The World Economic Forum identifies gender equality as one of the most important goals of our time. The International Monetary Fund cites increased female labour force participation as a global economic game-changer. And in 2017, the G20 declared that sustainable and inclusive growth is dependant upon women’s equal access to the labour market, property, quality employment and financial services.
Studies show a clear association between secondary education for women and stronger, more inclusive growth at national level. Yet girls’ education does not receive the attention it should in government and business efforts to realise human and economic potential.
The facts
- Increasing the proportion of women completing secondary education by 1% increases economic growth by 0.3%.
- Every additional year of secondary schooling boosts a woman’s earning potential by 25%.
- Closing gender gaps in work and society could add $28 trillion to global growth every year.
- If women participated in the labour force to the same extent as men, national income could increase by 5% in the U.S., 9% in Japan and 27% in India.
- When women’s participation in the Latin American labour market increased 15% over ten years, the rate of poverty decreased by 30%.
- Companies embracing gender diversity are 15% more likely to have financial returns above national industry averages.
- Adding an additional woman to senior management or a corporate board is associated with 8–13 basis points higher return on assets.
- Increasing women’s access to the internet in developing countries would lead to income generation, improved education and greater freedom for individual women — and contribute $13–18 billion in annual gross domestic product.
The bottom line
Girls’ education creates the educated and skilled women needed for a high-performing workforce. This generates greater profit for companies and creates strong, inclusive economies.
“Ensuring the full development and appropriate deployment of half of the world’s total talent pool has a vast bearing on the growth, competitiveness and future-readiness of economies and businesses worldwide.”
— World Economic Forum, Global Gender Gap Report 2017
“Why do we care so deeply about gender? Not just because it is a moral issue, but because gender equality is critical for the economic well-being of both men and women, of society as a whole.”
— Christine Lagarde, Managing Director, International Monetary Fund
An uncertain outlook
Despite progress in closing the gender gap in school enrolment around the world, girls — especially in developing countries — face formidable challenges:
- More than 130 million girls are out of school, including 98.5 million of secondary school age.
- 290 million girls are unable to read properly by the end of lower secondary school.
- In West Asia, 20% of adolescent girls of lower secondary school age are out of school, compared to 13% of boys. In sub-Saharan Africa, the rate is 36% for girls compared to 32% for boys.
- Young women are two-thirds of the world’s illiterate population.
Course-correcting for inclusive growth and future opportunity
“There are two great equalizers in life: the internet and education.”
— John Chambers, former Cisco CEO
Globalisation, the internet, automation and artificial intelligence are driving dramatic shifts in the workforce. By one popular estimate, 65% of children entering school today will ultimately end up in jobs that don’t currently exist.16 Now more than ever, economies need the talent of all their citizens to create shared and stable prosperity.
Business as usual is not enough to prepare girls and young women for the labour market of tomorrow. 12 years of free, safe, quality education is just the starting point. Education systems need to expand and adapt to meet the challenges ahead.
Educational systems should adapt by:
- Promoting STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education to girls.
- Providing teacher training in information and communications technology, incorporating digital skills into curricula and getting schools online.
- Investing in and supporting teachers to move away from traditional methods of teaching and toward problem solving, critical enquiry and creativity in students, especially girls.
- Breaking down gender stereotypes by ensuring that textbooks and teachers actively promote gender equality, encouraging girls’ participation in sport, and connecting girls with female role models in and outside of school.
What Forum members can do:
- Invest in creating a pipeline of female talent by allocating a percentage of company profits to improve and expand girls’ education, including through mechanisms such as the Global Partnership for Education, Education Cannot Wait and a future International Financing Facility for Education.
- Develop and share innovations that will enable hard-to-reach girls to learn, and enhance the quality and relevance of education.
- Advocate for increased domestic and international investment in education as key to inclusive growth and shared prosperity.
- Seek gender equality in your own industries.
