Context/background of project: According to the European Commission report “Gender Equality Strategy: Striving for a Union of equality” released on 5 March 2020, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said: “Gender equality is a core principle of the European Union, but it is not yet a reality. … Using only half of the population, half of the ideas or half of the energy is not good enough.” Moreover, gender equality is not only a matter of concern for women. It is a matter of concern for all of us. Several pieces of evidence highlight the importance of building positive attitudes towards gender equality. Partners: The consortium is comprised of 5 countries -(Poland, Greece, Italy, Latvia) which all are ranked in lower positions than the EU’s score on the Gender Equality Index 2019 (https://eige.europa.eu/gender-equality-index/2019/compare-countries/index/bar). -and Turkey which is ranked 130th out of 153 countries in the World Economic Forum's (WEF) Global Gender Gap Index 2020. Objectives of your project: The aim of DIGI4EQUALITY (A DIGItal toolkit for promoting gender EQUALITY in science and technology) project is concerned with developing a novel toolbox by which professionals can attract, reach out and assist students to raise awareness and tackle gender stereotypes in society and in occupational choices in a digitalised world. To achieve this aim, the DIGI4EQUALITY project will have these objectives: -to highlight the important role of women in science and technology -to ensure a gender-transformative environment for girls and boys to overcome gender stereotypes with regard to roles of women and men at work and in society -to encourage both girls and boys to make career choices in a digitalised world -to raise awareness of teachers on gender equality which affect their interactions with boys and girls -to strengthen educational skills in coping with gender equality Description of the results: -A methodological guide to promote gender equality in STEM in schools taking into consideration the impact of the recent socio-economic changes brought by the rapid spread of digital technology in the world and the need for integration of women in STEM and society. -A cooperative educational card game as a tool to gender equality treatment. The card game will present at least 50 female role-models in STEM. Some of the cards will be complemented with Augmented Reality content. -A guide on how to play the game will be developed. -A digital interactive book presenting women who made an impact in STEM to educate students about the ingenuity and contributions of women, and encourage an interest in STEM careers. Stories about women who broke through barriers of gender and race in pursuit of their dreams, goals, and interests will be presented and will be complemented with Augmented Reality content. Game-based training activities will also be included to intrigue students and get them involved. -A video selection to encourage girls in STEM and to fight gender inequality. -Development of the e-learning platform in which all the created material will be included. It will be a valuable resource for teachers to achieve gender equality and girls’ empowerment not only in STEM education but also in society. The possibility of enriching the platform with more material created after the project completion will be open.. A short description of the results and impact: As gender equality is a matter that concerns all, the DIGI4EQUALITY platform including the Educational Tools are expected to have a major impact to the target group on local/regional/national and European level.
We wanted to rise awareness of gender inequality in teaching STEM. Taking the “Report on Gender Equality Strategy: Striving for a Union of Equality” into consideration and analysing the positions of our countries in the Gender Equality Index we wanted to bring about a change in the form of support for teachers, youth workers and decision makers. A DIGItal toolkit for promoting gender EQUALITY in science and technology is a novel toolbox by which professionals can attract, reach out and assist students to raise awareness and tackle gender stereotypes in society. We achieved this aim as the DIGI4EQUALITY project which offers its users these benefits: - it highlights the important role of women in science and technology and ensures a gender-transformative environment for girls and boys in career choices - it raises awareness of teachers on gender equality which affects their interactions with boys and girls - it strengthenes educational skills in coping with gender equality The partnerships also aimed at exchanging of good practices and know-how in the process of teaching. Finally, the project wanted to give more expertise to the regional educational authorities offering innovative education based on international cooperation.
The consortium of six partners wanted to address a common problem of gender inequality in teaching STEM and provide solutions to professionals who would change the stereotypical way of thinking. Thanks to our solutions they may focus on the problem and have ready-to-use toolkit in the form of Methodological Guide and e-learning platform with thought-provoking resource materials called “A DIGItal toolkit for promoting gender EQUALITY in science and technology”. In this way we also addressed the problem of lack of effective innovative resources that can be used by the educators. We also wanted to strengthen educational skills in coping with gender equality and upgrade the professional profile of teachers and youth workers. Finally, we wanted to address girl students as the ideas we have worked out would have a positive impact on their aspirations and self-confidence about their role in STEM and society and for potential career choices.