Author Archives: Amanda Mergler

The GUA journey: where we have come from and where we are going

Where we have come from When we started this journey of arguing that all girls in all schools should have shorts and pants as part of their every day uniform, we were often met with dismissal or outrage.  Early 2017 feels far away now, but there were educators, principals and parents ready to tear us apart when we dared to argue that a girl who felt more comfortable wearing shorts or pants to school, rather

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All-girls’ schools – what’s the legal position on girls’ uniforms?

Girls’ schools, despite their overwhelming public marketing message of female empowerment, largely continue to deny girls’ the right to wear shorts and pants to school. While these schools often talk of creating an environment where gender stereotyping is not present, they lay down a tightly controlled rule on what is acceptable female dress. They perpetuate and reinforce the gender stereotype that girls wear skirts and dresses, and tell girls that they must look a certain

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Court Strikes Down School’s Policy Requiring Girls to Wear Skirts/Skorts

Girls’ Uniform Agenda are thrilled to read today that three young girls in America have successfully sued their public school for forcing them to wear skirts to school. A North Carolina Court in the USA ruled that it is unlawful for a public school to require girls to wear skirts. The three students – aged 5, 10, and 14 – argued that wearing skirts restricted their movement, inhibited them in school situations such as playing

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Discrimination in School Uniform Choice in Public, Private and Faith-Based Schools

The Australian Council of Human Rights Agencies (ACHRA) met to discuss discrimination in School Uniform Choice in Public, Private and Faith-Based Schools Girls’ Uniform Agenda have been working with a number of anti-discrimination commissioners across Australia to explore what can be done about schools that force girls to wear skirts and dresses. Thanks to our advocacy, the issue of girls’ school uniforms was on the agenda when ACHRA met in Adelaide on 18 and 19

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State laws exempt private & religious schools – let’s change them too

74% of voting Australians agree we should not allow religious schools to discriminate against LGBTIQ+ students. Similarly, we should not allow religious schools to discriminate against girls. Currently, girls who attend religious, private and Independent schools are overwhelmingly forced to wear skirts and dresses to school. The option of shorts and pants is nowhere in sight. You may wonder how this can happen. Don’t we have laws to prevent this kind of discrimination? We do,

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The Gendered Nature of School Uniforms

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

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#MeToo and Girls’ School Uniform

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

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Private Girls’ Schools and Limiting Uniforms

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

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