L-R: Claude Meisch, Minister of Education, Children and Youth; Taina Bofferding, Minister of Equality between Women and Men; Credit: MEGA

Luxembourg's Ministry of Education, Children and Youth and the Ministry of Equality between Women and Men have announced that they are joining forces to promote a true culture of gender equality in early education.

At a joint press conference on Monday, Luxembourg's Minister of Equality between Women and Men, Taina Bofferding, and the Minister of Education, Children and Youth, Claude Meisch, emphasised the importance of equality in education and presented their policies aimed at promoting gender equality from an early age.

Minister Taina Bofferding put forward a transversal approach to raise awareness about gender equality among children and adolescents. This involves preventing gender-based behaviour and violence, avoiding discrimination and knowing how to identify gender stereotypes. This long-term work is intended to be an integral part of the national education system.

The Equality Minister noted: “This joint press conference shows the government's desire to promote equality in all areas of life and the importance of the transversal work of several ministries. Our legal texts ensure equality between the sexes, we must now ensure that equality is experienced and ensured for all on a daily basis".

She also called for a critical reflection on the stereotypes, particularly in the (social) media, that can negatively influence the decisions of girls and boys in their personal and professional choices. Understanding and knowing how to analyse these representations is considered a key element in enabling real equality between the sexes on a daily basis.

In order to support these reflections, the team of the Ministry of Equality between Women and Men has developed material such as "the MEGA-Katalog" with its offer of interactive workshops in the field, Pixi books or the brochure “We are equal”. Online videos also help to understand the impact of equality on personal development and ensuring an inclusive society. The ministry's thematic site rockmega.lu brings together information for parents, teachers, educators and anyone interested in familiarizing themselves with the theme of equality and education. The objective is to stimulate discussions and reflections to make equality a reality.

Education Minister Claude Meisch insisted on the main mission of the education system, which is to offer each child the best chances of success, regardless of their cultural and linguistic origin or their gender. He explained: “The Luxembourg school defends a model of society which does not discriminate against anyone on the basis of their gender. A little girl can code as well as a boy, a young man can supervise young children as well as a young woman who, for her part, can really shine in a training as a mechanic. These are the values ​​that we want to communicate to the students".

In order to promote gender equality at school and to fight concretely and sustainably against stereotypes and discrimination, the Education Ministry has drawn up guidelines for gender-balanced representation in textbooks. Teaching materials implicitly convey culture and values and can have a significant impact on the image that children and young people have of the world around them.  An important aspect, in this context, is the representation of girls and boys, women and men and their place in society, which can have an impact on the development of identity and on the career choices of students. The recommendations addressed to the authors of teaching material concern both language and images.