In January 2000, representatives from countries in the Asia and Pacific region met for the Asia-Pacific Conference on EFA 2000 Assessment in Bangkok, Thailand, in preparation for the second World Education Forum that was held in Dakar, Senegal in April 2000. In assessing achievements in basic education in the decade since the World Conference on Education for All in Jomtien, Thailand (March 1990), it was apparent that, while important strides had been made in increasing children's enrolment in school, gender gaps in enrolment, retention and learning outcomes persisted. Countries from the region agreed that,

 

“It is essential to eliminate systemic gender disparities, where they persist, amongst girls and boys, throughout the education system – in enrolment, achievement and completion; in teacher training and career development; in curriculum and learning practices and learning processes. This requires better appreciation of the role of education as an instrument of women's equality and empowerment.”

 

The regional framework resulting from the Conference was one of the inputs to the Dakar Framework of Action, whereby countries from around the world agreed upon six goals, including goal 5, which set specific targets for closing the gender gap and for achieving gender equality in education. Under goal 5, countries committed to:

Eliminating gender disparities in primary and secondary education by 2005, and achieving gender equality in education by 2015, with a focus on ensuring girls' full and equal access to and achievement in basic education of good quality.

 

To assist countries in the region in working towards the achievement of Education for All (EFA) goal 5, UNESCO's Asia and Pacific Regional Bureau for Education has, over the past three years, been working with Ministries of Education to strengthen their capacity and competencies in mainstreaming gender in Education for All plans, policies and their implementation, with a focus on 5 key areas:

 

Training: Raising awareness on gender issues and concepts and building capacities within Ministries of Education to conduct gender analysis to identify gender gaps in the education system and to promote gender equality.  Practical tools for conducting gender analysis, ensuring gender mainstreaming and promoting gender equality have been developed that are being widely used within the project countries and beyond. This gender toolkit has been translated to local languages and adapted to suit national and local contexts in several countries in the region.

 

Institutional Analysis: Ensuring a conducive environment and organizational culture within Ministries of Education for achieving gender equality in education, beginning with the appointment of gender focal points.

 

Research: Building capacity in conducting gender analysis and in carrying out more qualitative research, in addition to collecting quantitative data. Advocating for the collection of sex-disaggregated data and evidence to shed light on existing gender disparities and inequalities and the underlying reasons for barriers faced in educational access and achievement and in creating more gender-responsive teaching and learning environments. A manual has been developed on conducting qualitative research, with a user-friendly format and set of guidelines.

 

Advocacy: Advocating for gender equality in education, promoting the use of research and evidence as the basis for advocacy at higher levels to influence policies to address gender issues. Advocacy briefs, enhancing the knowledge base on key gender issues, are being produced to inform country level efforts in promoting gender equality and influencing policy. The first advocacy brief produced focuses on the “Role of Men and Boys in Promoting Gender Equality”, with future topics including the impact of boarding schools, incentives and mother tongue teaching on girls' attendance and learning.

 

Networking: Strengthening networking and facilitating the exchange and sharing of information within countries as well as at the regional level through the Gender in Education Network in Asia (GENIA).

 

For more information and to access the above-mentioned and other resources, please visit the UNESCO Bangkok Gender in Education website.