How the United Nations contributes to raising teachers’ status

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Classroom teacher's workload, Indonesia

Source: Ramadian Bachtiar/CIFOR

Teaching has long been, and still remains today, a primarily female-dominated profession. This can be linked to two main reasons:

  1. in most traditional societies, caring for, educating and raising children, has usually been the responsibility of the mother, resulting in the feminization of the teaching profession;
  2. the teaching profession has been, and is sometimes still, associated with a lower status, which can be linked to low salaries, poor working conditions and many other issues.

In some societies, those two reasons can sometimes create a vicious cycle, e.g. where women have a perceived inferior status, and as teachers are predominantly women, the teaching profession is subjected to the same misperception as being of inferior status. Yet, in other societies, while the teaching profession is held in high esteem, it is still often seen as a ‘woman’s job’.

What does the UN have to do with this issue? Among its top priorities, UNESCO works to raise the status of teachers, specifically through the promotion and dissemination of the two UNESCO and International Labour Organization (ILO) normative instruments concerning the status of teaching personnel (1966 and 1997). The Joint ILO/UNESCO Committee of Experts on the Application of the Recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers (CEART) monitors the implementation of these Recommendations. But ‘recommendations’ are all these are – they are not legally binding or enforceable.

So how can they influence change? Well, all Member States of the ILO and UNESCO, whether or not they voted for the Recommendations or approved them, are obliged to be familiar with their provisions and have been invited to apply them in their respective countries. So a Recommendation may have a persuasive effect.

In fact, some people consider that the UNESCO-ILO Recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers adopted in 1966 has essentially served as a “charter of rights” for teachers worldwide! This is so significant that the 5th of October, the anniversary of its signing, became the date chosen for World Teachers’ Day.

But what exactly do these organizations do? For example, UNESCO and ILO support the Recommendations by

  • organizing seminars at all levels (e.g. local, regional, national, international) in which representatives of government, teachers’ organizations and private school employers agree on strategies for concrete action to improve the conditions of teachers;
  • undertaking case studies and statistical studies which highlight current issues and practice; and
  • providing information and technical advice to countries’ educational authorities and teachers’ organizations on changes in laws, regulations, and practices affecting teachers.

You can learn more about what UNESCO and ILO do to raise the status of teachers here:

But recommendations can only take us so far. While it is a foundation on which to build, all of the work the United Nations does can only take us part of the way. Change has to come from within each system, within each country.

Teachers face diverse challenges, and addressing those challenges with the appropriate support requires that the status of the teaching profession be elevated. The vital role of teachers and the teaching profession, and their potential for improving societies and individuals’ well-being must be acknowledged. That acknowledgement and understanding must then be turned into action.

Would you consider being a teacher? How would any of the issues mentioned play a role in your decision? What would you do to elevate the teaching profession to its rightful status? Share your thoughts and suggestions in the comments!

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