The emergence of the knowledge-based economy and society in Canada has made women's access to education and training even more imperative, particularly in technical and scientific fields. Although women and men participate at an almost equal rate in training programs, women actually receive substantially fewer hours than men, an increasing trend through the 1990s. Around the World Education is key to empowering women, leading to greater economic productivity, higher income, smaller families, improved health and higher status for women and girls. Access to education by itself is not enough to eliminate harmful attitudes and values held by society. Facts and Figures Statistics and figures are from Statistics Canada unless otherwise noted.
Girls continue to drop out, repeat or fail at higher rates than boys.
At a global level, the proportion of girls enrolled in primary education, regardless of age, has steadily increased to the point that it almost equals the proportion of girls in the total school-age population. Despite the progress made in the absolute number of girls enrolled, the net enrollment ratios of girls remains lower than those of boys, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, the Arab States and North Africa, and South and West Asia. The number of illiterate adults fell from 895 million in 1990, to 880 million in 1998. In 1990, there were eight illiterate females for every ten males and this rate improved only slightly over the decade. In Canada, responsibility for education rests primarily with the provincial governments.