Improved access to education for women does not necessarily translate in better employment opportunities, reports say
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To mark International Women’s Day, commemorated on 8 March, inequalities between men and women in political, economic and social spheres has been at the centre of discussions around the world. Several reports published on the eve of the day, celebrated since 1975, acknowledge that many significant improvements could be achieved but also warn that there is still a long way to go for gender equality to become a reality. According to the “World Atlas of Gender Equality in Education”, jointly released by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), the number of girls enrolled in primary schools could be increased in recent years. Access to secondary education however remains restricted, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa, the report warns. Those girls enrolled in primary schools often outperform boys, who tend to drop out more often than girls, the data indicates. And whilst women constitute the majority of tertiary students in 2/3 of the countries analysed, few of them become PhD graduates or researchers. The report further points to the continuous lack of opportunities for women to better employment and income, regardless of better access to education. Despite improved equity in education, women do not enjoy a fair share in the economy or in political power, figures of the Social Watch “Gender Equity Index 2012” (GEI) reveal. According to the index that measures the gap between women and men in education, economy and political empowerment, women continue to be paid significantly lower salaries for the same type of work, and are more prone to vulnerable or irregular jobs. Overall, none of the countries assessed have yet reached an acceptable level, Social Watch warns. While countries, such as Mongolia, Rwanda, the Philippines and Nicaragua have reached relatively high levels of gender equity, where many people live in poverty, countries with elevated income, such as Japan, Turkey and Saudi Arabia score less successful in the promotion of equal opportunities. The Republic of Congo, Niger, Tchad, Yemen and Afghanistan represent the countries with the lowest gender equality scores, according to Social Watch. However, the number of girls enrolled in schools not only depends on the policies promoted by the government but also on social circumstances, Thida Khus, executive director of the Cambodian NGO Silaka pointed out. “Culturally, women have a lot of pressure to support the family, and are forced to abandon school. The education system is not addressing the needs of these girls,” she said, calling for the government to rethink macro-economic and education policy to keep girls in school. View the Social Watch GEI 2012 here: Social Watch To download the UNESCO World Atlas of Gender Equality in Education, click here: UNESCO - Institute for Statistics (pdf) Sources: UN News Centre |
