March 8 marks International Women’s Rights Day. The following week provided an opportunity for all classes, from nursery to Year 66, to work on gender equality: the EQUITY WEEK, which took place from March 9 to 13, 2026.
In preschool, children explored the picture book “Echte Kerle” and took part in discussions based on photos illustrating sports, clothing and everyday situations in the school playground.
In elementary school, students from Year 2 to Year 6 created posters and drawings, comic strips and short texts on equality. They wrote poems and acrostics about equality and diversity, drawing on classroom debates about women who have shaped history (such as Anne Frank) or literary heroines like Claudine de Lyon. Some classes organized philosophy workshops, discussions about laws, gender-neutral professions, and conversations about the underrepresentation of women in the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and its recent evolution.
Students in Years 5 and 6 shared statistics over the school microphone each day, helping the entire school community become aware of inequalities that still exist today. These moments of sharing opened discussions about access to rights, scientific education pathways and careers, and encouraged collective reflection on respect, equality and building a fairer future.
Students also learned songs such as “Madame Simone Veil,” “Because I Am a Girl,” and “C’est tout comme.”
Some of the statistics shared included:
– In 67 countries, domestic violence is not considered a crime.
– In the United States, 300,000 children have been married in less than 20 years, mostly young girls, sometimes as young as ten years old. These marriages remain legal in 43 out of 50 states, and in nine of them without any minimum age.
– Only 22.8% of ministers and 26.5% of parliamentarians worldwide are women (IPU, UN Women, 2023).
– 100 countries still have no law guaranteeing equal pay for work of equal value.
Students also reflected on inspiring quotes, including:
– “Equality is a vital need of the human soul.” Simone Weil – 1927–2017 – politician, writer, minister
– “Gender equality requires the engagement of women and men, girls and boys. Everyone is responsible.” Ban Ki-moon – diplomat, statesman, politician, minister (1944–)
– “Love of democracy is love of equality.” Montesquieu – artist, writer, philosopher (1689–1755)
Some activities are continuing beyond the week, including a reading challenge in Year 4, observations of gender use of playground spaces in Years 5 and 6, and reflections on how to promote a culture of equality in everyday school life.
Throughout the week, both students and staff wore purple clothing or accessories as a visible symbol of their commitment.
Equality week for Year 9 students
As part of their learning program, Year 9 students worked with their mathematics teacher to explore bias in artificial intelligence — systematic and unfair errors in AI responses often caused by incomplete or biased representations of reality.
The objective of these sessions was to examine gender equality while highlighting the opportunities and limitations of AI image-generation technologies.
Students tested image generators using neutral prompts in various professional fields to determine whether the system tended to produce images of men or women. The results were sometimes surprising and often reflected stereotypes, prejudices and existing inequalities.
Working in small groups, students analyzed the generated images, identified biases and questioned the algorithms behind them.
This analysis highlighted society’s responsibility in shaping and using AI technologies, as well as the importance of examining them critically to identify and correct biases that may perpetuate inequality.
Students also discussed possible solutions, including encouraging more girls to pursue studies and careers in digital and technology sectors in order to diversify development and research teams.
As part of their digital skills certification, Year 9 students must complete two PIX pathways on artificial intelligence, enabling them to deepen their knowledge and understanding of this topic.
A week rich in learning and dialogue, helping everyone better understand the challenges of equality and take concrete steps toward building a culture of respect and fairness within the school community.
