPECTATOR": Right, Tucker. Well, I think it's important to be sensitive to the fact that race does sometimes correlate with other factors, like the quality of your health, your exposure to pollution, public safety, your income.

The problem is, why are they using a middleman to correlate for that instead of just going directly to that? Why not directly address the needs of those who are poor, of those who are sick, of those who are not well off or those who have public safety problems.

The reason why is because it's often used as a tactic or a tool of elites to flatten the universe, right, to pretend that everybody who is of a certain skin color or have the exact same social status and they have to be deferred to.

Let me give you an example. I think your viewers should pay very close attention to what's happening in Alabama right now. There's an Amazon warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama. This is a very poor place, about a third of the population is in poverty that's trying to unionize.

Jeff Bezos spent the last year telling us how much he cares about Black Lives Matter. He brands his entire website that way. He donated a bunch of money that way, yet his company is doing everything they can to crush that union.

These are -- this is a workforce that's 85 percent black, right? But he is not talking about poor people's lives matters. He is not talking about working class people's lives that matter, right? He wants to talk about race, because he wants to distract from the fact that there are rich people of every single race out there. Right?

His greatest fear is the same fear of, let's say, old time George Wallace and Lester Maddox, that poor white people, poor black people, Asians, Latinos and Native Americans recognize that, yes, there are differences between them. They have different cultures, they have different histories, and sometimes different challenges. But they're also all poor, and they have more in common with each other, certainly than they do with Jeff Bezos.

CARLSON: That is such a wise point. Why does no one say this out loud? And why don't you ever hear people raise their hand on behalf of poor people?

I'm not a poor person. I'm just noticing this. So there's no self-interest involved. But like, why doesn't anybody say the poor are being oppressed. It's always in racial terms.

They don't actually want to help the poor, I'm starting to conclude.

JILANI: Well, look, there was a really interesting study that came out a few years ago that showed me that something like half of the top editors and reporters at "The New York Times" come from a small batch of elite colleges, right?

These people, I think, often see themselves as victims through, you know, their gender, through their racial status. But they have very little interaction or engagement with I think, working class people, with poor people, with the people who are dying in massive homicide spikes last year, which is why crime is rarely ever talked about, even though it's a huge concern if you poll poor people of every race, particularly black and Latino, but I think of every race.

I mean, we see a sort of a structural tilt in our country, towards an upper class elite, which increasingly as the country becomes racially diverse, is a racially diverse elite, but it doesn't necessarily help the poor person in Bessemer, Alabama to be talking about the symbolism of Dr. Seuss.

Or to be talking about, you know, diversity and equity inclusion when you're not talking about redistributing actual power, which in this case, could be in the form of getting those people in Bessemer, Alabama a union that actually gives them wages that they can spend in their community and improve their lives.

And unfortunately, I think elites have played on a very proud tradition of civil rights to divide people, rather than for them to actually address each other's common humanity, which is the actual way that you address racism, not only racism, but also economic inequality and deprivation and sort of the larger issues that we're all facing as a people.

CARLSON: Well, the traditional civil rights they refer to is based on the goal of equality, and the goal of equity is entirely different and they -- I don't think they've told us that clearly enough.

Zaid Jilani, I appreciate it, and good luck with your new effort. Thanks.

JILANI: Thank you.

CARLSON: Well, in the name of equity, schools all over this country just celebrated Black History Month. At one school, a student dared to praise the work of Candace Owens in a presentation. That didn't go over well at all. That student joins us to tell us what happened and what it means, straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CARLSON: Julia Saville is a high school student in Virginia. Last month, her School, St. Margaret's in Tappahannock, Virginia asked her to choose someone to honor for Black History Month. Julia Saville made the mistake of assuming she could pick a black person who wasn't on the list of approved black people, so she picked Candace Owens who she likes.

That's when a school-wide e-mail circulated calling Candace Owens -- wait for it -- a racist.

Julia Saville joins us now to explain what happened. Julia, I really appreciate your coming on. It must be weird to be doing this. You're brave, too. Tell us what happened at your school.

JULIA SAVILLE, HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT: Thank you for having me on tonight, Mr. Carlson.

So I picked Candace Owens to present for a Black Trailblazer that I admired, and I stated why I admired her and I admired her hard work within the black community. And I received an e-mail that morning of my presentation that it was disrespectful of me to highlight her as a Black Trailblazer, and she stated how she believed Candace was racist, and she has done absolutely nothing for the black community.

CARLSON: So, I'm sorry to laugh. So presumably you picked Candace Owens, not, I don't know what your politics are not just because you agree with her, but she is demonstrably strong and independent minded. She says what she thinks.

This isn't -- she is kind of the person that we teach our daughters to be. Did this teacher explain how Candace Owens was racist?

SAVILLE: No, it was the student who said that Candace was racist, and that's all she said in the e-mail that she was racist and she had done nothing for the black community. She never went in detail to explain why.

CARLSON: Yes, I bet she didn't. So how did the school itself -- how did the administration respond to this?

SAVILLE: So the Dean of Students arranged a Zoom meeting with me and the student who had addressed this in an e-mail and she apologized personally to me.

Me and my family requested that she apologize in the same format that she attacked me through e-mail, which they did not want to do.

CARLSON: They, being the school didn't want to do that?

SAVILLE: Yes, sir.

CARLSON: Why?

SAVILLE: I'm not sure. I guess, they just thought an apology wasn't nice to be addressed to the group that she sent the e-mail to.

CARLSON: What lesson have you learned for this? I mean, Candace Owens, Black History Month, she's obviously black. She is well-known. She is playing a role in American culture. I can see why you thought she would be allowed.

Now, that you have been through this experience, what have you concluded? What have you learned?

SAVILLE: I think I've learned that experiences like this cannot make me be silenced and other conservatives be silenced, and back down just because administration or other students will attack you and call you racist.

So I think it was just the biggest lesson to me was to not be silenced and not back down and just to keep sharing my opinion and being vocal about what I believe.

CARLSON: I think I'm -- I'm glad for you that you had this experience, because you've learned the best lesson of all, which is that nothing matters if you're not strong enough to say it out loud.

Julia, I appreciate your coming on tonight. Thank you.

SAVILLE: Thank you.

CARLSON: So Democrats won everything in November really in January, but they control the entire Federal government now. The last thing they want to do is have another real election, so to forestall that possibility, they are trying to add millions of new voters to the rolls, who they believe will be loyal to them.

Now they want 16-year-olds to vote. Heard anything more cynical this week? Probably not. Newt Gingrich is here to assess the whole picture. What are they doing and why?

Plus, unlike you, illegal immigrants are allowed to travel everywhere in this country. Nobody is worried about them spreading COVID, some apparently are. Johnny Burtka though is being shut down in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The State doesn't like his politics. He joins us in a moment to say what happened to him. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CARLSON: The first thing Joe Biden did when he was sworn in was to promise unity, and that's something that almost every American, no matter who you voted for, really wanted. Let's bring the country back together.

The question is, did Joe Biden mean it? Did he know what he was saying? Well, look at what he has done, and it answers the question very clearly.

In his first two months in office, Joe Biden has pushed a series of policies that polls show are both unpopular and deeply divisive. In fact, maybe the most divisive policies any President could push.

Like if you sat down and thought, what probably is the most divisive thing you would -- force girl sports teams take biological men? You would hand out money to farmers based on their skin color? You will completely open our southern border and change the composition of the United States without taking a vote on it.

Today, Democrats pushed another policy that no sane person wants. It's hard to believe, but a majority of House Democrats voted to lower the voting age to 16. Do you have a 16-year-old? Should they be voting?

The measure ultimately failed, thank God, but the fact they raised it and voted for the majority tells you a lot. One Republican Congressman from Texas, Pat Fallon pointed out the Democrats don't want 16 or 17-year-olds charged as adults when they commit murder, but they are fine with letting them vote.

Can't have guns, but they can choose the President. What?

Newt Gingrich is the former Speaker of the House. He is a very smart man and we thought we'd invite him on tonight and ask him: what is going on here? Why did Biden pick the most divisive policies upfront?

Mr. Speaker, thanks for coming on tonight. What do you think we're watching here? What's going on?

NEWT GINGRICH, FOX NEWS CHANNEL CONTRIBUTOR: Well, you know, it occurred to me that Biden had lived through two Democratic disasters. When Clinton was elected, two years later, they lost 54 seats, and we became a majority for the first time in 40 years. When Obama was elected, two years later, they lost 63 seats.

And I think what they've done is a very calculating, and I think, cynical ploy, which is they have given up on keeping the House. What they are doing is ramming through everything they can get done before they lose in 2022.

So this is kind of a sprint to radicalism, even though it's going to cost - - you look at these votes in the House, you've got 30, 40, 50 members who are not going to be able to go home and defend them. They're not going to be able to explain it.

And I think that the Biden-Harris model is we're going to lose the House anyway, we might as well grab everything we can while we've got the power, and it's astonishing.

Just take the $1.9 trillion political pork bill, which is not a COVID bill, only nine percent of it is COVID. The other 91 percent is just political pork. That bill has more radicalism in it than the eight years of Clinton and the eight years of Obama combined. Just that one bill. And you're going to see wave after wave. I describe it as a flood tide radicalism.

CARLSON: I've got to wonder though and your analysis makes total sense and you -- I mean, you know, you ran the house so you know how it works, but I just wondered the motive behind the things that they want.

You said they want to get the stuff they want upfront, it makes total sense. But all the things that they want hurt the country in measurable ways.

We're energy independent, they want us not to be. They want to totally destroy our control over the border. They're letting foreign nationals roam the country unimpeded with COVID. Like, why would you want those things?

GINGRICH: Yes, I mean, I just did a tweet this afternoon, saying if there's a problem with COVID in Texas, it's not Governor Abbott, it is Biden's illegals. And we just had to call them, these are Biden's illegals coming in the country. No public health check.

Many of them back in the 1880s, we had public health checks if you came to America.

CARLSON: Oh, yes.

GINGRICH: But, Tucker, I really admire your show. I really think you're remarkably trenchant in your insights. But I just want to offer you a thought. They don't want to protect your America. They want to create an alternative America.

It is an America of racial deep inequality and an anti-white, and by the way, anti-Asian basis. It's an America in which transgender dominates Christianity and Judaism.

It's an America in which they want to actually pass a bill to create a permanent machine, just like California, Chicago, and New York, and that's not --

So when you and I talk about why would they do this for America? It's because they really want a radically different country. And they realize -- they just proved it with Dr. Seuss, they really despise America.

CARLSON: Man, that's not democracy as we've defined it, at all, and I appreciate your analysis. Speaker Gingrich, thank you.

GINGRICH: Thank you.

CARLSON: So tens of thousands of small businesses, not Amazon, not Apple, but small businesses, the ones working right in the margin are still closed because of coronavirus lockdowns.

Meanwhile, as we just alluded to, the Biden administration is allowing foreign nationals here illegally who are infected with the coronavirus to travel wherever they want.

The numbers are hard to track, but FOX News's Griff Jenkins is reporting that at least 108 coronavirus positive migrants in Texas have been allowed to hop on buses bound for the interior of the United States, which is insane and getting almost no coverage.

Joe Biden's top flak was asked today about all of this. She admitted that the White House was just issuing guidance, which everyone is ignoring.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: While their cases are being adjudicated, testing for COVID-19 is done at the State and local level.

Our guidance, regardless of status is testing positive for COVID-19 or experiencing COVID-like symptoms is to isolate, continue to social distance, and wear a mask.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARLSON: So that's what's happening with foreign nationals breaking our laws by being here. That's how they're being tricked. Yes, right, whatever you want. We don't need to be too tough on you.

But what about you? An American citizen who pay taxes and obey the law. Johnny Burtka is an American who pays taxes and obeys law. He's not here illegally.

He is the President and CEO of the Intercollegiate Studies Institute. The Virginia Department of Health just shut down his conference this week. Why'd they do that? They don't like his politics. He joins us to explain. Johnny, thanks for coming on. Tell us what happened to you.

JOHNNY BURTKA, PRESIDENT AND CEO, INTERCOLLEGIATE STUDIES INSTITUTE: Yes, thanks, Tucker.

So this week, 72 hours before our Annual Collegiate Network Student Journalism Conference, which brings together some of the smartest, most courageous young reporters from campuses like Stanford University, University of Chicago and Hillsdale College for a weekend of educational formation and career development, we received news from our hotel that the local Department of Health in Alexandria, Virginia, in response to an anonymous health complaint, someone called allegedly expressing concerns about the safety of the attendees at our conference.

In response to that complaint, an eager and willing bureaucrat, complied and reclassified ISI's Educational Program as a social event and all social events in the State of Virginia are limited to only 10 people, effectively canceling our student journalism conference this weekend.

CARLSON: In what kind of country A, do we punish people on the basis of anonymous complaints? East Germany, anyone? And B, this doesn't seem to have anything to do with actual medical guidance, because aren't there other conferences going on the same weekend in the Commonwealth of Virginia?

BURTKA: Tucker, there have been conferences week in and week out in Northern Virginia and throughout the State of Virginia and we were willing and eager to comply with all of the local and State COVID Health Guidelines, but that didn't seem to be enough.

This had nothing to do with public health. What it had to do with is there was someone who clearly did not want this event to happen. They didn't want our young and courageous student journalists interacting with some of the editors of the most major conservative publications in the country. So they went out of our way to get us cancelled.

But we refuse to let our student journalists be canceled, and we're working to find another city. I won't say where, but another city and another valley that welcomes free speech, that welcomes freedom of assembly, and welcomes civil discourse across a variety of perspectives.

So I'm hoping that our problem will be resolved by the end of the week. But America has a much bigger problem with cancel culture, and if we don't address it now, and if we don't bring together people from across the political spectrum to say enough is enough, we're going to destroy this country.

CARLSON: Yes, that's for sure. Thank heaven, there are still free states. Federalism really is our last resort, thank heaven, so I hope you find your way to one.

Johnny, great to see you tonight.

BURTKA: Thanks, Tucker.

CARLSON: Well, last night, we told you that they're going after Dr. Seuss, not because he was a racist, but because he wasn't, because he believed in what Martin Luther King believed -- a colorblind society.

Now one of the main voices driving the propaganda and shutting down honest conversation in this country, the Southern Poverty Law Center is out right admitting this. We will tell you what they said, next.

Plus, we have another example of woke-washing for you tonight courtesy of the men and womxn -- W-O-M-X-N. I am not clear what that means, maybe it is women. Anyway, they are Bain & Company. Mark Steyn is here to assess all of this, our rapidly changing nation under his lens. Stay tuned.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CARLSON: Behold hold the multilayered complexity of Mr. Jeff Bezos. Bezos isn't simply the CEO of amazon.com, the world's largest retailer, not simply the owner of "The Washington Post," our capitalist hometown newspaper, not simply depending on that he is the richest man in the world who seeks control over every part of your life. No, he's more than that.

If you ask Jeff Bezos, he will tell you that he is really a kind of secular Pope, he sets our moral standards.

Jeff Bezos tells us what behavior is acceptable, and he punishes anyone who steps out of line. And that's why when professional activists would like a book banned, and let's pause here to consider -- have good people ever banned books? No, they haven't.

But they're being banned now, and they're being banned because they are racist or transphobic or insufficiently deferential to Tony Fauci. And when they are banned, it's Jeff Bezos who does the banning because he's the world's largest bookseller.

Over the past few years, Jeff Bezos has given these activists exactly what they wanted. We've talked to several authors who have been affected by censorship.

In the process of censoring these authors, Jeff Bezos has set a new standard for anyone who wants to sell products in amazon.com. If you're accused of something, then you're guilty of it. There's no trial. It's not adjudicated.

If some person accuses you of a crime, Jeff Bezos says you're guilty. If a mob calls you a racist on Twitter, then you're a racist. It's that simple.

So why are we telling you all this? Because we've got some sad news to share with you tonight.

We mentioned at the top of the show, we want to give you some more detail. Jeff Bezos is a racist, it turns out. How do we know this? Because one of Jeff Bezos's employees, he is a manager at Amazon called Charlotte Newman has just filed a lawsuit against Amazon.

Newman, who is a Business Development Manager at Amazon Web Services says that Amazon underpaid her for years, gave her jobs she was overqualified for. She also says that a male supervisor used racist language around her.

Specifically, the manager allegedly said that Newman was aggressive and too direct, and quote, "just scary."

Now, is that racist? We don't know. We don't set the standards. Jeff Bezos sets the standards.

Thanks to Jeff Bezos, now that Jeff Bezos has been accused of racism we can know for a fact that Jeff Bezos is in fact a racist. A dangerous bigot who in the name of equity must be silenced for our collective safety. And if Jeff Bezos is a racist, think this through, class, then so is his personal media outlet/dream journal, "The Washington Post."

Ponder this. We have a white nationalist newspaper operating freely in Washington, D.C. This poison, this filth is being directly into the computers and the iPhones of members of Congress.

How long can this continue?

Well, last night we told you that people calling Dr. Seuss a racist aren't doing it because he was, they know he wasn't. Dr. Seuss devoted basically his whole life to combating racism.

They're doing it because Dr. Seuss believed in equality. Equality. They don't want equality anymore. They hate it. They want equity.

Now one of the groups leading this charge against Dr. Seuss and this show and every other person who tries to speak the truth, tries to say things that bring the country together, to encourage others to judge each other on who they are, and what tribe they're from, the group that is pushing so much of this garbage, the Southern Poverty Law Center, has explained why they're doing it.

This is a direct quote from an essay from the SPLC. Quote: "This message of acceptance [in the book the "Sneetches," one of the most beautiful stories ever written about the universal brotherhood of man] does not, acknowledge structural power imbalances. Instead of encouraging young readers to take action against injustice, the story promotes a race neutral approach."

Oh, so a race neutral approach in which we recognize that we're all human beings, we're all equal in the most fundamental sense. That's not allowed anymore.

Colorblindness is immoral. Racism is demanded. So they want you to think that Dr. Seuss is evil, so you won't notice that people didn't always have diseased brains in this country. There were once clear thinking liberals.

Here's another example. This week, Bain & Company, this is a management consulting company. What have they done for the management of American companies? Have they made this a better country? They don't want to have that conversation.

So instead, they send tweets like this and we'll try to read it verbatim, "Womxn's" the word is W-O-M-X-N-apostrophe-S, presumably, it's some kind of stand-in for women in which women aren't included.

"Womxn's History Month is a time of reflection, celebration, and deep consideration for how we can continue to improve as a workplace that empowers all womxns to thrive, personally and professionally. We are amplifying womxns' voices to educate our communities through the month."

They provided no actual example of womxns. They didn't explain what one was. But by sending that tweet, maybe they got you to pause from considering what they do for a living for just a moment.

Mark Steyn has thought a lot about this. He's one of the smartest people on television. Tonight, he joins us to assess woke-washing and what it is.

Mark, it is great to see you. Womxns. Have you celebrated their inclusion and their equity?

MARK STEYN, AUTHOR AND COLUMNIST: Well as my distinguished compatriot, Shania Twain used to sing, "Man, I feel like a womxn." I would -- I don't think there are many in my part of the world, unfortunately.

You know, you explained the whole Dr. Seuss thing so well last night, Tucker. And basically the appeal of that kind of mid-century ideological liberalism. You know, I don't particularly like Dr. Seuss and you can argue that that kind of ideological -- idealistic liberalism; man, we're all the same. I can sing a rainbow, "I'd like to buy the world" of Coke that mid- 20th Century liberalism is actually quite appealing as sappy and sentimental as they are.

CARLSON: Yes, I agree.

STEYN: So it has to be destroyed. The way you change the way people think, so that they are seriously going around thinking, well, we used to have men and women, but now we got men and womxn and we've got trans-womxn, and we've got cis-womxn, and there'll be another kind of womxn along any moment.

The way -- the only way you can do that is to absolutely destroy the past. So that people just live bobbing around in the flotsam and jetsam of a hyper present tense, so that even people from the day before yesterday like Dr. Seuss, or even more recently, the poor old woman, Eve Ensler, who wrote "The Vagina Monologues," which was a play you had to do at American campuses two decades ago and now cannot be performed, because it's transphobic.

So she had to write in scenes in which women with things other than the titular body part in "The Vagina Monologues" were included in it.

That's the thing. If you were a principled liberal, you'd think to yourself, what's the point? Because it is necessary to destroy not just the long ago past, but as I said the day before yesterday, because only when people are unmoored, and living in a hyper present tense, are they right for the crazy social engineering by which they can be seriously persuaded to go around thinking that the female sex are called womxn.

CARLSON: I mean, it's just -- I hadn't heard that about "The Vagina Monologues," but it just tells you everything. I mean, remember when liberals used to say, you know, the right is attacking women's bodies?

STEYN: Right, right.

CARLSON: I think most normal people, men and women, like women's bodies, you know, right?

STEYN: No, yes --

CARLSON: But, they are literally attacking women's bodies. I mean, saying that you can't describe a woman's body anymore.

STEYN: No, no, and all of that stuff. Keep your rosaries off my ovaries. Now, it's how dare you suggest that having ovaries is anything to do with being a woman. You know? I mean, that's the point. You're actually -- it's very important, this, because they're actually detonating, blowing up the key pillars of any functioning society.

CARLSON: That's right.

STEYN: And in the rubble, they can remake us in the most basic sense, including -- you know, on the right we just -- where we get all excited about a corporate tax cut, and on the left they are abolishing biological sex. That's not an equal contest.

CARLSON: This is a war on nature, which is the only thing that endures. The only thing we learn from is nature and they hate it because it's in their way. It proves they're not God. It's really shocking.

Mark Steyn, I appreciate your coming on and your wisdom as always.

STEYN: No, my pleasure, Tucker. Thanks a lot.

CARLSON: Thank you. Well, Texas has just lifted its mask mandate and reopened. Other states are still under strict lockdowns and small businesses are struggling. Very few are doing much to help. We're going to talk to one man who is doing a lot to help -- help those businesses. That's just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CARLSON: The Barstool Fund started by Dave Portnoy has raised an awful lot of money, tens of millions of dollars for small businesses who have been abandoned by their government.

Portnoy's latest call was the owner of Ramsey Corner Cafe in Ramsey, New Jersey.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVE PORTNOY, FOUNDER, BARSTOOL SPORTS: It's happening.

JOHN SIDERIS, OWNER, RAMSEY CORNER CAFE: Oh my God. I can't believe this dude. You can't be serious.

PORTNOY: Yes. Your persistence paid off.

SIDERIS: Dude, come on, bro. You just saved my life here. I mean, thank you so much, bro. You're -- I don't even know what to say right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARLSON: It's a heartening thing to watch and he is not doing it alone. Jeff Bartos is a partner of Portnoy's. He's a businessman in Pennsylvania. He's the cofounder of the Pennsylvania 30-Day Fund.

He is overseeing the disbursement of about $3.5 million dollars to more than a thousand businesses, obviously save jobs, every time.

He joins us tonight. Jeff, thanks so much for coming. I just cannot get enough of this because the headline is, everyone else abandons some of the most vulnerable in our society, small business owners and people like you step up. What's it been like? Are you shocked, you had to do it? How long will it continue?

JEFF BARTOS, COFOUNDER, PENNSYLVANIA 30-DAY FUND: Tucker, thank you so much. We started this work 10 months ago, if you can believe it. I mean, in that time, as you mentioned, we've raised $3.3 million, and helped over a thousand small business owners across all of Pennsylvania, keep the lights on and save thousands and thousands of jobs.

And to your point, I've spoken to 500 or more of these small business owners and they're amazing people, as you would expect.

And you see it in Dave's calls, and we do those calls as well. And they love their communities, they love their employees. They're worried about making sure that they can provide for everyone.

And they're also furious. They don't want anything from the government. The only thing they want is to be open. And so when they look --- when we talk to them, they say, you know, every step that the government has taken, whether it's a state government or the Federal government over the past year, has favored giant companies over small companies, and all they're asking for is a level playing field.

And I think we have to ask ourselves, and I love the work that you are doing and what Dave is doing to cover all this. Who are we as a society when this pandemic is over, if all that's left are giant companies?

And so Dave's work, our work, this collective work, and thank you so much for highlighting it, we are determined to make sure that these small businesses survive across Pennsylvania and across the United States.

CARLSON: Who are we if all we're left with is the big companies? I think that is such a smart and deep point. I just keep thinking as I talk to you and Portnoy, it's like, why has it fallen to you? I don't think you're a billionaire. Where are the billionaires? Sincere question. Why aren't they doing this?

BARTOS: It's a great question. I mean, I am heartened every day. As soon as I leave here, I'm heading to Altoona and Blair County. I don't know if you've ever been to Altoona, Pennsylvania.

CARLSON: I have.

BARTOS: But the business community there, Tucker, it's unbelievable. They have rallied to help the small businesses in their community. That community alone has raised $300,000.00 and helped the hundreds of small businesses just in Blair County as part of our statewide effort.

And it is -- it's amazing, and you know, it's interesting, to your point about unity. This is what unity is. This is what unity is. The business community coming together because politicians have failed us.

The elected officials that we rely on have crushed small businesses and in effect, have crushed our communities.

CARLSON: And in some places, and with the help of leaders like you, those communities are rallying and saving their own people, and I just think it's so inspiring and I probably should do a lot more segments like this, but I'm grateful you came on tonight.

Jeff Bartos, thank you, from Pennsylvania.

BARTOS: Thank you for having us. I'll come back anytime Take care.

CARLSON: Thanks a million.

Well, we are out of time tonight. Unfortunately, we could go on forever. But we're going to wait until tomorrow at 8:00 p.m. and every weeknight.

The show that is the sworn enemy of lying, pomposity, smugness and groupthink.

It is still a great country, no matter what they tell you. You have no reason to feel guilty for being an American, no matter what they claim and you don't have to obey.

With that, have a great evening.
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Tucker: The key difference between 'equality' and 'equity'

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NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! This is a rush transcript from "Tucker Carlson Tonight," March 3, 2021. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated. TUCKER CARLSON, FOX NEWS HOST: Good evening. Welcome to TUCKER CARLSON TONIGHT.

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Suomessa äidit ovat uupuneempia kuin heikomman tasa-arvon maissa

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Suomessa äidit ovat uupuneempia kuin heikomman tasa-arvon maissa

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Helsingin sanomat reports of a study published in the Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology that reveals  "a surprising paradox"  of  mothers in Finland suffering more from burnout than mothers in countries with less gender equality.
Matilda Sorkkila from  the  Department of Psychology at Jyväskylä University thinks that there are several possible explanations for high rates of burnout among Finnish mothers.
One being feeling a“double pressure” from the wanting to participate in working life and advance in one's career equally with the fathers but also  bearing  most of the responsibility for the home and children.
The other being the unfullfilled expectations of equality in the home. When experiencing a greater sense of equality outside the hom, the experience of inequality in the home may be greater and  the contrast more noticable than in countries with less gender equality. Also, according to researchers, In Finland, the expectations concerning motherhood are often very high, and even unrealistic.

My thoughts: I agree that in Finland the majority of the responsibilities in the home are still performed by the mothers. There is a trend of more involved fathers, but still the reality in many households is the mother putting in another workday when she gets home from her job. There are attempts to "force" the fathers to take out a greater share of the family leaves than before, but I don't feel like "forcing" the fathers to stay home with the children is the answer. I think every family should be allowed to choose what is right for them. I think equality is more about having the possibility to choose, than about everything being divided 50/50.
-Pauliina Terho

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Broken and unequal education perpetuating poverty and inequality

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Broken and unequal education perpetuating poverty and inequality

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Unless a government jumps on board to address equality and equity in education in any country, things will continually go from bad to worse. Jacques Mahne

https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2020/02/south-africa-broken-and-unequal-education-perpetuating-poverty-and-inequality/

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South Africa's broken and unequal education laid bare

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The South African education system, characterized by crumbling infrastructure, overcrowded classrooms and relatively poor educational outcomes, is perpetuating inequality and as a result failing too many of its children, with the poor hardest hit according to a new report published by Amnesty International today.

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“Ordinary Sámi should be at the centre of work and should be respected”, says the commissioner Miina Seurujärvi and announced her resignation from the Sámi Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) on Monday 9th May

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“Ordinary Sámi should be at the centre of work and should be respected”, says the commissioner Miina Seurujärvi and announced her resignation from the Sámi Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) on Monday 9th May

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According to the article the intention of the commission was to identify and assess historical and current discrimination against the Sámi people, including the Finnish state's integration policies and violations of rights of the Sámi. In Seurujärvi’s opinion the commission (launched 6 months ago) is not able to carry out the monumental task it has been assigned. She also noted that the commission should be suspended and that since it is a process for the Sámi, they “must also take a stand on what they want and how to proceed”.

I agree with the comments from our PM Marin at the press conference in October: it is vital to look very transparently, how the Sámi have been treated in Finland and what kind of treatment they are still facing. I also agree with her saying that it is possible to truly find solutions for the future, only if we understand what the Sámi have experienced.

Shared by: Nina

Resources:
Yle News, May 2022, Sámi Truth and Reconciliation Commissioner steps down, cites lack of resources. Accessed on 10th May 2022:
https://yle.fi/news/3-12438780

Yle News, October 2021, Finland appoints Sámi reconciliation commission to investigate indigenous injustices. Accessed on 10th May 2022:
https://yle.fi/news/3-12167765

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The idea of equity and equality is often used interchangeably and sometimes misused. These terms have been used to refer to what is fair in regards to:
-The type of schools students should attend.
-How students should be treated.
-How resources should be shared.
- The types of teaching/learning techniques.
-The curriculum and foundation of education.
- Technology, its effects and how it relates to education.
A basic understanding of equality in schools is that all schools should offer common education to each learner. this will foresee that all students have equal chances in life.
On the other hand, in education equity all learners should be able to access the basic art of reading, writing and simple arithmetic skills required to attain the objectives set in the provided curriculum. This measures the educational success by the outcome and not by the resources poured into it (Ainscow2020).
Basically, equality refers to sameness while equity refers to fairness. Although at first glance these two explanations bring about the idea of fairness, a lot of revolts come up when it comes to policy making.
Getting the difference between equity and equality is important as major policy makers make use of the terms equal and  equitable. An example includes the Americans Every Student Succeeds Act(ESSA). ESSA suggests that the law upholds equity by critically protecting America's disadvantaged and needy students and it is committed to equal opportunities for all the  students. The main purpose of ESSA is to provide all students with significant opportunity to receive a fair equitable and high quality education to close the achievement gaps.
Although an equity approach is sensitive towards different students, the orientations leads to problems surrounding the definitions of what is good successful and progressive. Simple answers to these concerns might arise as achievements on tests and graduation points. However, to reach to the equity target policies such as, No Child Left Behind Act(NCLB) were put in place to create a narrow curriculum which focuses on other non-tested skills like music, arts, social studies and athletics. (Ling2019). The difference between equity and equality can come out more vividly through the use of an example;
Equality contains both international and public schools having same government support in terms of resources like books and other learning aids as well as finances to support the learning process. Equity, on the other hand, entails more efforts by the government in terms of these resources to public schools than to the international schools, where the parents pay enough fees to facilitate learning.
Inequality in education slows economic growth. Students who don’t receive the educational resources needed are not able to perform very well hence end up not getting to their desired jobs or career paths. This creates  a cycle of structural inequality that affects the society.
Importance of equity and equality in education:
I. Creating opportunities for underprivileged and the claimed undeserving - racial/ethnic minority students, students whose parents have no/low education background, students with learning disabilities, among others. All students get an equal chance to succeed regardless of their starting points.
For educators, this means taking into consideration each student`s situation and  understanding that not all of them will react the same way to specific given topics/situations. (Artiles2019)
II. Creating an overall economic growth by preparing students to become contributors to the society, which is achieved by contributing resources towards the general public development.
III. Providing positive impacts in the society by reducing crime rates and increasing value in goods.
IV. Improving the performance of learning institutions.
V. Closing or minimizing the achievement and success gap,  by making all students equal in terms of the equal chances and resources presented.
VI. Giving everyone the opportunity to learn what best suits them.
VII. Equality is necessary in ensuring that all students are at least getting the same basics for attention, resources and opportunities. Educators have had  to mostly pay attention to equity when students have come from different backgrounds and were not given equal chances at a young age(Heckman 2011,2008)

Some of the measures that teachers can put in place to ensure education equity include:
I. Addressing systemic issues through becoming more aware of issues that affect categories; such as poverty, ethnicity and gender. Teachers can circumvent the effects these situations have on education. (Heifetz2009)
II. Addressing the role of leadership and administration. School leadership and  administration should be part of the systemic issues and focus on the awareness of how the issues affect students. (Cochran2020)
III. Identifying and getting rid of the barriers in education and regular reassessment of a student’s performance.
IV. Addressing the role of technology in education. Technology is a major aspect in education yet some do not have access to reliable internet nor the required gadgets.
V. Attract, support and retain high quality teachers and  ensuring effective teaching/learning methodologies are incorporated.
VI. Prioritize on involving the parents and the external community in the learning process.

Reference   Artiles,A.J.Revisioningequity research: Disability identification disparities as a case i point. Educ. Res. 2019, 48, 325–335.  Kafela, B.K. The Equity and Social Justice Education: Critical Questions for Improving Educational Opportunities and Outcomes for Black Students; ASCD: Alexandria, VA, USA, 2021.  Vanet, A.S. Equity Centered, Trauma Informed Education; W.W. Norton: New York NY USA, 2021.   Cochran-Smith,M. Teacher education for justice and equity. Action Teach. Educ. 2020, 42, 49–59.  Ling, T.; Nasri, N.M. A systematic review:Issues on equity in education. Creat. Educ. 2019, 10, 3163–3174.  Schön, D.A.; Rein, M. Frame Reflection: Toward the Resolution of Impossible Policy Controversies; Basic Books: New York, NY, USA, 1994. Figure A1. Sunburst Report of Coded Data in NVivo 12 Plus.

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Increasing need for support and the realisation of equality and equity in education 

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Increasing need for support and the realisation of equality and equity in education 

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According to FINEEC'S new themed publication, the competence of pupils in basic education is even across Finland. However, there is still room for improvement in the guidance provided to learners and the adequacy of support measures at all levels of education.

The Finnish Education evaluation centre (FINEEC) has completed a publication on
the equality and equity of education. The publication deals with differentiation of competence, equality of opportunities and accessibility and inclusion in education mainly on the basis of evaluation data provided by FINEEC in the past few years. FINEEC also gives recommendations for rectifying shortcomings.

Source. Helsingin Times, 8.12.2021

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This article by the United Nations describes how racial discrimination remains to be among the top most form of inequality. Awareness,  education and exposure has greatly helped in the reduction of racism, which has reduced the numbe  of victims. However,  it is still a challenge experienced by most people, thus the need for this report to be distributed and read world wide. Racial discrimination leads to talented individuals not being able to achieve their goals or show case what they have to offer. Some people lose interest along the way due to lack of support and equality.
It is my strong conviction that, as a teacher, I carry the responsibility of spreading awareness of the same. At the same time,  teachers in some parts of the world may not be able to effectivel  this goal.

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Iranian Women's Hockey Team defies the odds

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Iranian Women's Hockey Team defies the odds

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Hockey is not a popular sport in Iran, so the idea a women hockey team seems unlikely. They had to pay for trips and tournaments themselves in order to participate internationally in their sport. They have been impressive in their achievements, and continue to inspire girls and women in Iran to take up sports and play professionally.

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Azam Sanaei is the captain and assistant coach of Iran women's ice hockey team [Courtesy of Azam Sanaei]

"Nobody was expecting such a great outcome, so everyone was quite shocked and surprised," Azam Sanaei told Al Jazeera, in what can only be described as an understatement.

The 34-year-old is the captain and assistant coach of Iran women's ice hockey team that came so close to becoming champions of Asia and Oceania last month.

The team did not even exist three years ago, but now looks like it could be a force to be reckoned with.

In May, Iran travelled to Bangkok to play in the IIHF Women's Asia and Oceania Championship for the first time.

Iran started the eight-nation tournament with a 17-1 demolition of India, followed by even more emphatic wins over Kuwait (20-0) and Kyrgyzstan (26-0). They beat the United Arab Emirates 14-0 in the quarters and Singapore 3-0 in the semis.

Iran's run was ended by the host nation in the final. The score was 1-1 for much of the game before Thailand - roared on by a big and partisan crowd - pulled away in the closing stages to win 3-1 and take the gold medal.

Still, silver was still a fine reward for the women from Iran.

"It was our first official Asian ice hockey championship experience," Sanaei said. "All our competitors had much more experience in ice hockey than us, so even getting to the tournament was a huge step. It was the sweetest feeling and proudest moment to get to the final and take second place."

Sanaei's teammate Fatemeh Esmaeili, the competition's leading scorer with 17 goals, told Iranian television that the home crowd and Thailand's experience had made the difference.

"We were really shocked at the beginning of the final match because we had never played in such an atmosphere."

'An incredible achievement'

For Sanaei, the journey to playing in the final began when she started in-line skating as a young girl, a popular activity in Iran. At the age of 14, she started playing in-line hockey, a sport not so common in her homeland.

"Hockey and ice hockey are not popular in Iran at all, they are [among] many sports that not a lot of people know about." She felt comfortable with a stick in her hand and was also interested in ice hockey, but until recently there was no international standard ice rink in Tehran.

That changed in 2019 with the opening of the Iran Mall in the capital and the beginnings of a team that transitioned from in-line hockey to the colder kind. "From then on, our ice hockey practices started," she said.

The team, she said, practised day and night in a bid to close the gap with more established ice hockey nations.

The onset of the COVID pandemic meant the women had to wait for their first opportunity to play other countries. In January, they finally played their first international games in Russia where they reached the final of a five-team Islamic Countries tournament.

Then came the trip to Thailand, which the women had to finance themselves.

"Around six months ago our federation became part of the Skiing federation which had no budget for ice skating so we had to pay for everything including tickets and visa fees ourselves," said Sanaei.

Given all the obstacles, finishing second in a major international tournament turned heads inside and outside Iran.

"It is an incredible achievement for the Iranian team to perform so impressively, indeed one might even say that such success is unprecedented," Simon Chadwick, professor of sport and geopolitical economy at SKEMA Business School in France, told Al Jazeera.

The team also reached another milestone during the tournament when their matches were screened back home - the first time Iranian women's sports were broadcast live on Iranian national television.

In a country where women are not allowed into stadiums to watch men's football, this was seen as significant.

"It was such a huge step to have our games shown live on television," said Sanaei. "It really means a lot. We hope that this continues and will have a positive effect on this sport."

Chadwick says more state support is required for the sport to grow.

"This must be seen as just the start and not the end of the team's journey. Indeed it demands that sports officials in Iran must take women's ice hockey, and for that matter women's sport, much more seriously," he said.

"There is an opportunity for the Iranian government to utilise ice hockey success as the prompt for promoting female sport. It should be encouraging engagement amongst relevant groups, and must not see it as a sinister threat to Iran's male hegemony."

The signs are promising as the players were reimbursed - and given bonuses - for their expenses in playing in Thailand by the Ministry of Sport. They received messages of congratulations from sports minister Hamid Sajjadi as well as spokespeople for the Iranian government and the foreign ministry.

It all means that Sanaei is excited about what comes next.

"We are so looking forward to the future as we believe that next time we can make it to the top. With all the training that we will have, we can get there even in one year. Whatever happens, we won't lose hope as we have faith that we will get to the best place."

And there is a bigger prize, helping to inspire other young girls in Iran to pick up hockey sticks or take up any sport.

"Our achievement can help all of Iran's women to know that there is nothing that can stop them and, even with all the barriers in front of them, if they try, they will make it to wherever they want."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
'Sweetest feeling': Iran's female ice hockey team defies the odds

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The national team are dreaming big and want their unexpected success to inspire other Iranian sportswomen.

# data[].attributes.headline
Iranian Women's Hockey Team defies the odds

# data[].attributes.subject
Iranian Women's Hockey Team defies the odds

# data[].attributes.body
Hockey is not a popular sport in Iran, so a women's hockey team seems unlikely. This team had continued to be impressive in their achievements. They have paid for international trips and tournaments by themselves. They continue to inspire girls and women in Iran to take up sports and play professionally.
(Judith Yabal, Teacher Education Programme).

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Azam Sanaei is the captain and assistant coach of Iran women's ice hockey team [Courtesy of Azam Sanaei]

"Nobody was expecting such a great outcome, so everyone was quite shocked and surprised," Azam Sanaei told Al Jazeera, in what can only be described as an understatement.

The 34-year-old is the captain and assistant coach of Iran women's ice hockey team that came so close to becoming champions of Asia and Oceania last month.

The team did not even exist three years ago, but now looks like it could be a force to be reckoned with.

In May, Iran travelled to Bangkok to play in the IIHF Women's Asia and Oceania Championship for the first time.

Iran started the eight-nation tournament with a 17-1 demolition of India, followed by even more emphatic wins over Kuwait (20-0) and Kyrgyzstan (26-0). They beat the United Arab Emirates 14-0 in the quarters and Singapore 3-0 in the semis.

Iran's run was ended by the host nation in the final. The score was 1-1 for much of the game before Thailand - roared on by a big and partisan crowd - pulled away in the closing stages to win 3-1 and take the gold medal.

Still, silver was still a fine reward for the women from Iran.

"It was our first official Asian ice hockey championship experience," Sanaei said. "All our competitors had much more experience in ice hockey than us, so even getting to the tournament was a huge step. It was the sweetest feeling and proudest moment to get to the final and take second place."

Sanaei's teammate Fatemeh Esmaeili, the competition's leading scorer with 17 goals, told Iranian television that the home crowd and Thailand's experience had made the difference.

"We were really shocked at the beginning of the final match because we had never played in such an atmosphere."

'An incredible achievement'

For Sanaei, the journey to playing in the final began when she started in-line skating as a young girl, a popular activity in Iran. At the age of 14, she started playing in-line hockey, a sport not so common in her homeland.

"Hockey and ice hockey are not popular in Iran at all, they are [among] many sports that not a lot of people know about." She felt comfortable with a stick in her hand and was also interested in ice hockey, but until recently there was no international standard ice rink in Tehran.

That changed in 2019 with the opening of the Iran Mall in the capital and the beginnings of a team that transitioned from in-line hockey to the colder kind. "From then on, our ice hockey practices started," she said.

The team, she said, practised day and night in a bid to close the gap with more established ice hockey nations.

The onset of the COVID pandemic meant the women had to wait for their first opportunity to play other countries. In January, they finally played their first international games in Russia where they reached the final of a five-team Islamic Countries tournament.

Then came the trip to Thailand, which the women had to finance themselves.

"Around six months ago our federation became part of the Skiing federation which had no budget for ice skating so we had to pay for everything including tickets and visa fees ourselves," said Sanaei.

Given all the obstacles, finishing second in a major international tournament turned heads inside and outside Iran.

"It is an incredible achievement for the Iranian team to perform so impressively, indeed one might even say that such success is unprecedented," Simon Chadwick, professor of sport and geopolitical economy at SKEMA Business School in France, told Al Jazeera.

The team also reached another milestone during the tournament when their matches were screened back home - the first time Iranian women's sports were broadcast live on Iranian national television.

In a country where women are not allowed into stadiums to watch men's football, this was seen as significant.

"It was such a huge step to have our games shown live on television," said Sanaei. "It really means a lot. We hope that this continues and will have a positive effect on this sport."

Chadwick says more state support is required for the sport to grow.

"This must be seen as just the start and not the end of the team's journey. Indeed it demands that sports officials in Iran must take women's ice hockey, and for that matter women's sport, much more seriously," he said.

"There is an opportunity for the Iranian government to utilise ice hockey success as the prompt for promoting female sport. It should be encouraging engagement amongst relevant groups, and must not see it as a sinister threat to Iran's male hegemony."

The signs are promising as the players were reimbursed - and given bonuses - for their expenses in playing in Thailand by the Ministry of Sport. They received messages of congratulations from sports minister Hamid Sajjadi as well as spokespeople for the Iranian government and the foreign ministry.

It all means that Sanaei is excited about what comes next.

"We are so looking forward to the future as we believe that next time we can make it to the top. With all the training that we will have, we can get there even in one year. Whatever happens, we won't lose hope as we have faith that we will get to the best place."

And there is a bigger prize, helping to inspire other young girls in Iran to pick up hockey sticks or take up any sport.

"Our achievement can help all of Iran's women to know that there is nothing that can stop them and, even with all the barriers in front of them, if they try, they will make it to wherever they want."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
'Sweetest feeling': Iran's female ice hockey team defies the odds

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The national team are dreaming big and want their unexpected success to inspire other Iranian sportswomen.

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More research needed on ethnic equality in Finnish higher education

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More research needed on ethnic equality in Finnish higher education

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News picked and summary written by Katrin Dahlberg:
In Finland, the focus tends to be on gender equality, and thus more research is needed on ethnic equality and diversity, especially within higher education institutions. These institutions are becoming more international all the time, so more attention should be paid to non-discrimination and ethnic equality. Higher education institutions need more information about these issues and tools for tackling them. In a report, recently published by the Ministry of Education and Culture, researchers have developed a strategy for this, which includes e.g. mandatory training for managers and recruiting staff.

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Research on ethnic equality in such academic settings is "scarce" and not enough is known about the topic, according to the project's consortium director.

The report provided new information about ethnic background-related discrimination within higher education, according to the ministry. Image: Marjut Suomi / Yle

Finland's higher education institutions "still have much work to do" in promoting equality for teaching and research staff belonging to minority groups, according to a fresh report from the Ministry of Education and Culture.

Commissioned by the ministry, the authors of the report looked how higher education institutions promote and improve gender equality, non-discrimination and diversity.

The report provided new information about ethnic background-related discrimination within higher education, according to the ministry.

The project consortium's director, Julia Jousilahti, said that research on ethnic equality in such academic settings is "scarce" and that not enough is known about the topic.

"So far, the debate has focused on gender equality in Finland," Jousilahti said.

"Finland and its higher education institutions are becoming increasingly international in scope. Finland desperately needs international talent, so we must be more mindful of ethnic equality in higher education institutions," she continued.

The ministry's director general, Atte Jääskeläinen, said equality and non-discrimination are important values that should be promoted.

"They are also the way to healthy workplace communities and to better research results and educational outcomes. That is why we wanted to produce research-based knowledge on experiences of discrimination. This gives higher education communities tools to tackle problems with determination," Jääskeläinen said.

Recommendations and gender equality issues

The authors behind the report suggested a four-pronged approach to promoting gender equality, non-discrimination and diversity.

The recommendations include improving the monitoring and implementation of equality and non-discrimination plans; increase national support for such efforts; the introduction of mandatory training in those subjects among managers and recruitment staff; and provide resources for collecting and researching data on gender equality and diversity in those institutions.

The report also revealed new findings about gender equality, according to the ministry. It found that gender ratios in research groups were more balanced and were more female-dominated when they were led by women than those led by their male counterparts.

The study also found that women experienced discrimination within higher education slightly more often than men.

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Report: Finnish higher education has "much to do" on minority staff equality

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Research on ethnic equality in such academic settings is "scarce" and not enough is known about the topic, according to the project's consortium director.

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Racist actions shake the Finnish government

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Racist actions shake the Finnish government

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Racism is perhaps the most severe form of inequality in the society.

In Finland media have been filled with news about prior racist writings by the Finns Partys’ finance minister Riikka Purra as well as minister for economic affairs Ville Rydman. This, after minister Vilhelm Junnila was forced to resign because of his call for mass abortions of African women to tackle the climate crisis.

The writings and participation in fascist and neo Nazi events of acting ministers of the Finns Party, are shaking the newly elected government.

Prime minister Petteri Orpo has received a lot of criticism for not putting the ministers in his government in order.

The probably most liberal party in the government, the Swedish peoples party (with only 5% of the votes in the Parliament election earlier this year) is having ongoing internal discussion, whether the party can act in the same government as the Finns Party because of major differences in fundamental values.

The opposition parties of course see their opportunity to severely criticize the government and this will probably lead to a vote of confidence for the government when the parliamentary term starts in the beginning of September.

-----

https://www.euronews.com/2023/07/11/racism-and-violence-finlands-government-plagued-by-new-scandal-on-eve-of-biden-visit

https://www.helsinkitimes.fi/finland/finland-news/politics/23981-greens-virta-accuses-finns-party-of-distorting-in-racism-discussion.html

-----

Tomas Björkroth

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Without investment, gender equality will take nearly 300 years: UN report

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Without investment, gender equality will take nearly 300 years: UN report

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https://news.un.org/en/story/2022/09/1126171
The article shows how much needs to be done still to achieve gender equality. Gender equality has been discussed for many years, and yet the achievements are not promising. I also think, people should be made aware more about the topic. Since other global disasters occurred (pandemic, wars), the focus on these issues has declined. The article discusses a study which reports that gender inequalities are worsening. Global challenges are contributing to the decline. Poverty among women and girls is increasing again. The war in Ukraine is leading to increased food insecurity among women and girls.  During the pandemic women lost income, the job market declined. Education for girls would promote gender equality. According to the report, each additional year of education would improve the women´s salary by 20 %.  It is highly important to provide support, cooperation and investment in fighting discrimination are essential. According to the report, it would take up to 286 years to achieve the same legal protection as men have, and to dismiss laws that promote discrimination. To get rid of young girls being married by 2030, the effort/progress would have to be 17 times faster.

Irina Heikkinen

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The study reveals how gender disparities are worsening in the face of "cascading" global crises - such as the COVID-19 pandemic, violent conflict, and climate change - coupled with the backlash against women's sexual and reproductive health and rights.

As a result, countries will not meet SDG5 by the 2030 deadline.

'Reverse this trend'

"This is a tipping point for women's rights and gender equality as we approach the half-way mark to 2030," said Sima Bahous, Executive Director at UN Women.

"It is critical that we rally now to invest in women and girls to reclaim and accelerate progress. The data show undeniable regressions in their lives made worse by the global crises - in incomes, safety, education and health. The longer we take to reverse this trend, the more it will cost us all."

The Gender Snapshot 2022 report showcases how cooperation, partnerships and investments are essential to put the world back on track.

Without swift action, legal systems that do not ban violence against women, or protect their rights in marriage and family, may continue to exist for generations to come.

The report warns that at the current rate of progress, it will take up to 286 years to close gaps in legal protection and remove discriminatory laws.

Most vulnerable affected

Furthermore, it will take 140 years for women to achieve equal representation in leadership positions in the workplace, and 40 years for the same to happen in national parliaments.

Meanwhile, to eradicate child marriage by 2030, progress will have to be 17 times faster than in the last decade, with girls from the poorest rural households and in conflict-affected areas expected to suffer the most.

"Cascading global crises are putting the achievement of the SDGs in jeopardy, with the world's most vulnerable population groups disproportionately impacted, in particular women and girls. Gender equality is a foundation for achieving all SDGs and it should be at the heart of building back better," said Maria-Francesca Spatolisano, an Assistant Secretary-General at UN DESA.

Extreme poverty rising

The report also highlights a worrisome reversal on poverty reduction, with rising prices set to exacerbate the situation.

By the end of the year, roughly 383 million women and girls will live in extreme poverty, compared to 368 million men and boys. Many more will have insufficient income to meet basic needs such as food, clothing, and adequate shelter in most parts of the world.

If current trends continue, more women and girls in sub-Saharan Africa will live in extreme poverty by 2030 than today, according to the report.

The invasion of Ukraine in February, and the ongoing war there, are further worsening food insecurity and hunger, especially among women and children. The war has led to limited supplies of wheat, fertilizer and fuel, while propelling inflation.

The power of education

Other daunting facts from the report reveal that globally, women lost roughly $800 billion in income due to the pandemic. Despite a rebound, women's participation in the job market is projected to decrease this year to 50.8 per cent, compared to 51.8 per cent in 2021.

The report has been released ahead of the Transforming Education Summit, which will be convened on the margins of the UN General Assembly later this month.

Although not enough by itself, achieving universal girls' education would help to boost gender equality.

Each additional year of schooling can increase a girl's future earnings by up to 20 per cent, according to the report, with further impacts on poverty reduction, better maternal health, lower child mortality, greater HIV prevention and reduced violence against women.

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Without investment, gender equality will take nearly 300 years: UN report

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Achieving full gender equality, one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), could take close to 300 years if the current rate of progress continues, according to a report published on Wednesday by UN Women and the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA).

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French authorities ban abayas in schools and universities. This is yet another of many restrictions concern clothing of muslims

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French authorities ban abayas in schools and universities. This is yet another of many restrictions concern clothing of muslims

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Government wants to tie unemployment benefits to language skills

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Government wants to tie unemployment benefits to language skills

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Not exactly discrimination in the title but its discrimination in action.

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The proposed initiative would mean that those with weaker command of Finnish or Swedish would not be entitled to full unemployment support, but some experts believe that it may be unconstitutional.

The government's aim is to encourage immigrants to integrate and to provide a vision for the future of Finnish society. Image: Mikko Ahmajärvi / Yle

The new government programme includes a series of measures to tighten immigration policies, specifically aiming to reduce refugee quotas, tighten the conditions for obtaining residence permits and citizenship, as well as social benefits for immigrants.

Simultaneously, there will be a significant increase in immigration-related expenses, such as allocating additional funds for processing asylum applications.

In total, the government aims to achieve cost savings in immigration amounting to 160 million euros.

One of the primary means of achieving these savings would be through a new language supplement applied to unemployment benefits. The benefit would decrease by several euros for everyone, but it will be higher for those who have proficiency in Finnish or Swedish. This includes those who understand either language at least at a B1 level or have a comprehensive school diploma.

That level of language skill is mentioned in a background paper from the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, but is not defined in the government programme. It is the level aimed for in language classes provided as part of immigrant integration courses.

According to the government's plan, individuals who have sufficient command of Finnish or Swedish will receive more money than those who do not speak the language or have weak language skills.

In practice, this means that immigrants will receive lower unemployment benefits than others.

According to the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health's estimates, unemployment benefits without the language supplement would amount to just under 700 euros per month.

Experts surveyed by Yle said they believe that introducing the language supplement may violate the constitutional prohibition on discrimination. They also feared that the government program will create a negative attitude towards those who have moved to Finland and their children.

"According to the Finnish constitution, it is prohibited to discriminate between people without a valid reason, for example on the basis of age, language, origin or other personal grounds. The government should present an acceptable reason for putting people in a different position," said Maija Dahlberg, Associate Professor of Public Law at the University of Eastern Finland.

The bill will be submitted for evaluation to the Constitutional Law Committee of Parliament.

Minister of Employment Arto Satonen (NCP) defended the new initiative. In his opinion, language proficiency helps immigrants integrate into society.

"The idea is that knowing the local language, Finnish or Swedish, will help integration into Finland considerably and also improve employment opportunities," Satonen explained to Yle.

Would you like a roundup of the week's top stories in your inbox every Thursday? Then to receive our weekly email.
EDIT 24.8.2023 Added background and attribution on the language skill level.

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Government wants to tie unemployment benefits to language skills

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The proposed initiative would mean that those with weaker command of Finnish or Swedish would not be entitled to full unemployment support, but some experts believe that it may be unconstitutional.

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EQUALITY NOWA special project in conjunction with The March

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EQUALITY NOWA special project in conjunction with The March

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The "EQUALITY NOW" special project, in collaboration with "The March" virtual reality experience, explores the state of equality in the United States today and aim to provide fresh perspectives on contemporary issues related to equality.

While significant progress has been made since 1963, the fight for equality continues. Income inequality in the U.S. has reached a 50-year high, and disparities persist in education, housing, voting rights, and even access to clean water. The project sheds light on these challenges and highlights the ongoing efforts of activists and leaders to address them.

In essence, "EQUALITY NOW" reminds us that the journey towards true equality is far from over and emphasizes the importance of continued advocacy and resilience in the pursuit of a more just and equitable society.

https://time.com/equality/

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Integrating out of school children into basic education.

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Highlights

The fundamental right to education for every child is clearly acknowledged in the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), which marks its 30th anniversary this year. Thanks to the rapid advances in education provision over the past few decades in East Asia and Pacific, there has been considerable progress in integrating out-of-school children and adolescents into basic education, from pre-primary and primary to lower and upper secondary levels. However, a staggering number of 35 million children and adolescents are still out of school. Key barriers to education persist, including lack of services. Gender equality is still an unresolved issue across the region, with adverse cultural norms and harmful practices continuing. As such, a transformation in the education systems is urgently needed, as doing 'more of the same' is not enough.

UNICEF's East Asia and Pacific Regional Office developed the Regional Synthesis Report 'Learning Against the Odds: Evidence and Policies to Support All Out-of-School Children and Adolescents in East Asia and Pacific', based on the latest data and evidence made available from countries in the region. This Report analyzes trends, develops profiles of the most vulnerable populations and identifies key barriers, and finally suggests 10 specific policies to improve equitable provision of quality education and learning opportunities for all in the region, to make the vision of the Convention of the Rights of the Child a reality.

Here is its Executive Summary.

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The report suggests 10 specific policies to improve equitable provision of quality education and learning opportunities for all in the region

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She awoke to a gun in her face. What happened next would change Mexican law

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The article discusses the case of Alina Narciso, a Mexican police officer who was initially sentenced to 45 years in prison for killing her abusive boyfriend in self-defense. Her case led to significant changes in the Mexican criminal justice system, resulting in the "Alina Law," which mandates that judges and prosecutors consider gender and abuse history in self-defense cases. The story highlights the systemic gender biases in Mexico's legal system and the need for comprehensive reform to ensure gender equity and equality.
Story appeared in AlJazeera

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She awoke to a gun in her face. What happened next would change Mexican law....Reviewed by Rauha Salam-Salmaoui

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She awoke to a gun in her face. What happened next would change Mexican law....Reviewed by Rauha Salam-Salmaoui

# data[].attributes.body
The article discusses the case of Alina Narciso, a Mexican police officer who was initially sentenced to 45 years in prison for killing her abusive boyfriend in self-defense. Her case led to significant changes in the Mexican criminal justice system, resulting in the "Alina Law," which mandates that judges and prosecutors consider gender and abuse history in self-defense cases. The story highlights the systemic gender biases in Mexico's legal system and the need for comprehensive reform to ensure gender equity and equality.
This story appeared in AlJAzeera

# data[].attributes.headline
She awoke to a gun in her face. What happened next would change Mexican law...Reviewed by Rauha Salam-Salmaoui

# data[].attributes.subject
She awoke to a gun in her face. What happened next would change Mexican law...Reviewed by Rauha Salam-Salmaoui

# data[].attributes.body
The article discusses the case of Alina Narciso, a Mexican police officer who was initially sentenced to 45 years in prison for killing her abusive boyfriend in self-defense. Her case led to significant changes in the Mexican criminal justice system, resulting in the "Alina Law," which mandates that judges and prosecutors consider gender and abuse history in self-defense cases. The story highlights the systemic gender biases in Mexico's legal system and the need for comprehensive reform to ensure gender equity and equality.
The original story appeared in AlJazeera News

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Johnson - The most Anti-Equality speaker in the US history

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Johnson - The most Anti-Equality speaker in the US history

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A sensational article on New House speaker was published in the nbc news today sending shivering reactions from LGBTQ community.

LGBTQ+ community worried about being erased from the society after Mike Johnson was elected as the speaker of the house.

Johnson has been opposing the same sex marriage, gay sex, and transgender health care for children.

Johnson argued in favor of allowing states to criminalize same-sex consensual sex. The brief argues that sex between men should be banned because it is more likely to spread sexually transmitted diseases than sex between men and women and therefore poses “a distinct public health problem.”

Moreover he sued the city of New Orleans in 2003 on behalf of the group over a local law that gave health care benefits to the partners of gay city workers.

https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-politics-and-policy/mike-johnson-house-speaker-lgbtq-views-scrutiny-rcna122317

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The unexpected elevation of fourth-term Rep. Mike Johnson of Louisiana to speaker of the House on Wednesday swiftly prompted unforgiving criticism and fresh scrutiny on the once obscure representative's views on LGBTQ rights.

Kelley Robinson, president of the Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest LGBTQ advocacy group, said Johnson would be "the most anti-equality" speaker in U.S. history.

"This is a choice that will be a stain on the record of everyone who voted for him," Robinson said in a statement Wednesday. "Johnson is someone who doesn't hesitate to express his disdain for the LGTBQ+ community from the rooftops and then introduces legislation that seeks to erase us from society."

Rep. Angie Craig, D-Minn., one of the few openly gay members of Congress, appeared to take a jab at Johnson during the speaker vote on the House floor Wednesday, yelling, "Happy wedding anniversary to my wife!" before voting for House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y.

Even outspoken conservative Meghan McCain, the daughter of the late Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., had gripes with Johnson's ascension to power.

"So we just elected a raging homophobe to speaker.....?" McCain wrote on X. "Way to break stereotypes and win over hearts and minds!"

A representative for Johnson did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding criticisms of his views and prior comments on LGBTQ issues.

Until Wednesday, the Louisiana Republican was relatively unknown outside of Capitol Hill, having only joined Congress in 2017. But after the historic ouster of Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., as speaker and the failure of three other GOP members to clinch the House's top job, Johnson - who has been called an "architect" of the effort to overturn the 2020 election - is suddenly second in line to the presidency.

Amicus briefs and op-eds

In the early 2000s, Johnson worked as an attorney and spokesperson for the evangelical Christian legal group Alliance Defense Fund, now known as the Alliance Defending Freedom. For decades, ADF - designated a " hate group" by the Southern Poverty Law Center, a designation the Arizona-based group disputes - spearheaded legal efforts to criminalize same-sex sexual activity, block efforts to legalize same-sex marriage, allow for businesses to deny service to LGBTQ people, and ban transgender people from using restrooms that correspond with their gender identities.

During his ADF tenure, Johnson sued the city of New Orleans in 2003 on behalf of the group over a local law that gave health care benefits to the partners of gay city workers.

That same year, he wrote a prominent amicus brief in the Supreme Court case Lawrence v. Texas, arguing in favor of allowing states to criminalize same-sex consensual sex. The brief argues that sex between men should be banned because it is more likely to spread sexually transmitted diseases than sex between men and women and therefore poses "a distinct public health problem."

Shortly after the high court's 2003 ruling in the landmark case, where it struck down the nation's remaining anti-sodomy laws, Johnson wrote an editorial for The Times of Shreveport, Louisiana, in which he suggested decriminalizing gay sex could lead to the legalization of prostitution and illicit drug-use.

"There is clearly no 'right to sodomy' in the Constitution, and the right of 'privacy of the home' has never placed all activity within the home outside the bounds of the criminal law," Johnson wrote at the time. "What about drugs, prostitution and counterfeiting? Make no mistake, the Lawrence decision opens the door to the undermining of many important laws and is ultimately a strategic first shot for the homosexual lobby's ultimate prize - the redefinition of marriage."

The following year, Johnson wrote another editorial in favor of a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage in Louisiana, suggesting that gay people marrying each other could prompt people to start marrying animals.

"Homosexual relationships are inherently unnatural and, the studies clearly show, are ultimately harmful and costly for everyone," he wrote. "Society cannot give its stamp of approval to such a dangerous lifestyle. If we change marriage for this tiny, modern minority, we will have to do it for every deviant group. Polygamists, polyamorists, pedophiles, and others will be next in line to claim equal protection. They already are. There will be no legal basis to deny a bisexual the right to marry a partner of each sex, or a person to marry his pet."

In a separate op-ed that same year, Johnson said that "homosexual marriage is the dark harbinger of chaos and sexual anarchy that could doom even the strongest republic."

Support for same-sex marriage remains at an all-time high in the country. More than 70% of Americans support sax-sex marriage, according to a poll Gallup released in June, including 49% of Republicans.

Entering public office

In 2015, Johnson ran unopposed for a seat in the Louisiana House of Representatives. During his short stint as a state lawmaker, he introduced the Marriage and Conscience Act, which critics argued would allow people to discriminate against same-sex married couples. Johnson defended the bill at the time, arguing that it only prevented the state from taking action against business owners who exercised their beliefs on same-sex marriage, The Advocate reported. The bill was never brought for a vote.

SarahJane Guidry, executive director of Forum for Equality, a Louisiana LGBTQ rights group, said Johnson's tenure in the state House was "short but impactful."

"He really did pave the way for the types of conversations, types of legislation and types of attacks that we're seeing in Louisiana today, whether it's the ban on gender-affirming health care, or the ban on trans youth playing sports," Guidry said. "His track record, while he wasn't here very long, definitely had a long impact."

The Republican Party, she added, "is really making sure that those very vocal opinions that Speaker Johnson has made in the past and is currently making are the interests of the party going forward, and I find that to be a very scary situation, for not only Louisiana, but the country to be in."

Shortly after Rep. John Fleming, R-La., announced in 2015 that he would be leaving the House to run for a vacant Senate seat, Johnson declared his candidacy for the House and was elected.

As a member of Congress, Johnson chaired the Republican Study Committee, the largest caucus of conservative House members. Reports in 2019 found that the committee was pressuring Amazon to rescind its ban on books by an author who is considered "the father of conversion therapy."

On Capitol Hill, Johnson also spearheaded the Stop the Sexualization of Children Act, which aimed to prohibit the instruction of sexual orientation, gender identity and "transgenderism," among other topics, for children under the age of 10. The bill, which Johnson introduced last year, was seen as a federal version of Florida's controversial " Don't Say Gay " law.

A 'dangerous' House speaker for LGBTQ rights?

Gabriele Magni, an assistant professor of political science at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles and director of the school's LGBTQ Politics Research Initiative, said Johnson's ascension to leadership could be "dangerous" for LGBTQ rights. He said Johnson will be able to prioritize, fund raise for and give greater visibility to anti-LGBTQ policies in unparalleled ways as the 56th House speaker.

"These are going to become even more mainstream positions within the Republican Party because they're not the positions of the minority, but they are the priority of the leadership, someone who is second in line to the presidency," Magni said.

Johnson's most recent Republican predecessors as speaker, McCarthy and Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, maintained anti-LGBTQ standpoints as well, though Johnson has put far more focus on the issue.

Throughout his time in Congress, Ryan opposed same-sex marriage, the repeal of "don't ask, don't tell" and voted against the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act. The Hate Crimes Prevention Act, enacted in 2009 by the Obama administration, extended federal hate crimes laws to cover sexual orientation, gender identity and disabilities.

McCarthy voted against the Equality Act, federal legislation that would prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity, in 2021. As speaker, McCarthy - whose speakership became the shortest in more than 140 years - also did little to quell a chorus of increasingly bigoted rhetoric from several firebrand Republican House members.

One of those lawmakers, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga, appeared to celebrate Johnson's election as speaker on Wednesday specifically for his stances on LGBTQ issues.

"Mike has a conservative voting record and has committed to helping me move important legislation forward, like my Protect Children's Innocence Act, to end the genital mutilation of kids," Greene wrote on X, referring to her bill to criminalize gender-affirming care for minors. "Let's get to work!"

Several Republicans said they voted against Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Minn., for speaker this week in part because Emmer voted for a bill last year that codified same-sex marriage protections into federal law. Emmer's loss opened up the speakership for Johnson.

Despite being arguably to the right of his Republican predecessors on LGBTQ issues and more vocal in his opposition to LGBTQ rights, Johnson's positions are also largely inline with mainstream Republican ideals. The Republican National Committee's most recent platform, dopted in 2016 and renewed in 2020, refers to marriage as being exclusively between a man and a woman at least five times.

State and local Republican lawmakers have also shifted to the right on LGBTQ issues in recent years. So far this year, state lawmakers have introduced more than 500 anti-LGBTQ bills, and at least 80 have become law, according to a tally by the American Civil Liberties Union.

On Wednesday afternoon, after her initial social media post about the House speaker vote, Craig weighed in again, appearing to confirm that mention of her anniversary was a dig at Johnson.

"Proud to vote against him on my 15th anniversary with my wife, Cheryl," she wrote on X. "@RepMikeJohnson, enjoy it while it lasts - it won't be long."

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New House speaker's views on LGBTQ issues come under fresh scrutiny

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Rep. Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, has called same-sex marriage a "dark harbinger of chaos" and suggested it could lead to people wedding their pets.

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America's diversity has always been our nation's greatest strength and we must continue to leverage capabilities from all people. People with disabilities have long strengthened our economy and expanded our Nation's possibilities.

The growing popularity of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is opening new doors that are enhancing the work capabilities and performance for persons with disabilities. In recognition of National Disability Employment Awareness Month,a panel discussion with Commerce employees on the intersectionality of AI and neurodiversity and the impact of AI on hiring persons with disabilities as well as promoting diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility by all employees.

During the discussion, panelists stressed how AI can shape careers and improve day to day learning through neurodivergence, machine learning, and technology.

Panelist and Chief Information Officer André Mendes commented that some of the most significant contributions in fields like science, technology, and the performing arts have been given to us by individuals with neurodivergent characteristics.

"Humanity is a spectrum, and that spectrum applies to all of us," said Mr. Mendes. "Some of us have challenges that do not fit the norm. However, we all have intersectionality, and we all are more than our job."

Panelist Victoria Houde, Director of AI Policy and Strategy at the Department of Commerce's Office of the Under Secretary for Economic Administration, commented on the importance of making data more accessible to persons with disabilities, particularly among unrepresented communities.

"As a black woman, it is important to me to be the voice in the room and get data into the hands of unrepresented communities and people that are just different than the stereotypical community," she said.

Ms. Elham Tabassi, NIST Associate Director for Emerging Technologies, participated in the panel discussion and stressed that AI systems can serve all people and that it is a shared responsibility for all of us.

"We have a responsibility to make sure our technologies are fair and just," said Ms. Tabassi. "When we increase the diversity of thoughts and thought process, magic happens."

Ms. Tabassi was nominated by Time Magazine as one of the most influential people in AI.

Making Commerce services, science, and data more accessible is a top priority for several agencies within Commerce that are utilizing AI to complete their missions. The inventory of Commerce AI Use Cases shows how AI is enhancing the department's mission and promoting the use of trustworthy artificial intelligence in the Federal Government.

The mission of the Department of Commerce is to help create economic opportunities for all communities, including people with disabilities. Internal to that goal is hiring and retaining more people with disabilities. At 10.9% percent, Commerce falls below the Equal Employment and Opportunity Commission (EEOC) benchmark for federal agencies to have 12% of their total workforce made up of people with disabilities. Yet, at 2.49 percent, Commerce exceeds the EEOC benchmark to have two percent of their workforce be made of up people with targeted disabilities which include persons with blindness, mobility impairments, or are deaf and hard of hearing.

The Biden Administration and the Commerce Department are committed to the equality and diversity of all Americans and creating a workplace and an economy that works for all Americans.

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How Artificial Intelligence Can Improve Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility Efforts

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America's diversity has always been our nation's greatest strength and we must continue to leverage capabilities from all people. People with disabilities have long strengthened our economy and expanded our Nation's possibilities.

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In my opinion, we should be living in a world where we can just be normal with gender and see everyone having the same rights, the article is just a glimpse of a town in Pakistan but this is not about the country this is about the mindset.

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WAHI Pandhi, a Dadu town in rain-fed area of Kachho, has a population of about 50,000, with women being a major portion of this population. Unfortunately, there are very few primary schools for girls in the area.

The town lacks secondary and higher secondary schools for girls. Due to cultural norms, parents feel reluctant to send their daughters to schools having coeducation.

This cultural taboo and grassroots level issues determine why girls' education has been declining in the country. Actually, girls' education has never been a priority for the decision-makers. Lack of girls schools is one of the reasons for the rise in girls' dropout rate, which is 49 per cent in primary classes.

Female literacy rate in rural areas stands at 38pc. More than 12 million girls are deprived of education in Pakistan. Article 25(A) of the Constitution makes it obligatory to educate children age 5-16 regardless of gender.

If the state machinery is unable to provide equal opportunities, it means they are going against the Constitution. Lack of girls' education triggers multifaceted gender-based problems, like female illiteracy, violence against women and child marriages. Yes, child marriage is also a result of lack of education for girls.

According to UN data, there are some 19 million child brides in Pakistan. One in six girls gets married in her childhood, and the unfortunate trend continues to grow in areas like Kachho. The authorities should make proper arrangements for girls' education as the country already stands 153rd on a list of 156 that feature on the Global Gender Gap Index 2022.

Improper and inadequate education facilities for girls in Wahi Pandhi is a case study showing the attitude of the relevant authorities. There are a few things the authorities can do immediately. The secretary of education in Sindh should approve at least five secondary-level women teachers in the local government high school. A number of classrooms are already laying vacant in the said school.

They should be together converted into a segregated portion meant for girls. This can resolve the problem within no time and with minimal expense.

In the long run, more schools should be set up for girls. There should be a higher secondary school for them. Similarly, vocational training institutions are also needed to shatter dated norms and taboos in this regard.
Name withheld on request
Wahi Pandhi Published in Dawn, February 4th, 2023

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WAHI Pandhi, a Dadu town in rain-fed area of Kachho, has a population of about 50,000, with women being a major...

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Comprehensive sexuality education is the key to a better tomorrow

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Comprehensive sexuality education is the key to a better tomorrow

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This article stresses the importance of CSE (comprehensive sexuality education) for adolescents, which is to prevent HIV transmissions, decrease the unwanted pregnancies rate and advance gender-equality. Lack of CSE programmes prevents young people making healthy choices about their bodies and causes discrimination.

Furthermore, misinformation campaigns are hindering the government support for CSE. The article offers insight into equipping young people with crucial knowledge and skills to make informed decisions, which could in the future lead to gender equality.

Even though most of the regions of the world have made improvements and implementation of CSE, there is an immediate need to raise the rates. In addition, every government worldwide has pledged to attain the Sustainable Development Goals concerning Gender Equality, Education, and Health by 2030, which doesn’t seem likely given the current rate of progress.

In the end, the article calls for action, urging governments to take appropriate measures to ensure the goals are reached in the shortest possible time.

Shared by: Maja Lind

Source: Al Jazeera, April 2023, Comprehensive sexuality education is the key to a better tomorrow. Accessed on: 18th December 2023, https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2023/4/28/comprehensive-sexuality-education-is-the-key-to-a-better-tomorrow

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Mithilesh Prakash

Germany has legalized cannabis and has ensured equality when it comes to the consumption of cannabis for recreational use. I bring up this topic because EU states each have their own interpretation of equality and accessibility. For instance, the Netherlands has long been one of the prominent places in the EU where cannabis has a legal framework for public consumption.

With the new law, Germany aims to regulate the cannabis market and prevent issues related to the black market, such as the exploitation of customers, the sale of inferior products, and territorial gang operations. Germany stands to benefit from this new law and will be seen as a liberal state by prospective immigrants.

Many questions have been raised around this law, such as its public implications and influence on society. However, the same can be argued for alcohol, which is scientifically more detrimental and is quite cheap in Germany compared to other EU states.

All in all, any frontier that opens and relaxes bias from the public is a good thing.

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Germany legalises cannabis, but makes it hard to buy

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Under the law backed by MPs, possession will be legal, but strict rules mean it will be complicated.

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In a very interesting survey conducted by Pew Research Center, Finnish people expressed their opinion/concerns related to Muslims being their countrymen/family member, or a neighbour. The percentage also places Finland on 2nd place after Italy who thinks Islam is not compatible with Western values.

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Similar, albeit less pronounced, negative attitudes persist toward Jews. Over a tenth (13%) of Finns answered 'no' when asked if they would accept one as a family member and five per cent 'no' when asked if they would accept one as a neighbour.

The Pew Research Center, a non-partisan fact tank based in Washington DC, the United States, published a 168-page report on the results of its survey on public views and attitudes in 15 countries across Western Europe on Tuesday, 29 May. A total of 24,599 randomly selected adults responded to the survey between April and August 2017.

Finns, the survey found, have one of the most harshest attitudes towards Islam and Muslims.

Finland and Italy are the only two countries where over a half of respondents - 62 per cent in the former and 53 per cent in the latter - view that there is a fundamental contradiction between Islam and the national culture and values. In France, Portugal and Sweden, only roughly a third of respondents were of that opinion.

The primary focus of the survey was on Christianity.

"Most Christians in Western Europe today are non-practising, but Christian identity still remains a meaningful religious, social and cultural marker," the Pew Research Center writes in its summary of the key findings.

Christianity, thereby, has an impact on public opinions on issues such as immigration, nationalism and other religions. Both church-going and non-practising Christians, for example, are generally more likely than their religiously non-affiliated compatriots to be in favour of reducing immigration and have reservations about immigrants from Africa and the Middle East.

"There are, however, exceptions to this general pattern," adds the Pew Research Centre. "In Finland, for example, just one-in-five church-going Christians favour reducing immigration (19%), compared to larger shares among religiously unaffiliated adults (33%) and non-practising Christians (37%)."

Aleksi Teivainen - HT
Photo: Roni Lehti - Lehtikuva

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Most Finns view that Islam is incompatible with Finnish culture and values, finds survey

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Church-going Christians in Finland are less likely than their non-practising and religiously unaffiliated compatriots to be in favour of reducing immigration, making the country an exception in Western Europe. Many Finns remain somewhat uncomfortable with Islam, suggests a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center.Almost two-thirds (62%) of Finns revealed they believe Islam is fundamentally incompatible with the culture and values in Finland.

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The long road to gender equality in Nepal

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The long road to gender equality in Nepal

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Nepal has made progress in gender equality; however, there is still a long way to go. The government of Nepal is working to implement policies on gender equality in all areas, such as the right to education, safe reproduction, ancestorial wealth, and the right against exploitation.

- Binita Thapa

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The long road to gender equality in Nepal

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The Government of Nepal is working to incorporate gender equality in all its development policies and programs. Credit: Bijay Gajmer/World Bank Today marks International Women's Day throughout the world. Here in Nepal, it is a joyful tribute to the fact that the country boasts three women holding key leadership ...

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Neda Mulji Published February 27, 2023 0

NAME-CALLING, jokes targeted towards particular ethnicities, demeaning struggling kids by calling them ‘slow learners’ are all examples of rampant micro aggressions that are regarded as harmless jokes. Our education system is ‘not for the faint-hearted’ as a friend carelessly remarked, as if being able to tolerate dismissive comments is somehow a benchmark of courage in our society. Anyone deemed to be too sensitive to such remarks is not thick-skinned enough — sensitivity is a sign of weakness rather than emotional intelligence.

With International Women’s Day approaching, with its ‘embracing equity’ theme, one wonders where we can begin to scratch the surface of deeply embedded structural biases. Early childhood care and education would be a good place to start, except that the divide starts right there with teachers being more ‘tolerant’ of misdemeanours by boys and prone to letting them overstep boundaries easily. Girls, on the other hand, are expected to be compliant.

When we consider embracing equity, we may want to look at helping children think about it as an urgent need and perhaps draw up a school charter of concrete ways students can work towards it. A pledge by each child to change a little something, be it a perspective or a behavioural pattern, may be a good start towards teaching them to take ownership of their beliefs and actions. It may also be a chance to unlearn a few things.

When we talk of equity, rampant ageism comes to mind. Unlike other cultures, we are heavily biased towards those with experience. While experience is indeed a great teacher, it cannot be followed blindly in a world that is increasingly demanding new ways of working and being. When the young present opportunities for experimentation, experience must submit to innovation. We often fall back on ‘this has always worked for us’ as the rationale to avoid exploring new pathways. In school life, this has meant holding on to assessing students’ learning based on age-old expectations. The truth is, experience sometimes is a regressive teacher.

Economic disparity marginalises children.

If we are to think about equity in classrooms, all students deserve the same level of support, respect and care from their teachers, regardless of their gender, socioeconomic background or ability. Life lessons are learnt and mindsets are shaped in the formative years spent in classrooms, and teachers have more power than they imagine. Much of that power lies in the language used in classrooms. It can encourage or demotivate within seconds. It is not only the struggling students that are subjected to scathing remarks. Very often, the brighter ones — the eager beavers that always have their hand raised — are told ‘don’t act too smart’ (but why not?).

Economic disparity is another factor that marginalises children whose sense of belonging is compromised by their social background. In a country where a ‘big man’ is synonymous with ‘wealthy’, curriculum design would have to look at narratives in texts that often depict economic privilege as the only marker of success. Addressing inappropriate remarks about students’ backgrounds is one way teachers can ensure a culture of respect for all.

Another avenue to consider is giving a voice to students who hesitate to speak up. Encouraging personal responses, validating feelings and addressing difficulties gently should be prioritised over the race for grades. Equitable classroom practices have a direct bearing on academic performance across all school levels.

Whilst establishing behavioural expectations, many teachers overlook the need for diversity in opinion and the benefit of celebrating individual differences. Embracing equity begins with a decision to cultivate a just, inclusive and accepting environment for all children. Anyone, anywhere can take the initiative in small and significant ways. It doesn’t require resources but it needs a strong focus on change and a willingness to work consciously and consistently towards it — as early as kindergarten, when children begin to notice differences in hair and skin colour, physical abilities and emotional reactions.

Real-life examples from nature — fruit and trees — with their similarities and differences might be a good place to start. Interestingly, within the same school, there might be vast differences in classroom culture and very often that has to do with the strategic priorities of a teacher who has chosen to model equity and consciously maintained an equitable classroom. A reflective teacher would think about how gender neutral her comments are, how often everyone gets to participate in discussions and activities and how well the students interact with each other.

The writer is senior manager, professional development at Oxford University Press Pakistan, and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, UK.
neda.mulji@gmail.com
Twitter: @nedamulji

Published in Dawn, February 27th, 2023

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Work-based immigration is growing, but at the same time educated people in their prime are leaving Finland over a lack of career prospects.

Khoa Vu says he has been job searching since graduating from Aalto University last year. Image: Esa Syväkuru / Yle

Khoa Vu gained a Master's of Science in information networks from Aalto University in 2023. Now, almost a year later, he is still job searching.

"I have sent about 200 job applications and have made it to three job interviews, but none of them resulted in a job," Vu, who's originally from Vietnam, told Yle.

In Finland he has managed to secure one short-term job through a contact. While initially limiting his job search to Finland, he is now also looking in other parts of Europe.

"I would like to stay, but if I don't find a job, I'll have to move away," he said.

Finland's demographic challenges mean the country has a labour shortage. For years, Finland has talked about the importance of attracting workers to help bridge the sustainability gap - that is - having enough taxpayers to fund public services and pensions.

Today people are moving to Finland from India, the Philippines and the Baltic countries. But as newcomers arrive, others are leaving.

"Those leaving, both Finns and foreigners, are mostly in their prime working age and highly educated," said Elina Pylkkänen, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment.

In 2022, immigration increased Finland's population by almost 35,000, and last year by well over 50,000. These figures depict net migration, which is the difference between immigrants and emigrants.

Every year 15,000-20,000 people leave Finland. Half of them are foreigners, who aren't likely to return, according to Pylkkänen, who said Finns often move back after a stint abroad.

More than half of foreign graduates leave Finland within three years of finishing their studies.

This is a big problem, according to Hannu Karhunen of the Labour Institute for Economic Research, Labore.

"You've already crossed one major hurdle when they agree to come here to the cold. Getting them to stay in Finland is the next crucial step," he said.

Karhunen noted that up until the 2000s, Finland had very few immigrants. While more people are now moving to Finland, the numbers are still relatively low compared to the other Nordic countries.

"In many companies, it's a major threshold to hire that first employee who doesn't speak Finnish. Hiring a foreigner also means that the company needs to learn how to integrate a foreign person into the working community," Karhunen said.

Moving forward, Karhunen said he would like to see Finland cut red tape, and clearly communicate all the different employment opportunities.

"In Finland, there are many different working groups, projects, ministry programmes, and even universities have their own services. Very little is known about their impact," he said.

In his view, there should be employment services tailored for foreigners, whereas foreign students should be helped into work life already during their studies.

Many foreign graduates would like to stay, including Aalto University graduate Khoa Vu.

"I've received an education here. I would like to give back by working and paying taxes."

Users with an Yle ID can leave comments on our news stories. You can create your Yle ID via . Our guidelines on commenting and moderation are explained .

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200 applications and 3 interviews: Foreign grads struggle to get jobs

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Work-based immigration is growing, but at the same time educated people in their prime are leaving Finland over a lack of career prospects.

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Helsinki’s anonymous recruitment pilot to continue

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Officials say anonymous recruitment has been such a success that the practice will continue next year.

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What's in a name?

In practice, quite a lot. In Finland Abdirashid Mohamed finds it much more difficult to get hired than Matti Hämäläinen, even when Abdirashid and Matti are equally suitable for the position.

That's the conclusion of research into discrimination in the Finnish labour market.

"This happens in Finland at grassroots level, in low-paid jobs," says Akhlaq Ahmad, a researcher at Helsinki University. "If a worker with a Finnish name is available, they will probably get the job."

The claim is supported by a large-scale experiment. In 2016 and 2017 Ahmad sent out some 5,000 fake job applications under Finnish and foreign names. The idea was to find out if a candidate's name affected whether they were invited to an interview.

The results were startling.

Ahmad created five categories of applicant representing five different ethnic backgrounds: white Finnish, English, Russian, Iraqi and Somali.

Then he sent a thousand applications from each group via the Finnish Employment Office website. The jobs were in the restaurant, catering, retail, office, cleaning and, customer service sectors.

The fake applicants were equally strong. They had the same training, the same amount of experience, all of them had been to school in Finland to indicate that they had lived their whole lives in Finland or at least had moved to Finland before they started school.

All of them spoke excellent Finnish.

If employment decisions were made only on competence, every group would have had an equal chance of being invited for an interview.

The difference, however, was stark.

Applicants with white Finnish names received by far the most invitations to interview, with 390 interviews from a thousand applications.

The Iraqis got 134 interviews, the Somalis just 99.
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Ahmad's results are peer-reviewed and published, and he has considered in detail what the potential reasons might be for the discrepancy.

Field in which the candidate is applying for work: no significant influence on whether or not the candidate is successful. Geographical location of the job: no significant influence. Employee's gender: no significant influence. Time at which the application is sent: no significant influence.

Applicant's name and mother tongue: very significant influence.

"What matters is the candidate's name," says Ahmad. "It's not just a question of immigrants' feelings."

Gender also had an impact on a candidate's success, as women did slightly better than men in every applicant group. White Finnish women got 221 invitations to interview from 500 applications; Somali men got just 34.

"Maybe women are regarded as more likely to follow the rules as employees?" suggests Ahmad. "Or maybe immigrant men are seen as a bigger threat than women."
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Getting that first job is more difficult if you don't have a Finnish name. Image: Ilmari Fabritius / Yle

The jobs in question were low-paid positions like restaurant workers and cleaners' roles, which are in Finland often filled by immigrants.

That does not contradict the results of the study, according to Ahmad, but rather demonstrates just how little enthusiasm for those jobs there is among white Finns.

"If a white Finnish worker is available, others are pushed aside," says Ahmad. "A labour shortage is the immigrant's best friend."

Would the results be different if the same study was conducted into jobs demanding highly qualified candidates?

"It's difficult to say before it has been researched," says Ahmad. "But you could ask why those sectors would be immune to employment discrimination?"

Study rooted in experience

The results are in line with previous experiments in Finland and elsewhere in Europe.

Other studies include one in which 28 percent of respondents said that a white Finn should have the edge over a dark-skinned person in a hiring situation, if they were equally strong in experience and education. A slightly older survey found that 15 percent of Finns are more or less of the opinion that "black Africans mental capabilities are weaker than those of white people who live in the western world". That statement found particular agreement among Finns Party voters.

Even so, Ahmad was still a little surprised by the size of the differences.

"I did not expect a candidate's background to be such a big factor," says Ahmad. "I thought that things would have improved in the last twenty years. They haven't."

Before he began to study discrimination in Finland, he experienced it himself.

20 years ago Ahmad was a student, just arrived in Finland from Pakistan. He was young, idealistic and broke.

He thought that finding part-time work would be easy in a "Nordic country proud of its tolerance and human rights record". He was wrong.

"It was like finding a needle in a haystack," says Ahmad. "It was the first time I understood what it was like to be a foreigner."

Second generation now the focus

Ahmad was not alone in his experiences. Immigrants from outside Europe regard employment discrimination as a fact of life. For example, among Somali speakers around 90 percent say they have experienced discrimination in the labour market.

Among white Finns the issue divides opinion. Claims of discrimination can be dismissed as isolated cases, or they can be blamed on the candidate himself.

"It can always be claimed that they don't speak the language, don't know the local rules and customs," says Ahmad.

When Ahmad got the opportunity to bust these myths, he focused on the children of immigrants rather than immigrants themselves.

That is, those who really should be on a level playing field with white Finns.

"It's time to think about this group's future," says Ahmad. "They are young people, they are just entering the labour market and there are lots of them."

Ethnic discrimination affects a rapidly growing group in Finnish society.

In the last thirty years the number of people of foreign background has increased by some 1,000 percent. The children of those who arrived 15 years ago or more are now becoming adults. In other words Finland is for the first time entering a situation where a large group of non-white people, or people with foreign names, are entering the workforce.

Ahmad is worried for their future.

"It's really sad if their background becomes a problem for them," says Ahmad. "Their obstacle could be a 'homeland' they have not necessarily even visited."

If a young person feels like their background is a problem their enthusiasm to study might dip, says Ahmad. Even if it doesn't, repeated rejection in their job hunts could push them into sectors where there's a labour shortage.

That could mean the children of immigrants end up in the same low-paid professions as their parents. Ahmad has observed this phenomenon in his research and in practice, among his friends from Pakistan.

"Newcomers end up in those sectors where their social networks are," says Ahmad. "Like restaurants, even though they are capable of doing something else. It's difficult to break out of that cycle."

Highly-educated immigrants can be satisfied with their lot as restaurant workers. Their children, however, expect more.

"The children of immigrants are not going to accept these obstacles that their parents came up against," says Ahmad. "If they are constantly reminded that their background is a problem, they will become bitter and frustrated."

If young people begin to feel that society is unjust, it can lead to them rejecting it.

"It's not healthy if an individual does not feel part of society and doesn't want to be part of it," says Ahmad. "That's why discrimination in the workplace can lead to unrest in society."
Story continues after photo
If they don't gain a foothold in the labour market, people can become disillusioned. Image: Jari Pelkonen / Yle

Ahmad hopes his research will increase Finns' knowledge about structural discrimination. White Finns can find it difficult to see the scale of the problem because they themselves don't face it.

"You have to personally feel what it's like to know that you are clearly not welcome," says Ahmad. "Otherwise it is difficult to understand."

Ahmad hopes to kickstart a national debate about possible solutions to the problem. There has already been a lot of work on preventing discrimination in Finland, he says.

For example, trials of anonymous recruitment have proliferated in recent years. These are schemes where an applicant's names and possibly also age and gender are hidden, so that the information will not influence the hiring process. These trials have taken place in Espoo, Helsinki, Vaasa and Vantaa municipalities, as well as the S Group retail chain and the Justice Ministry.

Anonymous recruitment levels the playing field in getting an interview, but can't guarantee discrimination-free hiring decisions. It's more of a sticking plaster when the underlying ailment, discriminatory attitudes, needs a different treatment.

"There's an old Punjabi saying: if someone has a place in your heart they can also have a place in your home," says Ahmad.
What do you think? Have you faced discrimination when applying for jobs in Finland? We'll open up the topic on this week's All Points North podcast: how can we fight discrimination in Finland's labour market? You can send comments or questions via WhatsApp on +358 44 421 0909, on our Facebook or Twitter accounts, or at yle.news@yle.fi.

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Researcher: "If there's a worker with a Finnish name, they'll probably be hired"

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Research suggests a clear hierarchy of applicants with white Finnish women at the top and Somali men at the bottom.

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Ensuring equality in education during lockdown 

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Ensuring equality in education during lockdown 

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This articles addresses some pressing inequality issue in education during the Covid 19 period. It offers possible recommendations to support teachers, policy makers and parents to minimize the effect of the lockdown on social class-based learning inequality, but ensuring equal education access to social class levels of all students.

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Inadequate mental health services and climate change (Equality issue)

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Inadequate mental health services and climate change (Equality issue)

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Darko Baafi

This post elucidates an inadequate mental health access and issue of the climate change during the Covid period have increased bullying and other forms of discriminations in Finland among the youth.

This unequal access to these services has weakened the metal state and wellbeing among the youth, especially, those in Finland.

This worrying development has made the youth to have no hope for the future.

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Equality and equity ways in dealing with issues of bullying

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Equality and equity ways in dealing with issues of bullying

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Darko Baafi writes

This articles raises serious concerns about the negative impacts of bulling in schools, especially in the classroom and the role of teachers in minimizing the effect of this social canker on students' learning, performance and success.

The post further discusses some testimonies from some section of teachers and how they pay attention to issues of bulling in their classroom and beyond to enhance learning outcomes of students.

Some teachers say they apply equal access measures (Equality) in dealing with bulling issues in their class by pausing while teaching to address issues of bullying in their classroom. While others also raise awareness of bullying by providing support for those affected victims bullied (Equity) to enhance their social and mental wellbeing.

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Darko Baafi writes

This article points out that in Switzerland same sex marriages has legalized since 2007. Same sex couples can officially register their partners but some of their rights have been restricted.

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Finland unites for anti-racism March on UN International Day

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Finland unites for anti-racism March on UN International Day

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Helsinki Times wrote an article on 11 March 2024 regarding a demonstration against racism taking place in Helsinki, which was scheduled to take place on 21 March 2024.

What is remarkable about the article is that it emphasises that the initiator, Eugene Ufoka, is trying to initiate social dialogue on discrimination and racism in order to normalise understanding of actions for diversity in society throughout Finland. In his view, racism should... ‘should not be a taboo subject, but a subject that people can discuss in their schools, workplaces and at the dinner table.’ He emphasises the need to recognise and confront racism, seeing this as the first step in changing attitudes in society and making Finland a better place for all its inhabitants.

The protest march in Helsinki is intended as a response to the harmful effects of racism on society as a whole, which are increasingly visible in many current domestic and foreign studies in European countries. According to the article, racist thinking can foster mistrust among the inhabitants of a society and thus tear apart the social fabric.

The aim of future protest marches should not only be to repeatedly put a finger on the social wound of discrimination and racism, but also to celebrate the progress and diversity of Finnish society and to encourage people to create a safe and inclusive space for all. #FightRacism

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Finland unites for anti-racism March on UN International Day 

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Finland unites for anti-racism March on UN International Day 

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Helsinki Times wrote an article on 11 March 2024 regarding a demonstration against racism taking place in Helsinki, which was scheduled to take place on 21 March 2024.

What is remarkable about the article is that it emphasises that the initiator, Eugene Ufoka, is trying to initiate social dialogue on discrimination and racism in order to normalise understanding of actions for diversity in society throughout Finland. In his view, racism should... ‘should not be a taboo subject, but a subject that people can discuss in their schools, workplaces and at the dinner table.’ He emphasises the need to recognise and confront racism, seeing this as the first step in changing attitudes in society and making Finland a better place for all its inhabitants.

The protest march in Helsinki is intended as a response to the harmful effects of racism on society as a whole, which are increasingly visible in many current domestic and foreign studies in European countries. According to the article, racist thinking can foster mistrust among the inhabitants of a society and thus tear apart the social fabric.

The aim of future protest marches should not only be to repeatedly put a finger on the social wound of discrimination and racism, but also to celebrate the progress and diversity of Finnish society and to encourage people to create a safe and inclusive space for all. #FightRacism

by Sönke Kröger

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Equity, inclusion and the transformation of higher education

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Equity, inclusion and the transformation of higher education

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In an article published 31st October 2023 on UNESCO’s webpage (https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/equity-inclusion-and-transformation-higher-education),  Libing Wang opines that the need for increased attention on matters of equity in higher education institutions in Asia pacific. The converging disruptive factors post-pandemic era such as the COVID-19 pandemic, political unrest, conflicts, climate change and natural disasters have augmented the importance of equity and inclusion.  The higher education institutions should advance equity, inclusion and fair representation of diverse students irrespective of social, economic, ethnic, gender, physical and mental characteristics. While each countries have the imperative role of establishing the for identifying and categorizing disadvantaged students (physical and mental disabilities) within the society, well-defined policies, streamlined strategies, effective incentives and appropriate support services and resource allocation is needed. Another category of disadvantaged students, family income. Students from low-income households often face obstacles in pursuing higher education. This challenge is particularly pronounced in countries with high tuition fees and limited financial support. In Finland though the local students do not pay any tuition fee, but the international students pay. Even without paying tuition fee, studies have shown that students from low-income households tend to take long period in the HEI before graduation.

The other disadvantaged group highlighted in the article are non-local students, migrant students, international students, refugees, displaced person and varying religious affiliations, equitable access to higher education opportunities should be extended to all these students. The HEI in addition to mapping the groups, should also monitoring their inclusion status, conducting gap analyses and implementing effective solutions. Several solutions proposed include, financial support, a robust student affairs management system to give assistance to students fronting varied challenges, including academic, social, physical and mental support and importantly to integrate the academic support and mental health services to foster the comprehensive development of the students. particularly those encountering challenging circumstances.

As access and quality in higher education systems worldwide continue to improve, the objective of equity and inclusion should be a central focus to shape the future transformation of higher education.

JoelS

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MTV: Finland declines to join Ukraine equality alliance due to Finns Party minister's anti-LGBT stance

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MTV: Finland declines to join Ukraine equality alliance due to Finns Party minister's anti-LGBT stance

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Ville Tavio the Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade breaks away from the gender-equality alliance (the EU, the US, and the UK) for the rebuilding of Ukraine. As the first nation in Europe and only the third nation in the world granting women the right to vote, the move by Ville Tavio was greeted with an astonishment. Mr. Tavio is known for his reluctant stance towards gender and sexual minorities. Unfortately, women's cause got hit as well. PM Petteri Orpo transfers the responsibilty solely to Mr. Tavio, yet the PM does say that Mr. Tavio's decision is in line with the overall Government Program and there is no conflict because the made decision. Hence, no action is required. The opposition did attack both Mr. Tavio and PM on this issue.

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MTV: Finland declines to join Ukraine equality alliance due to Finns Party minister’s anti-LGBT stance

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Several sources told the broadcaster that Finns Party Minister Ville Tavio decided not to join the alliance because it intends to promote the causes of gender and sexual minorities.

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Finland emphasises economic equality and rights of women in conflict zones at the 68th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women

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Finland emphasises economic equality and rights of women in conflict zones at the 68th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women

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Finland was represented at the CWS session by a delegation headed by Minister Sanni Grahn-Laasonen (responsible for gender equality issues) was heading Finnish delegation at the CWS (UN Commission on the Status of Women) event in New York on March 11-22, 2024. The of the event was "Accelerating the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls by addressing poverty and strengthening institutions and financing with a gender perspective". emphasising the interdependence between economic equality and the rights of women and girls. The Minister shared the concern over sexual and gender-based violence in conflict zones. According to the Minister Finland stands tall for a decisive action to promote gender equality world wide.

Together with Italy and Qatar Finland hosted a side event in the honor of Afghan women and girls where a panel discussed the situation in Afghanistan with regards to poverty and how it impacts women and girls of Afghanistan. Still how women and grisl are being treated after all the efforts taken globally is mind boggling. Makes one wonder will it ever be changed, and if yes, how long will it take. How many generations will it take that female gender is at par with the male gender.

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A fresh and somewhat unorthodox approach and source to social equity from Neogames Finland, the hub of Finnish game industry. Neogames Finland: "In the local game industry, social equity themes are best represented by the actions of local industry organizations advocating for equality, inclusion, good working conditions, and human rights. The industry has its own self-regulation tool for determining age ratings for games."

Neogames Finland has created Code of Contact for the Finnish gaming industry addressing equality and equity issues, a Task Force to implement and manage Code of Conduct, including PEGI (Pan-European Game Information System) ruling. Well known brand in gaming, Rovio, has launched a Playbook for Inclusive Game Development and Marketing already in 2003. It seems that Finnish game industry has been a trailblazer yet again (Ref. Women's right to vote 1906)

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Equality and equity in teaching and guidance From S M MUTTAQUIM REZA

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Equality and equity in teaching and guidance From S M MUTTAQUIM REZA

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S M MUTTAQUIM REZA

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The Finnish Club of Helsinki voted against accepting women's membership. The former chairman was pleased with the result.

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The Finnish Club of Helsinki voted against accepting women's membership. The former chairman was pleased with the result.

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News by Helsingin Sanomat (3.10.24) about a Helsinki Finnish Club, that only accepts the men as members.  The club arranged a questionee for its members, if the women should be accepted as member as well.

The majority of the members of the Helsinki Finnish Club wanted the association to remain a men's club. Many members would have liked to make the famous men's club in Helsinki open to women.  The club voted to change the rules for women's membership. 69.6 percent of those who voted supported the change, but 75 percent would have been required for the rule change.

Ex-chairman of the club is happy with the result and stated: "If there were a lot of female members, I don't know where to put them all."

Lets bear in mind, that here are also clubs that accept only female members. E.g. The Finnish Women’s Association Unioni.

By the law associations have the right to choose their rules, and people have the right to disagree. Equality before the law has therefore been realized.

So is this equal or not equal?

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Helsingin Suomalainen Klubi äänesti naisten jäsenyyden hyväksymistä vastaan. Entiselle puheenjohtajalle tulos oli mieleinen, toistuva keskustelu ei.

Helsingin Suomalaisen Klubin jäsenistö haluaa yhdistyksen pysyvän herrakerhona. Moni jäsen olisi halunnut muuttaa kuuluisan Helsingin herrakerhon naisille avoimeksi.

Yksi muutosta vastustaneista on yhdistyksen entinen puheenjohtaja Matti Viljanen.

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Tasa-arvo | Nyt puhuu Matti Viljanen, joka ei halua naisia Helsingin herrakerhoon

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Helsingin Suomalainen Klubi äänesti naisten jäsenyyden hyväksymistä vastaan. Entiselle puheenjohtajalle tulos oli mieleinen, toistuva keskustelu ei.

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"You destroy the programme": Multilingual families slam Helsinki's bilingual education overhaul

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"You destroy the programme": Multilingual families slam Helsinki's bilingual education overhaul

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Posted by Khaing Khaing Kyi.

Today I found the news concerning equality and equity. It is Yle News on May 31, 2024, reported by Zena Iovino in the education section. The article is about "The City of Helsinki's plans to abolish first-grade entrance exams for bilingual education in Spanish-Finnish programme, and in the future, pupils are selected through a lottery". Spanish-speaking families are not happy with the city's proposal to change admission criteria. Entrance exams filter that only kids with a high level of Spanish get in, and those just starting to learn have little chance. Families are worried about the ones whose language is not Spanish entering the program. One parent said that it was discriminatory against native Spanish speakers. "The main reason is to increase the educational equality of all children in Helsinki," Deputy Mayor of Education Johanna Laisaari (SDP) told Yle News via email. She added, "The goal of the reform is also to harmonise the equality between all bilingual groups so that in the future everyone applies for them in the same way."

From my point of view, I agree with the City's plan because every child has the right to study what they are interested in, and Spanish-speaking children are not privileged.

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The City of Helsinki's plans to abolish first-grade entrance exams for bilingual education have shocked some parents. In the future, the city wants to see pupils selected through a lottery.

Each year around a dozen pupils start first grade at the Finnish-Spanish programme at Käpylä Comprehensive School, located in one of Helsinki's leafy suburbs.

A community has grown around the school over the past decade and a half, making it much more than a place for children to learn and reinforce their native language skills.

There are events focused on language and culture that are rare in the Nordic countries, let alone Finland - and that has helped make the school popular among families from Spanish-speaking backgrounds.

"Parents are very much involved in the school," Silvia Padron, a parent of a child at the Käpylä School, told Yle News. "Families expect to make friends with other families and attendance at events is pretty much 100 percent."

A tight-knit community has formed around the Finnish-Spanish programme in Käpylä, with many families joining school events. Image: Courtesy of Silvia Padron.

Spanish-speaking families are concerned about the city's proposal to change admission criteria, however.

Entrance exams serve as a filter to ensure that only kids with a high level of Spanish get in, and those just starting to learn have little chance. Padron said that if realised, the proposal to introduce a lottery would not only dismantle a functioning native-level language programme but also break up a small and vibrant community.

"If children enter who are not bilingual, you destroy the programme," Padron said, adding that if the measure passes, bilingual families would switch schools.

In her view, a better way of carrying out a lottery would be to organise a draw after kids pass a language test.

"Or they could also just change it to a Spanish-as-a-second-language school because that is entirely different than a bilingual school where you support mother tongue learning at home," she explained.

Spanish-speaking families in Helsinki have voiced their displeasure with the reform, circulating a petition they hope will gain enough momentum to stop the plans.

Families at the school argue that a lottery system shifts the emphasis from enhancing mother tongues to creating bilingual children.

They said they worry that opening entry up to a lottery would replace Spanish-speaking children with monolingual children whose parents are attracted to Spanish as a global language, but who don't speak it at home.

The parents also suggest that the reform confuses equality and equity in education.

While equality means everyone is given the same opportunities, equity recognises that people's circumstances are different, so they need other resources to reach an equal outcome.

"The concept of equality is not absolute," said Salla Raunio, who is planning to send her Finnish-Spanish bilingual child to the school.

"There needs to be the realisation that we are all different and have different starting points - some kids speak Spanish natively and that is a different situation from a monolingual Finnish child," she explained.

"Tying entrance to this type of lottery system is discriminatory against native Spanish speakers," said Gabriel Alvarez, another parent concerned about the proposal.

Padron also pointed out that entrance to the Spanish-Finnish programme has not been competitive, with most applicants generally gaining admission.

Helsinki argues for equality

Things could change dramatically from 2025, when the City of Helsinki says it wants to introduce a lottery to replace the current entrance exam. Initially, this change will be carried out as a two-year trial, although officials say they hope the move will become permanent.

In the future, the city wants to select first-grade pupils for all its special language programmes by lottery, meaning bilingual schools will no longer stage entrance exams.

"The main reason is to increase the educational equality of all children in Helsinki," Deputy Mayor of Education Johanna Laisaari (SDP) told Yle News via email.

The city argues that the reform is designed in the best interests of six-year olds.

Laisaari noted that the current entrance exam practice has led to parents enrolling their kindergartners in prep courses. This has especially been the case among families hoping to enter bilingual Finnish-English streams, according to the deputy mayor.

"The current entrance exam has even led to the fact that even young children are taking training courses to get to the certain class. This has happened especially with Finnish-English teaching," she said via email.

Deputy Mayor of Education Johanna Laisaari (SDP). Image: Petteri Juuti / Yle

The city provides bilingual education at 11 schools in seven language combinations: Finnish-Swedish, Finnish-Northern Sami, Finnish-Estonian, Finnish-Russian, Finnish-Chinese, Finnish-Spanish as well as Finnish-English.

"The goal of the reform is also to harmonise the equality between all bilingual groups so that in the future everyone applies for them in the same way," Laisaari added.

Whose school is it anyway?

The Käpylä school has over time become a community hub and popular attraction for Spanish-speaking families moving to Finland. But originally, the city says it wasn't envisioned that way when it started back in 2009.

So what did Finland have in mind when it rolled out bilingual education programmes?

Olli-Pekka Malinen, an education expert at the University of Helsinki, said that decades ago bilingual language programmes aimed to build up the country's language reserves.

"But that purpose may have evolved and the goal can be debated," he said, noting how much Finland has changed in recent years.

Laisaari, however, pointed out that the city's bilingual education offering was never intended to be limited to native speakers.

"Bilingual education was originally established to expand the language skills of all children in Helsinki," Laisaari told Yle News via email. "Bilingual education was not originally established to strengthen the study of the second mother tongue."

Malinen, an education lecturer, also brought up the aspect of inclusion in education.

"Research has shown that selective programmes - be it in the arts, sports or language - are a vehicle for school choice used by middle-class parents," he said.

Regarding selective music programmes, the city said in an email it was continuously working to develop what it calls "weighted-curriculum education," and that the two-year bilingual entrance exam trial was a part of that effort.

There are as yet no plans, however, to abolish entrance exams for special programmes other than the foreign language ones.

Attending a school far away from home means parents need flexible work schedules and those are often not blue-collar professions, Malinen noted.

"Who can actually send their kid to a special school or afford a home in a specific neighbourhood?" he asked, suggesting that few families are prepared to allow their first graders to travel long distances alone.

Back in Käpylä, these arguments cut little ice. Spanish-speaking families say they are unhappy with the lack of parental involvement in the city's plans, saying they undermine inclusivity.

"There has been zero conversation with the Spanish-speaking families," Padron said.

In the past decade and a half, a community has grown around the Käpylä school's Spanish programme, making it much more than a place for children to learn and reinforce their native language skills. Image: Courtesy of Silvia Padron.

The capital's bilingual schools were, however, never intended to cater to native speakers exclusively, according to Laisaari.

"To the question that if children whose mother tongue is other than Spanish are selected for bilingual classes, this was originally the purpose of this teaching," she said via email.

The city said the reform will free up the time used on administrative work and eventually the city's bilingual programmes will have more spots available for kids starting school.

According to the deputy mayor, from August 2025 six schools in the capital will run Finnish-English programmes, up from five this autumn.

Fully English-language programmes will, however, continue to administer language tests for prospective pupils. The reform also excludes private or foreign state schools in the Helsinki area.

The city currently provides mother tongue classes in 50 different languages for pupils speaking another language than Finnish or Swedish at home. These classes, however, mix ages and skill levels and lack a set curriculum.

The city's Finnish-language division of the education committee will decide on the two-year bilingual education trial in June.

Users with an Yle ID can leave comments on our news stories. You can create your Yle ID via . Our guidelines on commenting and moderation are explained .

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"You destroy the programme": Multilingual families slam Helsinki's bilingual education overhaul

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Parents are protesting plans to change the admissions process for a Spanish-Finnish school programme, but the city says it was never intended to cater solely to bilingual speakers.

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Sigh of relief for Ghana's (not-so) new gender equality law

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Sigh of relief for Ghana's (not-so) new gender equality law

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Opoku Adusei

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Assignment 1.3_News about equality and equity_Opoku Adusei

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A call to boycott men is now spreading in social media

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A call to boycott men is now spreading in social media

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The article discusses the "4B movement," which is a social media trend encouraging women to boycott men including four key rules: no dating, no heterosexual sex, no marriage, and no children. This movement became attractive after Donald Trump's election as the president of the USA, which brought misogyny issues to the forefront. The movement is primarily discussed on TikTok, where women share experiences or decisions to separate from their partners as a protest.

According to Professor Tuija Saresma from the University of Eastern Finland, the 4B movement reflects women’s frustration and desire for bodily autonomy. It challenges "gender populism," where gender roles are manipulated for political purposes. Some women hope the movement will change societal expectations of women, and men supporting the movement claim it highlights women's loss of autonomy following Trump's election.

The 4B movement originated in South Korea in response to mistreatment of women and invasive acts like unauthorized filming. It became a way for women to push back against male control. Saresma believes the movement could influence current perspectives on women's rights and she suggests that political action through democracy may be more effective for lasting change.

Minna Eriksen

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Somessa leviää nyt kehotus boikotoida miehiä – liikkeessä on neljä sääntöä

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Kehotus boikotoida miehiä lähti leviämään somessa Yhdysvaltain vaaliyönä. Professori avaa, mistä on kyse.

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Muhammad Kashif Mehmood(AG1350)

This article looks at the academic problems that immigrant-background students experience within Finnish schools, pointing to structural and social issues that explain poor outcomes. Students are behind because they don't participate early, their school starts later than local peers, the school day is short, and support for native language is low. Finnish is taught as a second language, stigmatizing them and providing less rigorous instruction. Teachers and counselors also practice bias in discouraging students from pursuing ambitious academic or career goals. In addition, migrant-background students have been concentrated in vocational tracks and are underrepresented in higher education. Finland has one of the largest gaps in the number of tertiary-educated ethnic Finns and migrants in the OECD. The internalization of racism internalizes doubt in themselves, decreasing their self-esteem that further affects performance at school. The education system heavily depends on parental support, which becomes quite hard for immigrant families that are not used to the system or language. This is perpetuated by the lack of trained teachers and adequate support for immigrant needs. The article recommends reforms, including better teacher training, diverse educator recruitment, and support systems tailored for migrant students.

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  "Equality and Equity in teaching and guidance". Report gotten from news on  how bullying can be  minimize and tackle in schools.        

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  "Equality and Equity in teaching and guidance". Report gotten from news on  how bullying can be  minimize and tackle in schools.        

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Student name :Charlotte Julius Mbulle

learning from the terms involve in this course, i will like to define what equality and equity means or stands for. "Equality simply put means everyone is treated the same way regardless of needs or other individual differences. whereas "Equity means everyone is provided with what they needs to succeed.

Furthermore, "Equality means giving everyone the same pair of shoes while "Equity means giving everyone a pair of shoes that fits.

Bullying in schools has been a common cause for concern in schools nowadays and can be minimize and handled by teachers and parents.

From the article ,we see two different aspect in which some teachers applied the use of equality and equity in their classroom in order to curb bullying in classroom and school as a whole.

Some teachers said once they noticed bullying in their classroom by their student, they applied equal measures(Equality)by cutting short their teaching lesson so as to addressed issues while other teachers handled issues relating to bullying in their classroom by showing concerned, support and awareness to those who are been bullied(Equity).

As a teacher or an educator we can handle bullying in our classroom my by bringing inn counsellors who can teach about mental health related issues and some strategies to stop behaviors that has to do with bullying, some of which are,

1-Creating opportunities for connection

2-Teaching kindness and empathy

3-Identifying gateway behaviors(Eye rolling, laughing cruelly /encouraging others laugh).

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18 years on, Nepal insurgency victims are in continued hardships, new study says

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18 years on, Nepal insurgency victims are in continued hardships, new study says

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Education, healthcare, and social support remain out of reach for those affected by the Maoist conflict, ICJ survey finds.

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Today's ePaper

Mon, Feb 10, 2025

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Air Quality in Kathmandu: 173

National

18 years on, Nepal insurgency victims are in continued hardships, new study says

Education, healthcare, and social support remain out of reach for those affected by the Maoist conflict, ICJ survey finds.

Published at : January 31, 2025

Updated at : January 31, 2025 07:54

Kathmandu

In 2019, Bablu Lama, an insurgency-era torture victim from Kavrepalachok, applied at the district’s Education Unit for free education for his child. The unit asked him to produce evidence that he was a conflict victim to qualify for the benefit.

He received an identity card from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and submitted it to the education unit. But the unit denied his application, saying only children of enforced disappearances are eligible for such opportunity.

“Since then, I have never sought any kind of state support. I have no hope for any support from the state now,” said Lama at an event on Thursday. “I have completely lost faith in the state.”

Like Lama, thousands of victims from the 1996-2006 Maoist insurgency, who have been seeking some kind of state support, have remained neglected even 18 years after the peace process commenced.

A study by the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), Nepal unveiled on Thursday shows most of the insurgency era victims from the state and then insurgents are living tough lives as successive governments have paid little attention towards their social, economic and cultural rights. Though some of such rights are enshrined in the constitution as fundamental rights, they remain unimplemented.

The study conducted in five districts suggests those recruited as child soldiers by the Maoists were deprived of education because they had left their schools to join the insurgency. They had already crossed school going age by the time the Maoist joined the peace process. “It is not possible for them to get good jobs because of the lack of education. As a result they are unable to provide good education to their children,” according to the report. “Different generations have been trapped in a vicious cycle of poverty.”

During the verification by the United Nations Mission in Nepal, a total of 2,973 were listed as minors.

Scores of children during the insurgency were deprived of education as their schools were bombarded while several of them were abducted. Similarly, the children of parent(s) who were killed or forcibly disappeared during the insurgency were compelled to quit their education in the lack of funds for their fee or the incidents had traumatised them, according to the report. And there was no government support which still continues.

“Most of the victims sought support in education followed by health service, employment opportunities, residence, social protection and protection of cultural rights,” said Karuna Parajuli, a legal advisor to the ICJ who was involved in the study.

Scores of the victims, who got different types of health complications due to torture, bullets, sexual violence and mental torture, are still waiting for their treatment. “The situation of victims of torture and sexual violence remains the worst,” according to the report.

As claimed by the ICJ, health screening conducted by National Association of Conflict Rape Victims among the victims of insurgency era victims of sexual violence had shown than most of them had developed serious health complications. Among 127 of 300 women victims were diagnosed with serious complications. An overwhelming 70 percent of the 127 have one or multiple reproductive health-related complications. As per the medical report, after the second round of checkups, 11 percent have had their uterus removed, while 6.22 percent need immediate surgery to remove the uterus.

With no serious government effort, the association has shouldered the responsibility for the health checkup.

Putting her views during the report launch, Mandira Sharma, senior international legal advisor to the ICJ, said lack of respect to people’s social, economic and cultural rights had fuelled the decade long insurgency. “Continuous reluctance towards ensuring these rights can ignite yet another conflict,” she said. “The three tiers of governments must develop an overarching policy to address the needs of the conflict victims.”

https://kathmandupost.com/national/2025/01/31/18-years-on-nepal-insurgency-victims-are-in-continued-hardships-new-study-says?fbclid=IwY2xjawIXBKxleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHZK0or5DftHrIlZrLsBWIB-2nH6Wh0rULCY9ZUtnOJaCF0m7qSg6N-8jIQ_aem_PRySUW9WuM08rxIQjK8g4g

My opinion : There is a huge gap between a privileged school attending children group and an unprivileged school attending children group. Some struggle to attend school and pay fees while others struggle to progress in their studies. There are a minority of children who travel by tuin(a manual wooden bucket to cross rivers and is considered perilous means of transportation) to go to school while others have an easy access and well-facilitated school environment. Can we imagine the sense of equity and equality in these two different groups of school children?

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I moved to Finland believing it was a progressive dream. It hasn’t turned out that way. (Mike Watson’s article on Finland) Life in Finland under a rightwing government.

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I moved to Finland believing it was a progressive dream. It hasn’t turned out that way. (Mike Watson’s article on Finland) Life in Finland under a rightwing government.

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Here, I am trying to bring up an interesting piece of news. A foreigner came to Finland with big dreams and hopes of building a successful future. However, due to new laws, government policies on foreigners, and the challenges he faces, his dream is not unfolding like others. This may be his personal opinion, but it reflects the struggles of many foreigners in Finland who aspire to achieve great things

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I moved to Finland believing it was a progressive dream. It hasn’t turned out that way | Mike Watson

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Long hospital waiting lists, extortionate food bills and rising homelessness. Welcome to life under the most rightwing Finnish government in generations, says author Mike Watson

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Hiding your sexual identity in the 1990s

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Hiding your sexual identity in the 1990s

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This is an interesting talk (52 min) about sexual identities and representations in Finland in the 1990s. The interviewee, Kari Silvola, has just defended his doctoral thesis on the topic and now works as a postdoctoral researchers with related issues. In this talk, Silvola tells about his experiences in modeling business some decades ago, where he - as a gay man - has been welcomed but only as performing himself in heterosexual imagery. I think that the personal touch both in this talk and in news articles related to the same study, makes the topic both understandable and very touching. What was 'normal' some decades ago, does not fit our current society anymore. Similar comparisons are now made for example in discussion related to the novel 'comedy' show by Petteri Summanen (see more about the latter here: https://www.hs.fi/taide/art-2000011031744.html).

Posted by Marjukka Laiho

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Homoseksuaalin täytyi olla 1990-luvun laman aikana miehekäs hetero | Kulttuuriykkönen

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Tutkijatohtori Kari Silvola teki 1990-luvun laman aikana mallin töitä. Työkeikkoja tuli, jos - ja kun - mies näytti klassiselta Hollywood-kasvolta, kuten vaikkapa Paul Newmanilta. Silvolan kannalta ongelma oli, että hän joutui jatkuvasti - kelvatakseen töihin - kätkemään homoseksuaalisen identiteettinsä ja teeksentelemään machoilevaa heteroa. Nyt Silvola on tehnyt väitöskirjan, joka tuo esiin ajan kulttuuriset jännitteet, joita hallitsivat homofobiset asenteet, aids-epidemian leimaama pelon ilmapiiri ja maskuliinisuuden tiukat rajat. Miksi juuri lama-aika tarvitsi tiukkoja sukupuolinormeja ja -rooleja? Mitä oma aikamme puolestaan korostaa ja osaammeko nähdä sen asettamat rajoitteet ja vaietut normit? Kari Silvolan kanssa lähetyksessä on keskustelijana Lapin yliopiston sukupuolen tutkimuksen professori Leena-Maija Rossi. Toimittajana on Ville Talola.

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Gender Division and the Strive for Equality

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Gender Division and the Strive for Equality

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This is a news article about how men see violence against women as something earned and justified. The article also tells about the gender gap still deeply present in the current Finnish society in the attitude level. Similar divisions were lately addressed in a news articles about diffences of wages from similar professions (https://yle.fi/a/74-20110973). Both these stories thell that even the heterosexual gender equality is not yet reached in Finland. Thus, a lot of work is need to tackle issues like preventing violence against women, mainstreaming gender equality principles, and balancing wages and also employee benefits like employer costs related to parenthood. Luckily we have many NGOs engaged in this work.

This was posted by Marjukka Laiho

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Väkivalta | Tutkimus: Yllättävän moni mies uskoo, että naiset ansaitsevat kokemansa väkivallan

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Tuore tutkimus osoittaa, että yllättävän iso osa miehistä suhtautuu naisiin kohdistuvaan väkivaltaan myötämielisesti. Asiantuntijan mukaan Suomessa ei ole ennen tehty vastaavaa tutkimusta.

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Find more from UNICEF Aotearoa NZ on InfoPages.

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UNICEF To Launch Groundbreaking Project To 3D Print Prosthetics For War-injured Gaza Children | Scoop News

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Funding of more than quarter of a million dollars from a new collaboration between UNICEF Aotearoa and the FIANZ has allowed a pilot to launch with the planning of a production facility in Jordan to ‘print’ desperately needed prosthetics.

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Understanding the Difference Between Equality and Equity in Education

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Understanding the Difference Between Equality and Equity in Education

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'Equality' and 'Equity' Are Different. But in Thriving Schools, They Coexist (Opinion)

Title: Understanding the Difference Between Equality and Equity in Education

This article highlights the important difference between equality and equity in schools. Equality means giving all students the same resources, while equity means giving each student what they need to succeed. Several educators share their experiences and explain that equity is not about giving more to some and less to others, but about removing barriers and supporting students based on their individual situations. For example, treating all students “the same” is not always fair if their starting points are very different.

The article also gives practical advice for teachers, such as: getting to know students, acknowledging biases, and involving families in learning. These actions help create a more inclusive and supportive learning environment. In conclusion, true fairness in education comes when equity and equality work together, ensuring every student has a real opportunity to succeed.

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‘Equality’ and ‘Equity’ Are Different. But in Thriving Schools, They Coexist (Opinion)

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Equity benefits the entire school community, even if it’s met with resistance by some.

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Understanding the Difference Between Equality and Equity in Education

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Understanding the Difference Between Equality and Equity in Education

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Title: Understanding the Difference Between Equality and Equity in Education

This article highlights the important difference between equality and equity in schools. Equality means giving all students the same resources, while equity means giving each student what they need to succeed. Several educators share their experiences and explain that equity is not about giving more to some and less to others, but about removing barriers and supporting students based on their individual situations. For example, treating all students “the same” is not always fair if their starting points are very different.

The article also gives practical advice for teachers, such as: getting to know students, acknowledging biases, and involving families in learning. These actions help create a more inclusive and supportive learning environment. In conclusion, true fairness in education comes when equity and equality work together, ensuring every student has a real opportunity to succeed.

Fozia Bhutto

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‘Equality’ and ‘Equity’ Are Different. But in Thriving Schools, They Coexist (Opinion)

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Equity benefits the entire school community, even if it’s met with resistance by some.

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Three Positive Efforts Towards Equity in Education from Around the Globe - Elgundi

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Three Positive Efforts Towards Equity in Education from Around the Globe - Elgundi

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1.      “Geo‑Education Zones” and “micro‑campuses” are reshaping global higher education by enabling regional and remote access to quality programs. This promotes educational equity by making it more accessible without needing to relocate physically. Micro campuses have increased enrolment in underserved regions by ~18% since 2020. https://firdoshkhan.in/international-higher-education-in-2025/

2.      Delhi University’s single-girl-child quota reserves additional postgrad seats for girls who are the only daughter in a family to improve gender balance, as they may not have family support. This is an expansion of its earlier undergrad policy that admitted 764 such students in 23–24. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/du-extends-single-girl-child-quota-to-pg-courses-from-2025/articleshow/121784113.cms

3.      UNESCO encourages virtual and blended mobility, scholarship access for students from the Global South, and easier credit systems to foster international equity. https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/equity-should-be-heart-international-higher-education

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Elina Valtonen's legs were blurred in Iranian television

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Elina Valtonen's legs were blurred in Iranian television

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This news is referring to two articles, the Original articles were written by Greta Virranniemi on 28.09.2025, (the original can be found here: https://yle.fi/a/74-20185424) and another article written by Anni Kavander on the 30.09.2025 (the original can be found here: https://yle.fi/a/74-20185914)

Both Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen's and Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard were wearing clothing that reviealed their leggs when they were meeting Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in New York in connection with the UN General Assembly in September. Even if it is a cultural habit in Iran, the women were not meeting the Iranian Foreign Minister in a muslim country this time, and they were both surpriced over being treated in a way as if they had been wearing the wrong kind of outfit, or that their body parts were seen as “too much” for the Iranian television viewers.

This fact has since been commented by many news channels, for example Iranian feminist activist and journalist Masih Alinejad, among others, writes about the blurring on the messaging service X. Valtonen's comment on the matter has been published in the Coalition Party's Instagram update. In Finland, Helsingin Sanomat previously reported on the matter, to which the Foreign Minister had also made the comment that:

- I do not change my dress depending on who I am meeting. I have a policy that, for example, I do not attend events that require covering the face or hair.

Valtonen also commented to Helsingin Sanomat that she considers Iranian television's actions a "sad" indication of the status of women in the country.

Since this incident happened, Finns are publishing pictures of themselves with bare leggs on social media to support equality. The campaign is spreading under the hashtag #Mylegstoo, and was reportedly started by Helsinki City Councilor Seida Sohrabi (Congress), who published a picture of herself in a dress that revealed her legs. She is a Finnish Kurd. She says:

– My greetings to the Islamist governments, for whom women's legs and equality are too much, Sohrabi writes in her publication.

Camilla Groth

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Elina Valtosen sääret olivat liikaa Iranin televisiolle

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Ulkoministeri Valtonen kommentoi sosiaalisessa mediassa, että ei muuta pukeutumistaan sen mukaan, ketä tapaa.

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Milano Cortina 2026: the Winter Olympic Games for a future of equity and inclusion

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Milano Cortina 2026: the Winter Olympic Games for a future of equity and inclusion

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The upcoming Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games are being designed as a model for equity and inclusion, with a strong focus on equal opportunities and representation across sport. The Games will feature a record level of gender balance, including nearly 47 % of athlete quota places allocated to women and more women’s and mixed events than ever before at a Winter Olympics, reflecting progress toward gender equality on the field of play.

In addition to gender equity, the organisers aim to promote inclusion and accessibility through programmes and design principles that make venues, services and experiences welcoming and usable for people of all abilities. Efforts include educational initiatives that engage young people on equality in sport and wider community impact goals to leave a lasting legacy beyond the Games themselves.

Overall, Milano Cortina 2026 positions the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games not just as a sporting event, but as a platform to advance equity, inclusion and social change in sport and society.

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Milano Cortina 2026: the Winter Olympic Games for a future of equity and inclusion

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With 47% of the quotas reserved for female athletes and 50 women’s events, the 2026 Games mark a real turning point. The Milano Cortina 2026 Foundation is working towards a more inclusive and representative sporting future.