Current Landscape

In recent decades, worldwide gender gaps in education have shown some improvement, particularly in terms of enrollment and attendance. However, a staggering 118.5 million girls of primary and secondary school age remain out of school, according to UNESCO’s visual education indicators tool. Notably, these figures do not account for the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Barriers to Education

Despite progress, significant barriers persist. In regions like Afghanistan, restrictions have been reinstated on girls’ access to secondary and tertiary education. Poverty is a critical obstacle in many parts of the globe; in over 20 countries, fewer than 10% of economically disadvantaged, rural young women have completed upper secondary school.

UNESCO’s HerAtlas highlights that 2% of countries have legal frameworks that limit the educational rights of married, pregnant, and parenting girls and women, further exacerbating gender inequities in education.

Illiteracy Among Women

As of 2020, women constituted nearly two-thirds of adults lacking basic reading skills, with 478.5 million unable to read at all. The situation is even more dire in rural areas, where women aged 25 to 64 are twice as likely to be illiterate compared to their urban counterparts in at least 15 countries.

Affects of Violence on Education

Recent evidence from five low- and lower-middle-income countries indicates that girls are disproportionately affected by school absenteeism due to physical violence from peers and educators, as well as unwanted sexual experiences. This underscores the pressing need to address safety in educational settings to promote better attendance for girls.

Upcoming Initiatives

To address these ongoing issues, UNESCO is organizing an event focusing on digital education and skills aimed at empowering girls and women, scheduled to take place at the 67th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women in New York. Additionally, on International Women’s Day, UNESCO will host the Women@Dior Global Conference in Paris, aiming to further highlight and promote women’s education and empowerment issues.