‘Girls in Western Australia gain right to wear pants and shorts to school‘ reads the headline in the New York Times and the only response I can muster is a tired ‘really?’

Not because it isn’t a good thing that a young person felt empowered enough to write a letter to their Education Minister and ask that the rules around uniforms are changed so that girls can wear shorts and pants. Not because uniforms are necessarily bad things and certainly not because it seems to have had a flow-on effect to at least one other state (Victoria). But really. Really?

In 2017, are we really having a conversation about dresses for girls and pants for boys? And this led me to think a little bit harder. Of course, it’s not just about that. It’s about the opposite. It’s about the conversation we aren’t having. No-one seems to be addressing the elephant in the room, which is that if girls can ask to wear pants, then that freedom should be extended equally to our boys. If they want to wear any element of the school uniform – skirt, skort, dress or kilt – equal treatment via unisex uniformity should rule. What’s good for the goose is good for the gander and vice-versa.

And what about the adults who walk through the school gates each day? If schools demand that students wear a uniform, and often more than one iteration not just on specific days but for specific lessons, then why don’t all school staff have to wear one too? Yes, some schools do, and yes, some types of school staff do – the administration staff, grounds and maintenance people, PE teachers – but in a time when creativity is lauded as the new skill all children must develop in order to secure future employment, why do we continue to impose uniform conformity on mainly students? If the pros of wearing a uniform are so great, then why doesn’t that extend to the whole school – teachers, administrative staff, Principal and so on? Or do those benefits only magically apply to children?

In reading many of the news articles that breathlessly announce the ‘win’ for girls, it seems that this isn’t really news. Most schools have, as is often the case, already moved with the times in allowing choice of uniform for girls. As the Conversation article below states:

While state education departments have the power to enforce uniform policies that are equitable, they largely leave it to individual schools. All states require schools to comply with anti-discrimination legislation. In Queensland, for example, the Department of Education’s school dress code guidelines require that “student dress codes offer gender-neutral uniform options for all students”. However, these policy documents are often wordy and wishy-washy. This leaves schools with a lack of clarity about exactly what is required.

The change means that individual schools in WA will continue to set their own dress codes, but must offer shorts or pants as an option for girls. In Queensland, Victoria and New South Wales it is up to individual schools to decide and in Victoria, James Merlino recently announced that he is “currently considering ways to ensure girls are provided the opportunity at all government schools to wear shorts and pants.” Another distinction is that private schools – Catholic and Independent – are exempt from any such requirement although it should be noted that the more progressive schools in both sectors are also responding to community demand.

Finally, male or female, student, teacher or parent, let’s put all those school dresses to good use and help a girl get to school, no matter what the uniform. Over 60 million girls around the world aren’t in school and by putting on a school dress you can help change this. This October dress up so it really matters. Do it in a dress, and help One Girl raise money for a great cause.

Other reading:

The Conversation, Why do we still make girls wear skirts and dresses as school uniform? Jan 2017

ABC, Should Australian schools force girls to wear skirts?

News Australia, Perth private schools introduce shorts and pants for girls

The Age, Girls win right to wear shorts and trousers to all Victorian state schools

Good Education, ‘An 11-year old student just scored a huge win for girls in Western Australia’