The Inexcusable Absence of Girls

in School

Marlaine LockheedCenter for Global Development

World Bank Global Symposium October 2, 2007

2

4

Gender Parity in Primary Enrollments Rose Between 1960 and 2000

5

Gender Parity Improved at Secondary Level in Most Regions, 1990-2000

Figure 2.3. Ratio of female-male gross secondary school enrolment, by region (1990-2000)

0.00

0.20

0.40

0.60

0.80

1.00

1.20

East Asia and thePacif ic

Europe andCentral Asia

Latin America andthe Caribbean

Middle East andNorth Africa

South Asia Sub SaharanAfrica

1990 2000

Source: UNESCO data

7

Socially Excluded Girls as Estimated Share of All Girls Out of School, by Region

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

World SSA SA MENA LAC EAP ECA

PercentExcluded

9

India: Rural SC/ST girls least likely to be in school, 2001

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15-19 Age

Majority Urban Male Majority Urban Female

Majority Rural Male Majority Rural Female

SC/ST Rural Male SC/ST Rural Female

10

Pakistan: Fewer Baluchi/ Pathan rural females complete primary school than any other group, 1995-2002

Figure 2.10 Pakistan: Percent Primary Completion by Gender, Ethnicity and Location, 1995-2002

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

1995-96 1998-99 2001-02 Year

Punjabi Urban Male

Punjabi Urban Female

Punjabi Rural Male

Punjabi Rural Female

Balochi/Pathan Rural Male

Balochi/Pathan Rural Female

Source: Pakistan Integrated Household Survey 2001-02

11

Laos: Hill tribe girls complete fewest years of school

Urban-Male-Lao-Tai

Urban-Female-Lao-Tai

Rural-Male-Lao-Tai

Rural-Female-Lao-Tai

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

18 21 24 27 30 33 36 39 42 45 48 51 54 57 60

Age

Average years of schooling

Rural female- Other

Rural-Male-Other

12

Guatemala: Indigenous girls are least likely to have ever enrolled in school

13

Benin: Non-Fon/French-speaking males have caught up with Fon/French speaking females, but non-Fon/French speaking females still lag

Figure 1.12a Benin: Average Years of Schooling by Gender and Ethnicity, 2001

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

61+ 52-61 42-51 32-41 22-31 15-21Age Cohort

Yea

rs o

f sc

ho

olin

g (

aver

age)

Fon/French-speaking male Fon/French-speaking female

Non-Fon/French-speaking male Non-Fon/French-speaking female

Source: Benin DHS 2001

14

Malawi: The gender gap has become an ethnic gap

Figure 2.12c Malawi: Average Years of Schooling by Gender and Ethnicity, 2000

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

61+ 52-61 42-51 32-41 22-31 15-21

Age Cohort

Yea

rs o

f sc

ho

olin

g (

aver

age)

Chichew a-speaking male Chichew a-speaking female

Non-Chichew a-speaking male Non-Chichew a-speaking female

Source: Malaw i DHS, 2001

15

Ghana: The gender gap has become an ethnic gap

Figure 1.12b Ghana: Average Years of Schooling by Gender and Ethnicity, 2003

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

61+ 52-61 42-51 32-41 22-31 15-21Age Cohort

Yea

rs o

f sc

ho

olin

g (

aver

age)

Akan-speaking male Akan-speaking female

Non-Akan-speaking male Non-Akan-speaking female

Source: Ghana DHS 2003

16

Roma complete fewer years of school than non-Roma in Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, Serbia/Montenegro

Figure 1.11: Roma Educational Attainment by Ethnicity (age 18+)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Non Roma Roma Non Roma Roma Non Roma Roma Serbs Roma

Bulgaria Hungary Romania Serbia and Montenegro

% o

f G

rou

p P

op

ula

tio

n

Completed secondary or higherCompleted primary, some secondary

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New Zealand: More females complete 6th Form or higher, but Maoris lag Europeans, 2001

Figure 4.1 Educational Attainment in New Zealand, by Gender and Ethnicity

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

85+ 80-84 75-79 70-74 65-69 60-64 55-59 50-54 45-49 40-44 35-39 30-34 25-29 20-24

Age

Per

cen

t o

f p

op

ula

tio

n

European/Pakeha Female with6th Form or Higher

Maori/Pacific Islander Femalewith 6th Form or HigherEuropean/Pakeha Male with6th Form or Higher

Maori/Pacific Islander Malewith 6th Form or Higher

Source: New Zealand Census 2001

19

Quechua Girls Outperform Quechua Boys in 5th Grade, Peru 2000

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

Reading Math

Quechua Girls

Quechua Boys

Urban Girls

Urban Boys

20

Indigenous Girls Outperform Indigenous Boys in Ecuador

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Grade 5 Math

Indigenous Girls

Indigenous Boys

Nonindigenous Girls

Nonindigenous Boys

21

Hill Tribe Girls’ Performance Same as Hill Tribe Boys’ Performance in Laos

420430

440450

460470480

490500510

520

Grade 5 Reading

Tai Kadai Boy

Tai Kadai Girl

Hmong Emien Boy

Hmong Emien Girl

Mon Khmer Boy

Mon Khmer Girl

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Male-Female Gap in Primary Completion Rates Larger in Heterogeneous Countries

Argentina

Armenia

Bangladesh

Benin

Bolivia

Botswana

Brazil

Bulgaria

China

Comoros

Cote d'IvoireEthiopia

Fiji

Guatemala

Hungary

India

Indonesia

Iran Kenya

Lao PDR

Lesotho

Liberia

Morocco

Namibia

Palau

Papua New Guinea

PhilippinesRomania

Sierra Leone

South Africa

Tanzania

Togo

Tunisia

Turkey

Uzbekistan

-20

02

04

0P

rim

ary

com

ple

tion

ra

te, m

ale

- fem

ale

0 .2 .4 .6 .8 1Ethnolinguistic fractionalization

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Primary Completion and Learning and Ethnolinguistic Fractionalization (elasticities)

(1) (2) (3)

Coefficient log (Female PCR) log (Male PCR) – log (Female PCR)

log (Learning score)

Ethnolinguistic fractionalization, log –0.22*** 0.09*** –0.17***

(–4.27) (3.99) (–3.65)

Constant 4.06*** 0.17*** 5.74***

(62.8) (6.46) (101)

Observations 118 118 55

R2 0.14 0.12 0.20

* Significant at the 10 percent level.** Significant at the 5 percent level.*** Significant at the 1 percent level.Note: Figures in brackets are t-statistics.

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Table 6. Determinants of gender disparity in primary school completion

Difference between male and female primary completion rates

Variable (1) (2) (3) (4)

GDP per capita (log) –2.93*** (2.88)

–3.18***( 3.46)

Ethnolinguistic fractionalization 10.61*** (3.01)

–18.32* (1.77)

17.88*** (4.42)

16.43***(3.52)

Ethnolinguistic fractionalization squared 31.69***

(2.72)

Average years of schooling, female (age 25+) –2.93*** (4.49)

Education expenditure (percentage of GDP) –0.32(0.92)

–0.44(1.39)

0.13(0.24)

Female labor force participation rate 0.10(1.41)

Socialist dummy 11.59*** ( 4.86)

Road density (total network/land area) 0(0.45)

0.02*(1.89)

Rural population (percentage of total population) 0.04(1.15)

Constant 20.77**(2.06)

30.52***( 3.60)

–7.04** (2.44)

2.75(0.77)

Number of observations 111 97 94 53

R2 0.39 0.46 0.3 0.60* Significant at the 10 percent level. ** Significant at the 5 percent level. *** Significant at the 1 percent level.

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Ethno-linguistic Fractionalization and Learning Achievement, Various Countries

AlbaniaArgentina

Belize

Bolivia

Botswana

Brazil

Bulgaria

Burkina Faso

Cameroon

Chile Colombia

Cote d'Ivoire

Czech Republic

Dominican RepublicHonduras

Hungary

IndonesiaIran, Islamic Rep.Jordan

Kenya

Latvia

Lesotho

Lithuania

Macedonia, FYR

Madagascar

Malawi

Malaysia

Mali

Mauritius

MexicoMoldova

MoroccoMozambique

Namibia

Niger

ParaguayPeru

Philippines

Poland

Romania

Russian Federation

Senegal

Seychelles

Slovak Republic

South Africa

SwazilandTanzania

Thailand

Trinidad and TobagoTunisia Turkey

Uganda

Venezuela, RB

Zambia

Zimbabwe

200

300

400

500

600

0 .2 .4 .6 .8 1Ethnolinguistic fractionalization

Imputed learning score Fitted values