T H E S T A T E O F G E N D E R E Q U A L I T Y I N E A S T A S I A A N D T H E P A C I F I C
Endowments: Human and productive capital Economic growth and poverty reduction in the region have been associated with rapid increases in female enrollment and convergence in the rates of school enrollment, across both genders and at all levels of e ducation. In 2010, the region had the h ighest female-to-male enrollment ratio of all developing regions at the primary level. At the secondary enrollment level, only Latin America and the Caribbean had a higher ratio (figure 1.3). Although the female-tomale enrollment ratio in the East Asia and Pacific region is still below 1 at the tertiary level, it has been rising consistently over the past two decades (figure 1.4). However, both overall enrollment rates and female-to-male enrollment ratios vary substantially across countries. Countries such as Cambodia, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, and Papua New Guinea still have relatively low enrollment levels and low female-to-male enrollment ratios, particularly at the secondary school level. Despite convergence in enrollment among the young, substantial gaps still remain in the educational endowments of adult populations. At the same time, the gender gap in education has reversed in several countries; girls’ secondary enrollment rates now exceed those of boys in
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FIGURE 1.9 Fertility rates have declined across the world fertility rate, by region 7.5 6.5 births per woman
considerable progress toward gender equality, at least in some dimensions. In others, gender disparities have been more persistent. This section reviews recent progress and pending challenges in achieving gender equality in endowments, economic opportunity, and agency in the region. It emphasizes where growth and development have contributed to advances in promoting gender equality and where this has not been sufficient. The section also highlights the considerable diversity of experience within the region as well as within countries. The basic gender profile developed here provides the foundation for the deeper analysis of gender, development, and public policy presented in subsequent chapters.
5.5 4.5 3.5 2.5 1.5
1960
1970
1980
1990
2000
2008
East Asia and Pacific
Europe and Central Asia
Latin America and the Caribbean
Middle East and North Africa
South Asia
Sub-Saharan Africa
Source: World Bank 2010b.
FIGURE 1.10 Under-five mortality rates have declined sharply for both boys and girls under-five mortality rate (probability of dying by age five per 1,000 live births)
240 under-five mortality rate
200 160 120 80 40 0
M
F
China
M
F
Lao PDR
M
F
M
F
Papua Philippines New Guinea 1990
M
F
TimorLeste
M
F
Vietnam
2008
Source: World Health Organization (WHO) Global Health Observatory Data Repository. Note: M = male, F = female. The under-five mortality rate is defined as the probability of death derived from a life table and expressed as the rate per 1,000 live births.
countries such as China, Malaysia, Mongolia, the Philippines, Thailand, Vanuatu, and Vietnam (figure 1.5). Reverse gender gaps at the tertiary level are sometimes even starker (figure 1.6).