Sexism in the education system? Didn’t we leave sexism back in the 1900s?

We did, but we also didn’t. Sexism has always been something people are sensitive to, and women have long strived for gender equality. While nowadays, things are much better than a few decades ago, there is still a lot of room for improvement.

You can’t go up to a man right now and magically wash off all the sexism on him, and it’s not just men. Even women can be sexist. Many aspects of sexism are internalized, so from time to time you may even find yourself thinking sexist thoughts. This is because many sexist ideas are already internalized.

What we can do is start to change this system for the next generation, and the obvious place to start is with the education system. It’s where most people’s minds are cultivated, but you’d be shocked at how sexist the education system actually is.

Girls are often undermined

From a young age, girls have to try harder to receive the same recognition as their boy classmates do. A study conducted by professors Robinson-Cimpian, Lubienski, and Copur-Gencturk showed that between two students, a girl and a boy, the teacher is more likely to rate the boy as mathematically capable, even if both students earn the same grades.

This means that in a class, girls always have to work harder just for the teacher to perceive them as capable as their male classmates. Furthermore, girls are often associated with humanities subjects while boys are associated with STEM related subjects. This makes it harder for girls to be recognized in STEM fields, and they often have to work twice as hard to be able to succeed or be seen.

Dress codes and assuming girls dress to distract boys/teachers

Schools that don’t have a uniform typically implement dress codes. Common dress codes include no showing midriffs, no shoulders showing, no bra straps showing, no shorts that are too short.

The excuse for dress codes is that girl’s outfits “distract male classmates or male teachers”. This is incredibly sexist because it teaches girls from a young age that they dress for men or shames girls into thinking their taste in clothes is somehow inappropriate. It implies that girls should dress “appropriately” or else boys will sexualize them.

Of course no school should abolish all dress codes, because no one should come to school in thongs or Halloween costumes, but the point is that girls’ dress codes are too harsh and often unnecessary.

By keeping dress codes as is, we are teaching girls from a young age that it is their fault if they get sexualized, and that the way they dress is the reason why men look at them inappropriately. What should be taught instead is that boys should never look at a girl inappropriately regardless of their clothing.

Sexual harassment is often “brushed off” by teachers

Sexual harassment in school is not a surprise. As a matter of fact, the main problem is that schools tend to brush off sexual harassment claims. We often hear “boys will be boys” when facing serious sexual harassment issues.

This teaches young girls that they shouldn’t speak up when being harassed, which is wrong, and could lead to more girls staying quiet in the future when harassed. This could seriously harm a girl if she doesn’t learn how to speak up.

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In conclusion, sexism in the education system is apparent, and it has to change. For starters, all teachers should receive training in how to deal with situations of sexual harassment or sexism and how to treat their students equally.

Moreover, more gender-related discussions should happen, so children’s only source of information about gender isn’t their homes, where things might not be very “equal”.

Finally, teachers and administrators should encourage students to speak up when they face sexism in school and respond openly and directly to this issue.

The education system has to change, and it has to change now. A new system can cultivate new and healthy minds, and will one day lead to a sexism-free society.