Girls in Action - Tackling gender inequalities through education

Munich, 5 March 2010 - Just three days ahead of International Women's Day, MEP Nadja Hirsch starts the competition "Girls in Action". This is the first in a row of activities aimed at raising awareness of the persisting problem of gender discrimination. "In Europe, we are still far away from a society in which it is 'normal' that women and men are treated equally", says Nadja Hirsch, a liberal MEP from Germany. "Still relatively more women are working in the low-wage sector, lose out while their male colleagues are being promoted, have to accept salary reductions because of pregnancy or receive less money for work of equal value and therefore lower pensions when they exit the labour market."

Especially the area of education offers opportunities to make young people aware of equality issues, including stereotypes, prejudice, outdated role models and discrimination in the social, political, economic and academic sphere, according to the MEP. "In Germany, we are, for example, confronted with the problem that too few young women choose to study science or technology. In my view, this could be improved by encouraging girls already at a young age to work or study in such domains." 

The focus of her campaign in the first semester 2010 is the competition "Girls in Action", which in a first step will concentrate on Hirsch's constituency Munich/Bavaria. Another activity targeting boys will be launched in the second semester. In addition, there will be events, discussions and publications on the topic throughout the year. "I believe that it is of high importance to tackle the gender issue also through the educational system. I hope that through this competition the topic will enter the public debate and inspire others to join in - not only in my constituency but also beyond, at both national and European levels, in parliaments, ministries and businesses", Hirsch added. 

The competition "Girls in Action" targets girls in 10th and 11th grade attending schools in Munich. They are encouraged to submit contributions in the shape of texts, posters, video, photo or audio files answering the question "What should your Europe look like where men and women are treated equally - A comparison between today and 2020?". The prize is a day together with the Member of the European Parliament in her constituency, in order to get a taste of working in politics, a sector that is still largely dominated by men.

Źródło: http://www.europahirsch.de/