The situation with women empowerment is changing rapidly in numerous areas. Education is the field where the dynamics of women’s role are especially noteworthy.In the recent years, an increasing number of women have obtained access to higher education. The changing landscape of the labor market demand is regarded as the primary reason for the women’s rise in education. In fact, the increase of women’s participation in the labor market across the twentieth century has also incited many women to return to higher education after they have already started their careers. (DiPrete and Buchmann 73)
The second noteworthy trend is the dynamics of the gender gap in academic performance. In fact, it is common to make a deeply mistaken assumption that girls’ better academic performance is a recent phenomenon. In fact, since the mid-60s the female advantage in this area has changed very insignificantly. Girls perform better than boys in all major aspects of studying from kindergarten till college. Interestingly, this difference in results between females and males seems to have nothing to do with the level of gender-based cognitive ability. (DiPrete and Buchmann 80-81)
Thirdly, it is also important to explore the trends beyond the developed countries. Across developing countries, it is possible to identify a certain set of typical obstacles for a genuine access to education for girls. These barriers include gender biases in the curriculum, lack of value of education girls, the danger of gender-based violence, and few female teachers to act as role models. (Kinnear 16)
Fourthly, the unfortunate trend regarding female education in developing countries is the special barrier appearing at the secondary school level. While the world has seen a lot of meaningful progress in assuring the access to primary education, the secondary school is a more challenging stage. Often upon the completion of primary school, parents expect their daughter to marry or to assume more responsibilities at home. Unfortunately, it is at the same time common for parents not to realize the importance of continuing their daughter’s education. (Kinnear 17)
To summarize, the current trends of women’s attainment in education are very diverse. Based on the four phenomena analyzed above, it can be concluded that developed and developing countries have different challenges and concerns for women empowerment and gender equality in the domain of education.
- DiPrete, Thomas A, and Claudia Buchmann. The Rise Of Women. Print.
- Kinnear, Karen L. Women In Developing Countries. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO, 2011. Print.
