NWEC 2010 International Forum for Women’s Empowerment(Tokyo, 9 October 2010)
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Maki Hayashikawa
Education Specialist
UNICEF East Asia and Pacific Regional Office

Education and gender equality are key todevelopment.
International goals on education and genderequality do not envision fostering women’sleadership.
Rationale for investing in women and girls’
education is based on development needs.
We need to change our mindsets if education
is to foster women’s leadership potentials
and true empowerment.

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What do these international goals say about womenleadership and empowerment?

 Education holds the key to empowerment of

women and promotion of gender equality.

 EFA goal 4 (Literacy) –literacy and continuing education

as essential for women’s empowerment and genderequality.

 Gender equality and education are mutually

 EFA Goal 5 (Gender equality) – education of girls andreinforcing catalysts of development

women as having powerful trans-generational effect,
and as key determinants of social development andwomen’s empowerment.

 Women and girl’s education as underpinning MDG 2 (UPE) – talks about UPE for all children, boththe success or failure of achieving the otherMDGs, e.g. education, health & nutrition, childmortality, HIV/AIDS

boys and girls.

 MDG 3 (Gender equality) – gender parity in primary andsecondary education by 2005 and all levels by 2015.

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 … if women famers are given the same education

 “… education… key to reducing child hunger in terms of

opportunities as their male peers, their yields of maize,
beans, … increase by 22 % (in Kenya)” (MDG 3 – genderequality and empower women).
educating mothers”

 “… giving mothers just five years of education… can leadto a reduction in child mortality of 40 per cent” or “A childborn to a mother who can read is 50% more likely tosurvive past the age of 5…” (ref. MDG4 – reduce childmortality) “.. mothers with secondary education are twice as likely togive birth more safely in health facilities as those with noeducation …” (ref. MDG 5 – improve maternal health).

5International goals on development emphasize
women’s contribution to the development of allother sectors but other than their OWN.
Women’s education is first and foremost for
improving/enhancing women’s reproductive functionand (economically) productive role in development
Indicators of women’s empowerment in otherdevelopment sectors goals (e.g. agriculture, politicalparticipation), do not clearly articulate the interlinkages between that of education or lifelong
learning for women.
61 The international goals are essentially concerned with

the quantitative progress rather than the qualitative
progress in terms of women’s leadership andempowerment.

 Gender-biased role reinforced…

◦ Curriculum and textbooks◦ Teaching method◦ Teacher attitude◦ Feminization of education workforce◦ Low pay and status ofteachers/facilitators/practitioners◦ Guidance on subject selection/areas of studies◦ Vocational guidance◦ Education sector working in isolation

 It expects education to empower girls and women toparticipate actively in socio-economic and politicallife, but not necessarily take leadership.

 With the rationale given, women’s empowerment

through education do not result in fostering theirleadership role because the goals do not envision
beyond their development.
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Areas of employmentFemale (%)

Male (%)

Leadership

19.0

81.0

Highly professional/technical41.5

58.5

Middle professional/technical

58.5

41.5

Ordinary staff

53.1

46.9

Private services, guards, sales

68.7

31.3

Agriculture, forestry, fishery

37.6

62.4

Handicrafts

34.7

65.3

Installation and operation

26.9

73.1

Simple jobs

49.8

50.2

“Women are mainly employed in services and in jobs not
requiring high technical skills. As a result, their earnings are low
and …few opportunities for …(training and promotion)”
Source: Viet Nam, Achieving the Millennium Development Goals, 2005, p.16
910 Move away from the over “targeting” - need forholistic approach to women’s education and with astrategic action for laying the foundation forleadership.

 Locate education in the broader context ofdevelopment and human rights– education does notexist in a vacuum.

 Education need to reach out to and work with othersectors, e.g. labour (school to work transition),
health, agriculture, etc.

 Women’s education and lifelong learning must be

seen beyond the development goals.

Source: Teachers and Educational Quality: Monitoring Global Needs for 2015, UNESCO Institute of Statistics, 2006, p.41 Figure 1.15)
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