International Organizations and Gender Parity in Education: Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW)1

Abstract

This study is a novel contribution to the literature regarding the influence of UNs Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) on women’s relative progress in education. We create a unique data set by focusing on 190 UN countries for the period 1980–2018and utilize pooled cross-sectional OLS and Panel Fixed effects models to study the impact of the various aspects of the ratification of the convention. We focus on Female to Male Primary Enrollment ratio (PrimaryFM), Gross Secondary Gender Parity Index (SecondaryGPI), and Gross Tertiary Gender Parity Index (TertiaryGPI). We find a positive relationship between various aspects of CEDAW ratification and progress in educational outcomes for women. Policymakers should focus not only on the ratification of international treaties, but also on all facets of ratification, such as closer adherence to treaties as evidenced by consistent behavior and implementation of changes, which in turn paints a more complete picture.