The intersection of gender equality and quality of education in four Mediterranean countries

Abstract

The framework of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development acknowledges that the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and their targets are integrated and indivisible, balancing the economic, social, and environmental dimensions of sustainable development. The interlinkages between education and gender equality clearly illustrate this. For example, girls born into poor families (Target 1.2) and forced to marry early (Target 5.3) are more likely to drop out of school (Target 4.1), and experience early and unintended pregnancy (Target 3.7) and violence (Target 5.2) than girls from higher income families who marry later (UN Women, 2018). Put in similar terms, the quality and outcomes of education are not only impacted by gender inequality, among many other factors, but also have an important role to play in ensuring gender equality in society. Inclusive, quality education and gender equality are not only two of the SDGs but are also means for the realization of the remaining 15 Goals. While SDG 4 may be the central focus for ensuring that all children access high-quality, inclusive education, the Goal and its Targets cannot be achieved without integrated approaches that address persistent forms and sources of exclusion. If we are to reach those who are left behind—and, especially, reach the furthest behind first—educational inclusion and outcomes cannot be separated from issues of gender equality. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development calls on countries to use a broad resource base, standards, tools, and disaggregated data to monitor progress toward the interconnected issues of gender equality and education (UNESCO, 2018a). The Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Report 2018 Gender Review acknowledges that the interconnectedness of these two issues is even broader, covering gender norms, values, attitudes, legal or policy environments, and other institutions (UNESCO, 2018a) (Figure 1). Thus, this report conceptualizes the multifaceted system of interlinkages between gender and education as the nexus between SDGs 4 and 5 and analyzes progress toward and persistent challenges to gender equality in and through education in four Mediterranean countries: Cyprus, Greece, Malta, and Turkey. Issues of gender equality must also be viewed closely in relation to equity. Equity is at the heart of the 2030 Agenda and cannot be separated from issues of fairness and justice2. It is concerned with ensuring that the education of all learners is viewed as equally important and acknowledges that inequalities arise from aspects of the education system itself, such as organization, accessibility, the learning environment, and methods of teaching and evaluation (UNESCO, 2017a). A focus on equity, together with inclusion, should translate into education policy that values learners’ diversity, prioritizes their participation and achievement, acknowledges systemic and contextual barriers and, guided by evidence, works to eliminate these barriers for all learners by building a more equitable and inclusive system with strong intersectoral and community cooperation. In this light, equity should be viewed as a foundational principle that lies at the center of all education sector analyses, policies, planning, budgeting, and implementation. Doing so can contribute to improved educational quality for all learners, increased gender equality in educational outcomes, and, by consequence, improved gender equality in society. In fact, gender equality is achieved when “women and men have equal conditions for realizing their human rights and for contributing to, and benefitting from, economic social, cultural, and political development” (UNESCO, 2017a, p. 7). Thus, it is crucial to analyze progress toward gender equality both in and through education, focusing not only on gender parity in participation, attainment, and learning outcomes, but also on equity in social and economic contexts, including gender norms and institutions, and the education system as a whole, including laws, policies, practices, environment, and resources (UNESCO, 2019a). This holistic approach is reflected in UNESCO’s Strategy for Gender Equality in and through Education (2019-2025), based on three pillars: better data for informing action; better legal, policy and planning frameworks for rights; and better-quality learning opportunities (UNESCO, 2019b). This report examines multiple issues at the intersection of these two issues of education and gender equality, serving as a regional extension of the report The Intersection of Gender Equality and Education in South-East Europe: A Regional Situation Analysis of the Nexus between SDG4 (Quality Education) and SDG5 (Gender Equality) (Fuller, 2019), published by the UNESCO Regional Bureau for Science and Culture in Europe (Venice, Italy) in May 2019. It therefore applies a similar approach of considering SDGs and targets that lie at this critical nexus (Figure 2) to analyze the situation of gender equality in education—including gender parity in participation, learning quality, and policies that impact the primarily female teaching force—as well as education’s role in addressing other issues at this intersection, including social norms, gender-based violence, early and unintended pregnancy, and child marriage. This report uses the most recent available data from the UNESCO Institute of Statistics (UIS), as well as supplemental data including from UNICEF, UN Women, and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), to descriptively analyze rates for girls, boys, women, and men to identify where progress in gender equality has been made and where actions are needed to ensure gender equality in and through education. Such an analysis relies on accurate, up-to-date, and disaggregated data. Similarly, progress toward the achievement of all 17 SDGs requires quality, accessible, timely data collection (United Nations General Assembly, 2015), high-quality monitoring and evaluation processes with up-to-date information systems and adequately trained personnel, and careful analysis that provides key insights into progress and persistent challenges. However, many indicators are missing data in these countries, impeding both monitoring and progress. Thus, in addition to analysing the situation of gender equality in education and education’s role in the achievement of gender equality in society, this report briefly explores these data gaps, while also presenting a series of recommendations for addressing the challenges that remain at the nexus between quality education and gender equality in Cyprus, Greece, Malta, and Turkey.