Current and Emerging Issues in Gender Equality in Education: What Does the Data Tell Us?

Abstract

This chapter identifies current and emerging issues related to gender equality in education, providing a comparative analysis of education-related gender equality indicators across Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. Using data from UNESCO, the World Bank Gender Data Portal, the United Nations Development Programme’s Gender Inequality IndexGender Inequality Index" \r "genderInequalityIndex, country-level data, and other sources, the chapter is organized into four sections. First, the gendered educational landscape is examined, encompassing educational participation and attainment in compulsory and post-compulsory education across the countries. Second, the chapter explores gender differences in fields of study in higher education to understand patterns of gendered behaviour in education. Third, the chapter examines the role of female educators—teachers and researchers, and fourth, the chapter explores whether educational achievements for women are translating into societal leadership gains. The chapter concludes with brief country summaries highlighting key issues for gender equality in education. Despite presenting some statistics for the first time, caution is warranted due to the subjective nature of data and its limitations in capturing root causes and structural effects of gender inequality.