Gaining Status

Author: Association of Human Rights Educators
Adapted by Xavier Baró • xavierbaro@aheadedu.org

Issues addressed	Discrimination, Inequality
Complexity	1 (low complexity)
Group size	20
Estimated duration	75 minutes
Objectives	This is a brainstorming and prioritisation activity in which you ask participants to think about the status of girls (and boys) in the society where they live, as well as broader questions of gender and gender equality. The main objective is to understand the social mechanisms by which society confers status on girls and boys.
Related thematic chapters

Preparations

This activity does not require significant advance preparation but it is worthwhile for the facilitator to become acquainted with some factual information about the status of girls/boys and young women/men in the society in which the participants you work with come from. Could be interesting to have some reliable statistical data to be be presented at the end of the exercise.

Instructions

Step 1 — 5 minutes

Introduce the exercise and start the activity clarifying what do the group understand by “status”.

Step 2 — 10 minutes

Propose a moment of individual reflection around the questions:

What gives status to girls in your society?

What gives status to boys in your society?

Take note of all the answers and visualise them on two different flipcharts: gaining status of girls and gaining status of boys

Brainstorm for as long as the ideas are flowing freely.

Step 3 — 10 minutes

Split into pairs and ask each pair to rank the five most important things on the list from 1-5 (1 is most important, 5 is the least important). Give them 10 minutes to complete their ranking. The same is done for both lists: gaining status of girls and gaining status of boys

Step 4 — 10 minutes

Create groups of four by merging two pairs and ask the groups of four to make their own rank order on the basis of the two lists prepared by the pairs.

Step 5 — 10 minutes

Ask each of the four groups to present their rankings to the whole group. Make them visible in a flipchart.

Step 6 — 25 minutes

Proceed to debrief the exercise. You can use the following reference questions to do so.

Debriefing

Suggested debriefing may include the following questions: Is anyone surprised by any of the results? Ask participants if they consider anything particularly noteworthy? Is there any difference between the first list and the second list? Why do you think there is a difference? What do we want to change about the status of girls? And about the status of boys? What are we able to change? How can we change those things?

Tested outcomes

This activity was tested in the training course “De-consructing Normality” implemented by AHEAD in 2014. The results of the discussion were very relevant as part of the introduction on gender based inequality and discrimination. The innovation consisted on introducing as well the exercise referring to “boys” . How is status gained by young boys and what happen to those not complying with the assigned gender roles.

Tips for facilitation

This exercise can also be well complemented by input and discussion on the European Convention on Human Rights and other human rights instruments, such as the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Potential follow-up

This exercise can be followed up appropriately by the development of group and personal action plans on the improvement of the status of girls. Your group could, on the basis of the information gained, consider developing a campaign to improve the position and status of young women and girls locally or internationally.

Needed resources

Flipchart paper, Markers, Pens and Blank paper

Sources

Adapted from Gender Matters: activity Gaining Status.