Young females receive less education than young males in most low-income developing countries. Large majorities of illiterate people and those who have been unable to attend school around the developing world are female.
Why is female education important? Is it simply a matter of equity? The answer is that there now exists ample empirical evidence that educational discrimination against women hinders economic development in addition to reinforcing social inequality. Closing the educational gender gap by expending educational opportunities for women, a key aspect of the Millennium Development Goals, is economically desirable for four reasons.
1. The rate of return on women’s education is higher than that on men’s in most developing countries.
2. Increasing women’s education not only increases their productivity on the farm and in the factory but also results in greater labour force participation, later marriage, lower fertility, and greatly improved child health and nutrition.
3. Improved child health and nutrition and more educates mothers lead to multiplier effects on the quality of a nation’s human resources for many generations to come.
4. Because women carry a disproportionate burden of the poverty and homelessness that permeates developing societies, any significant improvements in their role and status via education can have an important impact on breaking the vicious circle of poverty and inadequate schooling.
Studies from around the developing world consistently show that growth of basic education among girls yields among the highest rates of return of any investment – much larger, for example, than most public infrastructure projects. This is one reason why discrimination against girls in education is not just inequitable but very costly from the standpoint of achieving development goals.
Improved education among mothers, however, generally improves prospects for both her sons’ and daughters’ health and education. Studies show that mothers’ education plays a decisive role in raising nutritional levels in rural areas.[1]