Lesson Six: Education

Gender & Appearance vs Content: In the above, a male student has received praise for his work while the female has received praise for her penmanship. Teachers are more likely to praise female students for their appearance and the appearance of their work, while praising male students more for their academic performance. This is generally done unintentionally, but it still sends an underlying message to girls: aestheticism is rewarded more than the content of their work.

Gender & Self-Esteem: A young girl hiding her face from the camera for fear of other people seeing and judging her appearance. Since a female's self-worth generally relies more heavily on appearance, it is no surprise that their self-esteem drops significantly during adolescence. The average girl's self-esteem drops from a 4 to a 2.8. These results are even more remarkable when compared to the average boy's self-esteem, which only drops from a 5 to 4.8.

Math & Science and Gender: Intentionally or not, children are often taught that math and science are masculine fields while caregiving is a feminine field. Women in college now outnumber men in Geometry, Algebra II, Biology, and Chemistry courses, and are only slightly behind in Calculus and Physics courses. However, because these fields are still identified as masculine, women are less likely to recognize their abilities and pursue careers in these areas.

Gender, Dropping Out, and Vocational Education: A high school dropout kneeling in front of the Corvette he earned after years of trade work. It is more common for a male to drop out of school than a female. These kids will often seek out vocational education. For women, this means being prepared for a low-wage job, such as hairdressing or secretarial work. Men on the other hand are often trained for higher paying skilled trades, such as welding, plumbing, electrical work, automotive work, and more.

Water and Education: The lack of access to water and sanitation is a major barrier to girls in poor countries. Because carrying water is usually considered women's work, and can take up to four hours daily, girls are not always able to attend school. Moreover, if a school does not have a toilet, boys are send out to the fields while girls must wait until they get home or find a community toilet after school. When these girls have their periods, they must stay home because the schools do not have the means to allow them a place to sanitize and care for themselves.