The United Nations (original) (raw)

Research Handbook on the Law of International Organizations

Access and participation of women and girls to education, training, science and technology, including for the promotion of women's equal access to full employment and decent work Economic Returns to Education and the Link between Education and Employment-A Gendered Perspective * Submitted by Monazza Aslam Centre for the Study of African Economies (CSAE) University of Oxford * The views expressed in this paper are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the United Nations. The social and economic benefits of educating girls, especially in developing countries, are now well-known. Women's education is associated with: lower infant mortality, increased probability of child survival, reduced fertility, better child health, increased farming and household productivity, better child schooling outcomes, increased labour force participation, higher earnings, greater political participation and increased empowerment. At the heart of the transformation in women's economic status is the transformation in their educational attainment. In most developed countries gender parity has been achieved in schooling attainment. In the United States, for instance, women have surpassed men in terms of completing secondary and post-secondary education and the gender gap in schooling stands almost completely reversed. In these advanced economies, women's participation in paid work is also at unprecedented levels and they are increasingly entering occupations previously considered the 'male' domain. Consequently, women's earnings are making an increasingly important contribution to household income hence changing the dynamic of family-life and their economic and social positions (Gregory, 2009). Despite impressive strides, however, this transformation is far from complete. Not only do women face a relatively narrow spectrum of occupational choices, they also continue to be paid substantially less than men. This inequality of labour market outcomes points to enduring biases and is more glaringly obvious in developing countries. While they have better job opportunities and earnings than ever before, a large percentage of women feature disproportionately among the non-labour force participants. When in the labour force, they are often found trapped in a narrow band of unpaid or low-paid work and insecure occupations 1. Young women in developing countries also have more protracted school-to-work transitions than young men, having access to fewer job search mechanisms and poorer information to smooth their transitions.