Lesson video

Hello, I'm Miss Kumar, and I'm so pleased that you've chosen to learn with me today.

Today's lesson is called Challenging Gender Stereotypes and it's taken from our unit communities.

How can we ensure fairness and respect for women and girls? I would really like you to do this lesson with a trusted adult as there might be some parts that you find tricky to understand or maybe a little bit worrying.

If at any point during the lesson you do feel worried or upset, please pause the video and speak to your trusted adult.

The outcome for today's lesson is I can explain how society can make life better for women and girls in modern Britain.

Before we begin any learning, let's remind ourselves of some important ground rules.

Laura reminds us to listen to others.

It's really important that we don't interrupt each other and that we take turns to speak.

Andeep reminds us to respect privacy.

It's okay for us to share things with each other, but let's try not to use any names that might give away the identity of who it is that we're talking about.

Jacob reminds us no judgment.

This should be a safe space for us to talk.

We shouldn't make anyone feel silly or laugh at anything that someone else says.

And Izzy reminds us to choose our own level of participation.

It's absolutely fine if we don't want to answer a question or take part in a discussion.

Nobody should be made to feel put on the spot on.

Throughout today's lesson, you might notice that there are some words in bold black font.

These are key words.

Let's take a quick look at today's keywords and what they mean.

Stereotype, a stereotype is an unfair belief about someone based on their characteristics.

Discrimination.

Discrimination is treating a person unfairly because of their characteristics.

And misogyny.

Misogyny is a dislike or unfair treatment of women and girls often shown through unkind beliefs or actions.

Today's lesson is split into two parts.

Let's start with part one.

How might women and girls be treated unfairly? Everyone has the right to be treated equally and fairly.

This means having the same opportunities as each other and being given what each individual needs to be able to succeed.

Lucas explains, "My school makes sure that I have the same opportunities to attend as others by providing the ramps that I need to be able to move my wheelchair in and outta the school building." Robyn says, "I struggle to focus when it's noisy, which is why my teacher gives me the ear defenders that I need so that I have the same opportunities to learn as my classmates." And Sofia adds, "I have a hearing impairment and need to be near a person when they talk.

My teacher seats me at the front of the class so that I have the same opportunities to listen as other people." When people are treated equally and fairly, they feel valued and respected.

Sofia says, "When I'm given the same opportunities as others and the things that I need to be successful, it makes me feel like I'm seen and that I matter." True or false? Treating people equally and fairly means giving people the same opportunities and what they need to be able to succeed.

Can pause to have a quick think and then just press play when you're ready to move on.

The answer is true.

Historically, women and girls have not always been treated equally and fairly.

Ms. Walsh explains, "For many years, women and girls have had fewer rights and opportunities than men and boys.

For instance, women were not allowed to vote for much longer than men were.

Women and girls also had fewer opportunities for education than men and boys.

Although things have improved, women and girls still face unfair treatment and inequalities today." Many of the issues that women and girls face in modern Britain are a result of gender stereotypes.

Ms. Walsh explains, "A gender stereotype is an unfair assumption about a person or groups of people based on their gender.

Anyone can be affected by gender stereotypes.

Examples of gender stereotypes include boys shouldn't cry, or girls are better at cooking.

These stereotypes are harmful and usually based on outdated ideas." When people believe gender stereotypes, they can start to treat women and girls unfairly.

For example, if someone believes the stereotypes that girls aren't good at maths, they might not give a girl the chance to join an advanced maths class, even if she's really talented.

Or if someone believes that women should focus on looking after children, they might not consider a woman for a leadership job.

This is how stereotypes can lead to unfair treatment.

Explain to your partner the link between unfair treatment of women and girls and gender stereotypes.

You can pause to have a quick chat, and just press play when you're ready to move on.

When people believe gender stereotypes, it can cause them to make unfair decisions.

They might not give women and girls the same opportunities or treat them with the same respect as men and boys.

Gender stereotypes can also lead to sexism, which is a form of discrimination.

Saliha explains.

"I wanted to join the school football team, but the coach picked the boys from my class as they thought that girls would be better suited to the netball team." This person has been treated unfairly and has been given fewer opportunities.

This is discrimination.

Jess tells us.

"I applied for the role of a manager at work, but my male colleague got the job instead of me.

When I asked why, my boss said that a woman might struggle to manage a team of men." This person has also been treated unfairly and given fewer opportunities.

This is discrimination.

Gender stereotypes and sexism can also lead to harmful attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors.

Immy says, "Recently I was walking home from school and some boys wolf whistled at me.

It made me feel really nervous." This person has been made to feel unsafe and treated disrespectfully.

They have experienced harassment which is unwanted behavior from others.

Time for another quick check for understanding.

Gender stereotypes can lead to A, harmless attitudes, beliefs and behaviors.

B, harmful attitudes, beliefs and behaviors, or C, a form of discrimination known as sexism.

You can pause to have a think, and press play when you're ready to move on.

The answers are B and C.

Gender stereotypes can lead to harmful attitudes, beliefs and behaviors, and a form of discrimination known as sexism.

Sadly, gender stereotypes can also lead to misogyny.

Ms. Walsh explains.

"Misogyny is the dislike of and prejudice that's unfair negative beliefs towards women and girls.

Like sexism, it often comes from believing in outdated gender roles.

For example, believing that a woman's role should be to stay at home and look after the family while men go out to work." Misogyny is unacceptable.

This means it is never okay to be misogynistic towards someone.

Ms. Walsh continues.

"Misogyny can lead to the unfair or harmful treatment of women and girls such as harassment and violence.

It can also make them feel less confident, undervalued and even scared." Complete the sentences with the missing words.

Misogyny is blank of and blank towards women and girls.

It is blank acceptable as it can lead to the blank treatment of women and girls.

Pause to have a quick think.

Press play when you're ready to move on.

The missing words were dislike, prejudice, never and harmful.

Misogyny is dislike of and prejudice towards women and girls.

It is never acceptable as it can lead to the harmful treatment of women and girls.

That brings us to the first task for today's lesson, task A.

Answer the following questions with your partner.

Number one, what does it mean to be treated equally and fairly? Number two, why might women and girls get treated unfairly sometimes? And number three, how might gender stereotypes affect the lives of women and girls living in modern Britain? You can pause to do this task and when you're ready to see some possible answers, just press play.

Let's take a look at some answers together.

Your discussions might have included the following.

For number one, what does it mean to be treated equally and fairly? To treat a person equally and fairly means that they have the same opportunities as other people and that they're given what they need to be able to succeed.

For, question two, why might women and girls get treated unfairly sometimes? Women and girls might sometimes be treated unfairly because of attitudes and beliefs that have existed for a long time.

For example, women gained the right to vote much later than men did, and they had fewer opportunities for education.

And for number three, how might gender stereotypes affect the lives of women and girls living in modern Britain? Gender stereotypes can lead to sexism, which is when someone is treated unfairly because of their gender.

An example of this is when a girl isn't allowed to play football because people think it's only for boys.

Gender stereotypes can also cause misogyny.

Misogyny is a dislike or hatred of women and girls that can lead them to being treated badly, harassed, or even hurt.

This might make them feel less confident like they don't matter or even unsafe.

Well done if your answers were along these lines.

That brings us to the second part of today's lesson.

How can we improve the lives of women and girls? We all have the right to feel safe and respected.

Ms. Walsh explains, "If we believe or simply ignore gender stereotypes, sexism and misogyny will continue to be an issue.

We can all play our part in making sure that we challenge gender stereotypes safely so that everyone is treated equally and fairly regardless of their gender." When we challenge gender stereotypes, we work towards gender equality and everyone benefits.

Ms. Walsh tells us, "Gender equality means that people have fair opportunities and rights and are treated equally regardless of their gender.

Achieving gender equality creates an environment where people don't have to fit a certain mold, and it allows everyone to be their true selves in instead, Alex tells us, "My dad says It's healthy for me to have a cry when I feel sad as it helps me to be open about how I'm feeling." Sam says, "I've decided to ignore the gender stereotype that short hair is for boys.

I like my hair short because it makes me feel confident and that's all that matters." True or false? If we simply ignore gender stereotypes, sexism and misogyny won't be an issue.

You can pause to do this task.

Just press play when you're ready to move on.

The answer is false.

Have a think about why.

If we do this, sexism and misogyny will continue to be an issue.

We can all challenge gender stereotypes safely so that everyone is treated equally and fairly and work towards gender equality.

If you decide to challenge gender stereotypes, you should always put your safety first.

It can be safe to challenge gender stereotypes when you're talking to a friend or someone you know well, you are in a safe environment like at home or at school, an adult that you trust is nearby.

If you don't feel safe, or if you see, or hear something that worries you always tell a trusted adult like a parent, carer or teacher.

You should never put yourself at risk.

Being an ally doesn't always mean speaking up in the moment.

Sometimes the best thing to do is to tell an adult who can help.

So if we feel that it's safe to speak up, how do we do this? Well, if we hear others reinforcing gender stereotypes, we can calmly challenge their opinions when it's safe to do so.

We should always do this respectfully and make sure that we focus on the issue and not the person.

Let's look at an example together.

Will says, "I think that moms should stay at home to look after the children and that dads should go to work." Let's take a look at Sam's response.

"I disagree Will.

Historically, women were expected to stay at home to raise families, but that's an outdated gender role.

It's only fair that women should have equal opportunities to go to work.

I've got lots of friends with stay at home dads and moms that work.

Each family should do what suits them." Sam has been calm and respectful and she's focused on the issue by stating facts.

Time for another check for understanding.

If you see unfair treatment but don't feel safe to speak up, what should you do? Pause to have a quick think and then just press play When you're ready to move on.

Tell a trusted adult such as a parent, carer or teacher.

You should never put yourself at risk.

We can challenge gender stereotypes by being a positive role model for others.

Andeep says, "Even though some people teased me that it was a girl's sport, I am going to try out for cheerleading.

It looks like a lot of fun, and will help my team building skills.

Alex responds.

"Well, if you are going to go, I'll come along too.

I'd like to try something new and I might even be good at it." Andeep is deciding to break the mold.

He's deciding to go against a gender stereotype.

By doing that he's also given Alex the confidence to try something new too.

We can also challenge gender stereotypes by being an ally and a supporter.

Jun says, "I think we should go with my idea for the science project Izzy.

Boys are much better at science than girls." Izzy says, "But you didn't even hear my idea." Lucas adds, "Jun that's not a very fair or kind thing to say.

It's also not true.

There have been some amazing women in science like Mary Curie and Mary Anning.

Izzy, please tell us your idea.

We'd like to hear what you have to say." In this situation, Lucas is being an ally.

He's standing up for and supporting Izzy.

Once again, he's doing it calmly by only focusing on the issue and not focusing on Jun as a person.

Sometimes being an ally might mean seeking support from a trusted adult.

Max says, "Dad, I'm a bit worried about my friend Tilly.

Some boys in class are sending horrible messages to her because she wants to be a rugby player when she's older." Max's dad says, "I'm sorry to hear that, but thank you for telling me.

We'll make sure that Tilly gets the support that she needs and that the people who care for her know about it." Trusted adults might include parents, carers, or other staff at school.

If you don't get the help that you need straight away, keep asking until you are heard.

How can we challenge gender stereotypes? A, speak up and calmly Challenge opinions when it's safe to do so.

B, stay quiet and avoid difficult conversations when it's safe to do so.

C, only challenge stereotypes if we feel unsafe.

Or D, be an ally and a supporter.

You can pause to have a quick think.

Just press play when you're ready to move on.

The answers are A and D.

By speaking up and calmly challenging opinions when it's safe to do so.

And by being an ally and a supporter, we can safely challenge gender stereotypes.

That brings us to the second and final task for today's lesson, task B.

Task B, is split into two smaller parts and we'll start with part one.

Look at the statement below and write a response to challenge the gender stereotype.

This person says, I think that women should go into more caregiving roles like nursing and that men should go into more leadership roles.

Try to include all of the following in your answer.

Gender role, discrimination, fair, equal opportunities and skills.

You can pause the video to do this task and when you're ready to move on, just press play.

Let's take a look at some possible answers together.

Your response for part one could include, I disagree with this, saying that women should be nurses and men should be leaders is an outdated gender role.

It's also unfair because both men and women should have equal opportunities to do any job they want.

Not giving someone a job because of their gender is discrimination.

Whether someone is good at a job should be about their skills, not whether they're male or female.

It's only fair that everyone gets the same chance.

Well done if your answers were along these lines.

And now for part two.

Discuss three actions your class could take to improve life for women and girls in your school.

For each action, explain how it would help.

Once again, you can pause the video to do this part of the task, and when you're ready to move on, just press play.

How did you get on? Let's take a look at some possible answers together.

Your three actions could look like this.

Action number one, make sure we read books which challenge gender stereotypes.

For example, books about female scientists and male nurses.

How does it help? Well, it shows that any gender can do any job, which gives everyone equal opportunities and helps to break down barriers.

Action Number two, speak up if we hear someone say, girls can't do something and only if we feel safe to do so.

How does this help? Well, it challenges discrimination and makes girls feel valued and respected.

And finally, action number three, make sure everyone gets a fair chance to answer questions in class regardless of gender.

How does this help? It creates equal opportunities for everyone to learn and show their skills.

Well done if your answers were along these lines.

That brings us to the end of today's lesson.

Before we finish, let's take a quick look at today's lesson summary.

Everyone has the right to be treated equally and fairly.

Historically, women and girls have not always been treated equally and fairly and they still experience discrimination Sometimes.

Many of the issues that women and girls face in modern Britain are a result of gender stereotypes, which can lead to sexism.

Gender stereotypes can also cause misogyny.

This can result in the unfair or harmful treatment of women and girls such as harassment and violence.

By speaking up safely, being a role model and an ally, we can play our part to make sure that lives are improved for everyone.

We should speak to a trusted adult if we experience discrimination.

Well done on all your hard work today.

I hope that you have a better understanding of how we can challenge gender stereotypes.

If you need any support after today's lesson, you can look at the following website, Childline.

This is a website and phone line which is able to offer confidential advice and support.