INVESTIGATE LOCAL SCHOOL PRACTICES

Introduce yourself and your purpose to local school administrators. Ask if they have tabulated the enrollment by gender, for accelerated classes, particularly in the areas of math and science. Request information on other programs, such as: special education, athletics, vocational education. If not, ask them how you could obtain this data. How do these enrollment figures compare with the school's overall gender composition? If a disparity exists, talk with school officials about how you might assist them to identify the sources of this inequity and work to eliminate it.

RAISE AWARENESS AT YOUR WORKPLACE

Identify an area of ongoing gender inequity at your workplace. This could be anything from salary discrepancies or inappropriate office humor to a stigma against those (men or women) who take family leave or become equity advocates for others. Approach a few male and female colleagues about sharing their observations and concerns. Create an open and ongoing discussion session to generate approaches to solving these problems.

SPEAK OUT FOR GENDER EQUITY

Become a voice in your community for gender equity, using a forum such as writing a letter to the editor of a local paper, developing a program for a cable access channel, or speaking to a local organization. Use your own experiences as well as documented research (available from the Myra Sadker Foundation website and other sources), to focus attention on not only the progress that has been made in gender equity, but the discrepancies and discrimination that persist. Relate the broad concerns of gender to other equality issues, including but not limited to race, ethnicity, language, exceptionalities and class.

BECOME A MENTOR FOR YOUNG PEOPLE

Find out about mentoring programs available in your area or start your own. By working with a young person on a short-term or on-going basis, you can help open their eyes to vocations or avocations they may not have considered. Ask them about how it feels to be a male or female today. What expectations do they hold for themselves and others? What pressures exist? What are the special opportunities? Share with them the perceptions you held at their age. Discuss things that have and haven't changed for the individual and society.