Baking Ingredients
Gender Competence
The secret basic ingredient for an especially sweet recipe: our bourbon vanilla sugar. Everyone eager to learn will get their fill here, because we reveal why gender competence is the key to gender-sensitive teaching.
The foundation of gender-sensitive higher education teaching is the gender competence of lecturers. Here, you can find out what exactly we mean by gender competence and why skills, knowledge, and willingness all play an important role in it.
Gender competence is defined as “knowledge of gender theories as well as the perception of gender relations and structures as socially constructed processes and their causes” (1). In the context of higher education, it is synonymous with gender-sensitive and gender-reflective pedagogy.
A fundamental requirement for this is a comprehensive understanding of societal gender relations, structures, and stereotypes, as well as the constructed nature of masculinity and femininity. Knowledge of the historical development of gender roles and the structural inequalities that still exist today also plays a central role.
This knowledge helps to reflect on personal assumptions and one’s own enactment of femininity and masculinity (doing gender). It enables individuals to question and deconstruct their own positioning within gendered power relations (undoing gender).
In addition to knowledge (subject competence) and willingness (self-competence), gender competence is closely linked to practical ability (methodological competence), meaning its concrete application in everyday teaching.
In interactions with others in everyday university life, an attitude is required that acknowledges diverse gender identities as well as existing power relations and inequalities.
For teachers, gender competence means reflecting on the behaviour and attitudes of students in the context of societal gender relations and biases. On this basis, teachers can provide more individual support to students and help them overcome gender-related stereotypes.
Gender competence is not a behavioural strategy that can simply be adopted by teachers in the form of ready-made application examples. Beyond basic knowledge of gender theories, it is primarily about an increased awareness of gendered patterns of thinking and the reflection of one’s own actions.
Ideally, gender competence as a key element of gender-sensitive teaching leads to greater well-being and better performance among students. Increased student motivation can also have a positive effect on teachers through more constructive feedback. Ultimately, both students and teachers benefit from a climate of openness and gender sensitivity at the university.
How can we further develop our own gender competence? You are already doing one important thing right now: you are informing yourself. That’s great! In the following section, you will therefore find an overview of the most important aspects of gender competence, followed by a checklist for your teaching. Let’s get started!
A prerequisite for gender-sensitive teaching is an inclusive learning environment. This includes, for example, planning courses and office hours in a way that also allows students with care responsibilities to participate.
Of particular importance is respectful communication with and among students. After all, education necessarily involves relational work. Interaction on an equal footing enables teachers and students to jointly identify, reflect on, and develop strategies to address gender-specific inequalities within their discipline.
Overall, a supportive and non-punitive learning culture encourages students to contribute their individual potential to teaching and further develop their skills.
Possible reflection questions include:
- Do I ensure respectful interaction with students in my course?
- Does my course foster a supportive and non-punitive learning culture?
- Do I pay attention to balanced group formation and distribution of tasks?
- Do I enable all students to participate in courses and assessments (e.g. through hybrid formats or consideration of childcare opening hours)?
- Do I offer reliable, regular, and alternatively flexible (online) office hours?
- Am I open to constructive feedback in my courses? Do I regularly collect anonymous feedback?
Source:
https://lakog-bw.de/wp-content/uploads/05.12.2022_Leitfaden_Gender-in-die-Lehre_final.pdf
Gender competence is also reflected in the inclusive design of teaching materials. The focus here is on awareness of the potentially inclusive or exclusive effects of learning materials and the messages they convey. If, for example, a profession or academic discipline is primarily associated with men, this can lead to unintended self-limitation among other genders. In order to provide all students with an equal sense of professional identity, diverse role models should also be included in teaching materials. It is therefore advisable, among other things, to ensure a balanced reading list and gender-sensitive representation in teaching materials.
In addition, teaching materials should be structured in a way that allows all students to orient themselves easily. By using varied and diverse didactic methods, different learning types are addressed and activated. Ultimately, a course benefits significantly from increased student participation and motivation.
Possible reflection questions include:
Am I aware of the potentially inclusive or exclusive effects of learning content and teaching materials on students?
Do I avoid reproducing stereotypes, traditional role models, and gender-based generalisations?
Do I ensure balance in reading lists and visibility of women and non-binary researchers, e.g. through the use of full first names?
Do I contextualise sources and content historically (e.g. with regard to dominant male perspectives)?
Whether spoken or written, language plays a fundamental role in everyday teaching. Just like reading lists or visual representations in teaching materials, it can be inclusive or exclusive.
Language does not only convey learning content, but also norms, ideas, and conceptions of the world we live in. These shape how students perceive reality and position themselves within it. For this reason, verbal discrimination and the linguistic reproduction of stereotypes can have far-reaching consequences.
By using gender-sensitive language in teaching, all students are equally addressed, perceived, and valued. In addition, teachers can consciously highlight individual achievements and successes of students regardless of gender. In this way, diverse role models become visible for current and future cohorts.
Possible reflection questions include:
- Am I aware of the inclusive and exclusive function of language?
- Do I use gender-sensitive language in my role as a teacher that addresses everyone equally?
- Do I avoid discrimination and stigmatization of specific groups in my language use?
- Do I address students using their preferred pronouns?
- Do I value respectful communication with and among students in my course?
Source:
https://www.genderdiversitylehre.fu-berlin.de/sprache/index.html
If you regularly keep the following points in mind and implement them in your teaching accordingly, you are already on a very good path toward gender competence. Promise!
- Use of gender-sensitive language and visual language
- Basic knowledge of terms, concepts, figures, data, and facts related to gender
- Awareness of the importance of gender and diversity in your own discipline
- Knowledge of internal university contact points or committees
- Opportunities for participation for all students in a course
- Self-reflection on unconscious biases and one’s own resources
- Gender-sensitive and inclusive design of teaching materials
- Openness to constructive feedback
Are you still struggling with one or another aspect? Then feel free to stay a little longer in the GIL&TONI “Supermarket” – there is so much more to discover! Or send us your questions and uncertainties: gilundtoni@hm.edu. We are happy to help.
