98 Gender equality in primary school enrollment is high, with most economies having ratios of or more. This is also the case for gender equality in secondary school enrollment, but not so for tertiary education. When women do enroll in school, they tend to study longer than men. In 10 developing economies of the region, women make up 45% or more of the non-agricultural workforce. These ratios are typical of developed economies. Introduction The target for Goal 3 is to obtain equality of males and females in primary, secondary, and tertiary education enrollment. Equality is measured by dividing the percentage of females of the relevant age group enrolled in each educational level by the corresponding percentage of males. A ratio of 1.0 means that equal percentages of both genders are enrolled. Ratios below (above) 1.0 mean that a higher percentage of males (females) are enrolled. While in theory the target is complete equality (i.e., ratios of 1.0), in practice ratios of and above are accepted as sufficient approximations. Note that this leads to a gender bias in favor of females since ratios above 1.0 are always considered to meet the target. For secondary and, particularly, tertiary education, many economies report ratios well above 1.0, but these high ratios in favor of females are not interpreted as gender bias to the detriment of males. For primary and secondary education, the preferred target date was 2005, while for tertiary education 2015 is targeted. Key Trends Gender equality at the primary level is high. Figure 3.1 shows the girl-boy ratios in primary education for 42 economies. The overall picture is good with 35 economies (denoted by green bars) having achieved ratios of or higher in. These include four of the most populous economies, People s Republic of China (PRC),, and. s ratio is. Figure 3.1 Primary School Female Male Enrollment Ratios Nauru Micronesia, Fed. States of Cook Islands Solomon Islands Papua New Guinea 1.08 1.03 1.03 1.16 0.63 0.77 0.87 0.81 0.90 0.79 0.68 0.63 0.55 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5
99 Gender equality at the secondary level is likewise high. Figure 3.2 shows progress towards gender equality in secondary education. The overall picture is again encouraging. Of the 41 economies shown, 28 (denoted by the green bars) had achieved ratios of or higher in., PRC, and are in this group but now joins in a group of 13 economies with ratios below. Three of these 13 economies (, Republic of Korea, and ) have recorded a fall in their ratios. The fall for was quite steep. Figure 3.2 Secondary School Female Male Enrollment Ratios Nauru Cook Islands Micronesia, Fed. States of Solomon Islands 0.38 1.19 1.14 1.13 1.12 1.11 1.08 0.92 0.86 0.83 0.79 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 1.21 1.18 1.96 1.14 1.08 1.09 1.09 0.75 0.83 1.03 0.90 0.81 0.46 0.80 0.86 0.61 0.60 0.43 0.62 0.48 Gender equality needs to be improved at the tertiary level. Figure 3.3 shows that the picture is less good for tertiary education. Of the 34 economies in the figure, only 19 (denoted by the green bars), including PRC and, had achieved ratios of at least in. and had ratios of above 2. But 15 other economies (denoted by the red bars) had ratios below. These include,, and.,,, and have experienced falls in their ratios. Figure 3.3 Tertiary Education Female Male Enrollment Ratios 2.37 2.15 1.88 1.68 1.56 1.44 1.30 1.30 1.26 1.24 1.23 1.22 1.12 1.03 0.88 0.74 0.72 0.72 0.71 0.67 0.59 0.57 0.56 0.40 0.38 0.28 0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 2.37 2.35 1.98 1.29 1.89 1.15 1.29 1.26 1.16 1.11 1.18 0.53 0.67 0.58 0.54 0.49 0.49 0.57 0.33 0.58 0.33 0.35 Asian women study longer than Asian men. Figures 3.1 to 3.3 show that ratios in excess of one meaning more females enrolled than males become more frequent at higher levels of education. Ratios over one were reported by about a fifth of developing member countries for which data were available for primary education. This rises to slightly over one-half for secondary and tertiary education. It seems that in many of the economies in the Asia and Pacific region, females tend to study longer than males. MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS
100 There are other aspects of women s empowerment. Table 3.1 contains two other indicators of women s empowerment. The first is the share of female workers in non-agricultural activities and these are shown in Figure 3.4. For comparison purposes, Figure 3.4 includes the percentages for the three developed member economies in the region and these are shown by red bars. Ten developing member economies have ratios of at least 45%. These are five former Soviet Union republics where female employment ratios have traditionally been high, and Hong Kong, China; Lao People s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR); ; Singapore; and. The other empowerment indicator in Table 3.1 shows the percentage of national parliamentary seats held by women. Its value as an empowerment indicator depends in part on the genuine power that the parliaments have to influence government policy. This is not the same in all economies. In 2009, women hold 25% or more of the national parliamentary seats in,, Lao PDR,,, and and over 20% in PRC,,, and Singapore. Shares are between 10% and 20% in most of the economies of the former Soviet Union but are under 10% in most Pacific island economies. Figure 3.4 Percentage of Women in Non-Agricultural Employment, Latest Year New Zealand Australia Singapore Japan 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 Data Issues and Comparability Enrollment rates generally follow the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) guidelines on definitions of different levels of education and methods of calculation. Many small Pacific countries do not have facilities for tertiary education, and students from these countries receive their tertiary education abroad. For these countries, the tertiary gender parity index is not computed. The most reliable information on female employment in non-agricultural activities comes from household labor force surveys, but these are not conducted in all countries in the region. Alternative sources include enterprise employment surveys, population censuses, and household demographic surveys. The percentage of women in parliament refers only to national parliaments. In some countries, a more relevant measure of empowerment would refer to the numbers of women active in government at the local or community level.
101 Goal 3 Target and Indicators Table 3.1 Target 3.A: Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education, preferably by 2005, and in all levels of education not later than 2015 3.1 Ratio of Girls to Boys in Education Levels a Primary Secondary Tertiary b Developing Member Countries Central and West Asia 0.55 0.63 0.38 0.28 (2004) (2001) 1.03 (2001) 1.11 (1999) 0.67 0.88 1.18 1.12 1.03 1.15 (1999) 1.44 (1999) (1999) 1.30 0.68 (2000) 0.48 0.58 0.86 (1999) 0.35 (1999) 0.38 Turkmenistan (1999) 0.71 East Asia China, People s Rep. of 0.75 0.53 (2005) (2003) 1.03 0.49 0.67 1.14 1.11 1.89 1.56 MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS South Asia (2005) 1.08 (1999) (1999) 0.57 (1999) (2006) 0.81 (1999) (2006) 0.58 (1999) 0.77 (2006) 0.60 0.83 (2006) 0.54 0.72 (2006) (1999) (1999) (2006) 2.37 (2003) 2.37 (2004) 0.63 0.46 0.33 0.40 (2004) 1.09 (2004) 0.55 Southeast Asia c 1.09 1.98 (1999) 1.88 0.81 0.43 0.33 (2000) 0.56 0.83 (2001) 0.79 0.90 0.62 0.79 0.49 (1999) 0.72 (2006) (2005) (1999) 1.22 (2006) Myanmar 1.26 (1999) 1.24 (2006) Singapore 1.16 (1999) 1.23 (2001) 0.90 (1999) 0.92 (2001) (1999) 0.74 (2001) The Pacific Cook Islands (1999) 1.08 (1999) 1.08 1.12 (2003) (2005) (1999) (2005) 1.18 (1999) 1.14 (2005) (1999) (1999) 1.29 (2001) 1.30 (2003) Micronesia, Fed. States of (2004) (2004) (2005) Nauru 1.16 (2000) 1.03 1.21 (2000) 1.19 (1999) (1999) 2.35 (2000) 2.15 (2002) Papua New Guinea (2006) 0.62 0.55 (1999) 1.96 1.13 (2005) (1999) (2001) Solomon Islands 0.87 (2005) 0.61 (2005) (2004) (2004) (2005) 1.26 (2002) (2006) (2006) 1.29 (1999) 1.68 (2004) (1999) (2006) (2001) 0.80 0.86 (2004) 0.57 (2002) 0.59 (2004) Developed Member Countries Australia 1.03 1.19 1.29 Japan 0.65 0.88 New Zealand 1.03 1.14 1.49 continued.
102 Goal 3 Target and Indicators Table 3.1 Target 3.A: Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education, preferably by 2005, and in all levels of education not later than 2015 (continued) 3.2 Share of Women in Wage Employment in the Non-agricultural Sector (percent) 3.3 Proportion of Seats Held by Women in National Parliament (percent) 1990 2000 1990 2000 2009 Developing Member Countries Central and West Asia 17.8 3.7 27.3 (2006) 27.7 50.8 (1997) 47.3 45.7 35.6 3.1 8.4 43.3 (1997) 43.6 50.1 12.0 (1997) 12.0 11.4 49.2 (1999) 48.7 6.8 (1997) 7.2 6.0 48.4 (2001) 49.4 (2004) 13.4 (1997) 10.4 15.9 48.5 (1996) 45.8 50.8 1.4 (1997) 1.4 25.6 7.7 13.0 13.2 10.1 2.3 (1999) 22.5 40.2 (1995) 40.0 37.1 (2006) 2.8 (1997) 2.8 17.5 Turkmenistan 39.9 (1995) 42.1 (2002) 26.0 26.0 16.8 45.8 () 43.5 (1995) 6.0 (1997) 6.8 17.5 East Asia China, People s Rep. of 37.8 39.1 (1999) 21.3 21.8 21.3 41.2 44.8 48.3 38.1 40.1 42.1 2.0 3.7 13.7 50.3 (1993) 50.4 53.1 24.9 7.9 4.1 South Asia 20.2 () 24.7 20.1 (2006) 10.3 9.1 6.3 d 16.6 (2005) 2.0 2.0 8.5 12.7 16.6 18.1 (2005) 5.0 9.0 9.1 15.8 40.6 30.0 (2006) 6.3 6.0 (2001) 12.0 15.1 (1999) 6.1 5.9 33.2 30.8 (1993) 30.5 31.0 4.9 4.9 5.8 Southeast Asia c 22.5 () 30.3 30.3 (2003) 41.1 43.5 (2004) 5.8 (1997) 8.2 16.3 29.2 31.7 30.6 12.4 8.0 (2001) 11.6 50.2 (2005) 6.3 21.2 25.2 35.3 () 37.9 39.0 5.1 10.4 (2001) 10.8 Myanmar 40.6 40.3 41.1 42.3 9.1 12.4 20.5 Singapore 42.5 () 42.9 (1999) 45.2 4.9 4.3 24.5 41.9 44.1 45.0 2.8 5.6 11.7 41.0 (1996) 40.7 40.4 (2004) 17.7 26.0 25.8 The Pacific Cook Islands 38.4 38.2 (1993) 6.0 (1995) 8.0 (1999) 12.5 (2008) 29.9 33.2 29.6 (2003) 4.3 (1997) 11.3 8.5 (2006) 36.8 38.5 (2005) 4.9 4.3 29.3 33.2 (2005) 3.0 (2001) 3.0 Micronesia, Fed. States of 34.0 (1994) 34.0 (1997) Nauru 5.6 42.2 (1995) 39.6 (1997) Papua New Guinea 27.9 32.1 1.8 0.9 31.7 () 30.2 8.2 8.2 Solomon Islands 23.0 (1986) 30.8 (1999) 2.0 35.0 (2001) 26.1 (2003) 29.2 35.7 (1996) 38.6 (2003) 0.0 (2001) 3.1 34.3 (2002) 33.9 (2004) 7.7 37.5 (2004) 37.8 4.3 3.8 Developed Member Countries Australia 44.6 48.1 46.8 6.1 22.4 26.7 Japan 38.0 40.0 41.6 1.4 4.6 9.4 New Zealand 43.8 47.3 48.5 14.4 29.2 33.6 a The ratio is a gender parity index, measured as the ratio of female-to-male value of the gross enrollment ratios at primary, secondary, and tertiary level of education. b There is no tertiary education in Cook Islands,, Nauru, Solomon Islands, and. In, tertiary education became available only recently. c is a regional member of ADB, but it is not classified as a developing member country. d This figure excludes the 45 reserved seats for women which were not yet filled in January 2009. Sources: Millennium Indicators Database Online (UNSD 2009); Pacific Regional Information System (SPC 2009); for : Ministry of Education.