THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC IMPACT OF FEMALE

EDUCATION
• The socioeconomic impact of female education
constitutes a significant area of research within
international development.
• Increases in the amount of female education in
regions tends to correlate with high levels of
development.
• Women’s education increases the income of
women and leads to growth in GDP.
• Educating girls leads to a number of social
benefits also.
• Both individuals and countries benefit from women’s
education. Individuals who invest in education receive
a net monetary gain over the course of their lifetime.
• According to Harry Patrinos, lead education economist
at the World Bank, for women we can expect a 1.2%
higher return than men on the resources they invest in
education.
• Providing 1 extra year of education to girls increases
their wages by 10-20%. This increase is 5% more than
the corresponding returns on providing a boy with an
extra year of schooling.
• In addition to total economic growth, women’s
education also increases the equitability of the
distribution of wealth in a society as increased
women’s education targets the impoverished
women, a particularly disadvantaged group.
• There is also evidence that lower that lower
gender disparity in educational attainment for a
developing country correlates with lower overall
income disparity within the society.
 GENDER BIAS IN ACCESS TO HEALTHCARE IN
INDIA
Women’s health in India can be examined in terms
of multiple indicators, which vary by geography,
socio-economic standing and culture.
Currently, women in India face a multitude of
health problems, which ultimately affect the
aggregate economy’s output.
The 2011 United Nations Development Program's
Human Development Report ranked India 132 out
of 187 in terms of gender inequality, this gender
inequality negatively impacts the health of women.
• Gender discrimination begins before birth,
females are most commonly aborted sex in India
due to family’s preference for a son.
• Once born, daughters are prone to being fed less
than sons.
• As women mature into adulthood many of the
barriers preventing them from achieving
equitable levels of health stem from the low
status of women in Indian society especially in
the rural and poverty-affected areas.
• Numerous studies have found that the rates of
admission to hospitals vary with gender, men
visiting hospitals more frequently than women.
Indian women frequently underreport illness ,
this may be contributed to cultural norms and
gender expectations within the household.
• Gender also dramatically influences the use of
antenatal care and utilization of immunisations.
• A study by Choi in 2006 found that boys are
more likely to receive immunizations than girls
in rural areas.
• In terms of women’s health in India, the
overall gender disadvantage facing women
represented by cultural and societal factors
that favor men over women negatively
impacts their ability to make decisions with
regards to seeking out healthcare.