6 2
TO WA R D G E N D E R E Q UA L I T Y I N E A S T A S I A A N D T H E PAC I F I C
placing priorities in the endowment domain in the broader development context will follow in chapter 6.
Substantial progress toward gender equality in education Closing gender gaps in education is beneficial.1 Several cross-country analyses find a positive relationship between female education and growth in gross domestic product (GDP) (Klasen and Lamanna 2009; Knowles, Lorgelly, and Owen 2002). Looking at households within countries, an extensive literature has found clear evidence of correlation between mothers’ education and children’s education and health, particularly children’s health and nutrition status (Schultz 1993; Thomas and Strauss 1992).2 Women are usually the primary child rearers, and a mother with more education is likely to provide better child care. In East Asian and Pacific countries, analyses of national demographic and health surveys (DHS) show that Cambodian women with little education are less likely than educated women to receive antenatal care and assistance from trained health personnel during birth deliveries (Johnson, Sao, and Hor 2000). Similarly, in Timor-Leste, highly educated mothers are most likely to have their births delivered by skilled attendants (88 percent), as are mothers in the wealthiest households (69 percent) (NSD, Ministry of Finance, and ICF Macro 2010). Gender equality in endowments can feed into development indirectly through links to gender equality in economic opportunities and agency. Promoting equal access to education through investing in girls’ education can broaden girls’ economic opportunities and raise their income. Better economic opportunities and higher income, in turn, have positive intergenerational effects: income in women’s hands is likely to improve children’s health (Duflo 2003; Fiszbein and Schady 2009; Thomas 1995). More education and more income also empower women and provide them with more bargaining power, voice, and representation, as discussed in chapter 4.
Recognizing the importance of educating girls, many East Asian and Pacific countries have made great strides toward equal enrollment between girls and boys, as highlighted in chapter 1. The discussion on education in this chapter will analyze these patterns in more depth to understand their dynamics and their determinants. These gains in enrollment have responded to changes in both supply-side and demand-side factors that enable better education outcomes. Where the education system as a whole is lagging, progress on the gender front has also been limited. However, even with equal enrollment, quality of education and choice of education streams still affect girls and boys differently and have strong implications for young people’s school-to-work transition.
Closing gender gaps in enrollment Most countries in the East Asia and Pacific region have seen narrowing gender gaps in school enrollment and completion over the past two decades. Girls’ and boys’ enrollment rates are now roughly on par at all levels, including tertiary education. The female-tomale enrollment ratio in secondary school has approached parity in most countries. Tertiary enrollment ratios between females and males are more dispersed, but mostly on an upward trend. The East Asia and Pacific region has performed better than any other region at increasing both enrollment levels and the female-to-male enrollment ratio. In 2010, the region had the highest primary school female-to-male ratio of enrollment among the developing regions and the second highest secondary school ratio.3 The narrowing of the gender gap in education since the 1990s is observed not only at the aggregate level, but also for the poor and nonpoor alike. Figure 2.1 shows the ratio of female-to-male enrollment rates in upper secondary schools for children in the poorest quintile. In most of the countries depicted, female and male enrollment rates have been converging among the poor. Similar patterns are also observed for primary and lower secondary education.