Gender, education and COVID-19

A common messaging framework

02 Jun 2020

Launching today, the UNGEI partnership introduce a new common messaging framework Putting gender at the forefront of the COVID-19 education response. The publication aims to raise attention to the impact of school closures on women and girls and advocate for strategies to respond to the gendered dimensions of the education crisis while looking ahead through a gendered lens to the safe reopening of schools.

Over the past few months, nationwide school closures as part of measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 have interrupted the education of an entire generation of children and youth. Previous health emergencies demonstrate the disproportionate impacts of crises on women and girls. In times of crisis, gender inequalities - intersecting with other sources of inequality relating to income, race, language and disability - and unequal power structures can become exacerbated, particularly in education.

As a global partnership dedicated to advancing gender equality in and through education, we recognize the need to harness the power of collective action to ensure gender is at the forefront of COVID-19 response and recovery efforts. As governments across the world seek to get their education systems back on track, now more than ever, it is critical to build on our work to ensure that gender-related issues are addressed in school reopening plans.

UNICEF UN061854 Brown — © UNICEF/UN061854/Brown

A strategic opportunity to foster collective dialogue on gender, education and COVID-19

Today, we are launching the common messaging framework Putting gender at the forefront of the COVID-19 education response. Developed collaboratively by UNGEI partners and ally organizations, this publication represents a strategic opportunity to foster collective dialogue. The key messages within raise attention to the impact of COVID-19 on women and girls, advocate for strategies to respond to the gendered dimensions of this crisis on education, and look ahead to the safe reopening of schools through a gender lens.

Through collective communication based on joint messaging on the gendered impacts of school closures and other measures taken to reduce the spread of COVID-19, we are speaking out as a partnership with a coherent voice on the need to build back better for girls. We extend our thanks to the many partner and ally organizations who came together to develop this framework.

Now translated into three languages, we invite you to access the gender, education and COVID-19 common messaging framework: