Major gender gaps in reading, maths and academic leadership, shows UNESCO report
The UNESCO Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Report 2024-25 has raised serious concerns over gender inequalities in both education outcomes and leadership positions across the world. According to the report, boys are consistently falling behind girls in reading proficiency, especially in middle-income countries.On average, only 87 boys meet the minimum reading level for every 100 girls. This gap widens significantly in middle-income countries, where only 72 boys reach the standard per 100 girls. advertisementDespite these trends, the report notes that gender gaps in mathematics have remained stable for two decades. However, the COVID-19 pandemic appears to have disrupted this balance.
Girls in countries like Brazil, Chile, England, Italy, and New Zealand experienced noticeable drops in their math performance compared to boys.GENDER GAP IN ACADEMIC LEADERSHIPIn terms of leadership, the gender gap remains steep. In India, only 5% of women held top positions such as vice-chancellors or directors in 189 national institutions in 2021. In a broader survey of 1,220 universities, just 9% were women vice-chancellors, and 11% held registrar or top administrative roles.Women are also under-represented as school principals across all school types in India. The report points out that gender bias in promotions and the lack of female representation in top roles continue to be major hurdles.advertisementIn Pakistan and Balochistan, gender segregation in schools further restricts women's leadership opportunities, limiting them to girls-only institutions. In Balochistan, only 29% of schools were girls' schools in 2021, reducing opportunities for female leadership.SOME PROGRESS IN OTHER COUNTRIESBy contrast, Vietnam showed relatively better progress, with 28% of university leadership positions held by women in 2019. However, only 8% served as presidents or rectors, showing that even where women enter leadership, the highest roles remain out of reach.The report concludes that while there has been progress, gender parity is still far from reality in both education quality and leadership across much of the world.
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