“Manufactures sexism”: a warning report on gender inequalities at school

Education initiates sexist patterns, school confirms them

The numbers are chilling. At a time of (fantasized?) parity, the conclusions of the High Equality Council are damning.

While two thirds of women believe they were “educated differently” (only 3% of men received dolls and 4% of women received toy cars as children,” the report said.), who believes that schools reproduce these patterns, with direct consequences on career guidance.

School would thus crystallize inequalities. Nearly 1 in 2 people also believe that girls and boys are not treated the same way at school. Still according to the report, 60% of those surveyed “have never followed an education session on emotional, relational and sexual life“.

Online, sexism remains pervasive

According to the report, digital technology fully participates in sexist culture. Online, 75% of women say they are not treated equally (which is corroborated by our studies of the most viewed content on Instagram in particular, where 68% of videos convey stereotypes assigning women to motherhood). Even more serious, pornographic videos broadcast misogynistic content of rare violence that 64% of men aged 25-34 say they imitate in their sexual relations.

“Sexism begins at home, continues at school and explodes online,” laments the body. Result of the influence of this trio? We observe a return to “traditional values” among yesterday’s children who have become adults.

A return of “traditional values”

So the ideathat it is normal for women to stop working to take care of their children” gains 7 points (34%) among women.

37% of men also consider “that feminism threatens their place“.

Finally, “more than one in 5 men aged 25-34 consider it normal to have a higher salary than their colleague in the same position“and 70% of men still think that a man”must have financial responsibility for one’s family to be respected in society“. More than half of the population still finds it normal or positive that a woman cooks every day for the whole family.

For the High Council for Equality, these figures reflect the longevity – and influence – of these sexist thoughts, which are not without consequences on the feelings of women: 9 out of 10 women say they have personally experienced a sexist situation. Gender-based and sexual violence is not decreasing: 37% of women still say they have experienced a situation of non-consent, a figure which rises to more than 50% among 25-34 year olds. Among men, masculinist reflexes persevere: a quarter of 25-34 year olds think that it is sometimes necessary to be violent to be respected.

Awareness but too little evolution

Paradoxically, the population appears more and more aware of and less and less tolerant of sexist and sexual violence. How can we combat this gap between awareness and the reality of omnipresent sexism? “We must therefore act by adopting an emergency plan as requested by public opinion: educate, regulate, sanction” estimates the HCE.

The HCE calls on public authorities to “strong, continuous and global action”to bring “in education, the digital space and the exercise of justice”. “It is no longer possible to simply denounce and punish sexist behavior, we must attack the roots of evil, and urgently.”.

Addressing the roots of sexism

With this in mind, several actions will be carried out.

Beyond the upcoming launch of a new awareness campaign, entitled: “Let’s make sexism history!“, a reference teacher will be, in class, responsible for distributing a manual dedicated to sexism to students. Other teachers will be sensitive to this subject.

Sylvie Pierre-Brossolette, president of the HCE, also wants to regulate and prevent the spread of sexism on social networks. According to him, the big bosses are “agree to do like the television channels: self-assess to assess the degree of sexism in the most viewed content”.

In terms of sanctions, the president would like to “of the crime of sexism a real legal tool for conviction“.