Suffrage, Democracy and Gender Equality in Education

Abstract

Examining the influence of women's suffrage and democracy on gender equality in education in a sample of 80 countries, covering Asia, Africa, the Middle East, South America and Eastern Europe, this study shows that countries with a longer duration of suffrage tend on average to perform better in terms of gender equality in education. The empirical association between democracy and gender equality in education disappears when religion is controlled for. In Asia and Africa, other factors, including income, employment in agriculture and colonialism, also help explain the under-representation of girls in education.