Educational Equity and Access

Economic and Social CouncilUnited Nations Women

TopicEducational Equity and Access

In our world today, many women are still unable to access quality education. Despite years of progress, the global percentage of girls of primary school age enrolled in education remains at 89%. The number of countries with educational parity sits at around 49%. At the secondary level, 42% of countries have achieved gender parity in lower secondary education, and 24% in upper secondary education. In some regions, as many as 48.1% of girls are out of school. The United Nations has made it a target to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all as part of the Sustainable Development Goals for 2030. Unfortunately, today women still make up two-thirds of the world’s adult illiterate population.

The benefits of increased educational participation by women are clear: employment prospects improve, gender equality increases overall, and physical and mental health outcomes improve. Given proper educational access, women are able to achieve better-paying and more senior roles. When education levels improve, there is a provable decrease in negative maternal and child outcomes during childbirth and child malnutrition. Women who lack a basic education have almost three times higher the risk of maternal mortality than women who have graduated from high school due to increased likelihood of short birth intervals, unwanted pregnancies, and inadequate prenatal care.

Several barriers to increasing access to education for women and girls include gender bias, political conflict, poverty, inadequate educational facilities, and early marriage and pregnancy. Women in some regions face violence and harassment while just walking to school, while some barriers are enforced through legal means. For example, 2% of countries restrict the right to education of married, pregnant, and parenting girls and women in their legal framework.

Tackling these issues at several levels is imperative. As delegates prepare for this topic, they should consider what additional barriers to women’s education exist socially and culturally.

Focus Questions:

1. What steps has their country taken to remedy these conditions?
2. What initiatives could be undertaken to further increase access and equity in education?
3. What vocational programs for out-of-school women and girls can assist in improving women in entrepreneurship and leadership roles?
4. How can educational outreach initiatives be plausible in rural or unstable locations?
5. How can countries use technology to encourage female innovators?

Useful Links:

UN Women and Sustainable Development Goal 4
https://www.unwomen.org/en/news/in-focus/women-and-the-sdgs/sdg-4-quality-education

UNESCO Data on Girls’ and Women’s Right to Education
https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/key-data-girls-and-womens-right-education

UNICEF and Girls’ Education
https://www.unicef.org/education/girls-education

Our World in Data – Access to Education 1900 – 2023
https://ourworldindata.org/data-insights/a-century-of-progress-in-access-to-primary-education

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