Women's education

Women's education is the teaching and learning available to girls and women. Its access, content, and outcomes are shaped by social expectations, laws, and institutions.

Female labor force participation: The share of women who are employed or actively seeking work. Schooling can expand women’s employment options and alter the skills employers can draw on.
Mary Wollstonecraft: An eighteenth-century English writer who argued for women’s rational education and equal moral standing. Her 1792 arguments made women’s education central to debates about equality and citizenship.
Gender gap in education: A difference between girls’ and boys’ participation or outcomes in education. It measures unequal access and achievement across stages of schooling.
Compulsory education: Laws requiring children to attend school until a specified age or level. Compulsory schooling can establish a legal floor for girls’ access.
Gender parity index: A ratio comparing the participation or outcomes of girls and boys in education. It tracks whether women’s access approaches men’s at a given educational level.
Maternal health: The health of women during pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period. Women’s schooling is associated with greater health knowledge and improved use of maternal care.
Emma Willard: An American educator who founded the Troy Female Seminary in 1821. Her school advanced rigorous academic instruction for women in the United States.
Gender bias in education: Unequal treatment or representation based on gender in educational settings and materials. Bias can shape classroom expectations, subject choices, and girls’ sense of belonging.
Conditional cash transfer: A government payment to households conditional on actions such as school attendance. Transfers can offset costs and encourage families to keep girls enrolled.
Educational attainment: The highest level of education a person has completed. Completion shows whether access to schooling produces credentials, not just enrollment.

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