When I realised that the public school my son has just started at did not offer girls the option of shorts and pants as everyday school uniform, I set about having this changed. I rocked up to the P&C and politely asked that the school add shorts and pants for girls to the uniform policy. While I expected a comment along the lines of, “Gosh, I can’t believe we don’t offer shorts for the girls, let’s make this change,” I was instead
The #MeToo movement is about women raising their voices together, to demonstrate the sheer magnitude of women who have been sexually harassed or sexually assaulted. It is a rare moment in history where many women, who have been frightened into silence for so long, are shouting out about their treatment. #MeToo has taught us that women will stay in situations where they are uncomfortable, and endure men violating their bodies, because they are terrified. It
We hear school alumni can strongly resist uniform change; preferring the skirt and dress-wearing traditions ‘of their day’. Peter however, shows how the school alumni can be a powerful force for change. Having battled his daughter’s school in the ACT for girls to be able to wear pants, Peter turned his attention to a different state altogether, to his former school. Seeing that his old school didn’t offer pants and shorts for girls, he asked
Anyone who has looked into what is on offer at private girls’ schools knows that these schools situate themselves as leaders in girl specific education. To them, this means embracing, enhancing, supporting, and nurturing girls. Creating leaders, do-ers, girls with determination, girls who challenge disadvantage, and girls who are involved in social justice. More recently, these schools outline the ways in which they embrace gender equality, and teach girls to do the same. Private School Promises Take for example the
School uniform policies in Queensland’s Catholic and Independent schools, and Brisbane High Schools, are shocking! We recently finished going through the uniform policies online of all Queensland Catholic, Independent and Public schools. This was a massive job – we looked through 1,855 school uniform policies. We did this work from May 2017 to May 2018. While a few schools may have changed their uniform policies over this time, the large numbers we are dealing with
We love our young uniform activists! There’s no doubt that they are change agents – transforming their school uniform policies so girls at their schools have the choice of wearing pants and shorts as their everyday uniform. This is a great story of how Sofia, our dynamic young uniform activist from WA, inspired 10 year old Lou Lou. Lou Lou was so impressed with Sofia that she gave a speech for a public speaking
The Northern Territory (NT) has excellent school uniform policies! I‘ve just completed a review of uniform policies of all Catholic, Independent, and Public schools in the top end. And what I found was exciting, wonderful and progressive. By and large, schools in the NT offer inclusive uniform policies to all children. Many of their school uniform policies are gender neutral, in that they list a range of uniform options and do not divide these into
One parent’s fight, backed by the Anti-Discrimination Board, for her daughters’ rights to have the choice of wearing shorts and pants to school. Missy M’s three daughters were very cold and uncomfortable in their dress uniform. So, Missy asked the school principal if shorts and long pants for girls could be added to the uniform list. Missy tells her story below: “She [the principal] said no, just like that, a straight, flat out no! I then