Schools and teachers, with the support of the local community, are important agents of change

We held a public discussion about gender stereotypes at Varaždin City Library ‘Metel Ožegović’. Children encounter gender stereotypes from an early age, which significantly affects their beliefs about their abilities and suitable future occupation.

Blaženka Divjak, math professor at the Faculty of Organization and Informatics and former Minister of Science and Education said: “The issue of gender equality is a very important social and economic issue. This claim is supported by the projection of the European Institute for Gender Equality, which states that improved gender equality could lead to a 10% increase in GDP by 2050. Education devoid of stereotypical expectations of boys and girls contribute to this goal immensely. It’s necessary to use the available human capital wisely, as successful countries without natural resources do, and today’s girls and future women are a significant part of that capital.”

Deputy Mayor of the City of Varaždin, Miroslav Marković, pointed out: “This topic is important for future generations, so this school year we introduced civic education in all primary schools in Varaždin, which deals with the topic of eliminating stereotypes”. He added: “As a father of two daughters I am personally very interested in this important topic. My oldest graduated as a mechanical engineer a year ago and is preparing a doctorate alongside her work.”

“The education sector and employers must unite in order to jointly create a future in which equality is encouraged and the value that diversity creates in the work environment, as well as in any other environment”, said Etelka Kožar, human resources manager of the Varaždin company Mobilisis. “Girls and boys can be equally successful in everything. It is up to us to protect them from the prejudices that are present in society and provide them with opportunities that put their interests and abilities in the foreground and encourage them to realize their true desires and potential,” she concluded.

Vesna Vrček, director of the Construction, Natural Sciences and Mining School, added that “girls need much more help and support to opt for technical education and later professions, due to a lack of self-confidence because of the belief that boys are better at it.”

Dijana Kobas Dešković, president of MODE 1, presented the educational platform for teachers and professional services in schools and stated: “The goal of this teacher education is to raise awareness of the existence of gender stereotypes that surround us and contribute to the necessary change in expectations from boys and girls. Schools are the place to recognize and combat gender stereotypes so that children of today can become experts of tomorrow in those areas that really interest them, regardless of gender.

The conclusion was that the goal of everyone involved in the education system is to improve the ability of educational workers to encourage children to freely develop their own interests and abilities and to later choose an occupation in accordance, and not to be limited by social expectations for people of their gender.

It is necessary to work on changing the expectation that something is explicitly for girls or boys. Schools and teachers are important agents of change, with the support of the local community.