Breaking news – shorts and pants to be mandated for all girls at all state schools in Western Australia. This education department policy change is a fantastic outcome for all state school girls in this state, and is thanks to the hard and continual work of GUA members, particularly Krystina Myhre, our WA representative, and her daughter Sofia. It’s a win for GUA in WA. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE.
When you fight for something you believe in it’s a bit like being on a continual roller coaster – you have ups, and you have downs. When you have an up, you realise you need to seize that moment and roll around in it, drinking it in and allowing it to power you up for the fight that’s still ahead. So, in that spirit, allow me to roll around in our latest win! Change across
Have you heard about the “pink tax?” For a number of years now, various groups have been drawing attention to the fact that there’s inequality in what people pay for gender specific products. This hidden tax often makes the “female” version of popular products more expensive than the “male” version. Get Up began raising awareness about the pink tax back in 2015, when they invited people to submit photos of everyday items where identical or
*Sam is a 12 year old in year 7, attending a private P-12 school. While at primary school, Sam had the option of wearing a gender neutral uniform, and she wore that every day. In addition, outside of school Sam wore shorts and pants only, and had not worn a dress since she was 6. That all changed however when Sam started high school. She was forced, alongside all the other girls in year 7,
We at Girls’ Uniform Agenda have heard from parents around the country who have been fighting for shorts and pants for girls at school over many years. Female activists have noted that “the quickest way to silence a mouth is to treat it as if none have come before”. Principals use this ploy regularly, and tell girls and parents that no-one has ever asked before for girls to be allowed to wear shorts or
“Dear Mr Payne. Why can’t girls wear shorts for the summer? I am still wearing my trousers, shirt and tie but it’s a bit hot, but I don’t want to wear a dress because: 1. They show your pants 2. They are hard to run in 3. I just don’t like dresses.” – letter from 9-year-old Izzy to school principal, UK The littlest of people are driving big changes in school uniform policy. In
It was with a wry smile that I read about the boys in the UK who defied their school uniform policies by wearing skirts to school during the recent heat wave. And a sigh of exasperation when girls who took their tights off to cool down in the heat were removed from classrooms and swiftly told to put them back on. The teenage boys were told they could not wear shorts and must wear
As a researcher, I value evidence when considering my position on important issues. Recently, I had the pleasure of reading a Masters of Education thesis completed in 2016 by Hayley Johnston-Coutts called Gender and school uniform: a case study in fairness and equity. This research involved a detailed examination of one Australian independent private school and its uniform, undertaken via individual interviews with six (6) members of the College Executive; six (6) Teachers of the