We understand that female representation in education goes far beyond International Women’s Day. This reflection permeates our Pedagogical Political Project, as well as the school curricula, and unfolds into concrete and daily practices throughout the year. After all, the appreciation of the presence and contribution of women in society – especially in education, cannot be limited to a commemorative date, but must always be present in the upbringing of children.

“Having dates to value the representativeness of race and gender in our society is a way of not letting such fundamental issues fall into oblivion.” It is contradictory to have a specific date to be Women’s Day or Black Consciousness Day, for example, considering that these themes should always be highlighted. At the same time, every action that values and encourages representativeness is important, because we live in a society that still has a very biased view of these groups. There is still a very large discrepancy between genders and races,” says Gabriela Fernandes, pedagogical coordinator of Elementary School.

Therefore, be.Living understands that these dates serve as moments of awareness, but that the school’s commitment to gender equality and female representation goes much further. “The curriculum is not limited to these dates. The work with female representation and the presence of women in different areas of life, especially in science, in the construction, acquisition, and production of knowledge, is always present in the curriculum,” explains Gabriela.

From the first years of school life, children are encouraged to learn about women who have made history. In Year 1, for example, this process begins with the book Pilar na África and the story of Aqualtune – one of the pioneering leaders of Palmares, as an element of female and black representation within a project. The children also study figures such as Rosa Parks, Ruby Bridges, and Malala, reflecting on life trajectories that challenged social structures and promoted transformations.

Professor Flávia Belletati, from Year 5, seeks to bring female figures as a reference for students, especially in the field of social sciences. “In the first semester, we worked with the memory genre and with stories of women who played a fundamental role in social movements in the United States. One of the examples is Helen Keller – American writer and activist, who was the first deafblind person in history to earn a bachelor’s degree. A woman who, with access to education, managed to become a reference in the fight for inclusion and published several books about her journey.

In addition to her, fifth-grade children are introduced to the story of Rosa Parks, the “mother of civil rights,” and Ruby Bridges, one of the first black girls to study at a school that was until then exclusively for whites in the USA. “These stories help children understand that they are part of a whole and that their actions can also have an impact, whether in their own lives or in society,” says Flávia.

In the Year 5 curriculum, Professor Letícia Araújo also seeks to reinforce the presence of women, especially scientists and of different nationalities. “We have a sequence of oral presentations, in which female and male students present their work, and we use the TED platform a lot. In this selection, we seek to prioritize women and, whenever possible, women of color. Recently, we worked on the lecture of an amazing Thai woman who talks about cities and the environment, the urban landscape architect Kotchakorn Voraakhom, who develops green public spaces to tackle climate change.

Letícia proposes activities inspired by UN Women campaigns such as “Can You Find Her?” – in Portuguese, “Can You Find Her”, which highlights the low female participation in areas such as science, politics, and technology. “The idea is to observe images of work environments and try to identify where the only woman present in that space is. This type of proposal generates important discussions about inequality and representation.

The Elementary School music teacher, Amanda Ribeiro, states that the recognition of women in this field of knowledge is a historical challenge. “In music there has always been a male predominance among instrumentalists, composers, and musicians in general.” Historically, women had more space in singing, while men occupied the roles of instrumentalists and composers. When women began to insert themselves into the musical universe, they were often restricted to the realm of vocal performance, without the same recognition in instrumental creation and execution.

To expand this vision, Amanda seeks to bring female references to the children’s musical repertoire. One of the moments when this becomes more evident at school is the Festa Junina, in which, since 2018, be.Living honors women in music, especially black women who represent resistance and creativity. Lia de Itamaracá, Ana Maria Carvalho, Clementina de Jesus, and Mestra Joana do Maracatu have already been celebrated. For this year, the school is considering honoring Dona Ivone Lara or Chiquinha Gonzaga.

But gender inequality in music is still noticeable. “When we analyze the repertoire of popular music that we work with children, we realize that the majority of the compositions are predominantly authored by men. Women appear mainly as performers – names like Elza Soares, Marisa Monte, Maria Bethânia, and Gal Costa are constant references, but almost always singing songs composed by men,” explains Amanda.

Coordinator Gabi highlights that education has always been a predominantly female field, but this does not always translate into appreciation. “Recently, a piece of data was published indicating that more than 1 million and 800 thousand teachers in the public network are women.” School has always been in the hands of women, and, in a way, this is even related to the devaluation of education. Motherhood and care have historically been associated with female teachers, who are often not seen as educators, but as “aunts.”

Gabriela draws attention to gender inequality within the school environment itself. “If we think about it, 78% of teachers in Brazil are women, and yet we still face inequality in working conditions compared to men. Children are very accustomed to seeing women in this role of educators. However, when they reach Middle School and High School – where the focus shifts to areas of knowledge – men arrive with more strength, as if they were the holders of knowledge, while women would be there just to take care of them.

To transform this reality, it is necessary to reinforce female representation in the various areas of knowledge and ensure that this presence is valued. “On International Women’s Day – or the day before, or the day after – we bring the date and the reason for its existence. But the topic, this needs to be in the curriculum. Without this, there is no structural change. And we need structural change in gender relations in Brazil.”

In be.Living, this change is already underway, strengthening the female presence in education and expanding children’s view of the role of women in society.