How to eliminate gender bias in education

Introduction

Gender bias has led to the poor participation of women in several educational programs. It is,
therefore, necessary for the stakeholders in the education sector to find ways of eliminating
gender bias in education as a way of making sure that all the people get equal education
opportunities hence improve the education standards in the society. According to Medel &
Pournaghshband (2017), women are underrepresented in computer science. According to the
author, most of the female students are less confident with their computer science skills
compared to their male counterparts resulting in inequalities in education. It is, therefore,
essential to find out the factors that cause the female students to be less confident in their
education. One of the factors that have been blamed for inequality in education is gender
bias in education.

How to eliminate gender bias in education

Finding out the causes of gender bias in education and dealing with them promptly
One of the ways that can be used in eliminating gender bias in education is finding out the
factors that cause it in the first place. The major cause of gender bias in education is
masculinity and the position that the women hold in society. According to Drudy (2008)
dominate the teaching of young children influenced by the position that the women hold in
society. In some societies, the teaching role is a reserve for the female gender as a result of
various cultural issues in society. The fact that some society thinks of the females as teachers
make them have a larger population of the male teachers compared to the male teachers.
Medel & Pournaghshband (2017) attributes gender bias in computer science education to the
lack of confidence among the female students compared to their male counterparts.
According to the study that was conducted by Rebeca A. Echávarri & Roberto Ezcurra

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(2010) in India, the researchers observed a non-linear link between education and the sex
ratios at birth. According to the research, some of the causes of gender bias in the education
system are caused by the number of females that are born compared to the females in the
society. It is important to note that the people in the society may not have a lot to do with
regards to the sex ratios, but it is important to advise the people against the gender bias that
comes as a result of gender ratios.
Societal mind-sets are also important in education. For instance, in some countries, women
may fail to pursue some causes because such causes have been viewed as masculine. Dealing
with the destructive societal mind-sets as far as education is concerned will helps in
eliminating the gender biases in education hence promoting education as a whole. The way
society perceives the differences in the values of the men versus the value of the women
plays an essential role in every arena, whether it is the education system, the legal system,
and healthcare. Some women may fail to take up some courses because they are associated
with the males, and they may take up careers that are associated with the female gender. One
way of dealing with the societal mind-sets with regards to gender and education is to teach
the people in the society about the importance of gender equality in education. The other
factors that cause gender bias in education include uneven access to education, lack of
religious freedom, lack of political representation, Societal mind-sets.
The problem of uneven access to education causes gender bias in the education sector.
Uneven access to education may be caused by poverty, coupled with the societal beliefs that
make the people from a given gender not to access education opportunities. For instance,
some tribes in Africa would rather educate the boy-child because they believe that the girls
will be married off. In such societies, women are poorly educated compared to their male
counterparts. The government and the civil society have to do sensitization to ensure that the
misleading mind-sets are dealt with in the best way possible. The government needs to make

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education accessible by reducing poverty in society and making sure that people have the
necessary resources that they require to pursue education. Some of the religious beliefs also
affect the education of some people in society. The government and the civil society need to
come up with measures of sensitizing the people in society against misleading religious
beliefs that negatively affect education. Lack of political representation is also a problem that
leads to gender bias in education. The gender that is under-represented in politics may face
challenges in education because there will be no one to address their concerns leading to
gender bias. For instance, most of the elective posts are taken up with men in different
countries, which explains why the bias against female gender is rampant in education.

Checking our own biases

Our personal biases play an important role in promoting gender bias. The society that a
person grows in influences the biases that one may be having in life. The culture and the
beliefs that people have acquired over time tend to affect the way they view education and
access to education. If the personal biases are leading to gender bias in education, then it is
time to check them or eliminate them completely if they are not helpful. A parent that has
biases against the education of the female children is likely to prioritize the education of the
male children over the education of the female children, a situation that will lead to inequality
in education with the girls being at a disadvantage. On the other hand, if a parent that has a
bias against the education of the male children is unlikely to take his or her sons to school
hence contributing to gender inequality in education. If a government is led by people who
have gender biases, then they are likely to promote gender bias in the education sector. The
employees working in the education sector, therefore, need to be fair in their judgment, and
they should promote the education of the children of all the genders and making sure that
they do not condone any form of bias that could harm education.

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Giving girls a voice

It is essential to help girls to filter out the messages that will limit their potential of translating
their dreams into reality and embrace the messages that encourage them to follow their
dreams. The girls should be taught and encouraged that they can succeed just like their male
counterparts in the societies where education is biased against the girls. Giving girls a voice
will give them the courage to follow their dreams and will make them fight for their
education rights. Girls should be taught how to fight the biases that affect them negatively in
their quest for education. Instilling confidence among the children and encouraging them to
follow their dreams will enable them to fight for their opportunities, and in so doing, they will
eliminate the biases among themselves. Empowered women are likely to empower other
women in society; hence it is important for the authorities and the other organization to
promote education among the girls in the society. The developed countries have put measures
in place to promote education among the women, and in so doing, they have helped in
dealing with gender biases in education (Raftery & Valiulis, 2008).
Meeting the educational needs of all the students regardless of their gender and

personal biases

Many children miss out on educational opportunities because they do not have access to
them. By meeting the special needs of girls in the quest for education, educators will enhance
the education of all the students in the education system. The educators need to look for
simple, inexpensive ways that they can use to meet the needs of all the students in the
education system without sacrificing the needs of the other students in the education system.
Girls have special needs compared to their male counterparts meaning that more resources
will be required to meet their needs. The government and the civil society in different
countries have come up with ways of meeting the needs of both girls and boys. Meeting the

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educational needs of all the students in the education system will help in closing the
educational gap between girls and boys, and in so doing, the gender bias in education will be
eliminated (Raftery, 2013).

Conclusion

Eliminating gender bias in education is important because it promotes gender equality and
gives all the people in society a chance to pursue their careers of choice. Eliminating gender
bias in the education system includes finding the causes of the personal biases in education
and dealing with them promptly, checking our own biases that cause gender biases in the
education system, giving girls a voice to speak about the challenges that they face as well as
meeting the educational needs of all the students regardless of their gender and personal
biases.

References

Drudy, S. (2008). Gender balance/gender bias: The teaching profession and the impact of
feminisation. Gender and Education, 20(4), 309-
323. https://doi.org/10.1080/09540250802190156
Medel, P., & Pournaghshband, V. (2017). Eliminating gender bias in computer science
education materials. Proceedings of the 2017 ACM SIGCSE Technical Symposium on
Computer Science Education. https://doi.org/10.1145/3017680.3017794
Raftery, D. (2013). Gender balance and gender bias in
education. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315875101
Raftery, D., & Valiulis, M. (2008). Gender balance/Gender bias: Issues in education
research. Gender and Education, 20(4), 303-
307. https://doi.org/10.1080/09540250802190131

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Rebeca A. Echávarri, & Roberto Ezcurra. (2010). undefined. Demography, 47(1), 249-
268. https://doi.org/10.1353/dem.0.0089