The Little Things That Educate You In Gender The System ]
For many teachers, their professional experiences within a particular educational system or structure meant that their awareness of gender injustices was raised or was reinforced.
THE ONLY FEMALE PRINCIPAL
One principal remarked that, over a period of ten years, out of a total of 76 schools in the region, her school was the only one to have a female principal. This had given her ample opportunity to reflect on the impact of gender in educational administration.
I've been principal here now for fifteen years and for ten of those fifteen years I was the only female principal. I am extremely aware of gender issues and the implications of those, having done many courses and many workshops on women's administrative issues at various levels etc. This makes one fairly aware of gender issues.
WOMEN AS EMPLOYEES
Another principal mentioned that her awareness of gender issues became more focused after working with academic researchers in an education project, but that the system procedures in the early part of her career had first raised her concern about discriminatory structures.
The early 1990s was when I first started becoming really aware of it. I'd been aware of it in my personal life before because I'd been discriminated against as a woman; I'd married and had to resign, and had no superannuation (I still haven't got any). So there were personal implications for me at the time. I was powerless to do much about them other than feel very angry and discomforted about it ...
Other women related similar stories. The next quote is from a female principal who reflected on her experiences, over the years, of a system which had supported her male peers more than it had women.
Many, many years ago, I taught in New Guinea for six years, and at the end of my six year period I left and a male friend left. He left with quite a nice packet of money and everything else. I'd already had to resign from my job because I had married. There were all these negatives that angered me. We'd done the same work and yet he came out with the rewards and I got nothing.When I came back, I was involved with the Union and I also applied for superannuation. It was not a given; if a male or a single woman were appointed to a teaching position, they automatically became part of the superannuation service. I was married and separated, but not divorced at that stage. So I couldn't just automatically get it once I joined up for teaching. I had to apply for it. I looked at that staff, and out of all the married females on that staff (and most of them were), none of them was part of a superannuation scheme. I thought, I'm not going to be left penniless this time. I'm going to apply for it and so I did. ... They're the little things that educate you in gender equity.
The same teacher then related her experiences of getting into management positions. The guidance of men into management positions appeared to be a 'given', even if they themselves were not actively seeking promotion. Yet this type of mentoring rarely occurred for women who wanted to run their own schools.
And then when I wanted to go into a one teacher school as a principal - that's the track you had to take in those days - the principal basically tried to talk me into applying for a position as an infant mistress; a principal of an infant school. And I said, 'No', I didn't want to do that; I really wanted to try a classroom environment where I could teach all subjects from Year One through to Year Seven.At the same time, a single male teacher on staff, who was a second year teacher and a competent young man, was approached by the Principal and asked if he would consider it. No, in fact he was basically told (the letter had been typed out and passed to him) 'You'd better sign for this. It's about time you went out and did your role as a Principal'.
So, they're the things that really make you aware And I don't want to see other females have to go through that. I don't want to see the girls I see passing through our year levels now having to fight because they are women. They should have to fight for it on merit, on their ability to do the job and not on their sex.