Creating a more inclusive, just and equitable world – the essence of sustainable development – means ensuring that all men and women, boys and girls, can lead a more empowered and dignified life. One of the main ways to achieve this goal is good quality, inclusive and gender-equitable education that enables men and women to develop the right skills and find opportunities for their productive use. Education is also at the heart of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that the international community is committed to achieving by 2030. To this end, many countries have seen a remarkable development over the past two decades in closing the gender gap in access to education and learning outcomes between girls and boys. However, the reality remains more complex.
The2023 report on gender equality, education and skills on the persistence of gender gaps in education and skills presents new insights into progress towards gender parity in education in terms of access, completion and learning, using data from the latest rounds of the Adult Skills Survey (PIAAC), the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) and Education at a Glance (EAG). The report seeks to understand why, on average, ten boys than girls are more likely not to attain a basic level of competence in reading, mathematics and science, and why high-performing girls do not continue to invest in skills development in areas such as mathematics and science, compared to high-performing boys. The report also describes that despite the fact thatoverall gender gaps in mathematics and science are rather small, young women continue to be under-represented in STEM-related fields after leaving school. At university level, men acquire better numeracy skills than women, probably because of these very different professional choices men and women make. But it is also noted that girls’ advantage in literacy performance during compulsory education seems to narrow or completely disappear at university.
It is recognised that education is essential for sustainable development and the realisation of fundamental human rights. Now more than ever, education has a responsibility to promote the right type of skills, attitudes and behaviours that will lead to sustainable and inclusive growth. Inclusive growth requires education to be development-friendly for both men and women. But gender equality in education cannot be achieved by the education sector alone. This requires concerted efforts by parents, teachers and employers to become more aware of their own conscious or unconscious biases, so that girls and boys have equal opportunities to succeed in school and beyond.
This report is a valuable contribution to the OECD’s work on gender issues, which examines existing barriers to gender equality in education and the labour market, with the aim of improving policies and promoting gender equality in both the OECD and partner countries. It starts with an introduction outlining the main highlights of the rest of the report and is presented through the following structure:
- Section 2 shows that the gender gap in upper secondary attainment has almost narrowed, with more than 80 % of women in the OECD completing education on average. But the section also shows that in most countries early school leavers are predominantly men.
- Section 3 analyses gender gaps in upper secondary performance. The gender gap in cognitive skills of boys and girls aged around 15 is similar across countries.
- Section 4 shows that students’ attitudes (motivation, interest) in studying a particular subject, rather than their ability.
- Section 5 seeks to understand the transition from school to tertiary education and the gender gap at higher levels of education. Although the share of women with higher education has steadily increased in recent decades, young women are much less likely than young men to choose science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM) as fields of study at university level.
- Sections 6 and 7 address the skill levels of students and adults later in life.
- Section 8 highlights the unavoidable consequences of these gender imbalances in the fields of study and career choices.
- Section 9 provides key ways and lessons from different countries that could be used to address these systemic and generalised gender gaps in a systematic and planned manner. The policy suggestions in this report could serve as a toolbox for policy makers and stakeholders willing to tackle gender inequality. Now is the time to ensure that better policies lead to a better life – for girls and boys, as well as for women and men.