From Classroom to Community: Peace's Gender Equity Journey
A lively teenager with a bright smile, Peace radiates confidence. Recently elected Head Girl by fellow students at her secondary school in the Ugandan capital, Kampala, she could never have imagined herself campaigning for a leadership role before now. “I used to fear talking to people, I used to undermine myself. I was shy actually,” she shares.
The young student leader credits the success of her campaign to Educate! lessons emphasizing marketing skills and gender equity. “My mentor told me: ‘You are always conquering, you can make it.’”
“So with all those lectures and all those words of courage, I realized that I’m someone important. I am not someone small, I’m big.”
Peace is one of the 200,000 students in Uganda who have been empowered so far by the Educate! Experience – an employment-focused course for young people in secondary schools that builds critical skills like teamwork, creativity, communication, innovation, and advocacy.
The Educate! Experience follows a ‘Skills Lab’ pedagogy where students build skills by working in groups to solve problems in their communities, with a mentor acting as a facilitator and guide. Students then put the skills they’ve learned into practice through student business clubs and hands-on business startup experience.
For example, Peace led classmates in a project to collect charcoal dust and make briquettes, preventing environmental degradation and the loss of trees for cooking fuel. She also lobbied for the introduction of a school local radio station and has already embarked on several business ventures, including selling homemade juice and making tablecloths for home decor.
Peace and her classmates showing off some of their products to potential customers
Promoting Gender Equity in the Classroom
Educate!’s gender-transformative approach goes beyond confidence-building. From shaping education system policies to creating learning materials that combat traditional gender norms and hiring a diverse team of male and female role models, gender equity is a cross-cutting theme across all of our work.
“Sessions that specifically focus on gender equity and engage learners and even teachers – in the case of teacher training – in a conversation around gendered beliefs are key to our strategy,” explains Educate! Principal Product Strategist Marit Blaak.
She adds: “We create an environment in which boys and girls can dream about employment opportunities beyond stereotypes or barriers.
“But focusing on economic empowerment for boys and girls doesn't mean we are blind to the very real gender barriers that exist.
“So we use a very data-driven approach to keep monitoring ourselves and the extent to which our spaces are gender-responsive, and we respond proactively to any disparities.”
Educating and empowering girls, like Peace, has powerful ripple effects on their communities. From reduced intimate partner violence to delayed family formation, higher educational attainment for girls, and increased income, gender equity creates a more balanced and thriving society. Young boys and men are a critical part of this equation as well – becoming champions for gender equity.
“What we’ve learned is that when you equip youth with the skills to start and run their own businesses, their aspirations change and they dare to dream bigger. They set higher goals in terms of income and in terms of what they expect out of family life,” says Marit Blaak. “Those aspirations translate not only into narrowing the gender gap on economic outcomes but also improved outcomes related to intimate partner violence and family planning decisions.”
Through Educate!, young men learn to become effective gender champions
An Evidence-based Approach to Tackling Gender Barriers
*Educate!’s impact on gender equity outcomes is supported by multiple randomized controlled trials which validate our strategy. For example, four years after completing the program, Educate! graduates are 21% more likely to delay family formation – demonstrating agency around decisions regarding if and when they start a family
The Educate! Experience also had a significant impact on secondary completion. The increase in the likelihood of women completing secondary school was enough to virtually close the gender gap. Female Educate! participants were also more likely to attend university, and once there, data suggests that they have higher GPAs, and were more likely to study STEM subjects.
And the effects go far beyond the homes of Educate! graduates. Peace now aspires to share the practical skills and knowledge that she acquired with others. “Several women in my community are held back by spouses who don’t believe in their empowerment.”