Created on: 10 Dec 2020 | Last modified: 04 Apr 2023
On Monday 8 March 2021 the EIS celebrated International Women's Day.
Throughout this time, women in large numbers have been at the forefront of the Covid-19 pandemic in the caring and teaching professions, whilst also bearing the brunt of exacerbated gender inequality in unpaid house and caring work.
Too often, women's contributions, go unrecognised in the documentation of major world and national events. In recognition of this, and to document women's contributions to history as it happens, the EIS has recorded the voices of one thousand women members experiences of health, homelife, paid and unpaid work during the pandemic. Together, we celebrate women’s resilience and demand better for women.
If you are looking for support at this time, you can contact:
Breathing space Scotland - https://breathingspace.scot/
National Assistance Helpline by Ready Scotland - https://ready.scot/
Rape Crisis Scotland - https://www.rapecrisisscotland.org.uk/
Samaritans Scotland - https://www.samaritans.org/scotland/samaritans-in-scotland/
Scottish Domestic Abuse and Forced Marriage Helpline - https://sdafmh.org.uk/
Scottish Women’s Rights Centre - https://www.scottishwomensrightscentre.org.uk/
Scottish Women’s Aid - https://womensaid.scot/
SAMH for Scottish Mental Health- https://www.samh.org.uk/
Briefing for EIS Trade Union Reps and LA Secretaries: “One Thousand Women’s Voices: Recording EIS Member’s Experience and Resilience During Covid-19”
The impact of the Covid-19 crisis continues to detriment women’s lives and equality. Women are disproportionately represented on the frontline of the pandemic, are at higher risk of gender-based violence and domestic abuse, as well as bearing the burden of an increase in unpaid and caring work.
In October 2020, the EIS Strategy Sub-Committee issued a Memorandum requesting the Equality Committee to identify the gendered nature of many of the issues arising from Covid-19 that currently face the teaching workforce, and the actions or aims required to address these issues – in order to shape national and local campaigning.
This briefing for Reps and LA Secretaries provides insight into the findings from a sample of one thousand EIS women members and give suggestions for possible trade union activity. The briefing can be accessed in full, here.