Long Island Fund for Women & Girls



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Gender Equity In K-12 Education Project History

There are some things a woman never forgets. Although today she is vice president of the Aerospace Education Foundation (connected to the U.S. Air Force), Anne Hansen still feels the sting of gender discrimination that influenced her career decisions many years ago. "I started NYU in 1936 and was a pre-med student until my junior year. There were only two females in the program. I was strongly discouraged and even badgered because I would be taking the place away in medical school from a man who would have to support his family," she says. "I switched to education as my major in my senior year." Unfortunately, the gender discrimination Anne Hansen battled more than 60 years ago still exists today.

In 1998, three generous donors furnished LIFWG with funds to study the status of gender equity efforts in K- 12 education. Research revealed the diversity of people working toward gender equity in a variety of settings locally, as well as the many national resources available to schools and community groups interested in this issue. In September 1998, LIFWG convened a Roundtable discussion with 40 participants, representing a variety of LI school districts, colleges, universities and community organizations. The goals were to connect people who were doing related work, to share information about successes and obstacles encountered and to identify ways LIFWG could promote and strengthen gender equity programs on Long Island. Each representative described the gender equity program, or lack of one, at her respective school district, and shared feelings which included frustration and isolation. What became apparent from this Roundtable was a community desire to create a structure to share ideas and information.

Long Island gender equity issues are similar to those throughout the United States:

Why are girls less likely to be drawn to math, science, engineering and technology? And when girls do excel academically in these areas, why are they still not pursuing higher education or careers in these fields? And if they do manage to stick with it, why do females in these career fields suffer from lack of peer support?
How do bullying and sexual harassment at elementary and secondary levels discourage girls from achieving and negatively impact their self-esteem?
Will female sports be valued and receive the same recognition and support as male sports?
How can we enlist parent support for girls' academic and athletic achievements?

To improve educational conditions for girls, it is necessary to raise awareness and change policies, practices, and attitudes in Long Island schools and communities. By bringing together the women and men interested in making these changes, LIFWG can act as a catalyst and provide support to those working on these issues.

Consistent with the philosophy of LIFWG, we are working together to build a regional collaboration. To date, over 50 school districts, colleges & universities, religious and community organizations, corporate and foundation supporters, parents and students have joined. An annual full day conference is held during Women's History Month in March, entitled "Blueprint for Gender Equity in Education". Formerly hosted by SUNY Stony Brook's Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching (CELT) with the university's Office of Diversity and Affirmative Action (ODAA), since January 2003 the ODAA has partnered with the Department of Psychology to host the annual conference. See GE Annual Conference for program and registration information.

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