Gender

Convenors:

Prof. Dr. Tim Rohrmann, University of Applied Sciences and Arts, Hildesheim, Germany
Dr. Joanne McHale, Technological University Dublin, Dublin, Ireland

together with:
David Brody, Senior Advisor, Jerusalem, Israel
Halah Gaber Elkarif, University of Cairo, Egypt
Ricardo Goncalves, Örebrö University, Sweden
Birgitte Ljunggren, Queen Maud University College of Early Childhood Education, Norway
Yuwei Xu, University of Nottingham, UK

Purpose

For some years now, researchers from several countries have formed an international network on issues of gender in ECEC. Since 2010, members of the network organised research symposia on the annual conferences of EECERA. In 2012, the network initiated the Special Interest Group Gender Balance within EECERA.

The SIG focuses on gender issues with a special focus on the ECE work force, on the important role gender plays in adult-child-relations, and on gender in the context of diversities. This includes strategies for a more diverse and gender-mixed ECE workforce. In the past decade, several research projects were conducted, and during the past years it has become a global issue, with researchers from countries worldwide focusing on these issues. Although some government funded programmes have tried for bringing more men in the profession, the transfer from research to policy remains a challenge.

We believe that the involvement of men in children’s lives is crucial for the future development of our societies. Thus, we support the aim of increasing the proportion of male ECEC workers towards a diverse and gender-mixed work force. At the same time there is a need for a more differentiated view. Research is necessary e.g. on the significance of ECEC workers’ gender for children’s development, the interrelations of gender balance in the workforce and the promotion of gender equality, on gender-sensitive strategies for recruitment for ECE training and work, on recruitment and retention of men in the ECEC workforce, and on global perspectives in the context of gender equality and children’s development in ECEC in general.

The SIG focuses on the links of research, practice and policy, intends to provide an academic forum for the promotion, development and dissemination of research, and facilitates cooperation and collaboration between researchers in the field.

More information about the SIG, presentations, publications and projects can be found at http://www.siggender.eu

Report

Click here to view the 2024-25 report (pdf)
Click here to view the 2022-24 report (pdf)
Click here to view the 2020-21 report (pdf)
Click here to view the 2019-20 report (pdf)
Click here to view the 2018-19 report (pdf)
Click here to view the 2017-18 report (pdf)
Click here to view the 2016-17 report (pdf)
Click here to view the 2015-16 report (pdf)
Click here to view the 2014-15 report (pdf)
Click here to view the 2013-14 report (pdf)
Click here to view the 2012-13 report (pdf)

News & Events

For information on any upcoming SIG meetings, please contact the convenors.

Newsletters

SIG Newsletter April 2025

SIG Newsletter December 2024

SIG Newsletter March 2024

SIG Newsletter December 2023

SIG Newsletter January 2023

SIG Newsletter AUGUST 2022

SIG Newsletter JUNE 2022

Activities & Publications

The next SIG online conference will be held on Thursday, 5th February 2026, Online, 14.00-17.00 CET (Central Europe Time).

The next SIG research conference will take place in connection with the 34th Annual EECERA conference, Tuesday, 25th August 2026, Funchal, Madeira, 13.00-16.30.

If you plan to submit a paper on gender issues on the 34th Annual EECERA conference, and are interested to join in an Self-Organized-Symposium, please contact Tim Rohrmann.

Early Career Researchers Group

More info: Please contact Halah Gaber Elkarif.

Collaborate research

Mentoring of Men in ECEC–Visit the webpage here.

Multilingual evaluation of a picture book for children about an intersex child–Visit the webpage here.

Publications

Some recent contributions on gender balance in ECEC

Brody, David; Xu, Yuwei; Emilsen, Kari & Coles, Laetitia (2025). Young Children’s Perspectives on Teacher Gender. Contextualizing Gender Stereotypes and Inclusive Practices in Early Childhood Education and Care. London: Routledge.

Elkarif, Halah (2025). Social and cultural factors affecting the involvement of male educators in early childhood education: a cross-cultural study. Dissertation. University of Hildesheim, Hildesheim. https://doi.org/10.25528/291

Gonçalves de Sousa, Ricardo (2024). Fysisk beröring som pedagogisk handling i förskolan. Beröringens funktioner och villkor i mötet mellan manliga förskollärare och barn (Örebro Studies in Education, Bd. 67). Örebro: Örebro University. https://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:oru:diva-116661

Pirard, Florence & Razy, Elodie (Hrsg.) (2024). La petite enfance au défi du genre en contexte interculturel : Rapport de recherche. Bruxelles: Office de la Naissance et de l’Enfance/ONE Academy. https://orbi.uliege.be/handle/2268/329856

Our recent publication lists features research on men in ECEC in China, Ghana, Italy, Saudi Arabia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain and other countries. Have a look!

Gender Publication lists 2013-2025

Unfortunately, the use of AI generated fake sources in scientific papers has become an issue in academia. We found several cases also in the field of gender research, some of them disseminated by Academia.eu and ResearchGate. If you find fake sources in a publication featured on our lists, please inform us instantly.

Presentations

The SIG Gender has organised symposia at the EECERA Annual conferences since 2009 and SIG research conferences since 2013. All presentations from these symposia and conferences are available on www.siggender.eu, subpage ‘documentations’. Feel free to have a look!

Links & Partners

Researchers interested in the issue of gender balance in the ECE workforce, and the important role gender plays in adult-child-relations, can join our Facebook group SIG Gender EECERA.