Women and Education

-Education is a right.
The United Nations Universal Declaration Human Rights Article
states:
(1) Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in
the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be
compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally
available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the
basis of merit.
(2) Education shall be directed to the full development of the human
personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and
fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and
friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further
the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.
 -Women have always been at a disadvantage when it
comes to accessing educational opportunities. These
disadvantages include gender stereotypes in the school,
gender-insensitive pedagogy, sexual harassment, gendered
everyday life in the schools, limited opportunities for
promotion and professional development of women
teachers, gendered curricula and subject choices, and
underrepresentation of women in senior academic and
administrative positions or in high-status disciplines and
prestigious institutions (Morley 2010).
 -According to the United Nations Population
Fund, about two-thirds of the world's illiterate adults
are women. Lack of education severely restricts a
woman's access to information and opportunities.
-Higher levels of women's education are strongly
associated with lower infant mortality and lower
fertility, as well as better outcomes for their children
(United Nations Population Fund, n.d.)
 -Women are not only in a position of disadvantage in macroeconomic
terms, but also suffer from discriminatory practices within the school
culture. Carrie Paechter (1998, 20) describes some of these settings:
Boys and men dominate both space and time in school. Males are
still able to take up more space and have greater control over the use of
their own and others' time. Francis (1997) found that the femininity
valued by primary school girls, which emphasizes being sensible and
selfless, leads them to abandon power to the boys, who position
themselves, in opposition to this, as silly and selfish. Shilling (1991)
argues that the "ules" which structure patriarchal society allow boys to
gain preferential access to school resources. For example, the increased
freedom of movement that males have in the outside world is reflected
in their ability to dominate space in academic arenas where moving
about is permitted or encouraged, such as workshops and laboratories
(Dixon 1997).
 -In the Philippines, according to Commission on
Higher Education (CHED) Director Patricia Licuanan,
"Women dominate the fields of teacher education,
humanities, social sciences, business administration,
medical and allied fields, home economics, mass
communication, and even natural sciences and
mathematics, but remain underrepresented in engineering
and technology, fine and applied arts, religion and
theology, law and jurisprudence, architecture and town
planning, trade and industry, agriculture, fisheries and
forestry, and maritime studies" (Esmaquel III 2001).
 -Recognizing the biases against women and
violence against them, the Philippine government
promulgated Republic Act No. 9710, an act
providing for the Magna Carta of Women in
2008. One of its salient provisions addresses the
problem of stereotypes in education: Sec. 13.
Equal Access and Elimination of Discrimination
in Education, Scholarships, and Training.
(a) The State shall ensure that gender stereotypes and
images in educational materials and curricula are
adequately and appropriately revised. Gender-sensitive
language shall be used at all times. Capacity-building on
Gender and Development (GAD), peace and human
rights, education for teachers, and all those involved in
the education sector shall be pursued toward this end.
Partnerships between and among players of the education
sector, including the private sector, churches, and faith
groups shall be encouraged.
 -In recent years, women have become more empowered
through political and economic participation. Filipino women
have been elected as leaders and thus more involved in policy
decision making both at the national and local levels. There are
also more female workers who have been deployed abroad to
work for the welfare of their families, or what is known as the
feminization of labor migration. But, women tend to accept jobs
that are usually not commensurate with their educational
attainment such as domestic workers, caregivers, entertainers,
clerical staffs, or factory workers.
Joel Spring (2009)
-He points out that contributing factor to the
growth of gender equality in school achievement is a
belief that the education of women is important, among
other things, for national competition in the global
economy: as caretakers of children, women are
preparing the future generation of workers and women
are needed as workers in the knowledge economy (11).
 -Research findings on women's fertility and
education show that the education of women has a
stronger negative effect on fertility (by almost three
times) than does the education of men. The education of
women is especially critical in lowering the rates of
population growth in middle-income and, to a lesser
extent, in low-income countries. The reduction of
fertility rate has a significant contribution to economic
growth (Benavot 1992, 33).
 -It is not only the gender, but also the economic status of
women that affects their motivations to be an achiever in
school. Aware of the structural inequalities in the occupational
world, women know that they cannot expect equitable returns
on their education, no matter how well they have done in
school, and realize that they must seek a husband if they wish
to be socially and financially secure. Thus, young women
strive for future status and success by choosing a "promising"
husband rather than by focusing on a career (Mickelson 1992,
162).
 -A poor young woman is likely to engage in early
marriage and teenage pregnancy. Some feminists argue that
giving women educational opportunities is not sufficient.
Education itself has to be transformed so as to accommodate
women's ways of knowing and revaluing women's traits such
as relationism (being attached to a significant person), care-
giving, and nurturance that are considered inferior to
masculine traits such as aggressiveness, competitiveness, and
individualism.
THANK YOU!