These are the three news articles that our team chose to conduct a media analysis on:
News Story 1
A report by the University of Ottawa’s Education Policy Research Initiative and the Labour Market Information Council found that women earn 12% less than men one year after graduation (Abedi, 2020). This gap grows to approximately 25% five years after graduation and varies based on qualification level. While a common explanation for the gender gap is the ‘motherhood penalty’ which affects a woman’s lifetime earnings after having their first child, the study suggests that the gap starts much earlier. A report by C.D. Howe Institute examines how the gender gap is due to differences in jobs held by men versus women. “Men are more heavily represented in higher-wage industries like oil and gas, while women are more heavily represented in lower-wage industries such as retail services or accommodation and food services” (Abedi, 2020).
Northouse’s (2018) Leadership: Theory and Practice examines gender biases and the leadership gap, which aligns to the gender pay gap. Some examples of biases would be expecting women to be more ‘caring’ compared to men, and how there are less opportunities available for women who do not fit this bias. Northouse (2018) also describes how women who ‘self-promote’ are often seen as less socially attractive and less hireable.
In 2021, the Government of Canada implemented the Pay Equity Act. Its goal is to close the gender wage gap and ensure that all workers receive equal pay for work of equal value. Employers with ten or more employees have until August 2024 to implement a pay equity plan (Government of Canada 2021). In an opinion piece by McIntyre (2019), they debunk several gender pay myths. One myth they debunk is that the reason women are less represented in STEM is not due to fixed biological traits, but rather a lack of female role models in the field as well as gender stereotypes about being male or female (McIntyre, 2019).
In order to improve equity in regards to the gender wage gap, we must first identify the barriers that are preventing women from pursuing career paths into higher-wage industries. Some of these key factors are gender stereotypes, fewer female role models in these higher-wage positions, and an overall male-dominated culture (AAUW, 2022). Stakeholders should consider the implications of taking time away from work to raise a family; potentially revising leave structures and encouraging parental leave time to be shared between partners.
News Story 2
This article from October 2022 discusses the high number of candidates running for Ontario school board trustees who were promising to roll back protections for transgender students and inclusive sex education. This is due to the involvement of faith-based groups, political parties and self-styled ‘anti-woke’ organizations Blueprint for Canada and New Blue Party. Advocacy groups such as The Canadian Anti-Hate Network have expressed concerns that the campaigns are detrimental to the already-deteriorating social climate for trans and cisgendered students.
Blueprint for Canada advocates for parents to have the right to opt out of all training related to ‘gender ideology’ in school systems. They advocate against promoting harmful ideology beliefs, that is, gender ideology upon students. The New Blue Party also focuses on parents rights and their involvement in what their children are taught and what is put into their bodies (such as vaccines). They have been promoting a ‘Stop-Woke Activism’ petition which aims to prevent the 2022 Bill 67, Racial Equity in the Education System Act (Legislative Assembly of Ontario, 2022).
According to survey results, 88% of parents in Ontario feel that sexual orientation should be included in sexual health education while 81% felt that sexual health education should occur in schools (Wood et al., 2021). The Ontario Ministry of Education has outlined steps on sexuality, gender and consent topics based on grade level and assumed maturity. The Near North school district guidelines for best practice state that, “Transgender, intersex, two-spirit and gender diverse students have the right to be addressed by a name and pronoun corresponding to their gender identity. This is true regardless of whether the student has obtained a legal name or sex designation change. (e.g., in the school database and registration system, a students’ name” and a change of gender can be used on class lists, timetables, etc.)” (Near North District School Board, 2023). Practitioners feel pressured to teach curriculum content in ways that will not offend or upset parents. This may lead to skimming the surface when teaching the content or avoiding topics completely; there is a desire to have children remain innocent (Malins, 2016).
Stakeholders should do what is best for students in order to build strategic plans to improve equity. Schools must build trust and collaborate with families, and thereby earn their support in order to collectively elect school board members that are open and responsive to student needs.
News Story 3
After a large number of community complaints, a billboard near Kelowna, British Columbia was taken down. A Canadian organization called GetAwake, which describes itself as protecting free speech by ‘crowdsourcing the narrative’, was responsible for the billboard. The billboard drew criticism from LGBTQIA+ advocates who said the messaging “provokes hate and mistrust, creating safety issues for the LGBTQ+ community” (CBC News, 2023).
The billboard sparked controversy amongst many groups. Concerned citizens view that the GetAwake website’s claims of “political and ideological indoctrination of children in Canadian schools” (CBC News, 2023), are unfounded. They view that the billboard promotes a harmful message towards teachers, trans students and staff, and education. The GetAwake perspective is that the increased emphasis on SOGI and SEL curriculum in schools is part of a ‘New World Order’ type plot by the UN to indoctrinate the world for ‘the great reset’. Their goal of the billboard was to start “meaningful public discussion” (CBC News, 2023). The GetAwake website states that “a healthy society must allow people the freedom to disagree” (GetAwake, 2023).
The Westbank First Nations who own the land the billboard was placed on received a large volume of complaint letters from parents and the general public. Many felt that the message was offensive and should be taken down. The Westbank First Nations contacted the billboard company who removed the message. They then made a positive statement in support of the LGBTQIA+ community. The GetAwake billboard suggests that some parents feel that school should not be a place where conversations about sexual and gender identities are held. They believe that a family’s own religious and/or moral views should be respected and therefore conversations on sexual and gender identities should be private. School District 23 Central Okanagan (SD23) board policy 452 states that, “The board expects members of the school community to welcome, include and support all others regardless of their gender or sexual orientation” (SD23, 2014). There are policies to ensure students are safe at school and that their right to privacy is protected. SD23 board chair Lee-Ann Tiede stated, “we encourage students to have positive relationships with their parents and guardians and to have open conversations'' (CBC News, 2023).
It is necessary to be transparent about all teaching and learning, and especially with equity topics that may be deemed as polarizing. School districts should build trusting relationships with parents and guardians and promote a safe school community. To do this, school boards should openly communicate their values and priorities with the community. This way, there is a lower chance of community members making claims of conspiracy and mistrust regarding a ‘hidden agenda.’ While everyone is entitled to their own beliefs and morals, it is important to make sure we are creating respectful, safe, inclusive, and equitable learning spaces for all.
All three news articles that our group examined for the purpose of this module demonstrate that there is still a lot of controversy surrounding topics like sex, sexual identity and gender identity within our communities and organizations. In order to improve equity, we must first identify the root causes of the issue, then devise a scaffolded plan with timelines in order to make significant changes to the system.
References
AAUW. (2022, March 3). The STEM Gap: Women and Girls in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. Retrieved February 26, 2023, from https://www.aauw.org/resources/research/the-stem-gap/
Abedi, M. (2020, January 17). Women earn less than men in Canada right after graduation — then it gets worse: report. Global News. Retrieved February 24, 2023, from https://globalnews.ca/news/6409280/earnings-gap-canada-men-women/
Board Policies - Central Okanagan Public Schools. (2014, May 28). Retrieved February 25, 2023, from http://www.sd23.bc.ca/Board/Policies/Pages/Default.aspx
CBC/Radio Canada. (2023, February 16). Billboard critical of B.C. Education Policy on sexual orientation and gender identity removed after outcry. CBC News. Retrieved February 24, 2023, from https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/billboard-trans-sogi-west-kelowna-1.6749825
Government of Canada. (2021, November 17). Government of Canada announces that the Pay Equity Act will come into force on August 31, 2021. Canada.ca. Retrieved February 26, 2023, from https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/news/2021/07/government-of-canada-announces-that-the-pay-equity-act-will-come-into-force-on-august-31-2021.html
Legislative Assembly of Ontario. (2022). Racial equity in the education system act, 2022. Retrieved February 27, 2023, from https://www.ola.org/en/legislative-business/bills/parliament-42/session-2/bill-67
Malins, P. (2016). How inclusive is “inclusive education” in the Ontario elementary classroom?: Teachers talk about addressing diverse gender and sexual identities. Teaching and Teacher Education, 54, 128–138. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2015.11.004
McIntyre, N. (2019, April 5). Gender pay gap figures: Debunking the myths. The Guardian. Retrieved February 26, 2023, from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/apr/05/gender-pay-gap-figures-debunking-the-myths
Ministry of Education. (n.d.). Human Development and Sexual Health education by grade. ontario.ca. Retrieved February 22, 2023, from https://www.ontario.ca/document/health-and-physical-education-grades-1-8/human-development-and-sexual-health-education-grade
Montpetit, J., & Ward, L. (2022, October 24). Scores of anti-trans candidates running in Ontario School Board elections. CBC News. Retrieved February 24, 2023, from https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ontario-school-board-trustee-investigation-1.6622705
Near North District School Board. SUPPORTING INCLUSIVE, SAFE AND CARING SPACES FOR DIVERSE IDENTITIES Guidelines and Best Practices. (2023, February 24). Retrieved February 25, 2023, from https://www.nearnorthschools.ca/
Northouse, P. G. (2018). Leadership: Theory and Practice (8th ed.). SAGE Publications, Inc.
Wood, J., McKay, A., Wentland, J., & Byers, S. E. (2021). Attitudes towards sexual health education in schools: A national survey of parents in Canada. The Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality, 30(1), 39–55. https://doi.org/10.3138/cjhs.2020-0049
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