Centering marginalized girls and women for more inclusive policy

Research and Policy Symposium on Gender Equality in and Through Education

Wednesday, December 4, 2024, 8:30 – 9:30 a.m. EST 
Online only: https://www.brookings.edu/events/centering-marginalized-girls-and-women-for-more-inclusive-policy/     

While there has been increasing recognition that there can be no “one-size-fits-all” approach to achieving gender equality in or through education, policy and practice struggle to provide the type of diverse and complex responses that are needed, particularly for girls and young women who face multiple and intersectional forms of discrimination and marginalization. Policies are often designed based on “typical” girls or “chosen” voices that may not represent or attend to the experiences of the most marginalized.

At the same time, girls and young women facing intersectional exclusions are forced to navigate fragmented systems that provide incomplete supports and only partially address the barriers they face to full participation and equal exercise of their education, social, economic, health and other rights. How can we shift away from “one-size-fits-all” or fragmented approaches, and develop more holistic and inclusive policy responses for marginalized girls and young women? Can the answer to this question be found in centering girls and women as actors themselves within research, policy, and practice?

On December 4, the Center for Universal Education (CUE) will host the Research and Policy Symposium on Gender Equality in and through Education. The event will feature the 2024 Echidna Global Scholars discussing their research on the challenges marginalized girls and women face in education across various contexts. Topics will include inclusive education for girls with disabilities in post-conflict Tigray (Ethiopia), women’s leadership within the education system in Tanzania, sexual and reproductive health education for adolescent girls in Nepal, and second-chance education to overcome structural inequalities in Mexico. The scholars will explore the critical need to not only address the unique challenges of girls and women in more holistic ways, but also how girls and women themselves can be centered in research, policy, and action to promote gender equality in and through education.

Viewers can submit questions for speakers by emailing events@brookings.edu or via Twitter/X at @BrookingsGlobal by using #EchidnaSymposium.