Inexcusable Absence: Overcoming Exclusion in Girls’ Education
Marlaine LockheedCenter for Global Development
CIES Gender Symposium, 2007
Source: Lewis and Lockheed 2006 2
Source: Lewis and Lockheed 2006 3
Schooling trends are improving in the developing world
Girls’ schooling has traditionally lagged that of boys, but girls are catching up
Socially excluded children still lag Socially excluded girls are the least likely to
go to school Countries with many socially excluded groups
are at risk
Source: Lewis and Lockheed 2006 4
Gender parity in primary enrollments rose between 1960 and 2000
Source: Lewis and Lockheed 2006 5
But 60 million primary school age girls were out of school in 2000
Region Girls out of school
(‘000s)
% from
excluded groups
Sub Saharan Africa 23,827 75
South Asia 23,552 67
Middle East & N. Africa 5,092 33
Latin America & Caribb. 1,497 99
East Asia & Pacific 4,870 90
E. Europe & Central Asia 1,583 90
Total 60,421 71
Source: Lewis and Lockheed 2006 6
Most out-of-school girls come from socially excluded groups
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
World SSA SA MENA LAC EAP ECA
PercentExcluded
Source: Lewis and Lockheed 2006 7
Who are the socially excluded groups?
Stigmatization Ethnic differences Low status “Involuntary” minority status
Source: Lewis and Lockheed 2006 8
India: Rural SC/ST girls least likely to be in school, 2001
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15-19 Age
Majority Urban Male Majority Urban Female
Majority Rural Male Majority Rural Female
SC/ST Rural Male SC/ST Rural Female
Source: Lewis and Lockheed 2006 9
India: Rural SC/ST girls least likely to be in school, 2001
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15-19 Age
Majority Urban Male Majority Urban Female
Majority Rural Male Majority Rural Female
SC/ST Rural Male SC/ST Rural Female
Source: Lewis and Lockheed 2006 10
Laos: Hill tribe girls complete fewest years of school
Urban-Male-Lao-Tai
Urban-Female-Lao-Tai
Rural-Male-Lao-Tai
Rural-Female-Lao-Tai
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
18 21 24 27 30 33 36 39 42 45 48 51 54 57 60
Age
Average years of schooling
Rural female- Other
Rural-Male-Other
Source: Lewis and Lockheed 2006 11
Laos: Hill tribe girls complete fewest years of school
Urban-Male-Lao-Tai
Urban-Female-Lao-Tai
Rural-Male-Lao-Tai
Rural-Female-Lao-Tai
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
18 21 24 27 30 33 36 39 42 45 48 51 54 57 60
Age
Average years of schooling
Rural female- Other
Rural-Male-Other
Source: Lewis and Lockheed 2006 12
Guatemala: Indigenous girls in are least likely to be enrolled in school
Source: Lewis and Lockheed 2006 13
Guatemala: Indigenous girls in are least likely to be enrolled in school
Source: Lewis and Lockheed 2006 14
Gaps in enrollment, attainment or completion for excluded girls
Nigeria 35% lower probability
Pakistan 30-55 percentage points lower
Slovak Republic 45 percentage points lower
Source: Lewis and Lockheed 2006 15
Heterogeneity and male-female differences in primary school completion rates
Argentina
Armenia
Bangladesh
Benin
Bolivia
Botswana
Brazil
Bulgaria
China
Comoros
Cote d'IvoireEthiopia
Fiji
Guatemala
Hungary
India
Indonesia
Iran Kenya
Lao PDR
Lesotho
Liberia
Morocco
Namibia
Palau
Papua New Guinea
PhilippinesRomania
Sierra Leone
South Africa
Tanzania
Togo
Tunisia
Turkey
Uzbekistan
-20
02
04
0P
rim
ary
com
ple
tion
ra
te, m
ale
- fem
ale
0 .2 .4 .6 .8 1Ethnolinguistic fractionalization
Source: Lewis and Lockheed 2006 16
The Challenge: Getting and keeping disadvantaged children in school
In all countries disadvantaged children lag behind in school, and girls do so disproportionately: Enrollment Completion/Graduation Performance
But, excluded girls go to school, stay in school and do better than boys when given the opportunity
Source: Lewis and Lockheed 2006 17
Quechua girls outperform Quechua boys in 5th grade, Peru 2000
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
Reading Math
Quechua Girls
Quechua Boys
Urban Girls
Urban Boys
Source: Lewis and Lockheed 2006 18
Indigenous girls outperform indigenous boys in Ecuador
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Grade 5 Math
Indigenous Girls
Indigenous Boys
Nonindigenous Girls
Nonindigenous Boys
Source: Lewis and Lockheed 2006 19
Why does heterogeneity have this effect? Discrimination in the labor market
Reduces motivation Discrimination in access to school
Increases direct, indirect and opportunity costs of schooling to families
Lowers school quality Discrimination within schools
Reduces opportunity to learn Expectations and “stereotype threat”
Lowers performance
Source: Lewis and Lockheed 2006 20
Success is possible, with targeted interventions Examples from developed countries
New Zealand, Canada Examples from developing countries
Chile, Bangladesh, India
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