HOW POLICIES AFFECT GENDER EQUALITY IN EDUCATION

On the other hand, both male and female teachers have been guilty of gender stereotyping - which, depending on circumstance, can operate to the detriment of either boys or girls.

Despite the substantial gains that have been made in recent years, access is the single most important cause of disparities against girls in the pursuit of primary and secondary education. But girls also face inschool disadvantages in forms that include biased treatment, harassment and sexist stereotypes in educational content. Boys are less likely than girls to be excluded from education based on their gender, but they also face in-school issues that contribute to higher repetition and dropout rates.

Gender disparities can take many different forms across countries. Thus countries need a range of different policies to address the specific inequalities related to school intake, classroom practices and the transition to higher levels of education. Just as most countries take steps to ensure that girls have access to school, they also need policies to address the different disadvantages facing boys and girls that arise at different levels of schooling.

Participants of the World Conference on Education for All in 1990 and in subsequent international assemblies embraced an ambitious vision of a world in which all children would have access to an education that would enable them to realize their highest potential as individuals, parents, citizens and workers. Over the last two decades much progress has been made toward achieving this vision.

Enrolments at all levels, from pre-primary through tertiary, have increased at rates well above the growth of the relevant school-age population, meaning that the number of out-of-school children has declined.

Three-quarters of the world's children now reside in countries with near-universal primary enrolment, and there has been a general upward trend in participation in secondary school in all regions. School-life expectancy rates are on the rise throughout the world for both males and females. Youth literacy rates are well above those for adults - a development that portends well for adult literacy rates in the future.

Progress has also been made toward the goal of gender parity. Female enrolments have increased faster than those for males at all levels, most dramatically in tertiary education. Two-thirds of countries have achieved gender parity at the primary level and one-third at both the primary and secondary levels.

Whereas the challenge of gender equality was once seen as a simple matter of increasing female enrolments, the situation is now more nuanced, and every country, developed and developing alike, faces policy issues relating to gender equality. Girls continue to face discrimination in access to primary education in some countries, and the female edge in tertiary enrolment up through the master's level disappears when it comes to Phds and careers in research. On the other hand, once girls gain access to education their levels of persistence and attainment often surpass those of males. High repetition and dropout rates among males are significant problems.

Despite these achievements however, most of the developing regions still fall behind on several aspects of gender equality. It is often the case where a better level of education doesn't necessarily translate into better employment opportunities. Even though women outperform men in education, they still face significant shortfalls and discrimination in the labour market and end up in jobs where they don't use any of their skills.

However, even though education is not the only input into women's empowerment it is nonetheless a central one.

To mark International Women's Day, UNESCO released the World Atlas of Gender Equality in Education.

Female role models:an important factor in girls' academic success

One important factor that contributes to girls' success in school is the presence of female teachers who can serve as role models and send powerful messages to young girls. Female teachers can also make classrooms seem like safer and more inviting places for girls and young women and, in the process, encourage them to continue their education.

Secondary teaching force evenly divided among males and females

The importance of having female teachers as role models for female students is just as relevant at the secondary as at the primary level. Whereas females have traditionally represented a minority of the teaching force at the secondary level, this situation is changing.

Women represent a majority of teachers in 68 per cent of 152 countries - well below the comparable proportion of 78 per cent of countries at the primary level. Significantly, there are only eight countries in which they account for at least 80 per cent of the secondary teaching force.

As at the primary level, the proportion of female teachers in secondary schools is rising. For the world as a whole, the proportion of female secondary teachers grew from a minority of 48 per cent in 1990 to a slight majority of 52 per cent in 2009. The highest proportion (73 per cent) was registered in Central and Eastern Europe. Since girls seeking to become primary school teachers need to go to secondary school, it is not surprising that large proportions of female teachers at the primary level are associated with high gross enrolment ratios at the secondary level.

On the other hand, both male and female teachers have been guilty of gender stereotyping - which, depending on circumstance, can operate to the detriment of either boys or girls. Despite the fact that they now represent a majority of teachers at both the primary and secondary levels, female teachers are not as likely as their male counterparts to move into school level management positions.

Teachers' pay a factor in proportion of female teachers

The proportion of female teachers in a country tends to reflect how well teachers are paid. That proportion tends to be high in places where teachers’ salaries are low. By contrast, males tend to dominate the teaching force in countries where teachers are relatively well paid.

Girls more affected than boys by distance to school

The need to travel long distances to school has a negative impact on attendance and persistence for both sexes, but distance is a significant obstacle for girls, especially at the lower secondary level.

Females have edge over males in learning achievement

Abundant evidence exists in countries around the world of significant gender differences in learning achievement. Specifically, girls tend to have an advantage in reading achievement compared to boys, while boys have historically held an advantage in mathematics and science.