Leave no one behind Gender equality in Transforming Education Summit national commitmentsLeave no one behind: Gender equality in Transforming Education Summit national commitments 2 Published in 2023 by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, 7, place de Fontenoy, 75352 Paris 07 SP, France © UNESCO 2023 This report is available in Open Access under the Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 IGO (CC-BY-SA 3.0 IGO) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/igo/). By using the content of this report, the users accept to be bound by the terms of use of the UNESCO Open Access Repository (http://www.unesco.org/open-access/terms-use-ccbysa-en). The designations employed and the presentation of material throughout this report do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of UNESCO concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The ideas and opinions expressed in this report are those of the authors; they are not necessarily those of UNESCO and do not commit the Organization. Designed by UNESCO Cover photo: ©UNESCO/Delphine Santini Author: Sujata BordoloiLeave no one behind: Gender equality in Transforming Education Summit national commitments 3 Executive Summary The Transforming Education Summit (TES) commitments are an opportunity to expand work on gender equality in and through education, and support Member States to move from access and parity issues to system transformation. This analysis recognizes that countries and their education systems are at different points of development, and this was reflected in the scope of the commitments. The analysis looked at whether and to what extent national commitments highlighted gender dimensions throughout, applied a gender lens in terms of intersectional factors of marginalization, and were aspirational towards being gender-transformative. 131 national statements were analysed and five themes emerged that highlighted gender considerations: • gender equality in education including interventions on gender parity across the education system, gender-responsive sector planning, budgeting and financing • improving access to free, compulsory, equitable, quality education, for all • pedagogy and curricula reform that addresses gender stereotypes, discrimination and promotes gender equality in and through digital skills and global citizenship education • school violence and gender-based violence prevention and response, and • gender-responsive education in emergencies The key findings from the analysis are: • 67% (n=87) of countries made commitments towards gender equality, or had a focus on equity, diversity, gendered barriers and reaching the most marginalized populations (See Annex 1 for extracts from national commitments). • 38% (n=33) of countries made specific commitments on transforming pedagogy and curricula towards building a just, equitable, sustainable and inclusive world. Examples include Chile, which affirmed the transformative role of education professionals in system innovation and called for teacher training to integrate gender into teaching and learning. Thailand and Honduras addressed curricula reform focused on gender equality, addressing gender stereotypes and all forms of exclusion. Cabo Verde committed to expand its ‘Digital Education for all’ programme focused on girls and women at primary, secondary and higher education. United Arab Emirates and the Philippines committed to equitable access to internet connection and computer devices to all students and staff. • 57% (n=50) of countries made commitments to improve equity and quality basic education, and to provide educational opportunity (formal and non-formal) to all learners, irrespective of sex, disability, ethnicity, location or refugee status, or poverty. Twenty of these are in Sub-Saharan Africa, and specifically highlighted gendered barriers such as early and unintended pregnancies, distance to school, poverty, migrant/refugee status, child labour, gender-based violence, and disparity (related to girls and boys) in learning and transition to secondary education. Norway, Rwanda, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Sweden highlighted boys’ disengagement from secondary education. Nauru addressed gender disparities in transition to secondary education, even though girls outperform boys in literacy and numeracy in primary school. • Few countries stood out as champions of gender equality in and through education, and strong commitments towards system transformation were skewed toward countries in Europe (12 out of 20 countries). Kuwait and Qatar referred to gender equality and mainstreaming in education, while Kyrgyz Republic committed to addressing gender disparities by strengthening data collection and educational planning. Jordan was the only country that referenced its Gender Equality Strategy. • Overall, the commitments fall short in embedding gender equality at the heart of education systems and investing in interventions and programmes that address structural gender disparities, promote women’s leadership, and shift harmful gender norms within and through the education system.Leave no one behind: Gender equality in Transforming Education Summit national commitments 4 Introduction The Transforming Education Summit was convened in response to a global crisis in education – one of equity and inclusion, quality and relevance. The Summit took place during the 77th session of the UN General Assembly and was convened by the Secretary-General with the aim to elevate education to the top of the global political agenda and to mobilize action, ambition, solidarity and solutions to recover pandemic-related learning losses and sow the seeds to transform education in a rapidly changing world. Gender equality was a cross-cutting theme of the Summit and featured most prominently in Action Track 1 on inclusive, equitable, safe and healthy schools. The Action Track’s discussion paper included an annex (#2) on gender-transformative education, which was developed through a multi-stakeholder process involving over 200 representatives from governments, civil society donors, policymakers, civil society groups, young people, teachers’ networks, education advocates, academia, the private sector and philanthropies. The discussion paper informed the Call to Action on Gender equality and girls' and women's empowerment which was launched at the Summit along with Global Platform to Drive Leadership and Accountability for Gender Equality and Girls’ and Women’s Empowerment in and through Education. The Platform aims to scale up transformative leadership, accountability, innovation, data and financing to advance gender equality and girls’ and women’s empowerment in and through education. This paper is the first output by the Global Platform and applies a gender lens to the national statements of commitment made by countries as part of the TES. Objective This exercise aimed to: • Analyse the extent to which national statements reflect commitments towards gender equality and gender-transformative education, across all Action Tracks • Identify countries with strong/promising commitments to gender equality in education • Identify gaps and opportunities for the Global Platform to Drive Leadership and Accountability for Gender Equality and Girls’ and Women’s Empowerment in and through Education Methodology This analysis recognizes that countries and their education systems are at different points of development and therefore efforts on improving outcomes on gender equality can be on a spectrum from gender-sensitive (acknowledging inequalities between girls and boys and between women and men and incorporating strategies to address them) to gender-transformative (seeking to shift the underlying causes of gender inequalities, addressing the different needs, aspirations, capacities and contributions of girls and boys, and women and men, and challenging existing and discriminatory policies and practices). The written national commitments from 131 countries were analysed in a phased manner. By using a keyword search (see search terms below), narrative extracts were made where gender was mentioned, and common themes were identified. Further emerging themes were identified by reading the national commitments, with a particular attention to whether or not any gender considerations were applied across and in relation to the other Action Track themes, including teacher development, leadership, digital divide, school health, learning and foundational literacy, financing, secondary education, technical and vocational education and training, science, technology, engineering and mathematics.Leave no one behind: Gender equality in Transforming Education Summit national commitments 5 The analysis looked at whether national commitments highlighted the gendered dimensions pertaining to teaching and learning and pedagogy, curricula, teacher professional development, and digital transformation of education. This includes consideration of policy and interventions focused on gender parity across the education system, gender-responsive education sector planning, budgeting and financing, improving access to gender-transformative, safe, quality education access for all, including in humanitarian crisis and conflict settings, and accelerating multi-sectoral approaches to reduce barriers to education of girls, boys and gender diverse children. Commitments were analyzed on whether a gender lens was applied and how gender intersects with factors of marginalization i.e, ethnicity, language, economic and social status, disability, gender and sexual identity and orientation, and the extent to which they are aspirational towards being gender- transformative. Key search terms Key search terms included for this process were as follows in English, French and Spanish - *gender, gender equality, gender transformative, diversity, inclusion, equity, girls’ education, boys, LGBTQI, stereotypes, indigenous, ethnic, teacher, teacher training, digital, foundational learning, emergencies, refugee, financing, secondary education, technical and vocational education and training (TVET), and science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM)*Leave no one behind: Gender equality in Transforming Education Summit national commitments 6 Key findings: Gender equality in TES national statements This section considers how gender equality figures in national statements made in the context of the Transforming Education Summit. In particular includes an analysis of how gender equality figured by: thematic area, considering five major themes; how gender equality figured against the different Transforming Education Summit Action Tracks; and finally gaps against other global commitments. Gender equality by thematic area The key themes described below were most often mentioned in relation to gender, equity and inclusion across all the statements. 67% of countries (87 countries) made commitments towards gender equality, or had a focus on equity, diversity, gendered barriers and reaching the most marginalized populations (See Annex 1 for extracts from national commitments). Themes related to COVID-19 recovery, digital transformation, teacher and workforce development appeared most consistently in all statements. However, gender dimensions were not always highlighted. Where the interconnections appeared in the text, these have been integrated across the analysis. The emerging themes are consistent with other commitments (G7 and G20) that have been made over the last three years, as well as those highlighted in the TES paper on Gender-Transformative Education. Theme 1: Gender equality in education, including improved data, budgeting, planning and accountability for gender equality in the education system Twenty-three percent of countries (20 countries) committed to mainstreaming gender in and across the education sector planning and financing processes, including through education sector plans, gender- responsive budgeting, sex-disaggregated data and monitoring, evaluation and reporting. Notably, more middle- and high-income countries committed to embedding gender equality into a systems approach, establishing national benchmarks and accountability mechanisms (Italy, Jordan and Norway) and going beyond basic education to gender equity in upper secondary education (Germany), while others committed to revising curricula and teaching and learning (Kenya and Montenegro). This included gender-responsive approaches and mainstreaming in education as seen in Andorra, Bhutan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Georgia. Chile affirmed the transformative role of education professionals in system innovation and called for teacher training to integrate gender into teaching and learning. It promoted change across the entire education system, with particular attention to early childhood care and education. Qatar called for efforts to ensure a gender balance in the development of national education targets, benchmarks and strategies, especially in the recruitment and development of male Qatari teachers, while Serbia called for transformative programmes and policies that promote gender equality principles. Country Extract of national statement related to gender equality Andorra L’École veillera à promouvoir l'égalité entre filles et garçons à tous les niveaux d’enseignement et contribuera à modifier la vision genrée de la division des rôles dans la société. Bhutan …key stakeholders such as children, youth, adults, students, teachers, education leaders, lawmakers and enforcers, planners, CSOs, development partners, entrepreneurs, and private sectors should engage and come to a consensus to share the future aspirations for every child and build a roadmap for implementation. Such a strategic plan of action should consider equity, equality, inclusiveness, gender, disabilities, pathways considering the strength and competencies of each student. Towards this endeavour, guided by ‘The Royal Kasho’ and in line with ‘The Bangkok StatementLeave no one behind: Gender equality in Transforming Education Summit national commitments 7 2022’, Bhutan commits to take forward the following: 1. Developing vibrant and safe schools as learning space for all children that considers equity, equality, disabilities and gender: Strengthen policies and frameworks to support education for all students including children with disabilities, gender, and equity. Bosnia and Herzegovina Advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment approach to ensure that gender- responsive measures transforming the education system are indeed priority. Chile …debemos reconocer, valorizar y fortalecer el rol transformador de las y los profesionales de la educación en la innovación del sistema. Ello exige garantizar condiciones pedagógicas y de bienestar adecuadas para las y los trabajadores de la educación…promoviendo una formación docente inicial y continua que se adapte a los desafíos que vive la sociedad del siglo XXI, como la interculturalidad, la perspectiva de género, el desarrollo sostenible, la transformación digital y la interdisciplinariedad. Este empuje transformador refiere a todo el sistema educativo. En la educación inicial, que ha sostenido esfuerzos relevantes en los últimos años para dar respuesta a las necesidades del siglo XXI, como un currículo nuclearizado transversal, hay elementos vigentes actualmente que se deben fortalecer, como la educación inclusiva, la diversidad, la interculturalidad, el enfoque de género, la convivencia para la ciudadanía y el desarrollo sostenible. Georgia Georgia commits itself to develop a whole-of-government approach in order to ensure equality, inclusion and diversity through synergy and coordination between key policy and strategic areas such as education and training, health and social welfare, families and gender mainstreaming, regional and urban development, migration, employment, etc. Germany Germany is currently assessing the possibility to set a benchmark for gender equity in upper secondary completion. Italy We also commit reinforcing our accountability processes, in particular accountability for gender equality in education and in all other policies, carried out through annual gender budget reports, and the annual report on Fair and Sustainable Wellbeing, attached to the State Budget. Jordan Jordan is committed to monitoring gender, disability and vulnerabilities to respond to specific needs through data disaggregation across all the SDG4 indicators. Kenya The Government of Kenya has made significant progress in expanding access to education at all levels. This is mainly through provision of capitation grants as well as targeted programmes towards addressing barriers to education, especially for the vulnerable learners. The government therefore commits to enhancing safety and health of learners, strengthening ICT integration in teaching and learning, adopting innovative approaches to schooling, mainstreaming learners with disabilities and addressing gender issues in education with a focus to both boys and girls. Kuwait The government of Kuwait adopts a set of initiatives and projects within the framework of the state’s development plan, which includes the improvement of all elements of the educational system and considers the accelerating progress towards achieving the fourth goal of the sustainable development goals, as well as the affirmation of gender equality within the framework of a balanced societal culture.  Montenegro We strive to ensure that they achieve the set goals, eliminate inequality, achieve the desired level of personal and social development while respecting the concept of gender equality. We are committing ourselves to rethinking values, beliefs and attitudes about learning, teaching, schooling. We are committing ourselves to making the curriculum modern, responsive, functional, practical, flexible. To improve educational processes, potentials, competence and competitiveness through the possibility of choice. We will review and transform educational policy so that it anticipates and reflects on what students will need for life and the future that awaits them. We will strive for reading, scientific, mathematical, confident and safe digital literacy. Norway Norway has set benchmarks for the global indicators of SDG 4, as part of the process initiated by UNESCO in 2021. The benchmarks were reviewed in 2022 and benchmarks were set for the seventh indicator on gender equity. Qatar Drawing up a national plan focusing on the mechanism of recruitment, professional development, and retention and raising the percentage of Qatari teachers, especially males. Ensure gender balance and equal participation in the preparation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation ofLeave no one behind: Gender equality in Transforming Education Summit national commitments 8 education strategies and plans, as well as the involvement of persons with disabilities to translate and reflect their needs into priorities. Serbia We are committed to ensuring equal access to education for all children, including lifelong learning for all. We will pay special attention to gender equality issues in the education system - from access to quality programmes to the development of programmes that will promote gender equality principles. United Kingdom We must strive to ensure education systems drive equality globally, including shifting harmful gender norms and preventing violence against women and girls. The UK will continue to champion a safer, more equitable and prosperous world, in line with the UN Common Agenda, where all individuals can fulfil their potential. France was notably the only country to make explicit commitments to financing gender-sensitive programming, and to supporting specific initiatives to advance gender equality in education: Country Extract of national statement related to gender equality France La France s’engage par ailleurs et conformément aux objectifs fixés dans la loi développement du 4 août 2021, à ce que 75% de son aide publique au développement soit sensible au genre d’ici 2025 y compris en matière d’éducation. Elle maintiendra son soutien à l’initiative « Priorité à l’égalité », ainsi qu’au Partenariat mondial pour l’éducation, dont la moitié de sa contribution de 333 millions d’euros pour la période 2021-2025 est destinée à l’éducation des filles et l’égalité de genre par et dans l’éducation. Some Member States noted actions and ongoing programmes that demonstrate their commitment to gender equality. This included efforts in Liechtenstein to break down gender stereotypes in STEM, policy reform and commitments to expand gender-transformative education in Sierra Leone, and Bangladesh’s ongoing needs- based financing to reduce gender gaps in STEM and TVET. Country Extract of national statement related to gender equality Bangladesh Bangladesh continues in its leading role in the SDG4 High Level Steering Committee. In the second Asia-Pacific Regional Education Ministerial Conference (APREMC II) in Bangkok and the Pre-Summit on Transforming Education at UNESCO HQ, the Government of Bangladesh reaffirmed its commitment to inclusive quality education for all children focusing on gender, early years and lifelong learning, digital transformation and sustainable financing. 4.3. To address equity issues, Bangladesh has increased needs-based financing to reduce the digital divide, gender gap in TVET and STEM and provided other social safety net programs including the stipend, free textbooks, nutritious school meal, etc. and adopted innovative means of budget execution to ensure transparency and accountability. Liechtenstein In order to promote interest and fascination for mathematics, computer science, natural sciences and technology (MINT), a public-private partnership "pepperMINT" was launched in 2016. "pepperMINT" operates an experimentation lab that inspires the enjoyment in discovering, inventing and experiencing "smart technology". "Pepper-MINT" promotes girls and boys equally and intends to break down gender stereotypes. Sierra Leone The National Policy on Radical Inclusion makes the education of the most excluded, including pregnant girls, children with disabilities, the rural poor, and other typically discriminated children, the system’s priority through specific support and targeted interventions. Moreover, in partnership with the UN's Gender at the Center Initiative, Sierra Leone's government hosted and facilitated the multi-country adoption of the 2022 Freetown Manifesto for Gender-Transformative Leadership in and through Education. Other examples of this commitment to inclusion include…III. A government- wide policy to advance gender-transformative budgeting and planning.Leave no one behind: Gender equality in Transforming Education Summit national commitments 9 Theme 2: Improving access to free, compulsory, equitable, quality education, for all Fifty countries (57%) made commitments to improve equity and quality of basic education, and to providing educational opportunity (formal and non-formal) to all learners, irrespective of sex, disability, ethnicity, location or refugee status, or poverty. Several countries laid out strategies to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on access to education for the most marginalized, including pregnant girls, children with disabilities, indigenous and refugee populations. These encapsulated improving access to early childhood education through to secondary education, provision of scholarships, boarding facilities, cash transfers and accelerated learning opportunities to marginalized groups and expanding inclusive education. Country Extract of national statement related to gender equality Benin Les approches innovantes qui ont été identifiées comme leviers pour transformer réellement les politiques et pratiques éducatives à moyen et long terme portent essentiellement sur les interventions ci-après : généralisation de la gratuité de la scolarité sans distinction de genre pour le premier cycle de secondaire ; généralisation des cantines scolaires ; élaboration et mise en œuvre d’un document opérationnel (programme national) holistique et multisectorielle d’accélération de l’éducation des filles.  Cote d’Ivoire à renforcer les initiatives en faveur de la protection des élèves filles, notamment le report de scolarité en cas de maladies et de grossesses, l’accroissement du nombre d’établissements avec internat et la construction de foyers en vue d’héberger les filles ; à élargir et à encadrer l’offre d’éducation non formelle à travers l’encadrement des classes passerelles et les écoles communautaires ; Democratic Republic of Congo Déclarons solennellement que nous nous engageons à: 1.Prendre les mesures nécessaires pour accroitre l’offre publique d’éducation en vue d’assurer une scolarisation inclusive et de qualité à tous les citoyens, filles comme garçons, autochtones, enfants vulnérables, déplacés internes et réfugiés, dans des infrastructures adaptées aux besoins spécifiques des personnes vivant avec handicap et dans un environnement scolaire sain et sécurisé ; Ecuador Debe haber un especial énfasis en la situación de niñas y niños de primera infancia, niñas y mujeres adolescentes y jóvenes. Asegurar una educación que garantice la igualdad de género, la prevención y erradicación de todas las formas de violencia y aquella basada en género en el sistema educativo para niños, niñas, adolescentes y jóvenes, personas de las diversidades sexo genéricas, docentes, directivos y personal del MINEDUC. Eswatini Priority 1: Recovering education losses due to COVID-19 Our first action will be an assessment of the extent of the losses to quantify the number of drop outs, and to evaluate the losses in learnings. Thereafter, a campaign to bring every learner back to class will soon be launched, encouraging every learner including those with disability and girls who dropped out of school due to pregnancy and other reasons to continue with learning to ensure that no one is left behind. Macedonia We confirm our commitment to ensure swift recovery of the education system from the Covid-19 disruptions by: • taking urgent and decisive action to ensure all children, including the most disadvantaged groups, girls, Roma, children with disabilities, refugee, stateless and migrant children, develop foundational learning to realize their full potential; • developing competency-based curriculum that is learner-centered, human-rights based, gender- sensitive and adaptive to the changing needs of students, teachers and society and promotes a school culture of equity, inclusivity, healthy life-styles, continuous growth and acquiring 21st century skills. Mali Prioriser dans nos politiques, actions et financements la prise en charge efficace des enfants à besoins éducatifs spéciaux, des enfants vivant avec un handicap, des enfants habitant en zone rurale, ceux dont les parents ont été peu ou pas scolarisés et ceux des familles pauvres ainsi queLeave no one behind: Gender equality in Transforming Education Summit national commitments 10 la participation accrue des filles à l’enseignement secondaire et le renforcement des compétences de base des jeunes adultes qui ont quitté l’école, y compris par l’alphabétisation ; Mozambique These (SDG4 and SDG5) national benchmarks do not yet reflect the maximum level of ambition, given the urgent need to accelerate progress towards SDG 4 commitments and opportunities for progress against the major setback caused by the COVID-19 school closures. For example, girls have been greatly affected, so there is an urgent need to mobilise more financial resources for girls' education, as part of the promotion of girls' rights and gender balance in education, with a vision to eliminate all economic and sociocultural barriers to girls' access to, retention in and completion of education. Depending on the gender parity of the country, commitments emphasized a focus on girls’ education or gender parity in boys’ completion and transition to secondary education, as was the case for commitments made by Norway, Rwanda, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Sweden. Nauru addressed gender disparities in favour of boys in transition to secondary education, even though girls outperform boys in literacy and numeracy in primary school. Japan committed to providing assistance to support girls’ education as part of its effort to promote education for sustainable development. Country Extract of national statement related to gender equality Brunei Darussalam We pledge to the following priority actions, which are to: We strive towards maintaining an education is accessible to all learners and that they have access to quality education with the emphasis on equality and equity; Dominica Indeed, “no child will be left behind”, hence, it is critical that we cater to all demographic groups in our society: The Kalinago people, girls, males and learners with physical and learning difficulties, in particular. That commitment is reflected in the physical design of our new schools (including the integration of renewable energy), remedial interventions in the classroom, strengthening of our special education program and greater diversity in the national curricula, with a renewed focus on the teaching of Civics. Japan In particular, in addition to promoting ESD, Japan will work on educational support so that no one is left behind by providing assistance worth over 1.5 billion U.S. dollars by 2025 to support education in developing countries, as well as providing support for girls' education, support for school meals, and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine and neighboring countries. Iran The Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran recognizes "the right to free public education" as the right of all members of society, regardless of class, ethnicity, religion, or gender, and has exercised it despite restrictions imposed by cruel US sanctions over the past four decades. Most of the schools of the Islamic Republic of Iran operate from the ages of 7 to 18 in single-sex education to provide on the one hand an educational planning based on gender distinction in a safe space, and on the other hand to prevent social and educational harm, early puberty, high- risk sexual behaviors and interference with gender identities. Iraq Review, revise and adopt policies and programs to eliminate all access disparities and barriers for all learners in terms of gender, disability, displacement and location, and poverty. This included provision of textbooks and gradual increase of the provision of school feeding to all public primary schools by 2030. Liberia We commit to ensuring equity in access to quality education, including making available resources extend to the most marginalized children, especially girls. We commit to prioritizing gender equity, with a specific commitment to improving girls’ education and increasing investments for the inclusion of children with disabilities or other historically excluded groups. Nauru SDG 4.1.1 Learning Outcomes – literacy and numeracy rates continue to be low against Pacific regional benchmarks. Literacy rates are higher than Numeracy rates and girls achieve at higher levels in both areas compared to boys. SDG 4.5.1 Gender Equality – Girls out-perform boys in literacy and numeracy in primary school.Leave no one behind: Gender equality in Transforming Education Summit national commitments 11 However, girls are less likely to continue to senior secondary levels or complete other qualifications. The three key educational objectives are: learning opportunities for employment; greater learning potential through the removal of institutional barriers; and an education system consistent with Nauru’s cultural and social context. There are also a number of cross cutting goals with bearing on education delivery: safeguarding cultural heritage; increased social inclusion; effective youth justice and participation; child friendly communities; greater recognition of the role of women and more sustainable social policies. Pakistan There is an urgent need to take affirmative measures at the national, regional and international level to ensure quality education for girls and adopt and strengthen sound policies for the empowerment of all women and girls at all levels. Rwanda …. The Government of Rwanda (GoR) is investing mostly in quality basic education for all, emphasizing on gender, socioeconomic growth and geographic entities. The primary education net enrollment rates increased (98.9%) in 2020/2021 with 99.1% for females and 98.7% for males. The education system in Rwanda is still facing the challenge of high dropout rates and repetition which reduced the number of children who complete primary education lower secondary education and upper secondary education. The net enrollment rate and gender parity need to be improved at all levels. The GoR adopted school feeding program aiming at feeding learners at school, focusing on those from poor families. Equipped Girls Room per school was created as a strategy to support girls at school with particular focus on supporting girls from poor families. St. Vincent and the Grenadines Addressing the gender disparity in graduation rates to ensure more boys complete secondary school in comparison to their female counterparts; United Republic of Tanzania The United Republic of Tanzania further Commits to continue eliminating barriers on access to education by constructing dormitories/hostels, reduce distance to school by bringing education services closer to community and make them accessible by children with disabilities, addressing issues of violence in schools and improving WASH and sanitation facilities particularly for girls. Uzbekistan The Government of Uzbekistan expresses its determination and commitment to the justice and inclusiveness in transforming education by eliminating discrimination and inequality that are embedded in the legal system. We commit to providing equal access to education and training regardless of demographics, race, background, gender, health status, disability, geographic and socio-economic status. Commitments made by Antigua and Barbuda, Guyana, Honduras, Malawi, Tanzania, South Africa, Uganda (see annex for full statements) also highlighted quality education to include schools as a platform for integrated service delivery, including school meals, school health and nutrition, mental health and psychosocial support, violence prevention and access to comprehensive sexuality education and sexual and reproductive health and rights. Theme 3: Pedagogy and curricula reform that address gender stereotypes, discrimination and promote gender equality in and through digital skills and global citizenship education Thirty-three countries (38%) made specific commitments on transforming pedagogy and curricula towards building a just, equitable, sustainable and inclusive world. Countries that went further in including what and how this would be done included specific strategies such as promotion of tolerance, diversity and peace and skills for inter-disciplinary study. In the aftermath of COVID, pedagogical and curricula reform was seen as necessary to address the mental health crisis and make space for gender-responsive counselling and digital transformation in schools. Armenia, Nepal and Timor-Leste committed to implementing gender-sensitive, inclusive, pedagogical approaches to enable learning for all, especially those left out or falling behind during the pandemic. In the context of safe, equitable and healthy schools, Jamaica committed to collaborative approaches to engage students andLeave no one behind: Gender equality in Transforming Education Summit national commitments 12 parents. Guyana committed to strengthening gender-responsive mental health support by training of school counsellors, welfare officers and other education personnel. Country Extract of national statement related to gender equality Armenia Learning poverty will be addressed via a combination of formal and non-formal educational methods, promotion of interdisciplinary education, application of project-based learning, exercising internal mobility and credit transferability and expansion of gender sensitive, needs based and inclusive pedagogical approaches. Guyana The acceleration of training in gender-responsive approaches to support counselling for schools' counsellors, welfare officers, and their liaison officers will be the conduit for psychosocial support to children while counsellors and spaces will be identified for teachers. Jamaica Under Track 1: Inclusive, equitable, safe, and healthy schools, the Government of Jamaica will focus on: •Prioritizing early childhood education and development to ensure equal and equitable start for all children. •Advocating for, and implementing, interactional pedagogical methods and approaches in which the instructional core is a collaborative interaction involving flexible teachers, engaged students, active parents, and a dynamically relevant curriculum. Nepal Nepal has taken stock of bottlenecks and institutional challenges and constraints that would need to be overcome and addressed to allow the transformations required for its school education sector to not just recover from COVID-19 pandemic but re-emerge as a resilient, equity-based and quality- focused sector that enables both the children that were unable to continue their learning over the last two years. Furthermore, Nepal reiterated its commitment to support those children that were not learning at the start of the pandemic, especially girls that are faced with multi-dimension disparity to get on track. Philippines A transformed education system should prepare our children for leadership, build resilience, and harness their creativity through schools and communities that allow everyone - regardless of gender, religion, ethnicity, language, or socioeconomic class - to participate fully and freely as productive citizens of their local, national, and global communities. It is essential that our education systems equip learners with the digital learning and citizenship skills that allow them to engage with these new technologies critically and productively. To achieve this, the Philippines shall accelerate its construction of an ecosystem that provides inclusive, equitable, and gender-responsive digital learning for all. This starts by securing regular access to electricity, high-speed internet, and appropriate digital devices for learners and teachers. Timor-Leste We commit to put in place effective strategies to recover from pandemic related learning losses, to prioritize learning for all children and focus on the most marginalized groups of students including children with disabilities, pregnant girls and children from minority language groups. Australia and Egypt explicitly spoke to improving foundational skills and learning adapted to the needs of marginalized groups, including girls and First Nation Students, in particular. While Honduras and Thailand committed to blended learning as an approach to address gender disparities in learning, and ‘non-sexist’ curricula promoting gender equality, addressing gender stereotypes and all forms of exclusion, respectively. Cabo Verde committed to expand its ‘Digital Education for All’ programme focused on girls and women at primary, secondary and higher education, while the Philippines and the United Arab Emirates committed to equitable access to internet connection and computer devices for all students and staff. Country Extract of national statement related to gender equality Australia Australia’s development investments are strongly committed to improving foundational skills and learning, particularly for girls, First Nations students, and children with disability. Australia also works to develop tools that enable countries to monitor progress against SDG 4. AustraliaLeave no one behind: Gender equality in Transforming Education Summit national commitments 13 contributes to initiatives such as the Global Partnership for Education to support a safer and more prosperous region.   Cabo Verde Strengthen inclusive education practices that cover both children, adolescents and young people with specific educational needs and those from different cultural background and that promote gender equality and are based on a multisectoral approach; • Develop a national volunteer program focused on social education, for young people to intervene in both formal and non-formal contexts in different fields, especially in education for peace and sustainable development; • Reinforce actions for the development of digital competencies in the education system, with priority being given to a ‘Digital Education for All’ Program that focuses on girls and women and includes primary, secondary and higher education, passing on ICT-intensive initiatives on a national scale; Egypt Ensuring Foundational Learning for All contributes to sustainable development, inclusive growth, gender equality, national cohesion, peace, and prosperity and bolsters progress on all other Sustainable Development Goals. Consequently, having the potential to change children’s lives and roll back Learning Poverty. The country is committed to monitoring learning, establishing national targets, strengthening accountability for results, and implementing interventions to move the learning needle in the short run. Honduras Promote the inclusion of all Hondurans, especially those in the most vulnerable situations, by re- founding the educational system, with policies, programs and initiatives that promote social inclusion, gender equality, equity, and educational quality in thematic areas including: i. Promotion of integral health and wellbeing, including socioemotional and psychosocial care for students and teachers; ii. Food security and school nutrition; iii. Non-sexist education; iv. Development of socioemotional skills, violence prevention and culture of peace Thailand The Government of Thailand is committed to ensuring the continuity of learning for all, as well as being dedicated to organizing environmentally friendly education for all learners now and in the days, weeks, months, and years to come. Our planned blended learning approach will address all forms of exclusion, disparity, and inequality regarding access to education, such as age, gender, socio-economic status, language, nationality, and religion. Emphasis shall be placed on encouraging those who are disadvantaged and vulnerable to stay in school and prevent early school dropouts. United Arab Emirates Continue to provide equitable access to internet connection and computer devices to all students and staff across socioeconomic status, gender, nationality, age, and disability status. Promoting global citizenship education to tackle climate change, gender inequality and to end years of conflict, displacement and war featured in commitments made by countries that have been most impacted by it, such as Central African Republic, South Sudan and Syria. Djibouti included curricula reform to develop 21st century skills with particular attention to gender equality, and Peru and San Marino committed to promoting through curricula, human rights, gender equality and diversity. Country Extract of national statement related to gender equality Central African Republic L’éducation reste un vecteur d’espoir de paix, et de développement du capital humain dans un pays comme le précise l’Objectif de Développement durable – l’ODD 4. La transformation de l’éducation un instrument pour façonner un avenir pacifique, prospère, meilleur, juste, durable et doit nécessairement passer par une éducation inclusive, d’équité, du genre et de parité. Djibouti Réimaginer les contenus disciplinaires et les modalités de l’apprentissage en ; Elargissant la palette des domaines de compétences, en mettant l’accent sur les compétences du 21e siècle afin de préparer les élèves aux défis du monde d’aujourd’hui et de demain, de plus en plus interdépendants et plus complexes ; En intégrant dans les contenus des problématiquesLeave no one behind: Gender equality in Transforming Education Summit national commitments 14 comme le genre ou la scolarisation des filles pour mieux préparer les élèves aux notions d’Equité et d’égalité de chance… Peru Asimismo, en el Perú estamos realizando consultas sobre la currícula nacional, denominadas “Tu voz para una mejor escuela”. El objetivo es contar con una currícula actualizada para el desarrollo de aprendizajes; en un marco de valores que promuevan una nueva ciudadanía, con respeto a los derechos humanos, el medio ambiente y la diversidad. San Marino The second approach identifies two specific areas, namely Citizenship Competences and Digital Competences, which are planned by the school community. In particular, in the vertical curriculum from 0 to years of age of Citizenship Education, topics concerning fundamental aspects of democratic societies, such as education for sustainable development, gender education, cultural diversity, human rights, global citizenship, culture of peace and non-violence, are integrated and addressed through an interdisciplinary approach. South Sudan The Republic of South Sudan will ensure that its schools are inclusive, equitable, safe and healthy learning institutions. Peace is the top priority in our country, and we will promote Peace Education, Global Citizenship and Human Rights Education, and Education for Sustainable Development. These themes are enshrined in our new National Curriculum and are integrated as extra-curricular activities in schools. Syrian Arab Republic (SAR) The Constitution of the SAR stipulates the right to education for all, free of charge, without exclusion or marginalization, and the State guarantees this right regardless of gender, disability or other factors. The SAR is also committed to developing its educational capabilities to inculcate the necessary values for learning to live together, without any kind of discrimination, in line with the principles of morality, equality and justice; fostering civic responsibility, democracy and human rights; respect for civilizations and cultures of peoples, generation's capacity and its active commitment to sustainable development. Theme 4: School violence and gender-based violence prevention and response The prevention of school violence and gender-based violence in education featured most in the context of quality education and removing barriers to access. Botswana, Jordan and Uganda made commitments towards enhancing life skills, career and guidance counselling, gender-transformative and trauma-informed approaches in curricula and teacher training. Comoros, Lesotho and Malawi mentioned gender-based violence as a problem in schools and universities and the need to strengthen social protection, operationalize school governance bodies and referral pathways, and improving access to psychosocial support. Country Extract of national statement related to gender equality Botswana We acknowledge that students experiencing or observing violence in and around schools and other institutions of learning face significant challenges impacting their learning experience and outcomes. As such, we commit to strengthening prevention and response to all forms of violence at the school level, online, and in emergency settings by scaling up evidence-based prevention approaches such as emotional learning, gender transformative and trauma-informed approaches in curricula and teachers’ training as accelerators to violence prevention, learning and lifelong physical and mental health amongst others. Comoros Assurer le développement progressif d’une école comorienne inclusive, équitable, sûre et saine, ainsi qu’un enseignement supérieur de qualité en vue de promouvoir un système éducatif efficient, efficace et résilient. Ainsi, la rénovation et l’extension de plus de 25% des établissements scolaires (écoles, collèges, lycées) et de formation professionnelle sont déjà engagées. Les écoles coraniques traditionnelles répondant aux critères seront progressivement intégrées dans le dispositif de transformation de l’éducation. Au niveau supérieur, l’Université des Comores est déjà engagée dans la voie de la spécialisation, la professionnalisation et la diversification de l’offre de formation suivant les opportunités du marché du travail. L’Etat renforcera les dispositions de contrôle de l’inclusion, de l’équité, de la sécurité, de l’éducation à la santé, de la prévention et laLeave no one behind: Gender equality in Transforming Education Summit national commitments 15 répression de toute forme de Violence Basée sur le Genre en milieu scolaire et universitaire. Iceland Special attention is devoted to girls and the rights of children and youth to protection from violence. Jordan The Government of Jordan reiterated its commitment to inclusive education for all in the Education Strategic Plan, and its associated Strategy for Mainstreaming Gender Equality in Education. It is also the core of the 10-Year Strategy for Inclusive Education (2020-2030), and the recently endorsed Jordan Declaration on Inclusion and Diversity in Education. Jordan is committed to monitoring gender, disability and vulnerabilities to respond to specific needs through data disaggregation across all the SDG4 indicators. Providing enabling, safe, healthy, and accessible learning environments and support systems for all children, with special emphasis on children vulnerable to exclusion from and within education, such as children with disabilities and refugee children. This includes, implementation of the School Feeding Strategy, the Together Towards a Safe School Environment Program, and the provision of psychosocial support, and specialized programmes targeting life skills, and career guidance. Lesotho …we also have noted with concern that, while school coverage is wide, children and adolescents including those with disabilities are at risk of exclusion from schools, particularly in rural regions. The root causes range from a lack of inclusive infrastructure, gender-sensitive facilities, as well as lack of motivation and psychosocial support for learners and costs associated with schooling. Moreover, they are exposed to harmful gender norms, which result in school-related gender- based violence. The other challenge further exacerbated by COVID-19 amongst the adolescent girls is the drop out rate due to early and unintended pregnancies and child marriages. To respond to these, the country is working towards expanding learning opportunities through inclusive pedagogy, alternative pathways, and quality non-formal education programs, capacitating teachers on psychosocial support and strengthening linkages with social protection services. Malawi On Track One, Malawi’s aspirations for inclusive, equitable, safe and health-promoting schools include the following: • An Integrated minimum priority package comprising school health, nutrition, water, sanitation and hygiene, inclusive education, mental health, and online safety. • Making education mandatory from early childhood to secondary school; and intensifying girls’ education. • Strengthening child protection; ending gender-based violence; and operationalizing school governance bodies. Uganda We commit to ensuring affirmative action in favor of marginalized groups such as adolescents, refugees, girls and young women, and indigenous groups who may be excluded from education services. We shall provide to the younger generation a good vision for the future through an education that is built on the fundamental values of democracy, human rights, and the rule of law, thus equipping them with competences and values to navigate through a complex environment, characterized by technological opportunities and challenges, a rapidly changing world of work, economic and ecological crises. As such, we commit to strengthening prevention and response to any forms of violence at the school level, online, and in emergency settings by scaling up evidence-based prevention approaches such as emotional learning, gender transformative and trauma-informed approaches in curricula and teachers’ training as accelerators to violence prevention, learning and lifelong physical and mental health. We also commit to strengthening child-friendly referral systems to effectively respond to violence. Nigeria, as a signatory to the Safe Schools Declaration, committed to implementing it to protect girls from gender-based violence, harassment and attack on the way to and from school. Namibia’s comprehensive commitment to a ‘high quality’ education incorporates prevention and response to any form of violence at school and online and the statement committed to five key transformative initiatives for the education sector. South Africa made a statement about addressing gender-based violence and discrimination through comprehensive sexuality education and sexual and reproductive rights information from early childhood through to post school education and training.Leave no one behind: Gender equality in Transforming Education Summit national commitments 16 Country Extract of national statement related to gender equality Namibia Namibia’s main commitment is to address the rights of all children to an education that is equitable, of high quality and that does not neglect any child. An education that strengthens the prevention and response to any form of violence at school and online, enhancing school health and safety for all. As the Head of the Namibian House, I therefore commit to focus on five key transformative initiatives and policy actions, namely: 1. Develop a strategy for innovative financing and domestic resource mobilization. 2. Institute a national literacy and numeracy drive. 3. Ensure access to universal, inclusive digital technologies, ICT assistive devices and emerging education technologies, by strengthening collaboration with the private sector and development partners. 4. Transform Education Offices, through organizational development to enhance greater accountability and good governance. 5. Transform pre-service teacher education programmes to respond to the demands of the curriculum in schools. Nigeria Nigeria is restoring trust with its people, in order to provide safe learning environment and responsive services. That was why we were among the first to endorse the Safe Schools Declaration (SSD), while developing a national policy on school safety and security. Nigeria also hosted the 4th International Conference on Safe Schools Declaration in partnership with the African Union, Norway, Spain, Argentina and Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack (GCPEA) on 25th – 27th October, 2021. The implementation of the SSD has offered an avenue to address school safety in a broader context that now includes gender-based violence and the protection of girls from hazards that contribute to insecurity and violence. While this is a step forward for promoting the well-being of girls and ensuring they stay in school and learn, there are still many more grounds to cover. South Africa Recognize that inclusive and quality education and training are influenced by factors and challenges beyond the pedagogical approaches and learning programme, inside and outside the early childhood development programmes /school/post-school education and training (PSET) institutions to be addressed in an appropriate, inter-sectoral and sensitive manner. Addressing these programmes need to be implemented and monitored against existing and/or adjusted policies to ensure safety, non-discrimination, prevention of violence (general and gender-based violence), prevention and managing of drug and alcohol abuse, impacting on children/young people and educators. Issues like health, nutrition, diversity, ability, care and support and life skills need to be integrated across the education and training system. Comprehensive sexuality education, inclusive of sexual and reproductive health rights, needs to start early in early childhood development programmes and continue throughout basic education and post-school education and training (PSET) in an age-appropriate manner as to provide children and young people with the required knowledge to make informed decisions. All educators need to have a basic training on the inclusion of all children/students in learning environment (including disability, gender, diversity, sexual orientation, special educational needs, similar) as part of their pre-service training as well as post qualification continuing professional teacher development (CPTD). Theme 5: Gender-responsive education in emergencies: Eleven countries (12% of countries) acknowledged the impact of crises, conflict, and humanitarian disasters on displaced and refugee populations in the statements, with a recognition of gendered vulnerabilities. Japan, Norway and Sweden affirmed their commitment to funding education in emergencies, crises and conflict situations. Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda and Yemen took note of marginalized populations who are displaced or refugees in the commitment to providing safe, healthy and equitable schools for all. Ukraine committed to comprehensive gender-responsive and age-appropriate assistance for children and youth affected by war.Leave no one behind: Gender equality in Transforming Education Summit national commitments 17 Country Extract of national statement related to gender equality Democratic Republic of Congo Déclarons solennellement que nous nous engageons à : Prendre les mesures nécessaires pour accroitre l’offre publique d’éducation en vue d’assurer une scolarisation inclusive et de qualité à tous les citoyens, filles comme garçons, autochtones, enfants vulnérables, déplacés internes et réfugiés, dans des infrastructures adaptées aux besoins spécifiques des personnes vivant avec handicap et dans un environnement scolaire sain et sécurisé; Norway Quality education for all remains a key stone in Norway’s support to education. Central Priority areas are education in emergencies and conflict situations, girls’ education, including comprehensive sexuality education, technical and vocational education and training, school meals and education and climate change. Portugal Promote Gender Equality education; safe schools; school health and nutrition; education and teaching in the context of emergency and protracted crisis. Sweden The poorest and most vulnerable groups – including refugees and children with disabilities - are at the center of our attention. The role of education in empowering girls and women is of utmost importance. We pay particular attention to the importance and role of education in conflict and post-conflict situations and in humanitarian crises. Uganda Looking ahead, we commit to ensuring affirmative action in favor of marginalized groups such as adolescents, refugees, girls and young women, and indigenous groups who may be excluded from education services Ukraine A psychological support and care system needs to be developed providing comprehensive gender- responsive and age-appropriate assistance for children and youth affected by war or having different levels of war-related experience. In wartime, learning process has not been interrupted so far and that is mainly due to the efforts of our educators. Yemen The Government of Yemen declares its commitment to the following priorities until 2030: Inclusive, equitable, safe, and healthy schools- Enabling all children to obtain quality and safe education, bridging the gender gap and focusing on creating an attractive and positive school environment for children with special needs with specific attention to refugee and displaced children in areas of war conflict and natural disasters. Gender equality across the Action Tracks National statements that made commitments by Action Track addressed gender issues mostly under the theme of Action Track 1. Commitments towards gender was mentioned in relation to foundational skills and learning, and digital skills, notably by Cabo Verde, Jamaica, Kenya, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Australia, Nauru, and Philippines. These countries committed to higher levels of connectivity within schools and communities in both urban and rural areas to enable learning opportunities for all, and reducing the digital divide and internet poverty, because of gender and other factors. Broader commitments around teachers and the teaching profession were made, but very few (Chile, Turkmenistan, Qatar, Guyana, Cuba) mentioned gender disparities and opportunities to improve gender- responsive teaching and development of professional competencies to promote gender equality. Gender budgeting, data disaggregation and gender assessments in the context of education financing was not mentioned by any country.Leave no one behind: Gender equality in Transforming Education Summit national commitments 18 Gaps in relation to other global commitments Other global commitments of relevance include the following: • The G7 commitments to gender equality in education and girls’ and women’s education have formed a key component since the Charlevoix Declaration (2018), which aimed to improve access to quality education (including in humanitarian crises and conflict settings) and strengthen efforts to dismantle the barriers to girls’ and women’s education. • The Gender at the Center Initiative, launched at the G7 education minister’s meeting, led by France, committed to mainstreaming gender equality in education planning, implementation and monitoring, with the aim of improving girls’ enrolment and retention in school in the Sahel region. • The Girls’ Education Declaration, under the UK’s leadership of the G7 in 2021, committed to two objectives to be achieved by 2026, in low- and lower-middle-income countries, namely: 40 million more girls in school and 20 million girls reading by age 10 or the end of primary school. • The 2022 G7 Development Ministers Communique, led by Germany reaffirmed previous commitments to gender equality and girls’ education, by contributing to more resilient, inclusive, gender transformative education systems and ending structural barriers and harmful gender norms, stereotypes, roles and practices. • The Generation Equality Forum action plans are another set of normative standards that guide action on gender equality and women’s empowerment, These commitments recognize that an intersectional approach is needed to galvanize transformative change, recognizing that many women and girls experience multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination based on their identities, realities, and unequal access to power and resources. The TES national commitments to gender equality in education are aligned to the G7 commitments in two ways: firstly, the commitments address gendered barriers and vulnerabilities, particularly in the context of COVID-19 with 58% of countries making broad statements about access and quality education for all. Twenty of these countries are in Sub-Saharan Africa, and specifically highlighted gendered barriers such as early and unintended pregnancies, distance to school, poverty, migrant/refugee status, child labour, gender-based violence, and disparity (in favor of girls and boys) in learning and transition to secondary education. Sierra Leone stood out as the only one that used specific language around systemic gender transformation, while Mozambique spoke to establishing SDG 4 and 5 benchmarks. Secondly, 38% of countries made specific commitments on efforts to address stereotypes, promoting gender equality, global citizenship, and inclusion through pedagogy and curricula. All the regions were represented, with strong commitments coming from Comoros, Ecuador, Macedonia, South Africa, Turkmenistan and Uganda. This is a promising opportunity for further work on curricula reviews and expanding gender-responsive teaching and learning, including teacher development. However, attention to the specific learning needs of women and girls in crisis and conflict settings was not a strong part of the commitments. Only 11 countries addressed gender gaps in education in emergencies, crisis, and conflict settings and six of these were from Europe related to the Ukraine refugee crisis. Statements made by the Democratic Republic of Congo, Jordan, the Syrian Arab Republic and Yemen committed to the education of refugee and/or internally displaced populations, including girls within their borders. Few countries stood out as champions of gender equality in and through education, and strong commitments towards this were skewed toward countries in Europe. Statements by Kuwait and Qatar touched on gender equality and mainstreaming in education and Jordan was the only country that referenced its Gender Equality Strategy. Overall, the commitments fall short in embedding gender equality at the heart of education systems and investing in interventions and programmes that address structural gender disparities, promote women’s leadership, and shift harmful norms within and through the education system.Leave no one behind: Gender equality in Transforming Education Summit national commitments 19 Conclusion: Opportunities to move from commitment to action The G7 commitments (Canada, France, Germany and UK) build upon one another around accelerating support to girls’ education and achieving gender equality in and through education by supporting national governments to implement gender-transformative approaches and accelerating gender-responsive education in emergencies. According to the Building bridges for gender equality, report, published in 2019, 55% of G7 aid to education went to gender equality with Canada at the forefront with 92%, followed by France and UK at 76%.1 Data on COVID and its impact on gender equality in education and aid to education overall and gender equality in particular, are emerging and will become fully apparent in the coming years. The TES Call to Action on Advancing Gender Equality and Girls’ and Women’s Empowerment in and through education lays out the ambition for governments, bilateral donors, UN, private sector and development partners, civil society, youth groups and academia. It articulates a vision for change that will mitigate the negative impacts of the pandemic over the last three years. The Global Platform to Drive Leadership and Accountability for Gender Equality and Girls’ and Women’s Empowerment will establish accountability mechanisms to track progress on commitments made at TES and other global moments. The five transformative ambitions of the platform are: Transformative leadership, Transformative accountability, Transformative Innovation, Transformative Data and Transformative Financing. Much work remains to be done in translating the commitments into actionable strategies that will move countries from parity across the education system to being on a path towards the five transformative ambitions. This analysis presents groups of countries that are strong on certain thematic areas, and those that are still lagging on others. Fifty statements made on equity and reaching the most marginalized provide an opportunity for robust intersectional data disaggregation, at national, sub-national levels, and monitoring progress on gender equality against key education outcomes at national, regional and global level. The commitments also highlighted examples of nationally led programmes meant to reduce barriers to education and accelerate quality learning for all. Such as: • Bhutan’s ‘The Royal Kasho’ and in line with ‘The Bangkok Statement 2022’ • Jordan’s ‘Together towards a safe school environment’ Programme • Peru’s national curricula on “Tu voz para una mejor escuela” • Guyana’s ‘Because we care’ conditional cash transfer programme A robust evidence base for programmes that are gender-transformative can be developed by supporting the implementation of and evaluating nationally led initiatives. Similarly, commitments around pedagogy and curricula reform can be built upon for innovations around gender-responsive digital learning, and use of media and technology to address gender stereotypes in and through curricula. Efforts to support the realization of these and further commitments are needed to fast-track action for gender equality in and through education. 1 UNESCO Global Education Monitoring Report. 5 July 2019. Press Release: First ever breakdown shows over half of G7 aid to education goes to achieving gender equality, but results lag. Paris, UNESCO.Leave no one behind: Gender equality in Transforming Education Summit national commitments 20 Stay in touch Leave no one behind The Transforming Education Summit was convened in response to a global crisis in education – one of equity and inclusion, quality and relevance. This paper applies a gender lens to the national statements of commitments made by countries during the Summit. It considers the scope of commitments to gender equality and gender- transformative education, common gender themes and considerations emerging across commitments, and notable gaps. It aims to inform future actions by the Global Platform to Drive Leadership and Accountability for Gender Equality and Girls’ and Women’s Empowerment in and through Education, and support to country action to transform education systems to advance gender equality. [email protected] on.unesco.org/GenED Section of Education for Inclusion and Gender Equality UNESCO 7, place de Fontenoy 75352 Paris, France Follow @UNESCO on social media Gender equality in Transforming Education Summit national commitments Stay in touch ED /E 30 /I GE /2 02 3/ 03 /R EV