Gender Equality and Girls’ Education during COVID-19

In the recent celebration of International Women's Day, UNICEF Global Development Commons we thank you for joining in this discussion on "Gender Equality and Girls' Education during COVID-19", on Tuesday, 23^rd March at 9:00 PDT | 12:00 EDT | 16:00 GMT for a 1.5-hour webinar.

Watch the video recording:

Speakers:

• Dr. Ingrid Sánchez-Tapia, Education Specialist, UNICEF

Dr. Ingrid Sánchez-Tapia is an Education Specialist focusing on Gender Equality in Education and Secondary Education with UNICEF Headquarters. She also contributes to the UNICEF’s flagship: Reimagine Education.  Currently, Ingrid is leading efforts to strengthen programing on gender equality in education across UNICEF’s global education programs and within the UNFPA-UNICEF Global Programme to Accelerate Action to End Child Marriage. Prior to joining UNICEF, Ingrid was a professor of education in various countries: The United States, Colombia, Panama, and Chile. Her research focused on designing learning environments that support adolescents to develop STEM-related knowledge and skills, with an emphasis on marginalized groups because of ethnicity, language, and gender. For over a decade Ingrid supported Ministries of Education in Latin America in their curricular reform efforts and national-level initiatives on teachers’ professional development.

• Pia Gladys Perey, Founder & Creative Director of self-named brand label 

Pia Gladys Perey Founder and Creative Director of self-named brand label. A mother of four. Experienced fashion designer who worked in the fashion industry for more than 20 years. Demonstrated history of working in retail and wholesale with strong merchandising and design expertise. Skilled in retail, sales, product development, trends, marketing, PR, branding, and global trade. Pia's self-named brand, Pia Gladys Perey (PGP), has become the go-to label for glamorous pieces with a romantic flair as each dress embodies the elegance of the modern women.

• Neferteri Plessy, Founder / CEO at  Single Moms Planet, Inc.

Neferteri Plessy is a trailblazer for entrepreneurs, business owners and leaders. A sought-after consultant, media coach and motivational speaker. She has trained over 5,000 women helping them launch online businesses, build digital audiences, gain financial freedom and establish wealth-building strategies through her 501 (c)(3) non-profit Single Moms Planet. Neferteri has spearheaded relationships with major brands such as Starbucks, Anastasia of Beverly Hills, iHeartRadio, Bank of America and the NFL through her media and branding company Elevated Strategist.

• Noëlla Coursaris Musunka, Founder of Malaika

Noëlla Coursaris Musunka founded Malaika in 2007, which is a nonprofit that impacts thousands of lives in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) through enhanced access to education and health programs. Noëlla is an international model and philanthropist of Congolese/Cypriot heritage, an Ambassador for The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis & Malaria, and a voice for the power of girls’ education worldwide. Noëlla, an advisor at Concordia, has shared her insight at a number of world-class forums, spanning the World Economic Forum in Davos to the university halls of Cambridge, Oxford, Harvard and MIT and the offices of UNICEF. In 2017, she was named one of the BBC’s 100 Most Influential & Inspirational Women of the Year. She also recently received an award from the House of Mandela at the Nelson Mandela centenary celebration.

Discussant:

Adrian Shikwe, Evaluation Specialist, UNICEF

Adrian Shikwe is an Evaluation Specialist in the UNICEF Evaluation Office. His area of work covers the UNICEF Goal Areas 2: Every child learns; and Goal Area 5: Every child has an equitable chance in life. Under goal area 2, Adrian’s evaluation roles cover issues of access to education, equity and gender-responsiveness of education systems. In the recent past, he supported and led evaluations on girls’ education, education in emergencies, inclusive education for children with disabilities and early childhood development. Under goal area 5, Adrian’s evaluation work has focused on UNICEF programmes that tackle key dimensions of discrimination and inequity, particularly in social protection. His previous roles have included policy analysis and development work in various sectors, including gender.

Moderator:

Nicole Schlosberg, Data Analyst, UNICEF

Video presentations:

The Learning Passport in Zimbabwe - by Dr. Ingrid Sánchez-Tapia:

Poverty and Education - by Pia Gladys Perey:

Single Moms Planet | Spectrum News 1 Interview - by Neferteri Plessy:

Malaika, An Ecosystem for the Entire Community - by Noëlla Coursaris Musunka:

Other references:

• This guidance is intended as a “how-to” for integrating a gender lens in UNICEF evaluations: UNICEF Guidance on Gender Integration in Evaluation
• Realizing Potential: Evaluation of the UNICEF Gender Action Plan
• Girls Education Synthesis Evaluation Findings and Recommendations