To fully meet the different needs of boys and girls it would require us to adjust the schooling system, not to locate the problem in the children themselves. We have understood that about girls needs in education, thanks to the feminist movement but who is working on behalf of boys to prevent them from being problematised?
Cultural norms are shifting and, in this new era of longevity, people are breaking the traditional moulds that have previously defined status. Cultural commentator and co-founder of the Women's Equality Party, Catherine Mayer, says life-extension and life-enhancing technologies like the ability to freeze eggs are leading to an age of 'amortality',
Recently I chaired the first University Women in the Arts event as part of London Writers' Week. University Women in the Arts is a one off scheme designed to provide mentoring for female students studying arts subjects at Universities across the UK from 15 of the women who are leading the way in the arts in the UK.
I believe that as women we should give Theresa May an opportunity to prove she is what this country needs. Still, a second female Prime Minister should excite us. We may not be exactly where we want to be but we're on our way there. Surely each small step we take towards progress is a step worth celebrating.
She is every bit as canny, strong, and cunning as her predeccessor, and the other beige politicos who have gone before her into and out of Downing Street, probably more so in fact. She is every bit as embroiled in the Westminster game as the men, and we cannot forget that as she takes charge of the country.
Later this summer, General Nick Carter, Head of the British Army, is expected to announce the results of his investigation into whether women should be allowed to serve in front line infantry units. The General will I know carefully consider not just their physical but also mental aptitude for the role.
If all of this energy, wisdom and news about independent initiatives came from one room of people at a conference on a Friday afternoon, imagine what could be achieved if we could multiply this and connect it to every level of the industry and to those who make decisions nationally and internationally about funding and policy development.
As Monday's session draws to a close, I speak to some of the young people about what it has meant to them to be part of the Being a Man club, and what they have learned. 'Be a real man, just smile... and no violence,' Benjamin tells me, in English, with a grin. And Gent says: "Being a man is not about having a moustache or big muscles but about having a smart brain and being able to love and support your family.'
It's a simple fact that without good teachers, recognised and rewarded as highly skilled professionals and with working conditions to enable them to focus on teaching and learning, children and young people will not receive their entitlement to high quality education provision. Yet that simple fact seems to be alien to too many of those employing and managing the teaching workforce.
Women have been knocking on the door at Westminster forever. 50:50 knows of women of all political persuasions who have repeatedly applied to be candidates and been turned down, one more than 15 times in spite of her years of political campaigning experience. She is not alone in her persistent quest for political participation. Why are experienced women not selected as candidates and why are women candidates not given winnable seats? The Declaration of Human Rights in 1948 affirmed "the equal rights of men and women"; however, UK politics is still far from being fully representative.
As I've commented elsewhere, even though our stats are positive the research really does highlight a dire situation across the film industry. It has simply failed to support talented, creative women. It's time for industry to transform the talk and knowledge of shortfalls into action, and plan some proactive practical steps in order to actually make an impact.
The NHS advises women to breastfeed exclusively for the first 6 months of a baby's life. Short of barricading the door, eating out of cans for 6 months, and slipping into a Netflix-induced coma, a mum will probably need to leave the house at some point in that time. So women have to breastfeed in public.
There should be more emphasis on chivalry for the sake of common decency, not for reasons relating to the patriarchy or a woman's 'fragility'. Equally, neither individual women nor society should expect men to foot the bill. So, chivalry certainly isn't dead, but that doesn't mean that women can't open doors for themselves.
Eight months after moving to Denmark, I'm now straddling that crepuscule between things being novel and others becoming the norm, so in this lucid moment I wanted to jot down a few observations, about my experience of Denmark and, more importantly, about the people who hail from it - an invitees examination, if you will.
One morning last year, my year 13 form tutor told us she wasn't a feminist. Silence descended. Noticing the distinct lack of approving nods and the much more emphatic shiftiness and thumb-twiddling before her, our teacher hastily added "but obviously I believe in gender equality." She couldn't have paid us to keep quiet.