Effects of Gender Equality in Education to Gender Disparities in Economic Participation: Global Evidences

Abstract

This study explored on the parity in educational attainment and economic participation and opportunities among genders through data mining, a process used to uncover characteristics of phenomena and the relationship between them. The pattern of gender parity was drawn from the data set of World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Index of 2015. The findings, based on the patterns generated, reveal no relationship between the equality in educational attainment and economic participation and opportunities among men and women. This indicates that educational attainment and success of women does not automatically mean higher economic status or greater political participation. It was deduced further that equality in both genders in terms of educational attainment instead, creates disparity in the economic opportunities of women. The factors of the disparity include gender stereotyping in the labor market; discriminatory practices in the workplace; and cultural, ethnic, and religious norms that draw attention to gender complementarity rather than gender equity.