Gender Inequality in Education and Household Poverty in Pakistan: A Case of Multan District

Abstract

Present study is intended to explore the impact of gender inequality in education on poverty by employing logistic regression on primary source of data collected through a field survey of Multan district. The study concluded that gender inequality in education has adverse impact on household poverty. The probability of household poverty falls with the increase in female-male primary, secondary and tertiary enrolment. The improvement in female-male literacy ratio also rejects probability of a household being poor. Household size and number of children less than five years age have positive association with probability of poverty while the variables, qualification of household head, age of household, professional or technical skills of household head and ownership of house are negatively associated with household poverty. The study suggested that eliminating gender inequality in education in all level may be helpful in empowering women, creating productive employment opportunities in both formal and informal sectors and alleviating poverty.