Education and gender equality

Gender equality and education

From access to empowerment

Gender equality is a global priority at UNESCO. Globally, 122 million girls and 128 million boys are out of school. Women still account for almost two-thirds of all adults unable to read.

UNESCO calls for attention to gender equality throughout the education system in relation to access, content, teaching and learning context and practices, learning outcomes, and life and work opportunities. The  focuses on a system-wide transformation to benefit all learners equally in three key areas: better data to inform action, better legal and policy frameworks to advance rights and better teaching and learning practices to empower. 

"Her Education, Our Future" documentary film

Released on 7 March for 2024 International Women’s Day, “Her Education, Our Future” is a documentary film following the lives of Anee, Fabiana, Mkasi and Tainá – four young women across three continents who struggle to fulfill their right to education. 

This documentary film offers a spectacular dive into the transformative power of education and showcases how empowering girls and women through education improves not only their lives, but also those of their families, communities and indeed all of society. 

Global Accountability Dashboard

The is a one stop resource that monitors country progress against key indicators on gender-transformative education, spotlights actions taken by governments and their partners, and provides an evidence hub of initiatives and good practices from 193 countries.

The Dashboard is supported by the Global Platform for Gender Equality in and through Education, a multi-stakeholder partnership emerging from the 2022 Transforming Education Summit. It complements and deepens the Summit’s Dashboard of Country Commitments and Action to Transform Education. 

Key figures

Schoolgirls Education

Watch

Capacity building tools

Gender in education capacity building
UNESCO’s efforts to achieve gender equality in and through education: 2023 highlights
UNESCO
2024
0000391935
Why boys may need more support in building their reading motivation, confidence, and engagement
Eck, Matthias
International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement
Hencke, Juliane
Kennedy, Alec
Meinck, Sabine
Sass, Justine
2024
0000391146
The price of inaction: the global private, fiscal and social costs of children and youth not learning
Brunello, Giorgio
UNESCO
Rocco, Lorenzo
Eck, Matthias
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Commonwealth Secretariat
2024
0000389852
Global education monitoring report 2024, gender report: technology on her terms
Global Education Monitoring Report Team
2024
0000389406
#HerEducationOurFuture: innovation and technology for gender equality; the latest facts on gender equality in education
Global Education Monitoring Report Team
UNESCO
2023
UNESCO
0000384678
Leave no one behind: gender equality in transforming education summit national commitments
Bordoloi, Sujata
UNESCO
2023
UNESCO
0000385017
#HerEducationOurFuture: investing in girls’ and women’s education: a smart investment to accelerate development
Global Education Monitoring Report Team
UNESCO
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
2024
0000388934
From access to empowerment: UNESCO strategy for gender equality in and through education 2019-2025
UNESCO
2019
UNESCO
0000369000
GEM report logo wheel

Monitoring SDG 4: equity and inclusion in education

Resources from UNESCO’s Global Education Monitoring Report.