UN Millenium Development Goals

 

Purpose:

The purpose of Goal 3 is to raise the socioeconomic status of women in developing countries through ensuring that females have equal access to education. This goal also aims to empower women through ensuring their involvement in decision making processes that affect themselves, their families, their communities and their countries.

Reasons why Goal 3 is important:

• Females are generally less likely than males to have access to education. Education has the ability to empower women; it enables them to access higher paid employment and work in jobs that are less likely to impact negatively on their health. As the traditional primary caregivers of families, it is important for women to develop their knowledge regarding health-related behaviours, including the skills to be able to read and understand health information.

Target 1:

Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education, preferably by 2005, and in all levels of education by no later than 2015

• In developing countries, gender disparity means women have less access than men to education, employment and health. It also refers to reduced opportunities to be involved in important decision-making processes such as voting.

Measuring the success of Goal 3 in 2010

Generally, progress towards achieving gender equality and the empowerment of women has been relatively slow. However, there have been significant improvements in some areas. According to the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals Report 2010:

• Developing regions are progressing towards achieving gender parity in educational enrolment. In 1999, 91 girls for every 100 boys were enrolled in primary school and 88 girls per 100 boys were enrolled in secondary school. By 2008, the ratios were 96 girls per 100 boys enrolled in primary school and 95 girls per 100 boys enrolled in secondary school.

• ·Globally, the number of women in parliament has continued to increase slowly from 11 per cent in 1995 to 19 per cent in 2010. Within twenty-six countries, women make up 30 per cent or more of the members of lower houses of parliament and in seven countries, women make up 40 per cent or more of the members of lower houses of parliament.

•  More girls than boys have enrolled in secondary school in Latin America and the Caribbean, Eastern Asia and South-Eastern Asia.

 

Aras where progress has not occurred or has been slow

• Gender parity in primary and secondary school is still out of reach for many developing regions.

• Generally, the ratio for enrolment in tertiary education between boys and girls in developing regions is close to parity at 97 girls per 100 boys.

• Poverty puts girls at a distinct disadvantage with regards to education. Girls of primary school age from the poorest 60 per cent of households are three times more likely not to be enrolled in school than those from the wealthiest households.

• Although globally the share of women in paid employment outside of the agricultural sector reached 41 per cent in 2008, there are regions in which this percentage is significantly lower.

• Women tend to be paid less and have less secure employment than men. 

• Generally, women do not have the same opportunities with regards to employment in higher level positions as men.

• Although globally the number of women in parliament has slowly increased to 19 per cent in 2010, it is far short of the MDG target of gender parity.