This dad’s letter calling out the sexism in his daughter’s school is iconic

"When Ruby left for school yesterday it was 2017 but when she returned home in the afternoon she was from 1968."

Far from the days of girls being taught home economics and boys being taught woodwork were we reared. Well, actually, no we weren't at all because that still happens quite a bit - here and abroad, evidently. Young women may not be so boldly told that they should aspire to be housewives anymore, but that doesn't mean that sexism doesn't exist in Western education systems these days. One dad who decided he wasn't going to take sexist attitudes in his daughter's school was Stephen Callaghan. When he heard that his 12-year-old daughter's class was split into two groups - one with girls who were going to get a makeover in the library and the other with boys who were going on a trip to the hardware store - he wrote a letter. And what a letter it is. https://twitter.com/2FBS/status/938343410108215296 It reads:

"Dear Principal, "I must draw your attention to a serious incident. "When Ruby left for school yesterday it was 2017 but when she returned home in the afternoon she was from 1968. ‘"know this to be the case as Ruby informed me that the “girls” in Year 6 would be attending the school library to get their hair and make-up done on Monday afternoon while the “boys” are going to Bunnings. "Are you able to search the school buildings for a rip in the space-time continuum? Perhaps a faulty Flux Capacitor hidden away in the girls' toilet block? "I look forward to this being rectified and my daughter and other girls at the school being returned to this millennium where school activities are not divided sharply along gender lines. Your respectfully, Stephen Callaghan."

As we can see from the above, Stephen went in. And rightly so. He shared his letter on Twitter too so people other than his daughter's school's principal could enjoy it. And, oh, they certainly did. "This reminds me of Women In Aviation Week a few years ago, where an event invitation ended with “Ladies: Bring a plate.” I wrote back and suggested that maybe they mistyped “plane,” and should issue a correction," said one person. "This is an excellent letter," said another. We would tend to agree.