Gender and Education The State of Education Series March 2013 A Global Report

Indicators This presentation includes analysis of gender disparities in: n Net Enrollment Rates (NER) for primary and secondary n Net Attendance Rates (NAR) for primary and secondary n Out of School Children (OOS) n Repetition Rates n Primary/Secondary Completion Rates n Learning Outcomes n Gross Enrollment/Attendance Rates (GER/GAR) for tertiary n Youth and Adult Literacy Rates

Acronym Guide

Pre-Primary Education

Do gender disparities exist in pre- primary enrollment rates? n Gender parity indices (GPIs) are calculated by dividing the female value for an indicator by the male value, so perfect gender parity equals 1. A value below 1 indicates a bias toward males. A value above 1 indicates a bias toward females. n Globally, the GPI has been increasing from.98 in 2000 to perfect gender parity (1.0) in n Most regions are very close to gender parity (+/- 0.02) in Only MNA lags behind. n 4 of 6 regions have a slight female bias. Gender parity in pre-primary enrolments (1.0) has been achieved globally and in most regions.

Primary Education

Are more females out-of- school than males? n In 1999, there were almost 62 million females out-of-school compared to 45.5 million males. 58% of the world’s out-of- school children were female. n In 2010, around 32 million girls were out of school compared to 28.6 million boys. 52.5% of out-of-school children were female. n The gap between male and female totals decreased from 16.5 million to 3.6 million between 1999 and More Females are Out of Primary School than Males

Where are more females out-of- school? n Over half of the world’s out of school girls are in SSA, and just under 1/4 are in South Asia. n South Asia has decreased its total number of females out-of-school by 17.7 million since The region’s total dropped from 25 million to 7 million. n SSA has also decreased its total from 24.3 million in 1999 to 17.5 million in out of every 4 Out-of-School Girls are in either Sub-Saharan Africa or South Asia

Which countries have the most females out-of-school? n Around half of the world’s out-of-school females live in these 10 countries. n 36% of the world’s out-of- school females live in the Top 4 countries. n Nigeria, Pakistan, and India all have more our- of-school females that the sum of all females out-of- school in LAC and ECA. n Half of the countries are in SSA and three are in South Asia.

Are there gender, income, or location disparities in the % of children OOS? n In all regions, more low income students are OOS than high income students. SAS has the largest income disparity at 29 percentage points difference between the top and bottom quintiles. SSA follows closely behind with 24 points. n A higher % of boys are OOS in EAP, ECA, and LAC, but a higher % of girls are OOS in SAS and SSA. n In all regions except for ECA, a higher % of rural students are OOS. This disparity is highest in SSA at 15 percentage points. 2 Low income is the greatest source of disparity in percentages of OOS children across regions.

Which regions have reached gender parity in primary enrollments? n Gender parity indices (GPIs) are calculated by dividing the female value for an indicator by the male value, so perfect gender parity equals 1. A value below 1 indicates a bias toward males. A value above 1 indicates a bias toward females. n Globally, the GPI has been increasing from.93 in 1999 to.98 in n Most regions are very close to gender parity (+/- 0.03). Only MNA and SSA lag behind. n EAP, ECA, and LAC have achieved gender parity in primary (+/- 0.02). All regions except MNA and SSA are within 0.03 of gender parity in primary enrollments.

Have most countries reached gender parity in primary enrollments? n Half of countries with data have already achieved gender parity (+/-.02). n 78% of countries with data are within 0.05 of gender parity. n Many more countries have a bias toward males in primary enrolments (GPI<1). n Afghanistan has the largest male bias at.69 followed by Central African Rep. and Chad at.73. n San Marino has the highest female bias at % of countries are within 0.05 of gender parity in primary enrollments. Female Bias Male Bias

Which countries have the largest gender disparities in primary enrolment rates? n The male primary gross enrolment rate in these countries is much higher than the female gross enrolment rate. n 7 of 10 countries are in SSA. 2 are in South Asia and 1 is in MNA. n Of the 20 countries with the lowest GPIs (GPI<0.9),14 are in SSA, 2 are in SAS, 2 are in EAP (Togo and PNG), and 1 is in LAC (Dominican Republic).

Which countries have decreased gender disparity in primary the most? n These countries have moved from 0.14 to 0.25 percentage points closer to gender parity (1) between 2000/2001 and the most recent data year. n 6 of the 10 countries are in SSA; 2 are in MNA and 2 in South Asia. n Senegal now has higher female enrollment rates than male enrollment rates (1.06). n Burundi and India have reached gender parity.

Do gender, income, or location disparities exist in primary attendance rates? n EAP, ECA, LAC, and MNA do not have large disparities in primary net attendance rates (NAR) between genders, rural/urban locations, or top/bottom income quintiles. n The largest disparities in most regions are associated with income. In SSA and SAS, there is a 20 percentage point difference between the top/bottom income quintiles. n Rural students in SSA also have NARs that are 12 percentage points lower than urban students. 2 Gender, income and location disparities are small in all regions except except SAS and SSA.

Do females repeat more than males in primary schools? n Globally, there is less than half a percentage point difference between male/female repetition rates. Males repeat slightly more than females. n Males also repeat more than females in all regions except for ECA. n The greatest gender disparity is in MNA at 2.5 percentage points. n In SSA, there is almost no difference in repetition rates between males and females. Males repeat more than females in all regions except ECA.

Are more boys completing primary school than girls? n Globally, more males are completing primary school than females. The difference between male/female PCRs has shrunk from 6 percentage points in 1999 to 1.8 in n In most regions, more males complete primary than females, but in LAC and EAP, the reverse is true. n EAP's female PCR was 2.4 percentage points higher than the male PCR. LAC’s was 0.7 percentage points higher for females. (continued on next slide) Globally and in most regions, more males complete primary school than females.

Are more boys completing primary school than girls? (continued) n SSA has the largest gender disparity in PCRs with 74% of boys completing vs. 67% of girls in n MNA also has a large gender disparity at 6 percentage points difference between the genders. n SAS had a large gender disparity in 1999 (15 percentage points) but decreased the difference to 2.7 percentage points in Globally and in most regions, more males complete primary school than females.

Primary Completion Rate. Female ( ) Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics in EdStats, 2013 Note: Data displayed is for the most recent available year The maps displayed were produced by EdStats. The boundaries, colors, denominations and any other information shown on this map do not imply, on the part of the World Bank Group, any judgment on the legal status of any territory, or any endorsement or acceptance of such boundaries. The maps are for reference only.

Gender Parity Index for Primary Completion Rate ( ) Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics in EdStats, 2013 Note: Data displayed is for the most recent available year The maps displayed were produced by EdStats. The boundaries, colors, denominations and any other information shown on this map do not imply, on the part of the World Bank Group, any judgment on the legal status of any territory, or any endorsement or acceptance of such boundaries. The maps are for reference only. Gender Parity Female Bias Male Bias

Are there gender, income or location disparities in primary completion rates? n Gender disparities exist in all regions in PCRs, but they are surpassed by income disparities in all regions except for ECA. n The greatest disparities exist in SSA, where there is a 55 percentage point difference between the PCRs of top and bottom quintile students. This compares to a 33 point difference between urban and rural, and 9 point between genders. n In EAP and ECA, more rural students complete primary school than urban students. 2 Low income is the greatest source of disparity in primary completion rates in all regions except ECA.

n Tanzania, Seychelles, and Mauritius had the highest reading scores in n Mauritius and Tanzania both improved their scores, but Seychelles’ score was lower than in n Some countries have large disparities between genders, but in these cases, females have higher scores than males (Seychelles, Mauritius and Botswana). n Malawi and Zambia have had the lowest scores over time. Mean reading scores of 6 th grade students vary greatly between Anglophone African countries. How do reading levels vary between African countries? Source: Southern and Eastern Africa Consortium for Monitoring Educational Quality (SACMEQ) in EdStats, August 2011; Note: Zimbabwe 2000 is 1995 figure.

n El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Peru, Guatemala, and Colombia are within 5 percentage points of gender parity. Female scores are higher than male scores in these countries. n Uruguay has the largest difference between male/female reading scores with a 19.6 percentage point male bias. n Panama (15.9), Brazil (15.7), Cuba (15.2), and the Dominican Rep. (15.1) also have large male biases. Source: Latin American Laboratory for Assessment of the Quality of Education (LLECE SERCE) in StatPlanet, August 2011 Have LAC countries reached gender parity in reading levels? Difference between Male/Female Mean Scores on the 6 th Grade Reading Assessment (2006)

Secondary Education

Which regions have reached gender parity in secondary enrollments? n Globally, the gender parity index (GPI) for secondary net enrollment rate (NER) has been increasing from 0.92 in 2000 to 0.96 in n ECA is the only region within +/ of gender parity (1.0). n LAC has consistently had higher female NERs. n EAP has reversed from a male bias (0.96) in 2000 to a female bias (1.06) in n SAS has greatly decreased gender disparity over time. n SSA has maintained a male bias 0.80 since Gender disparities in secondary enrollments vary greatly across regions. Female Bias Male Bias

Does gender parity exist in secondary enrollments in most countries? n Just over half (52%) of countries with data are within 0.05 of gender parity in secondary enrollments. n Unlike primary enrollments, more countries have a female bias in secondary enrolments. 85 countries have GPIs higher than 1 while 71 countries have GPIs less than 1. n 6 countries have perfect gender parity (1.0): Slovenia, Mauritius, Swaziland, Japan, Indonesia, and Cyprus. More countries have higher female secondary GERs than male secondary GERs. Female Bias Male Bias

Which countries have the largest gender disparities in secondary enrolments? n In 9 of 10 countries, the male GER is much higher than the female GER. In Lesotho – the female GER is higher than the male rate. n 8 of 10 countries are in SSA. 1 is in South Asia and 1 is in MNA. n Of the 20 countries with the greatest gender disparity, 5 have a female bias. n 14 of the top 20 are in SSA.

Which countries have decreased gender disparity in secondary the most? n These countries have moved from 0.19 to 0.34 percentage points closer to gender parity (1) over time. n Sweden and St. Lucia improved from a large female bias (1.26) toward gender parity. n The other countries have improved from a male bias (0.40 to 0.85) toward gender parity. n 3 of 10 countries are within 0.05 of gender parity in the most recent year.

Do gender, income, or location disparities exist in secondary attendance rates? n Large gender disparities in secondary attendance rates do not exist in any region except SAS. In LAC, ECA, and MNA, slightly more females attend secondary than males. n Rural/urban location disparities exist in most regions. In LAC and SSA, location disparities are 20/23 percentage points. n The largest disparities in all regions are associated with income: There is a 35+ percentage point difference between the top/bottom quintiles in LAC, SAS, and SSA. 2 The largest disparities in net secondary attendance rates are associated with income.

Are there gender, income or location disparities in secondary completion rates? n Low income is the greatest source of disparity in secondary completion rates in all regions. The disparity is greatest in SAS (60 percentage points), LAC (44), and SSA (40). n Rural residence is a source of disparity in SAS (29 percentage point disparity), LAC (25), and SSA (22). n A slightly higher percentage of females complete secondary in ECA and LAC, but the opposite is true in other regions. 2 Income is the greatest source of disparity in secondary completion rates in all regions.

Tertiary Education

Which regions have reached gender parity in tertiary enrollments? n In 2000, the world gender parity index (GPI) for tertiary enrollments was 1.0 – perfect gender parity. Since then, female GERs have been higher than male GERs, and the GPI has been moving above 1.0. n MNA is the only region within +/ of gender parity in LAC and ECA have consistently had higher female GERs, and EAP has reversed from a male bias to a female bias. n SAS and SSA have maintained a strong male bias in tertiary enrolments over time. Gender disparities in tertiary enrolment rates vary greatly across regions.

Does gender parity exist in tertiary enrollments in most countries? n Only 9 countries are within +/-0.05 of gender parity in tertiary enrollments. n 63% of countries have a female bias in tertiary enrolments vs. 37% with higher male enrolment rates. n One country – Vietnam – has perfect gender parity (1.0). n In 10 countries, the female GER more than doubles the male GER. These countries are island nations in LAC and Qatar (see next slide). The majority of countries have higher female enrolment rates than male enrolment rates in tertiary education.

Which countries have the largest gender disparities in tertiary enrolments?

Do gender, income, or location disparities exist in post-secondary attendance ratios? n Levels of gender disparity in post- secondary attendance are much lower than levels of location and income disparity. More girls than boys attend post-secondary schools in EAP, ECA, and LAC. n Rural areas have between 5 (SSA) and 15 (LAC) percent lower attendance ratios than urban areas. n Income is the largest source of disparity across regions. Income disparities range from 8 percentage points in SSA to 34 in LAC. 2 Income is the largest source of disparity in post- secondary gross attendance ratios in all regions.

Youth Literacy

Is there disparity between genders in youth literacy rates? n Globally, there is still a gender gap in youth literacy rates, though the gap has been shrinking over time. n There was a 8.6% difference between male and female youth literacy rates during n The gender gap shrunk by 41.5% to 5.0% during % of males were literate compared to 87% of females. Fewer females emerge from education systems with basic literacy skills than males.

Are gender disparities in youth literacy rates decreasing? n Gender disparities between male and female youth literacy rates have decreased in all regions. n EAP, ECA, and LAC have achieved almost perfect gender parity (1.0), while MNA, SAS, and SSA lag behind. n SAS and MNA have improved greatly over time: They moved 0.17 and 0.14 closer to gender parity. n Progress in SSA has been slower with only 0.09 improvement. Gender disparities in youth literacy rates have decreased over time in all regions.

Gender Parity Index for Youth Literacy Rate ( ) Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics in EdStats, 2013 Note: Data displayed is for the most recent available year The maps displayed were produced by EdStats. The boundaries, colors, denominations and any other information shown on this map do not imply, on the part of the World Bank Group, any judgment on the legal status of any territory, or any endorsement or acceptance of such boundaries. The maps are for reference only. Gender Parity Male Bias

Which countries have the lowest female literacy rates? n The 20 lowest female youth literacy rates were all found in Sub- Saharan African countries except for Pakistan. n Only 1/3 of female youth are literate in Burkina Faso and Mali. n Less than half of female youth are literate in the top 5 countries.

Which countries have increased female youth literacy rates the most over time? n These countries have increased their female youth literacy rates by 14 to 23 percentage points over time. n 8 of 10 countries are in SSA and 2 are in SAS. n Despite great improvement, only 4 of 10 countries have female youth literacy rates higher than 75%. n Haiti’s female youth literacy rate worsened over the period by 10 percentage points.

Youth Literacy Rate. Female ( ) Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics in EdStats, 2013 Note: Data displayed is for the most recent available year The maps displayed were produced by EdStats. The boundaries, colors, denominations and any other information shown on this map do not imply, on the part of the World Bank Group, any judgment on the legal status of any territory, or any endorsement or acceptance of such boundaries. The maps are for reference only.

Adult Literacy

Is there disparity between genders in adult literacy rates? n Globally, there is still a gender gap in adult literacy rates, though the gap has been shrinking over time. n There was a 12.6% difference between male (82%) and female (69.4%) adult literacy rates during n The gender gap shrunk by 29% to 8.9% during % of males were literate compared to 79.7% of females. Fewer adult females have basic literacy skills, but the gender gap has decreased over time.

Have gender disparities in adult literacy rates decreased over time? n Gender disparities in adult literacy rates have decreased over time in all regions. n ECA and LAC have achieved gender parity with GPIs at n MNA, SAS, and EAP have made the most progress by moving 0.16, 0.13, and 0.13 closer to 1.0 (gender parity) respectively. n Progress in SSA has been slower with only 0.09 improvement. n SAS, SSA, and MNA are furthest from gender parity in adult literacy. All regions are moving closer to gender parity in adult literacy rates.

Which countries have the lowest female literacy rates? n Less than one quarter of females are literate in the top 3 countries – Mali, Burkina Faso, and Chad. Less than one third of females are literate in the top 7 countries. n All the countries on the list are in SSA except Pakistan. n Of the 144 countries with data, 19 countries have female adult literacy rates less than 50% and 70 countries have rates higher than 90%.

Which countries have increased female adult literacy rates the most over time? n These countries have increased their female adult literacy rates by 11 to 23 percentage points over time. n Six of the countries are in SSA; 2 are in SAS. n Despite great improvement, more than 1/3 of women are illiterate in all of these countries except Saudi Arabia. n Haiti’s rate worsened by 10.3 percentage points over time.

Adult Literacy Rate. Female ( ) Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics in EdStats, 2013 Note: Data displayed is for the most recent available year The maps displayed were produced by EdStats. The boundaries, colors, denominations and any other information shown on this map do not imply, on the part of the World Bank Group, any judgment on the legal status of any territory, or any endorsement or acceptance of such boundaries. The maps are for reference only.

This presentation utilizes the following data sources: 1) UNESCO Institute for Statistics data in the EdStats Query u The presentation was created with the most recent UIS data release that included 2010 data for most indicators/countries. u Indicators were calculated by UIS according to definitions available in the EdStats Query. EdStats Query 2) Demographic and Health Surveys, Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys, and Living Standards Measurement Studies for ; Reports were generated through ADePT Edu (2011) 3) Demographic and Health Surveys and Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys in the World Inequality Database on Education (WIDE)World Inequality Database on Education (WIDE) 4) Learning Outcome Data from the EdStats Query: u Southern and Eastern Africa Consortium for Monitoring Educational Quality (SACMEQ) u Latin American Laboratory for Assessment of the Quality of Education (LLECE SERCE) Data Sources

The State of Education Series The following State of Education presentations are available on the EdStats website:EdStats website Educational Levels: n Pre-Primary Education Pre-Primary Education n Primary Education Primary Education n Secondary Education Secondary Education n Tertiary Education Tertiary Education Topics: n Access Access n Quality Quality n Expenditures Expenditures n Gender Gender n Literacy Literacy n Equity Equity