Fact Sheet
No. 2
Education
and Training of Women
Education is a human right
and an indispensable element for economic and social progress. Ensuring
women's full and equal access to education must be recognized as a pivotal
building block for women's empowerment, and an essential tool for their
achieving the goals of gender equality, development and peace.
Despite reported progress,
there is still a persistent gap between women's and men's access to
education. Combating the high rate of illiteracy among women and girls
remains an urgent global need. According to the UNESCO Institute for
Statistics, it is now estimated that two-thirds of the world's 875 million
illiterate adults are women. In Southern Asia, nearly three in five
women are illiterate, and it is estimated that half of all women in
Africa and in the Arab region are still illiterate.
Gender disparities for literacy
rates are less marked amongst young adults. There is now little or no
gender difference in the literacy rates of 15-24 year olds in several
regions of the world, including Europe, North America, Latin America
and the Caribbean, and Eastern Asia and Oceania.
The Platform for Action,
adopted by the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995,
identified the need to ensure women's full and equal access to education
and training as one of 12 areas of concern requiring urgent action by
governments and the international community.
During its forty-first session in 1997, the United Nations Commission
on the Status of Women recommended further action to be taken to improve
women's access to education, including the mainstreaming of a gender
perspective in all policies and programmes in the educational sector.
In its agreed conclusions, the Commission emphasized the interlinkage
between education, training and the labour market, and called for more
research on employment trends, income and future employment opportunities.
Eradication of Illiteracy
In many parts of the world, illiteracy remains high among adult women
because of the lack of access to education in childhood. Strategies
to combat female illiteracy must focus on ensuring girls' equal access
to, and completion of, basic education. In addition, there is a need
to reach out to adult women through massive literacy campaigns using
all modern means available. Since the Beijing Conference, more efforts
have been undertaken by many countries to combat female illiteracy:
- Through the E-9 initiative,
involving Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Mexico,
Nigeria and Pakistan, which together account for half the world's
population and 70 per cent of the world's illiterates, these states
have made specific efforts to achieve education for all, with a priority
on the education of women and girls.
- Nepal is among a number
of countries that provide scholarships for girls from poor families
or rural areas. Incentives are given to successful female students
from rural areas to become teachers in their home villages.
- In Botswana, more women
than men are now enrolled in literacy classes, functional literacy
projects and distance education, due to a concerted national effort.
- In Burkina Faso, quotas
have been introduced in satellite schools, non-formal education centres
and literacy-training centres to ensure that 50 per cent of students
are girls.
- Senegal reports that the
reduction in female illiteracy has increased the school enrolment
rate of girls from 35 to 52.9 per cent.
As a result of national programmes, Bhutan reports that 70 per cent
of the beneficiaries of non-formal education programmes are women.
Universal Access to Basic Education
Enrolment rates for girls
and boys at the primary and secondary school level have increased in
almost all regions of the world. However, the gender gap persists in
many countries. Traditional attitudes still prevail in many cultures,
resulting in a lack of motivation among parents to send their daughters
to schools.
It is at the secondary
level of schooling that the gender gap widens, as a large number of
girls leave school earlier than boys, especially in rural or impoverished
areas. Early marriage, teenage pregnancies and the need to provide assistance
to the family, or to learn practical skills useful for employment, are
among the reasons for girls dropping out.
In efforts to ensure access
for girls to primary and secondary education, countries have taken various
measures, including:
- In Cameroon, the African
Girls' Education Initiative, a programme sponsored by the United Nations
Children's Fund (UNICEF), managed to increase girls' enrolment by
8 per cent between 1997 and 1998. During the same period, the drop-out
rate for girls decreased from 9 to 6 per cent.
- Uganda has established
the Universal Primary Education policy, which covers tuition costs
for four children per family and all orphans. The policy stipulates
that two of four sponsored children should be female.
Algeria and Iran have established boarding schools free of charge
in rural and nomadic areas, and have made special efforts to reach
out to girls.
- China and Yemen have introduced
changes in class schedules and flexibility in the curriculum to adjust
to the needs of students, especially girls.
- Turkey has adopted legislation
increasing compulsory education from five to eight years.
Benin is among countries that have embarked on campaigns to educate
communities about the importance of secondary education for girls.
- Argentina, Ghana, Indonesia
and the Seychelles have taken legal action to ensure girls' equal
access to free and compulsory education up to the age of 10 years.
- To counter female drop-out
rates, which occur mostly at the secondary level, Mexico has introduced
changes in the curriculum to include family planning and awareness
of the implications of early pregnancy and parenthood.
- In some parts of Kenya,
community mobile schools for single mothers have been established.
Achievements in Higher Education
Over the past 20 years,
significant progress has been made with regard to higher education.
It is of particular interest that in countries where tertiary education
has expanded significantly, women's school enrolment has increased more
than men's.
- In Namibia, 50 per cent
more women are enrolled in higher education than men.
- In Canada, New Zealand,
the United States, and many European as well as some Latin American
and Caribbean countries, women's enrolment in tertiary education has
reached more than 50 per cent.
- Libya reports that more
women go abroad for higher education than men.
- In Norway, women now represent
34 per cent of those students who pass the doctorate examination.
- Algeria reports that 86.6
per cent of female students pursue long-term studies.
Vocational Training and Science and Technology
Gender stereotyping continues
to prevail in technical and professional fields. Even where women have
open access to all professions, they overwhelmingly opt for traditionally
"female" occupations. At the same time, the number of women
attending vocational training programmes remains small.
- In many countries, special
initiatives have been taken to direct girls to non-traditional fields
of study.
- In Austria, special computer
and Internet courses are offered to increase the number of girls enrolled
in technical schools.
- Zambia introduced affirmative
action in science and technology to encourage the participation of
female students.
- Saint Vincent and the
Grenadines reports that the introduction of guidance counsellors in
schools has increased the number of girls in non-traditional subjects.
- In the Netherlands, a
"Women and Technology Action Plan 1995-1998" was designed
to encourage more girls and women to opt for careers in engineering
and technology.
- Cuba introduced nation-wide
training programmes in universities to integrate career and skill
development for women.
Eliminating Gender Discrimination
There is an increasing awareness
and recognition among governments of the persistent gender bias within
education systems, reflected in textbooks and educational curricula,
as well as in teacher attitudes and training. In efforts to combat these
biases, countries have taken various actions:
- In Kenya, gender sensitization
workshops have resulted in a marked improvement in gender awareness
among teachers and education officials.
- Luxembourg has commissioned
studies to examine gender biases in its entire education system, starting
with the playing habits of children in pre-school.
- Colombia has established
a committee and organized training sessions on gender and non-sexist
themes for special target groups, such as educators, editors and communication
professionals.
- In Italy, a self-regulated
code of conduct for publishers of textbooks has been formulated.
This fact sheet is based on "Review and Appraisal
of the Implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action: Report of
the Secretary-General" (E/CN.6/2000/PC/2).
Published by the
United Nations Department of Public Information
DPI/2035/B—May 2000
