EDUCATION

The United Nations General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in 1979. This landmark treaty was the first convention to address comprehensively women's rights within political, cultural, economic, social, and family life. In numerous countries, the treaty has become a proven and effective tool for improving equity. As of October 1999, 165 countries have ratified the Convention. The U.S. is the lone industrialized democracy and one of only a handful of countries yet to ratify CEDAW.

CEDAW OBLIGES STATE PARTIES TO END DISCRIMINATION IN EDUCATION

U. S. Law -Math, Science, and Technological Opportunities for Women

• Congress enacted Title IX of the Education Reform Acts in 1972, a federal mandate that prohibits sex discrimination in all federally funded education programs, including bans on barriers to female entry into the fields of math and science. However, a recent study found that 70% of schools are not in compliance with Title IX.
  
  
• In 1974, Congress passed the Women's Educational Equity Act, to help local school districts in complying with Title IX, by providing funding, teaching materials, projects and programs to schools to eliminate gender bias. The federal government generally spends about $3 million dollars annually under this Act, but it has been targeted for elimination by the last several Congresses.
  
  
• Sex discrimination continues to prevent girls and women from achieving parity with boys and men in fields requiring scientific or technological expertise. Only 16% of scientists, 6% of engineers, and 4% of computer scientists in the U.S. are women.
  
  
• In the year 2000, 65% of jobs will require technology skills. According to a recent study, only a small percentage of girls take computer science courses, and are more likely to enroll in clerical and data entry classes while boys take advanced programming.

How CEDAW Would Help

• CEDAW promotes the development of programs that will encourage women to pursue vocations in math and science fields by targeting and recruiting girls and women, featuring female role models and mentors, and providing career and salary information.
  
  
• CEDAW ratification would encourage expansion of programs that have boosted female participation in these fields, such as Stanford's Backyard Project for 11th and 12th grade girls interested in computer science and the National Science Foundation Professional Opportunities for Women in Research and Education.

U. S. Law -Sexual Harassment in Schools

• The Supreme Court's recent decision in Davis v. Monroe County (1999), recognized that student-on-student sexual harassment not only disrupts a victim's ability to learn but may also amount to a violation of Title IX.
  
  
• Sexual harassment in school is still prevalent; studies show that 81% of 8th through 11th graders, 30% of undergraduates, and 40% of graduate students have experienced sexual harassment.
  
  
• The Court set a substantial burden of proof for establishing such a violation, stating that behavior must be demonstrated to be "severe" and "pervasive" before it can be punishable by law.

How CEDAW Would Help

• CEDAW would encourage schools to adopt and enforce stringent policies against sexual harassment and its detrimental effects on girls' academic performance, and bolster programs to combat sexual harassment such as seminars and counseling.

U. S. Law -Academic and Athletic Scholarships for Women

• Title IX guarantees sex equality in most scholarships and study grants offered by schools.
  
  
• Girls account for 40% of high school athletes and 37% of all college varsity athletes. However, female athletes receive only 23% of athletic scholarship dollars, and 27% of athletic recruiting dollars. Women are also disproportionately affected by limits placed on monetary aid conferred to part-time and re-entry students.

How CEDAW Would Help

• CEDAW would encourage schools to review and revise their scholarship requirements to ensure that they make available the same financial opportunities to women as they do to men.

U. S. Law-Affirmative Action for Women

• Affirmative action, or special measures aimed at achieving equality between men and women, have long been upheld by U.S. courts against the charge that they constitute unlawful gender discrimination. Although in recent years, the bar in certain race-based affirmative action programs is considered, programs have been recognized as a legitimate means of eradicating the effects of prior discrimination and promoting equality.
  
  
• In 1996, California voters passed Proposition 209, a measure that banned the use of preferences in admission decisions at California's public institutions. Texas and Washington have passed similar anti-affirmative action laws. Twelve states also enacted legislation restricting the use of racial or gender preferences in many realms.
  
  
• The U.S. Department of Labor's Glass Ceiling Commission Report, released in March 1995, showed that men hold 95% of senior management positions. White men represent 65% of physicians, 71% of lawyers, 80% of tenured professors, and 91.6% of engineers.

How CEDAW Would Help

• CEDAW permits and encourages, but does not require, affirmative action measures. Ratification could help in implementing policies that aim to aid women in gaining gender equity in all realms.

How CEDAW Has Improved the Lives of Women and Girls throughout the World

Countries that have ratified CEDAW and taken steps to improve women and girls' access to education include:

• Slovenia and Switzerland have changed their school admission policies to benefit girls.
  
  
• Pakistan introduced co-education in primary schools in 1996-97, and saw sharp increases in female enrollment, especially in rural areas.
  
  
• India has made heightening the educational opportunities available to women a key priority. In 1997 the Integrated Child Development Services program was universalized, with girls accounting for nearly half of all pre-schoolers.

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, CONTACT THE CO-CHAIRS OF THE WORKING GROUP ON THE WOMEN'S HUMAN RIGHTS TREATY:
Pat Rengel, Amnesty International, U.S.A.
tel: (202) 675-8577, fax: (202) 546-7142, E-Mail: prengel@aiusa.org,
Website: http://www.amnestyusa.org/commit
Kit Cosby, Bahá'ís of the U.S.
tel: (202) 833-8990, fax: (202) 833-8988, E-Mail: usnsa-oea@usbnc.org,
Website: http://www.us.bahai.org/cedaw