with Caren Gestetner, Lifting Limits
Gender stereotypes limit children’s choices and aspirations – their effects start early and can last a lifetime. This session will look at where gender stereotypes might be hidden in schools – from the curriculum and books to language and assumptions – compounding the effects of stereotyping in wider society. The session will examine the crucial role of school leadership (and all school staff) in challenging stereotypes and suggest practical tools to challenging gender stereotyping in your school. Lifting Limits takes an evidence-based approach, and this session will draw on the impact findings from the pilot year of our whole school programme, alongside our experience working with 30 primary schools and early years settings.
Participants will:
- understand how big a shaping influence gender stereotyping is for pupils
- recognise where gender stereotyping might appear in the school environment
- reflect on the important role they can play in addressing gender stereotyping
- take away practical strategies for challenging gender stereotyping through their own practice
- understand the importance of a whole school approach
Facilitators Profile:
Caren Gestetner is co-founder and Chief Executive of Lifting Limits, a charity with a mission to challenge gender stereotyping and promote gender equality through education. Lifting Limits uses a whole school approach to support primary schools and their staff to recognise and address gender stereotyping in the school environment and to equip their pupils to challenge stereotyping wherever they encounter it. Caren was a Partner at Mishcon de Reya Solicitors for many years, leaving law for a Masters degree in Gender, Policy and Inequalities at the LSE and subsequently co-founding Lifting Limits in 2018. Lifting Limits are proud to have Professor Dame Alison Peacock as their Patron.