SDG 4: Quality Education and the Gender Gap

The fourth STG, “Quality Education” sets the target of ensuring  inclusive and equitable quality education and promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all. Given the transformative power of education, in the lives of individuals, communities, societies and the world as a whole, this goal plays an integral role in supporting all the others. As an institution of higher education, this goal is certainly close to the heart of Luiss, but we must also recognize that we are in the privileged position to avail ourselves of the economic and social circumstances which have allowed us to reach the level of university education. This is certainly not true for many parts of the world, in which economic and cultural factors prevent many from receiving the level of education they deserve.

Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UNDHR) guarantees the right to education for all, and stipulates that education should be free (and compulsory) in the elementary stages, that professional and vocational education should be generally available and that higher education be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit. To say that we are a long way off from securing this right for everyone would be an understatement, as educational inequality persists around the world. Educational inequality refers to the unequal distribution of academic resources such as funding for schools, books, technology, and qualified teachers, and disproportionately impacts poor and marginalized communities around the world. Comprehensive studies have shown that educational inequality is not only directly correlated with earnings inequality but also with inequality of health status, and even unequal access to political participation in democratic processes.  Thus, inequalities in education perpetuate inequality in terms of other important human rights, such as the right to an adequate standard of living for one’s health and well-being (Article 25) and the right to take part in the government of one’s country (Article 21).

Educational inequality exists not only between nations and communities, but also within communities themselves, as certain members may be prevented access to adequate education due to their belonging to a low-economic social stratum or other marginalized group.

We caught up with Luiss alumna Giulia Cappella, who wrote thesis on a pervasive form of educational inequality—the gender gap in education—to find out more about this phenomenon and what might be done to combat it. As part of her Bachelor’s degree in Politics: Philosophy and Economics (PPE), Ms. Capella—who recently completed her second Master at Luiss in International/Global studies—wrote a compelling thesis titled Reducing the Gender Gap in Education as a Means for Development. She was supervised in her research by Dr. Noemi Pace, who now holds the position of Associate Professor of Economics in the Faculty of Political Science University at Teramo.

As Ms. Capella correctly noted, the gender gap in education is far less frequently discussed than the gender gap in salaries—a hot topic in public discourse and frequent target of feminist activists in many Western societies. The gender gap in education is certainly no less concerning than the salary gap, but is less visible, as Ms. Capella notes, most likely because it is a problem that predominantly impacts the Global South. Whereas women in wealthier Western countries have enjoyed equal access to education for decades now, educational inequality largely tracks national income inequality and disproportionately persists in Africa and the Middle East.

In high and middle income countries, when adjustments are made for the demographic distribution of gender at birth, the numbers of boys and girls who complete primary and secondary education are roughly equal, even skewed slightly in favor of females, especially at the level of secondary education. In low-income countries on the other hand, this trend is reversed, with far more boys completing primary and secondary schooling than girls. According to World Bank data only 63.2% of girls in low-income countries complete primary schooling compared with 68.5% of boys. The gap worsens at the level of secondary education, which 40.6% of males and 33.9% females complete.

Even the number of males who complete secondary education low-income countries is concerningly low (40.6% compared with 81.7% and 93% for middle and high-income countries respectively), and the gap indicates that these girls and women are members of at least a doubly marginalized group.

Root causes

While this issue, when addressed in the media (if at all), is usually discussed in the context of cultural customs and taboos, the issue is actually far more complex and has a strong economic component. Ms. Capella explained that while cultural factors certainly play a role, these are exacerbated by the circumstances of poverty in many of the places where a gender gap in education persists. For example, in many situations in which parents must choose between educating their children or sending them to work in unskilled jobs, the opportunity cost of educating children may be simply too high. If they must choose between educating a son or a daughter, it is at that point at which cultural factors may come into play. There are also biological factors, which are themselves combined with economic factors which preclude women from taking advantage of the same educational opportunities as men. Because many rural schools lack access to proper sanitation facilities, women may decide to discontinue their education once they reach puberty, in order to avoid the difficulty of dealing with the menstrual cycle without adequate access to sanitary products or facilities.

Can this situation be improved and how?

The socio-economic factors that contribute to the gender gap in education can only be addressed through widespread structural change, but in the meantime, some of the issues which specifically impact women’s access to education can be addressed at the community level. To this end international organizations like The United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) can play an important role by contributing expertise and allocating resources aimed community awareness and education. The UNESCO strategy for gender equality in and through education 2019-2025 lays out an ambitious plan for a “system-wide transformation to benefit all learners and targeted interventions to support girls’ and women’s empowerment”. The report stresses the need for a comprehensive approach which involves improving the collection and analysis of data on gender issues in education in order to inform action, better legal, policy and planning frameworks to advance rights, and the implementation of better teaching and learning practices to empower women and girls.

For those interested in learning about and discussing issues like educational inequality, and maybe one day contributing to finding solutions, Luiss offers several study programs and courses related to international development, political economy, and international organizations. Some of these include the Bachelors in PPE and the Master in Global Management and Politics.