NEW STUDY: Translating Girls’ Education to Women’s Equality. May 2022

 

Plus how we go the last mile to reach girls who are still missing out

View on web     New from CGD:     From Girls’ Education to Equality for Women   Hi Charles, Girls today are getting more education than ever before. But despite the many benefits that girls’ education offers and all the progress we have seen, the impact of girls' education on economic equality is falling short. The global education community champions the value of girls’ education as not only a moral imperative but a smart investment. And it is! But it isn’t enough by itself. For women and girls around the world, just because you have the same level of education as your male peer doesn’t guarantee that you won’t be paid a fraction of what he is earning, or be unable to work because you spend so much of your time doing unpaid household labor or childcare. It doesn’t guarantee you won’t be more likely to experience violence by men. It doesn’t guarantee you’ll have the same chance at prosperity, or that the society your children grow up in will be more equal. Why is this still the case, and what can education systems, partners, and societies do about it? Our new report, “Girls’ Education and Women’s Equality: How to Get More out of the World’s Most Promising Investment,” helps us answer this question. This report builds on decades of important work on what works to get girls into school and help them learn, but goes on to make a series of recommendations for a more holistic approach to investing in girls’ futures including implementing policies that protect women from discrimination in the labor market. We also recommend that education systems do more to support gender equality by making sure schools are safe for girls, rooting out discrimination, and supporting girls in the school-to-work transition. Warm Regards, Shelby Carvalho, Senior Policy Analyst & David Evans, Senior Fellow   Find out more   Download the report     Key Takeaways   1   Despite increases in access to education for girls, when it comes to women working, little has changed in 30 years.        2   Even with all this progress in access to education, poor, rural girls are still being left behind and the pandemic has pushed them back even further.        3   Education aid is struggling to address root causes of inequality in the classroom.   In the past 20yrs, top donors have focused on infrastructure and learning, but much less on gender bias, safety, child marriage or other barriers.         4   There are proven interventions which improve girls’ access to education & the quality of that education.   Eliminating fees, providing meals, and instruction for girls who have fallen behind are interventions which have been proven to work and should be scaled up.       5   For girls education to pay off fully, countries must take additional measures to address inequality in society.   Measures like employing policies that protect women from discrimination in the labor market; laws around equal pay; and policies that support women where they face disproportionate burdens such as in providing childcare.         Watch this space for more content on how to get the best out of the world’s most promising investment.   Help us spread the word by sharing this research on social media (here’s a prewritten tweet you can share), or by forwarding this email to a colleague.   Use our social toolkit