Gender equality and higher education: Challenges to be achieved in the European Union

Authors

  • María Matarranz Universidad Autónoma de Madrid
  • Eva Ramírez Universidad Isabel I

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.26.2590

Keywords:

Gender Equality, Education, Politics of Education, Comparative Education, European Union

Abstract

In the late 19th century, the first movements in the pursuit of women legal rights were born in Europe, mainly claiming women’s rights to work, to vote and to get access to education. The gradual acquisition and generalization of these rights during the twentieth century re-focused the initiatives of gender equality towards new fields, including economics and political representation. During the twenty-first century, despite social progress and thanks to them, the actual level of gender equality in Europe continues to pose a major focus of interest, as demonstrated by the work program of the European Commission for the period 2010-2015 on gender equality. This interest comprises the area of education at a national, international and supranational level, showing a clear development of education policies on equality. Since education is the greatest driver of social change, this trend can be seen as the best representation of the defense of equality between women and men. Thus, it seems appropriate to analyze the education policies on gender equality that have penetrated from international scenarios to supranational and national spaces, such as the European Union and its member countries. After reviewing the policies on gender equality published in the last decades, we use the comparative methodology to study the five least populated states of the European Union: Estonia, Slovenia, Malta, Luxembourg and Cyprus.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biographies

María Matarranz, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid

Doctora en Educación por la Universidad Autónoma de Madrid.

Profesora en el departamento de didáctica y Teoría de la Educación de la Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. Miembro del Grupo de Investigación sobre Políticas Educativas Supranacionales (GIPES) en la Universidad Autónoma de Madrid.

Eva Ramírez, Universidad Isabel I

Doctora en Educación comparada por la Universidad Normal del Este de China (Shanghái) y la Universidad Autónoma de Madrid.

Miembro del Grupo de Investigación sobre Políticas Educativas Supranacionales (GIPES) en la Universidad Autónoma de Madrid.

Published

2018-06-04

How to Cite

Matarranz, M., & Ramírez, E. (2018). Gender equality and higher education: Challenges to be achieved in the European Union. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 26, 69. https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.26.2590

Issue

Section

Articles