10.08.2020

Inequality in education: where women have fewer opportunities

Inequality in education: where women have fewer opportunities An international report looks at the changes in access to education in low-income countries in the period from 2000 to 2017. The researchers say that despite improvements, the policymakers and authorities have to do more to deliver better education, which can lead to increased public health, social mobility, and prosperity.

 Access to education is one of the key issues in the world. Traditionally, more developed countries have been able to provide their citizens with better qualifications, while the poorer regions of the planet have been lacking this. However, the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals identify educational policies as essential for prosperity, health, and gender equality. An international group of researchers from across the globe, including Sechenov University members, published an important report that maps the educational attainment in low- and middle-income countries, covering the period from 2000 to 2017. The results have been published in Nature.

The authors used geolocating subnational data for more than 184 million person–years, available from 528 sources. The data included the percentage of those who completed key levels of schooling. The study is the first attempt to examine the subnational proportions of individuals with completed specific levels of education in all low- and middle-income countries.

The United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals focus on educational attainment and improved gender equality, as well as maternal, new-born, and child health. These parameters are associated with better schooling. Within the last two decades, global aid to education has been generally stagnating and exceeded the 2002 figures only in 2016. However, in reality, only 22% of the aid went to low-income countries in 2016, whereas in 2002 the proportion was 36%. This tendency reflects the unfair distribution of educational opportunities.

The average educational attainment remains low in most parts of sub-Saharan Africa. According to the figures for 2017, there is still a considerable gender disparity in many regions — men receive higher average education in central and western sub-Saharan Africa, as well as South Asia. In addition, the study has revealed significant differences between more prosperous and less successful administrative units within certain nations in 2017. For example, in Uganda people from rural regions spend on average 1.9 years in education, while this parameter reaches 11.1 years in Kampala, the capital of the country.

On the positive side, the authors saw significant improvements in the percentage of those who have completed primary school in Mexico and China. Unfortunately, women still have fewer chances to attain even primary education in many regions of the developing world. However, there has been huge progress in the 20–24 age group. In 2000, gender inequality in education was dominating in most low-income countries for both primary and secondary completion — especially in Burundi, Angola, Uganda, and Afghanistan. By 2017, there has been a major improvement, with the exception of sub-Saharan Africa.

Despite tremendous improvements in educational policies in countries such as South Africa, Peru, and Colombia, women still have less access to education than men throughout much of the world. The authors of the study conclude that the governments need to do more to improve the situation, as better education will deliver increased human capital, social mobility, and less engagement in child marriage or early childbearing.

The study includes contributions by Sechenov University (Department of Health Care and Public Health).

Read more: Graetz N, Woyczynski L, Wilson KF et al. Mapping disparities in education across low- and middle-income countries. Nature (2020).

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