Gender Disparities in Educational Enrollment and Attainment in Sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

The importance of education in the development of human capital has been broadly acknowledged. It has also been argued that improving access to education is central in the achievement of poverty reduction and other millennium development goals (MDGs) in Africa. Gender inequalities remain manifest in many development sectors in Africa including the educational sector. The main objective of this paper was to examine current gender disparity trends in education in sub-Saharan Africa. The paper reviews literature to investigate the nature of gender gaps in educational enrollment and attainment in sub-Saharan Africa. The main objective is to understand the main factors that contribute to the continued disparities between males and females from primary school level through to university level. The paper finds that there is variety of socio-cultural and economic causes responsible for these disparities. The primary driver of poor educational enrollment and attainment has economic foundations. However, gender disparities are largely explained by cultural beliefs and attitudes.