Equality in Expected Years in School between Males and Females
Emelia Linusson & Felicia Krämer
2023-05-17
Introduction
It is well known that education is an important factor for development. People that have access to school can many times be a part of influencing and choosing their own future. It gives knowledge and promotes self-esteem. For males and females to have equal access to school is one of the most important ways to promote equality.
If we want to live in a world where men and women are treated as equals, we must also provide the same tools to ensure that they have the same abilities to reach an equal future. One such tool is education, which is also a very important part of a democratic society. Everyone should have the opportunity to participate fully in society, regardless of gender. If education is restrained from one of the genders, they can not live their life to the max. This is also something that Agenda 2030 addresses and works for, especially within the SDG goal 4. That is why we chose to focus on this specific goal, since we believe that good quality education, and education for all, is fundamental for a sustainable future, a democratic society as well as personal development.
The two biggest investments that have been taken to promote education are the Millennium Development Goals that took part between 2000 and 2015 and the Sustainable Development Goals that took over and are set to continue until 2030.
The Millenium Goals states in goal 2 that they wanted to “Ensure that, by 2015, children everywhere, boys and girls alike, will be able to complete a full course of primary schooling”. In the Sustainable Development Goals, the UN defines it in Goal 4.5: “By 2030, eliminate gender disparities in education and ensure equal access to all levels of education and vocational training for the vulnerable, including persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples and children in vulnerable situations”. To define this they use Indicator 4.5. 1 that seeks to “Eliminate all discrimination in education.”. They state that “Parity indices (female/male, rural/urban, bottom/top wealth quintile and others such as disability status, indigenous peoples and conflict affected, as data become available) for all education indicators”.
Aim of this paper
The aim of this paper is to see which countries in the world where the equality in school year expectancy is the highest and lowest. We are also looking at the progress from the year 2000 to 2021. We are going to look at the differences in female to male ratio during these years, why some countries have seen progress in equality according to years of schooling, while some countries have not seen any progress. We will also connect this with both the MDGs and the SDGs, in hope of explaining why the situation looks the way it does.
Database
We are using the Human Development Index database. This is a database created by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Every year they do Human Development Reports which calculate development not only based on the economy but also the citizens well-being. Taken into account is health, decent standard of living and education.
Overall differences in expected years of schooling according to HDI with ratio & excess
| hdicode | Mean ratio | Mean excess | Mean eys males |
|---|---|---|---|
| Low | 74.4 | 26.0 | 7.3 |
| Medium | 90.9 | 10.9 | 9.6 |
| High | 103.2 | 5.7 | 11.9 |
| Very High | 103.6 | 6.3 | 12.3 |
| hdicode | Mean ratio | Mean excess | Mean eys males |
|---|---|---|---|
| Low | 91.3 | 11.9 | 10.0 |
| Medium | 99.8 | 4.8 | 11.9 |
| High | 106.7 | 7.4 | 13.6 |
| Very High | 107.2 | 7.6 | 15.0 |
2000 In the year of 2000, we can see that the countries which scored low on the HDI-scale, the average mean ratio were 74.4 %, where a ratio of 100% means equal years of schooling between men and women. These countries have an average of 26 % difference in expected years of schooling, between men and women , and the average expected years of schooling for men were 7.3 years.
For the countries which scored medium on the HDI-scale, the average mean ratio was 90.9 % which indicated that these countries were much closer to equal expected years of schooling between men and women, compared to the low HDI countries. The difference of expected years of schooling between men and women was 10.9 %.The expected years of schooling for men in medium HDI countries were 9.6 years.
For the countries which scored a High on the HDI-scale, the average mean ratio was 103.3 %, indicating that the expected years of schooling were already equal, and in fact, womens’ expected years of schooling were higher than mens’. The difference in expected years of schooling between men and women were 5.7 %, and the expected years of schooling for men were 11.9 years.
The countries which scored a Very High on the HDI-scale in the year of 2000, had an average mean ratio of 103.6 %, which indicated that they as well, had reached an equal level of expected years of schooling, and in fact, reach an level where the expected years of schooling were higher for women, since the percentage were over 100%. The difference of expected years of schooling between men and women was 6.3 %, and mens’ expected years of schooling were 12.3 years.
2021 In the year of 2021, the countries which scored a low on the HDI-scale had an average mean ratio of 91.3 %. The difference of expected school years between men and women were 11.9 % and the exècted years of schooling for men were 10 years.
The countries which scored a medium on the HDI-scale, had an average mean ratio of 99.8 %, which means that they were, on an average, very close to an equal level of expected years of schooling between men and women. The difference of expected years of schooling between men and women was 4.8% and mens’ expected years of schooling were 11.9 years.
The countries which scored a High on the HDI-scale, had an average mean ratio of 106.7, which indicates that they were above an equal level of expected years of schooling between men and women, in favour for women. The difference in expected years of schooling for both groups was 7.4 years, and the expected years of schooling for men were 13.6 years.
Countries which scored a Very High on the HDI-scale had an average mean ratio of 107.2, which means that they were above the equal level of expected years of schooling between men and women, in favour for women. The difference of expected years of schooling between the two groups was 7.6 %. The expected years of schooling for men in 2020, were 15 years.
Comparison
The main difference between these two time periods is that the countries that did not reach an equal average mean ratio in the year of 2000, were far closer in 2021. The Low HDI countries went from 74.4 % to 91.3 % and the Medium HDI countries went from 90.9% to 99.8 %. Both High and Very High HDI countries were already above the equal level of average mean ratio in 2000. However, the expected years of schooling has still increased for women, creating a problem where women receive more education than men. Leading to a problem where it is unequal, but in favour for women instead.
Distribution of ratio according to HDI
As we can see the distribution from 2000 to 2021 has changed. In the year 2000 countries with a Low HDI had less expected years in school for females than males. This is still the case, however, the expected years in school for females has increased and most countries with a Low HDI have moved towards more equality. This is overall a trend. Expected years in school for females has increased over all HDI levels. This is to the point that the equality problem has shifted. In countries with High and Very High HDI the males have a lower expected years in school than females. The group with the most equal distribution seems to be countries with a medium HDI. There the expected years of school for females has somehow increased but not to the point where the inequality has shifted toward being in favor for females. However, its important to see how there still is countries that are very far away from the other in the same HDI group. In 2021 for example, we can see one green dot (low HDI) around 60. This is Afghanistan. So it’s important to know that when we look at the increase in ratio.
The lowest expacted years of schooling for females compared to males in 2000 and 2021
| country | ratio | hdicode | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yemen | 48.3 | Low | 2000 |
| Afghanistan | 52.4 | Low | 2000 |
| Chad | 53.2 | Low | 2000 |
| Guinea | 57.5 | Low | 2000 |
| Benin | 60.9 | Low | 2000 |
| Ethiopia | 64.2 | Low | 2000 |
| Niger | 64.3 | Low | 2000 |
| Central African Republic | 65.3 | Low | 2000 |
| Togo | 66.2 | Low | 2000 |
| Côte d’Ivoire | 67.0 | Medium | 2000 |
| country | ratio | hdicode | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Afghanistan | 61.1 | Low | 2021 |
| South Sudan | 67.3 | Low | 2021 |
| Chad | 69.9 | Low | 2021 |
| Central African Republic | 71.0 | Low | 2021 |
| Yemen | 72.9 | Low | 2021 |
| Guinea | 78.4 | Low | 2021 |
| Niger | 82.0 | Low | 2021 |
| Benin | 85.1 | Low | 2021 |
| Togo | 85.2 | Low | 2021 |
| Mali | 85.5 | Low | 2021 |
Lowest ratio of school years for females in 2000: In the year 2000, the top ten countries where females had the lowest school years can be seen in this table. Nine out of ten countries scored low on the Human Development Index, whereas Cote d’ Ivorie, scored a medium on the HDI.
Lowest Ratio of school years for females 2021: In the year 2021, the top ten countries where females had the lowest school year expectancy can be seen in this table. All countries also scored low on the Human Development Index. Which is to no surprise, since unequal education within a country will result in lower human development.
Comparison: In the year 2000, the country which had the lowest ratio, which means the lowest quantity of school years for women, was Yemen, with a ratio of 48.3. In the year 2021, the country with the lowest ratio was Afghanistan, with a ratio of 61.1. This means that there has been some improvement regarding equality in the quantity of expected school years. In the year 2021, the lowest ratio, 61.1, would’ve been in the middle of the table in 2000.
Ethiopia and Cote d’Ivoire are no longer among the top ten countries with the lowest ratio, meaning that there has been a lot of progress in those countries. Overall, the lowest ratio in 2021 is 12,8 higher than in the year 2000.
The Highest Expected Years in School for females compared to males in 2000 and 2021
| country | ratio | hdicode | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mongolia | 120.9 | High | 2000 |
| Suriname | 117.0 | High | 2000 |
| Grenada | 115.8 | High | 2000 |
| Qatar | 115.1 | Very High | 2000 |
| Barbados | 112.9 | High | 2000 |
| Uruguay | 111.7 | Very High | 2000 |
| Kuwait | 110.7 | Very High | 2000 |
| Costa Rica | 110.6 | Very High | 2000 |
| Palau | 110.5 | High | 2000 |
| Dominica | 109.9 | High | 2000 |
| country | ratio | hdicode | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barbados | 128.6 | High | 2021 |
| Kuwait | 122.4 | Very High | 2021 |
| Gambia | 121.0 | Low | 2021 |
| Dominica | 120.2 | High | 2021 |
| Qatar | 120.2 | Very High | 2021 |
| Suriname | 119.1 | High | 2021 |
| Maldives | 118.7 | High | 2021 |
| Seychelles | 117.6 | High | 2021 |
| Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) | 116.9 | Medium | 2021 |
| Argentina | 116.2 | Very High | 2021 |
The Highest ratio of school years for females year 2000: The top ten countries in the year 2000 all scored either high or very high on the Human Development index. Highest ratio was 121, in Mongolia. This indicates that there are more expected school years for women than men, since a ratio of 100 indicates gender equality in school years.
The Highest Ratio of school years for females year 2021: The top ten countries in the year 2021 all scored either high or very high on the Human development index, except Gambia, which scored low on the HDI. The country with the highest ratio was Barbados with a ratio of 129.
Comparison: The highest ratio in the year 2000, was 121, whereas in the year 2021 the highest ratio was 129. This indicates that there is a negative progress in gender inequality, since expected years of schooling increases drastically for women, but seemingly declines for men, since a ratio of 100 indicates gender equality in expected years of schooling for men and females.
Countries with the most equal division of school year expectancy for females and males
| country | ratio | hdicode | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Namibia | 100.0 | Medium | 2000 |
| North Macedonia | 100.0 | High | 2000 |
| Tunisia | 100.1 | High | 2000 |
| Cabo Verde | 100.3 | Medium | 2000 |
| Botswana | 100.3 | Medium | 2000 |
| Thailand | 100.6 | Very High | 2000 |
| Montenegro | 99.4 | Very High | 2000 |
| Albania | 100.6 | High | 2000 |
| Vanuatu | 100.7 | Medium | 2000 |
| Maldives | 101.0 | High | 2000 |
| country | ratio | hdicode | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ghana | 100.2 | Medium | 2021 |
| Rwanda | 99.8 | Low | 2021 |
| Nicaragua | 100.2 | Medium | 2021 |
| Bolivia (Plurinational State of) | 99.7 | Medium | 2021 |
| Namibia | 99.6 | Medium | 2021 |
| Uganda | 100.4 | Low | 2021 |
| Ukraine | 100.4 | High | 2021 |
| Zambia | 99.6 | Medium | 2021 |
| El Salvador | 100.6 | Medium | 2021 |
| Nepal | 100.6 | Medium | 2021 |
Closest to a ratio of 100 in the year 2000: The top ten countries in the year 2000 scored very high, high or medium on the Human Development index. There were several countries that had a ratio of 100, Namibia, North Macedonia, Tunisia, Cabo Verde and Botswana.
Closest to a ratio of 100 in the year 2021: The top ten countries in the year 2021, all scored either medium or low on the Human Development Index, except for Ukraine which scored high. The country with a ratio of 100 in 2021, was Ghana.
Comparison: In 2021, there is no country with a HDI score higher than “high”. This indicates, what has previously been proven, that the countries with a higher HDI score, have a negative development regarding gender equality, in regards to expected years of schooling between males and females. In 2021 the trend is that the higher HDI score, the more expected years of schooling can be seen for females, since the ratio is over 100. That is why we only see countries in the table, with lower scores on the HDI in the year 2021, compared to 2000. That is also the reason as to why there are more countries in 2021 that are under the ratio of 100, than in 2000. Since a ratio of 100 is highly connected to a higher HDI score. But now when the countries with higher HDI Score have gotten into the negative trend of gender inequality with an advantage for women, there is room for the countries with a lower score on the HDI, to be shown in the table.
Conclusion
With the mechanisms used for development: The millennium development goals (MDGs) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), we can see that a change has happened. Expected years in school for females have increased over all levels of HDI-scale. However, it seems like there has been a lot of focus on women and girls expected years of schooling and increasing that, rather than equality. We can see in the MDG goal 2 there has been a lot of focus on rural eras and countries with a low HDI. However, this has led to a shift where between the years 2000 and 2021 expected years of schooling for females has increased so much that there nowadays seems to become a problem with expected years of schooling for males instead. The inequality is shifting over. Since the focus from the MDGs have been on countries with a low HDI this has especially been the case in countries with a high Human Development Index. What this can tell us is that there seems to be a need to adopt an approach on SDG Goal 4 that takes into account the different HDI levels of countries. In countries with a high or very high HDI the approach needs to be an increase of expected years in school for males meanwhile in countries with a low HDI the approach must continue to be on increasing expected years in school for females, so that it will be equal.
What we can tell about the countries in which males receive less education is that it happens in the higher grades of education whereas in the countries where females have lower amounts of education it happens in the younger years of education. In the countries with High HDI we therefore see that we have to promote higher education for males. This is mostly something that is voluntary, so it’s about shifting the public opinion to make it easier for males to continue their education. In countries with fewer years of female education it often happens because females aren’t allowed in the same way as males to continue school. One of the clearest examples of this is Afghanistan. Here we know that the government has limited female access to school. Here we can see that the focus must be to change the state policies as well as the public opinion.
Access to education for males and females varies significantly between regions and we can read some of the results in the top ten lists we have created. For example, in sub-saharan Africa there are many countries where women face significant challenges in access to education. What we can draw on here are different factors such as poverty, child marriage, cultural norms and inadequate infrastructure, that contribute to the low expected years of schooling for girls and women. However, efforts are being made to address these issues through different initiatives which are focused on girls’ educations, scholarships and community engagement.
In South Asia there has been notable progress in improving girls and womens access to education. But gender disparities still exist, particularly in rural areas and marginalised communities. Different factors that affect the low expected years of schooling for girls and women are social and cultural norms, child marriage and poverty.
In the Middle East and North Africa region, significant strides have been made in expanding educational opportunities for girls and women. Here we can see an increase in expected years of schooling for girls and women, in tertiary education. But limited access to quality education, cultural barriers and gender stereotypes are some of the factors that still hinder women in this region from getting the same access to education as men and boys.
In East Asia and Pacific, some countries have generally made progress in increasing girls and womens’ access to education, and achieving gender parity in primary and secondary education. But challenges still exist in this region as well, economic factors, cultural norms, particularly in marginalised areas, still limit women’s access to higher education.
In Latin America and the Caribbeans there have been significant progress in many countries, in improving access to education for girls and women. Most countries in this region have achieved gender parity in primary and secondary education. Womens’ enrollment in tertiary education has increased as well. But disparities still exist, especially in indigenous communities where the access to education still remains a challenge for girls and women.
In Europe and North America, the access to education for women is generally very high and gender disparities in education are relatively low. Women in this region have achieved significant education attainment and there is equal access to education at all levels. There is a general trend in this region as well, where we can see that women today, received higher education and longer education than men, which in fact has lead to a gender disparity where men are less educated than women.
Refrences
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. (n.y). Millennium Development Goal 2: Achieve universal primary education. Retrieved 2023-04-28 from https://www.fao.org/sustainable-development-goals/mdg/goal-2/en/
SDG -Tracker. (n.y). Goal 4: Quality Education. Retrieved 2023-04-20 from https://sdg-tracker.org/quality-education
Wickham, H. and G. Grolemund. (2023). R for Data Science, 2nd. Ed, O’Reilly https://r4ds.hadley.nz/
UN. (2023). Goal 4. Retrieved 2023-04-28 from https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal4
UNDP. (2023). Human Development Index (HDI). Retrieved 2023-05-14 from https://hdr.undp.org/data-center/human-development-index#/indicies/HDI