Improving Female Education and Resulting Effects on Economy

錢儀

Abstract：Female education is a topic that has gained traction in recent years in global media. In view of present situation， geographical isolation， poverty， early marriages， values and norms， and stereotype of their roles act as deterrents to participation and completion of female education. It is substantiated that improvement of female education attainment and accomplishment will lead to overall economic growth from three aspects： increase of productivity， decrease of fertility rate， and personal and family improvement. For the sake of humanitarian morality and economic development， all the countries ought to guarantee the equal access to lifelong learning opportunities and contribute to education of women indefatigably.

Key words：women；education；economy；development

中圖分類號：D441 文獻標識碼：A 文章編號：1671-2064（2018）05-0221-02

Past Actions：There have been multifarious organizations， committees， conferences， action plans， and resolutions addressing the issues women face in attaining proper education and employment. The Millennium Development Goals （MDGs） established in United Nations in 2000 and Sustainable Development Goals（SDGs） both encapsulated achieving universal primary education， promoting gender equality and empowering women. Even Kofi， Annan， former UN Secretary General， called the condition of female education a prerequisite to fulfill Millennium Development Goals. In 2005， The United Nation Educational， Scientific and Cultural Organization（UNESCO） regard gender equality as its two global priorities. Its Education 2030 agenda also emphasize that "ensures that girls and boys， women and men not only gain access to and complete education cycles， but are empowered equally in and through education."

1 Education

1.1 Education bias

In some areas with high gender disparities， boys are deemed as smarter and superior than girls. They are capable of having an excel in academic studies. In contrast， girls are not as intelligent as boys. They are considered inherently clumsy which lead them to less studying efforts and unsatisfactory performance.

1.2 Gender gap in education

In view of the present situation， there is ongoing gender inequality existing in the education system. Problems like delayed entry， early dropout， differentiated enrollment and repetition of grade levels still represent the severe conditions of female education. In some less economically developed countries（LEDC）， most women still do not have chance to enter into complete education.

2 Employment

In the increasingly fierce market competition， there is restrictive place for women in formal employment. Unfavorable income， less earning opportunities and discriminatory practices are the dire circumstances they are confronted with. Simultaneously， the proportion of women in decision-making， managerial and administrative layer are highly underrepresented. In that way， men are gaining increasing vantages and make more decisions that will bring merit to themselves. In contrast， women will accumulate more bias and the Gender Inequality Index（GII） will go up incessantly. In a short， gender and sex impact who wins and who loses in job competition to some extent， as Wright （2010） stated the inequalities mean that some people have enormously greater capacity to act on their life plans than others do， they are in a position to make choice that matter to them.

2.1 Gender Stereotyping

Women make up more than half of the world′s population， but they have been perceived and treated as weaker and inferior sex. They are "second class citizens" as they still subjected to stringent rules and harsh punishment for trying to acquire what considered to be basic human rights.

2.2 Preexisting Gender Roles

In every sense of word， values and norms are enormous obstacles to higher education and employment of women. Studies show that men and women are viewed as occupying sharply different roles in society： a woman′s place was in the home as wife and mother， the man′s place was in the public sphere. This kind of preexisting gender roles coerce women into children rearing and care-taking. The traditions and cultures exaggerate the difference of physiological characteristics which is generated by genes and hormones to impose social norms and gender stereotyping on women.

2.3 Investment and Gender Roles

The education system and school are not willing to put investment on female education because they do not think they can get profitable returns through that. When the girls enter into society， they are going to have comparatively lower income than boys will have. Under the circumstance of limited funds， they take the education of boys as priority because they are going to be the breadwinner. Therefore， there is less need and expectation of female education from the society. In result， there is poor enrollment and participation of girls in higher education.

3 Economy

Some scholars have stated that gender equality is positively correlated with a reduction in poverty and economic growth. Improvement of female education attainment and accomplishment will lead to overall economic growth from three aspects： increase of productivity， decrease of fertility rate， and personal and family improvement.

3.1 Productivity

It is substantiated that there is a positive relationship between economic development and women′s empowerment. As Oztunc et al. （2015） found， the expansion of girls′ enrollment in primary school has a positive and direct impact on annual GDP per capita growth in the selected Asia Pacific countries. Yet， research shows that every extra year of school for girls increases their lifetime income by 15% （Plan Canada， November 13， 2011）. Women are a potentially larger labor force that has not been tapped into. If there was more investment on female education and training on expertise， more women will be able to enter into employment. In that way， human capital will be enhanced and economic scale will be expanded which will bring higher productivity.

3.2 Fertility Rate

Population. The surging of population is such a stressful limitation on resource availability. Thus， decreasing fertility rate is of vital significance to alleviation of pressure on resources and long-term economic development. In order to avoid the shortage of resources， we have to restrain population growth preemptively. Improving female education is one of the most viable measures. Positively speaking， if girls are endowed with rights to pursue higher education and have more options of careers， they do not have to fall back on marriage or children to get the sources of care and income. Consequently， they are going to exert greater control and autonomy on themselves and choose later marriage and fewer children. Hence， the fertility rate will reduce and the resource strain will be mollified.

Health Care. Presently， some women in LEDC do not have access to safe and available contraception， options for abortion， and information about reproductive health and other services. On a deeper analysis， due to the lack of basic literacy of gender equality， sexual education， and human rights， those women have unawareness or apprehension of possible contraceptive approaches. In the meantime， there might be an absence of support and involvement of their partners and parents. If the unmet need for chemical contraceptive use can be satisfied， there will be a retardation of population growth.

3.3 Personal Improvement

Self-awareness. By means of accepting education， women are going to gain more confidence and realize self-worth. ubuku （2009） investigated 25 female citizens attending first stage literacy course in Turkey. Those women expressed that they feel surer about themselves than before. As they attaining new abilities， they have a sense of accomplishment and find themselves valuable. This new self-recognition gives them a broader view to see themselves at higher level and give them incentive to continue study.

4 Conclusion

From what has been mentioned above， it can be said with certainty that female education is not only consequential to the future of women themselves， but also to their family， community and the whole country. To ensure that women will have the same leaning opportunities and learning outcomes as men， there should be enough public awareness and effective and viable policies to put it into effect.

References

[1]Beoku-Betts， J. （1998）. "Gender and Formal Education in Africa： An Exploration of the Opportunity Structure at the Secondary and Tertiary Levels".

[2]ubuku， Z. （2009）. The emphasis of female education for the developing countries. International Journal of Learning，16（10），329-342.

[3]Education and Gender Equality， Retrieved November 20th，2017，from.