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How Does Gender Inequality in Education Affects Employment

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How Does Gender Inequality in Education Affects Employment
HE210 – How does Gender Inequality in Education affect Employment?

According to Mao Tse Tung, ‘women hold up half the sky’. However, this phrase holds little truth in today’s world. Over the years, many women have made great strides in many areas but gender inequality still persists in many parts of the world, especially the rural areas, and to the disadvantage of women in particular. This has deeply affected the well-being, healthcare, education of women.

Education in today’s context is recognised across borders to benefit individuals and promote national development (USAID, 2008), as it equips individuals with the necessary knowledge and skills to build up their countries’ economies. Thus, an economy with gender inequality in education is likely to be incapable of maximising its overall population to its benefits. To have gender inequality in education, it will not only imply a disparity in participation rates of individuals in that aspect due to gender, but also its adverse effects on the development of the economy such as a smaller working sector and creation of market failures.

We chose this topic because we recognised that there are several negative externalities associated to the trend and particularly, we hope to further analyse the situation on hand with regards to labor force and human capital and in turn explore the plausible solutions to break the vicious cycle that women are still facing now.

In this research paper, we will mainly be focusing on the causes for the above-mentioned trend, the provision vs quality of education, adverse impacts of the observed trend on employment which affects growth, and last but not least, possible solutions to it.

There are several reasons for the presence of gender inequality in education in most countries.
The foremost factor limiting female education is poverty (Geeta Sharma). The extent of poverty in a large family plays a key role when it comes to deciding whether or not to enrol a child for


References: Aromolaran, A. 2002. Private Wage Returns to Schooling in Nigeria: 1996–1999. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press. Birdsall, N., and L. M. Fox. 1985. “Why Males Earn More: Location and Training of Brazilian Schoolteachers.” Economic Development and Cultural Change 33 (3): 55–72. Breman J., (1976). A Dualistic Labour System? A critique of the 'Informal Sector ' Concept (Vol. 11). Economic and Political Weekly. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/pss/4365139 Chandrasekhar C.P Coalition for Health and Education Rights. 2002. “User Fees: The Right to Education and Health Denied.” Policy Brief DeJaeghere, J. G. 2004. “Background Paper for Workshop 1: Quality Education and Gender Equality.” Paper presented at the International Conference on Education, 47th Deolalikar, A. 1994. “Gender Differences in the Returns to Schooling and in School Enrollment Rates in Indonesia.” Journal of Human Resources 28 (Fall): 889–932. Filmer, D. 1999. “The Structure of Social Disparities in Education: Gender and Wealth.” Background paper for the World Bank Policy Research Report on Gender and Development. Gertler, P., and P. Glewwe. 1992. “The Willingness to Pay for Education for Daughters in Contrast to Sons: Evidence from Rural Peru.” The World Bank Economic Review 6 Herz, B., K. Subbarao, M. Habib, and L. Raney. 1995. Letting Girls Learn: Promising Approaches in Primary and Secondary Education King, E., and L. A. Lillard. 1987. “Education Policy and Schooling Attainment in Malaysia and the Philippines.” Economics and Education Review 6(2): 167-81. Klasen S., (November 1999). Does Gender Inequality Reduce Growth and Development? Evidence from Cross-Country Regressions. (No. 7) The World Bank, Development Research Group/Poverty Reduction and Economic Management Network Klasen S. & Lamanna F., (August 2008). The Impact of Gender Inequality in Education and Employment on Economic Growth in developing Countries: Updates and Extensions Lawrence J Sharma, G. (1995). Gender Inequality in Education and Employment. Retrieved from www.yesweb.org/alexandria_02/sessions/op.inequality.doc Sipahimanlani, V The UN Millennium Project, 2009 Retrieved from: http://www.unmillenniumproject.org/documents/Gender-complete.pdf Tzannatos Z., (April 1998), Women and Labor Market Changes in the Global Economy: Growth Helps, Inequalities Hurt and Public Policy Matters UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund). 2001. “Fourth Consolidated Report to the Government of Norway on the UNICEF African Girls’ Education Initiative.” New York: UNICEF Program Division/ Education Section.
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