Feature
Courage, connectedness and collaboration: gender equity at Carey Kalisha, Rose, Emma and Ella Year 10 students and representatives of the Gender Equity Group
At Carey, we are always working toward gender equality in all aspects of our school and in the broader community. Across the world, gender inequality remains a problem – including here in Australia. The Carey Gender Equity Group provides a forum where students can discuss the big issues as well as the more subtle behaviours and language we witness every day that can reinforce stereotypes and prejudices. As a coeducational school, issues of gender equality amongst peers become even more important. In the Gender Equity Group, boys and girls come together and proactively seek to educate and heighten awareness of these issues amongst the student body in the hope of influencing positive change. It won’t be long until our generation becomes responsible for the future of social issues like these. As the leaders of tomorrow, now more than ever it is important that we educate people about the unique biases that both men and women face in our society today. In doing this, we are creating a future in which this generation and generations to come will not need to worry about the imbalances we face today. The Gender Equity Group was founded by a few passionate Senior School students in 2015, driven in particular by Chloe Bouw (OCG 2016). Their initial main goal was to create alternative uniform options for girls, and the group 10 | Torch
has since developed into a forum that addresses all sorts of gender inequity issues. The group’s ultimate mission is to have fairness of treatment for boys and girls inside Carey and throughout the community, reaching far beyond our school. Regardless of gender or beliefs, we want all opportunities and treatment to be equal at Carey. Our goal is for future generations to not just understand what gender equality means,
but to live in complete equality every day. We want people to never be afraid to take a stand when they see inequality. We want them to be aware of what is right and what is not, and be able to make choices that will make the world a better place overall. We often hear at Carey that through our education, we will be inspired and equipped to create positive change; the Gender Equity Group aims to do just that.
