There has been a lot to celebrate in recent years in terms of ensuring girls do not miss out on education opportunities. Gender parity in enrollment has been achieved on average in primary and secondary education at the global level even if the world was ten years late relative to the 2005 target of parity.
But the picture changes at the national level. Gender parity has been achieved in only 66% of countries in primary education – and only in 29% of low income countries. Of these countries, just 16% have achieved parity in lower secondary and 12% in upper secondary education.
Girls and young women still face steep barriers to entering education, as a result of poverty, prejudice, violence, and inadequate public investment. They are still married young, held back by early pregnancy, and shoulder the heaviest burdens in conflict and crisis situations.
But we should be setting our objectives well beyond mere parity. And a longstanding issue like gender inequality is one for which accountability mechanisms are clearly not yet doing their job. What are the bottlenecks, and what are the solutions? These are some of the questions explored in the Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Report’s sixth annual Gender Review launched today in New York.
Who is responsible for gender equality in education?
Building on the 2017/8 GEM Report, Accountability in education: Meeting our commitments, the 2018 Gender Review examines who is accountable for achieving gender equality in education and how actors can be held accountable if they do not fulfill those responsibilities.
Governments are responsible for the enforcement of the right to education and for non-discrimination. They must consider the gender implications of how they allocate resources and make school leadership appointments. They need to ensure curricula and textbooks are free from gender bias, teacher training programs address gender issues and school facilities respond to girls’ needs.
Schools are responsible for ensuring safe and inclusive learning environments, free from school-related gender-based violence and unfair student treatment.
Teachers are responsible for inclusive instructional practices and fair disciplinary approaches as well as for promoting active discussions on gender issues, as long as the curriculum, textbooks and their preparation allow them to do so.
Parents are responsible for ensuring their children have equal opportunity to attend school, and for providing equal support and encouragement regardless of their child’s gender.
All of us, as community members or professionals, are responsible for monitoring governments, schools and teachers, to challenge stereotypes and ensure discrimination is not tolerated.
Accountability for gender equality in education needs to work in tandem with other sectors
Girls’ empowerment in and through education requires concerted, cross-sectoral efforts.
We must work together if stereotypes, discrimination and unhealthy cultural norms are to be broken and opportunities are to be provided for girls to gain confidence and develop their agency.
We must build equitable and inclusive education systems, take a stand against harmful practices, champion women in school leadership positions and ensure that all governments review textbooks and train teachers to prevent some of the most hardwired mechanisms of gender discrimination.
Taking this forward, calls for recognizing who should be called to account when gender inequality in education prevails. The review strongly calls on governments to be the guardians for establishing, monitoring and enforcing regulations that promote gender equality.
Ultimately, we all depend on each other to ensure discriminatory practices and attitudes are not tolerated – the 2018 Gender Review sets out how this can be achieved at the local, national and global level.