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Publication
Education
Gender

Women in higher education

Has the female advantage put an end to gender inequalities?
Image
UNESCO
Author
UNESCO and IESALC
Publisher
UNESCO
Year of Publication
2021
Abstract

This report entitled Women in Higher Education: has the female advantage put an end to gender equalities follows on the report Towards universal access to higher education: international trends launched by UNESCO IESALC in November 2020. The first report mainly addresses gender issues from the perspective of the increased enrolment of women in higher education (HE) identified worldwide. In preparation for International Women ́s Day 2021 celebrated on 8 March, this report will further expand on the gender dimension in HE.

In this report, UNESCO IESALC reviews some available global data on the topic of women in higher education, taking into account developments in women’s participation in HE, and in this way contributes its expertise to this important debate. If women constitute the majority of undergraduates, then why are they still a diminishing minority among lecturers, senior lecturers, and professors? Why are there few women researchers and published authors? If women and men receive the same type of university education necessary to attain a professorship, and are expected to perform the same tasks, then why are they receiving different wages? With more women than men studying and graduating, what is preventing highly capable women from occupying half the seats at the head table? These are important questions to ponder, and included here below, is a brief analysis of a few probable reasons for this.