Girls ahead in reading, but India trails in women’s academic leadership: UNESCO

The latest UNESCO Global Education Monitoring Report 2024–25 reveals ongoing gender inequalities in both learning outcomes and leadership roles within education systems across several countries, including India.

While some progress has been made, the report emphasizes that large gaps persist in foundational skills and academic leadership representation.

Globally, boys continue to underperform in reading proficiency compared to girls. The report notes that for every 100 girls who achieve the minimum reading level, only 87 boys do.

In middle-income countries, the gap is even wider, with just 72 boys reaching the benchmark per 100 girls.

In mathematics, gender equality had remained stable for nearly 20 years, but recent figures from the 2023 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study suggest that the Covid-19 pandemic may have reversed some of those gains.

Girls in countries like Brazil, Chile, England, Italy, and New Zealand have experienced greater declines in math performance compared to boys.

In terms of leadership, the report flags persistent underrepresentation of women. In India, women remain a minority among school principals across all school types.

The higher education sector shows a similar pattern. In 2021, only 5% of women held vice-chancellor or director positions in 189 national institutions.

Among a wider sample of 1,220 universities, women comprised just 9% of vice-chancellors and 11% of registrars or chief administrative officers.

The report also cites examples from neighboring regions. In Pakistan and Balochistan, structural barriers limit women’s eligibility for leadership roles.

“Gender segregation in schools limits women's eligibility for leadership posts to girls' institutions only,” the report notes.

In Balochistan, although headteacher positions in girls' schools are reserved for women, only 29% of schools were designated for girls in 2021.

Vietnam, by comparison, showed somewhat better results. Women held 28% of university leadership positions in 2019, although just 8% occupied the top posts of president or rector.