Armed conflict & education

Gender disparities in primary and secondary school enrolments have narrowed since 1999, but too many governments are moving too slowly to eliminate them. Sixty-nine countries have failed to achieve gender parity in primary school enrolment, and in twenty-six there are fewer than nine girls in school for every ten boys. The global gender divide means that 3.6 million girls are missing from primary school.  Despite improvements in the gender balance of educational opportunity, labour markets are still characterized by wide inequality in the type of employment and levels of remuneration men and women receive. Education can play an important role in narrowing labour market gender gaps. Governments that tolerate large gender gaps in their school systems are not just depriving young girls of a basic right, but also undermining the national economic interest.