Activity One - Describe - Inequality

Being equal between people is something that is perhaps or at least should be seen as normal. Unfortunately, very few countries give equal rights to genders and it is often women who are losing out. It is a well documented fact that women earn 9.8% less than men in the UK and it can be as much as 18.2% less in the USA. In India, this figure rises to between 24-26% difference, and even in the socialist country of China the gender pay gap is 12%. Switzerland which is often seen as a very economically developed and equal society pays women on average 12.5% less than men. But it is not just finances where women lose out.

We do need to be careful when comparing the data provided concerning gender pay differences. There is something that is called unadjusted and adjusted pay gaps. The unadjusted takes into account the 'raw' data - the overall differences in pay which doesn't take into account the different professions, education, and experience of people. It is a little like trying to compare brussel sprouts and artichokes - with the similarities being minimal - originally from the Mediterranean region, they don't like the cold and  I don't like to eat them. Whereas the adjusted pay gap figures compares how much the genders are paid for doing the same job. 

• • 1. Mind map the different areas (economics, politics, social, environment) in which women currently do not have equal rights. Do this in general to begin with.

    2. Now watch the two Youtube clips below and write down areas that you may have missed.

Useful Resources

Earth Time Stories - Gender Gap 

Activity Two - Describe - Smuggling/Trafficking

I think we can all agree that human trafficking is wrong and surely the process should never have existed in our history. Yet the trafficking of people for forced labour or to work in the sex trade, for construction, or domestic care, etc is still prevalent. Smuggling is also something we are seeing more and more as people try to get into regions that are economically more stable and therefore have a perceived 'higher quality of life'. Smuggling holds an element of choice but trafficking does not. 

• • • Watch the two Youtube clips below and mind map the different aspects of human trafficking along with what human trafficking actually is. 

Useful Resources

Activity Three - Research

Now you know what the issues are and why it has been added to the DP Geography guide is important to have information about real-world policies. The UN does have an impact on government policies. In fact, the UN Sustainable Development Goals have impacted the EU's policies which in turn has impacted national policies. Global thinking can at times effect positive local change. The group is going to be divided up into six teams and each team will be given a specific scale and policy area to research and record their findings. All findings will be recorded on the note taking grid in the 'Useful Resources' box. 

1. Global Scale - SDG 5.1 - End all forms of discrimination against all women and girls everywhere.

2. Regional Scale - European Institute for Gender Equality

3. National or Local Scale - Iceland

4. Global Scale - SDG 8.7 - Take immediate and effective measures to eradicate forced labour, end modern slavery and human trafficking coupled with the UN protocol to prevent, suppress and punish trafficking in persons

5. Regional Scale - European Commission - Fighting trafficking in human beings

6. National or Local Scale - USA - Blue Campaign

Once the research has been recorded, each team will be asked to present their findings and the listeners will make notes on what is being said. 

 Useful Resources

Gender Equality

Anti-Trafficking