Inexcusable Absence: Overcoming Exclusion in Girls Education Marlaine Lockheed Center for Global Development CIES Gender Symposium, 2007

Source: Lewis and Lockheed 20062

3 Schooling trends are improving in the developing world Girls schooling has traditionally lagged that of boys, but girls are catching up Socially excluded children still lag Socially excluded girls are the least likely to go to school Countries with many socially excluded groups are at risk

Source: Lewis and Lockheed Gender parity in primary enrollments rose between 1960 and 2000

Source: Lewis and Lockheed But 60 million primary school age girls were out of school in 2000 RegionGirls out of school (000s) % from excluded groups Sub Saharan Africa23,82775 South Asia23,55267 Middle East & N. Africa5,09233 Latin America & Caribb.1,49799 East Asia & Pacific4,87090 E. Europe & Central Asia1,58390 Total60,42171

Source: Lewis and Lockheed Most out-of-school girls come from socially excluded groups

Source: Lewis and Lockheed Who are the socially excluded groups? Stigmatization Ethnic differences Low status Involuntary minority status

Source: Lewis and Lockheed 20068

9

10 Rural female- Other Rural-Male-Other

Source: Lewis and Lockheed Rural female- Other Rural-Male-Other

Source: Lewis and Lockheed Guatemala: Indigenous girls in are least likely to be enrolled in school

Source: Lewis and Lockheed Guatemala: Indigenous girls in are least likely to be enrolled in school

Source: Lewis and Lockheed Gaps in enrollment, attainment or completion for excluded girls Nigeria 35% lower probability Pakistan percentage points lower Slovak Republic 45 percentage points lower

Source: Lewis and Lockheed Heterogeneity and male-female differences in primary school completion rates

Source: Lewis and Lockheed The Challenge: Getting and keeping disadvantaged children in school In all countries disadvantaged children lag behind in school, and girls do so disproportionately: Enrollment Completion/Graduation Performance But, excluded girls go to school, stay in school and do better than boys when given the opportunity

Source: Lewis and Lockheed Quechua girls outperform Quechua boys in 5 th grade, Peru 2000

Source: Lewis and Lockheed Indigenous girls outperform indigenous boys in Ecuador

Source: Lewis and Lockheed Why does heterogeneity have this effect? Discrimination in the labor market Reduces motivation Discrimination in access to school Increases direct, indirect and opportunity costs of schooling to families Lowers school quality Discrimination within schools Reduces opportunity to learn Expectations and stereotype threat Lowers performance

Source: Lewis and Lockheed Success is possible, with targeted interventions Examples from developed countries New Zealand, Canada Examples from developing countries Chile, Bangladesh, India