UNESCO launches World Atlas of Gender Equality in Education

Mar 7, 2012
"Twenty years ago, a young girl starting school in sub-Saharan Africa could expect to receive about five years of education during her entire life – and part of that time might have been spent repeating grades. Today, she can expect to spend about eight years in a classroom. But the boy sitting next to her is likely benefit from an extra 18 months of instruction. This remarkable yet uneven progress comes to life in a new atlas on gender and education, released by UNESCO for International Women’s Day 2012, celebrated on 8 March."

"The World Atlas of Gender Equality in Education includes more than 120 maps, charts and tables featuring a wide range of sex-disaggregated indicators produced by the UNESCO Institute for Statistics. The Atlas enables readers to visualize the educational pathways of girls and boys in terms of access, participation and progression from pre-primary to tertiary education. It also illustrates the extent to which gender disparities in education have changed since 1970 and are shaped by factors such as national wealth, geographic location, investment in education and fields of study."

“This Atlas is a call for action. The growth in girls’ enrolment in primary education is a clear demonstration  of strong political will to achieve the Education for All goals. But there are still great strides to be made in order to reach the large numbers of vulnerable girls and women who continue to be denied their right to education,” said UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova. “We must address the root causes of this discrimination and target our action towards those most in need.”

05.03.2012 - UNESCOPRESS - UNESCO launches World Atlas of Gender Equality in Education
http://www.unesco.org/new/en/media-services/single-view/news/unesco_launches_world_atlas_of_gender_equality_in_education/