My research question is: Is there gender equality in and out of the classroom in Colombia? I chose this question for two reasons: education drives a nation's economy and well being. Also, Colombia has a program goal they want to meet by 2025. They call it the three pillars. These pillars are peace, equity and education. I know the Hispanic culture is a machista society, so I hypothesized that women weren't treated equally to men. The results I came up with weren't so black and white.
When we first arrived in Colombia in the capital city of Bogota, we had a workshop called Colombian History and Culture. Our guest speaker was Yanilis Romero, a public school teacher from Monteria, Colombia. She said, " women didn't have power before. Now women are in the military. However, a woman's salary is still less than a man's." She also told us every festival in Colombia has a woman's beauty contest. Outside of the classroom, I watched Colombian women and noticed how meticulously they were with their appearance. Frequent clothing included very high heels with painted toe nails and shorter pants to reveal their toes. They wore blusas campesinas, or peasant blouses to show off their shoulders. In the heat they put their hair up with a large barrette, but take it down in the evening or for photos. There's even a radio show here called Agenda en Talcones, or Women in high heels. This program talks about women's concerns. Men are more forward here. Five times during this trip me have told me I am pretty, asked if I was married, and asked where I am from and how long I am staying here. This is very different from the U.S., as I am in my fifties, and U.S. men generally look at younger women in their 20's and 30's. I asked my host teacher Ana Milena Romero about this. She said men appreciate women of all ages. However, their attention lasts for five minutes!
Inside of the classroom, I observed girls with very groomed hair and hair ornaments from the pre school level and up.
When we first arrived in Colombia in the capital city of Bogota, we had a workshop called Colombian History and Culture. Our guest speaker was Yanilis Romero, a public school teacher from Monteria, Colombia. She said, " women didn't have power before. Now women are in the military. However, a woman's salary is still less than a man's." She also told us every festival in Colombia has a woman's beauty contest. Outside of the classroom, I watched Colombian women and noticed how meticulously they were with their appearance. Frequent clothing included very high heels with painted toe nails and shorter pants to reveal their toes. They wore blusas campesinas, or peasant blouses to show off their shoulders. In the heat they put their hair up with a large barrette, but take it down in the evening or for photos. There's even a radio show here called Agenda en Talcones, or Women in high heels. This program talks about women's concerns. Men are more forward here. Five times during this trip me have told me I am pretty, asked if I was married, and asked where I am from and how long I am staying here. This is very different from the U.S., as I am in my fifties, and U.S. men generally look at younger women in their 20's and 30's. I asked my host teacher Ana Milena Romero about this. She said men appreciate women of all ages. However, their attention lasts for five minutes!
Inside of the classroom, I observed girls with very groomed hair and hair ornaments from the pre school level and up.
Both the public and private schools have uniforms for males and females, that include simple closed black shoes for the girls. In the elementary classroom, the boys and girls participated equally in the classroom. However, in the secondary level classrooms, I noticed boys participated more. Girls would participate only when prompted.
I watched a soccer game at the primary level and saw only boys playing and girls off to the side as cheerleaders. Ana Milena Romero said it's a choice: girls can play, but they choose not to.
The pregnancy rate of school age girls varied. In a poor school in Bogota, one teacher told me 20% of girls ages 13-18 had pregnancies. In a middle income school in Barranquilla a high school male said it was rare- maybe 1-3 pregnancies a year. He explained if a girl got pregnant, she had to leave the school because she was no longer a girl, but a woman. The father of the child was expected to take responsibility and sometimes dropped out of school to take a job in order to take care of his new family. If he wasn't in the picture, her family would take care of her. He said domestic violence was rare. If a family heard another man beating his woman, the family would take matters into their own hands and go over to the house and stop him.
In an immersion school in Bogota, a high school male student said, " males and females are equal in the classroom, but outside of the classroom, not so much." When I interviewed high school students, males and females both had dreams of professional careers. Some planned to go to universities in the U.S. and stay in the U.S. later for a better life.
We visited CUN University, a private university with its headquarters in Bogota. A university administrator told me, "56% of 32,000 students here are women." She said, " minorities are fundamental to social changes. Mothers, Afro-Colombians, and Indigenous people are all encouraged to be students." The assistant provost said, " There are incentives for women with children and without husbands: a 50% tuition scholarship for them. There's also entrepreneur classes in business to encourage them to start a business on their own. Once the classes are completed, CUN can help them apply for loans."
The pregnancy rate of school age girls varied. In a poor school in Bogota, one teacher told me 20% of girls ages 13-18 had pregnancies. In a middle income school in Barranquilla a high school male said it was rare- maybe 1-3 pregnancies a year. He explained if a girl got pregnant, she had to leave the school because she was no longer a girl, but a woman. The father of the child was expected to take responsibility and sometimes dropped out of school to take a job in order to take care of his new family. If he wasn't in the picture, her family would take care of her. He said domestic violence was rare. If a family heard another man beating his woman, the family would take matters into their own hands and go over to the house and stop him.
In an immersion school in Bogota, a high school male student said, " males and females are equal in the classroom, but outside of the classroom, not so much." When I interviewed high school students, males and females both had dreams of professional careers. Some planned to go to universities in the U.S. and stay in the U.S. later for a better life.
We visited CUN University, a private university with its headquarters in Bogota. A university administrator told me, "56% of 32,000 students here are women." She said, " minorities are fundamental to social changes. Mothers, Afro-Colombians, and Indigenous people are all encouraged to be students." The assistant provost said, " There are incentives for women with children and without husbands: a 50% tuition scholarship for them. There's also entrepreneur classes in business to encourage them to start a business on their own. Once the classes are completed, CUN can help them apply for loans."
We also had roundtable discussions in Bogota with education officials from around Colombia. Maria Salta, the Minister of Education , Quality Education : 1-11, said the ministry goal was , "equity for all students and make sure all graduates meet all of the education standards." Another education official said, "Girls perform better than boys in school, but stop performing better because they are teased." She said Colombian society is a machista society and girls in Medellin decide to be wives of gang members for a better life.
Here are posters up on walls of grades pre school-11 at public schools in Barranquilla. They show children learn to respect their bodies and understand the difference between boys and girls at a young age.
Here are posters up on walls of grades pre school-11 at public schools in Barranquilla. They show children learn to respect their bodies and understand the difference between boys and girls at a young age.
Here is a painting from the Romantic Museum in Barranquilla that shows women previously stayed at home or held traditional careers, but now they are becoming doctors and professionals.
I interviewed girls in the primary and secondary levels about their future career goals and many said they wanted to become doctors.
Reflections:
It seems to me Colombia is changing rapidly inside the classroom, but outside of the classroom it lags behind due to its machista society. Women play the traditional roles of attractive females and participants in beauty pageants while men play the role of appreciative audiences. I think because Colombia has stated its three main goals of peace, equity , and education, the culture will slowly evolve because education means a better economy.
Lingering questions:
After my trip I think about the beautiful and sparkly female students I met. How many of them will follow their dreams to professional career? How many will study in the U.S. and stay here instead of returning to their country? How many will immerse into our culture and how many will find our culture hostile and unaccepting? How many will come to the conclusion their life in Colombia has much to offer?
Reflections:
It seems to me Colombia is changing rapidly inside the classroom, but outside of the classroom it lags behind due to its machista society. Women play the traditional roles of attractive females and participants in beauty pageants while men play the role of appreciative audiences. I think because Colombia has stated its three main goals of peace, equity , and education, the culture will slowly evolve because education means a better economy.
Lingering questions:
After my trip I think about the beautiful and sparkly female students I met. How many of them will follow their dreams to professional career? How many will study in the U.S. and stay here instead of returning to their country? How many will immerse into our culture and how many will find our culture hostile and unaccepting? How many will come to the conclusion their life in Colombia has much to offer?