Closing the Gap for Women in Education and Employment
Overview
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), in collaboration with UNESCO, has released a pivotal report examining gender disparities in education and employment. Despite women comprising the majority of tertiary education students globally, significant gaps in pay and employment opportunities persist once they enter the workforce.
Key Findings
- 90% of female graduates cited improving employment outcomes as a key motive for pursuing their studies, in 2022, with women’s enrollment rate in tertiary education at 45 percent compared to 39 percent for men.
- Female graduates continue to earn less than men, the survey found, even after controlling for factors such as the field studied, institution attended, country, year of graduation, experience and age.
- Older female graduates tend to earn substantially less than their male peers of a similar age which is likely to reflect the fact that women more frequently disrupt their careers to care for children or the elderly.
- Women advance more slowly, spending more time working in professions other than those in which they are qualified, even though the data suggests that both men and women eventually move into their field of study over time.
Recommendations
The report suggests the educational institutions that prioritize better data collection for evidence-based decision-making and understand the relevance of curricula to labor market needs are best positioned to succeed. Furthermore, for educational institutions, employers, and governments, addressing these disparities can benefit both women and the broader economy. In fact, the World Bank estimates that eliminating the workforce participation gap by 2034 could potentially double the global growth rate.
