A look at how men’s education is portrayed in the World Development Report 2012 on Gender and Equality and where the report fails.
The World Development Report (WDR) 2012 has recently been released, documenting the state of Gender Equality and Development around the world. The WDR is a yearly report documenting the state of development around the world, and it is put out by the World Bank (WB). The report attempts to tackle a vast array of topics and attempts to address the state of gender equality around the globe. Having taken on this difficult and weighty task, the team of authors has collected data from various sources, striving to provide a detailed and concrete picture of where progress has been made, and where further future progress is still needed.
The report states there are four priority areas that it focuses on. These are: “Reducing excess female mortality and closing education gaps where they remain; Improving access to economic opportunities for women; Increasing women’s voice and agency in the household and in society; and Limiting the reproduction of gender inequality across generations.” (WDR, 2012, 36). The report sees the state of women as having drastically improved, but argues that large social changes are still required before gender equality is reached.
The report asserts that in most areas concerning gender equality, women and girls are still considerably behind men and boys. The one area in which boys fall behind is in education. “Everywhere in the world, repetition and, to a lesser extent, dropout rates [in education] are higher among boys than among girls.” (WDR, 2012, 76). Boys face a wide range of challenges that lead to lower achievement rates in education. A recent program identifies the fact that some masculine identities push men and boys away from academic performance (WDR, 2012, 112). Cultural norms often distance men from academic success, often “identifying education as primarily a “female” endeavor… [causing boys to] withdraw from school.” (WDR, 2012, 76).
The issue of men and boys in education is crucial to the cause of gender equality for a multitude of reasons. Increases in education levels, for both boys and girls, is a strong determinant towards progress and social improvement. Beyond this, education for men specifically is also decisive in the overall push towards gender equality. “Surveys suggest that better educated men are more likely to put more time into domestic roles and care giving, perhaps because education changes norms and weakens stereotypes and because more educated men have higher incomes, which may affect their ability or inclination to challenge norms.” (WDR, 2012, 173).
Viewing these two details together, a clear picture emerges of just how serious the state of men’s education is. If it is true that men who are more educated are more likely to challenge norms and participate in domestic roles and caregiving, but men’s overall achievement rate in education is declining; then it would seem logical to assume that there will be a decrease in men’s involvement in challenging norms, and increased resistance to men sharing in the domestic or care giving roles. This decline in men’s desire to participate in domestic and care giving roles, and lowered commitment to changing gender norms, is a movement away from gender equality.
While the report recognizes lower men’s achievement in education as well as the fact that an increase in men’s education levels leads to more men challenging gender norms, it does nothing to resolve or address this issue. In the movement towards gender equality, this seems like an issue that deserves attention. The four priorities that the report sets out leave no room for this issue to be tackled to the extent needed. By fixating on women and girls as the sole agents, and recipients, of work on gender equality, men are excluded almost entirely. In their overall exclusion of men, and lack of focus on men’s education, the World Development Report, and the World Bank, is in some ways perpetuating systemic gender inequality.
Men’s involvement in the fight for gender equality is vital. Although the report seems to recognize this, in statements such as “it is necessary to work with both men and women to break harmful gender norms” (WDR, 2012, 336), it does almost nothing to capitalize on this matter. Throughout the report, men are given only a cursory mention, often as an afterthought to the clear primary concern, women.
In working towards gender equality, the importance of men’s education cannot be understated, and this issue must be addressed for a movement towards gender equality to succeed. Men’s education and men’s involvement in the struggle for gender equality is of utmost importance, which this report does not address, let alone suggest or support reform of the area.
References:
The World Bank (2012) World Development Report 2012: Gender Equality and Development, Washington DC: The World Bank. Available at http://go.worldbank.org/CQCTMSFI40. [Accessed October 2011]
—Photo by Frank G. Karioris
Congratulations to GMP for running this piece, and to Frank Karioris for his intelligent and nuanced critique. I lived and worked for several years in Nepal and New Guinea and know first hand the oppression of women in those societies as well as the enormous importance of education for girls in alleviating it. Whatever its shortcomings, the World Bank has played a vital role around the world in improving women’s lives. Moreover, it is very clear that as women receive better educations, men live better lives as well. It is unfortunate to see in some of the responses to this… Read more »
I’m of mind that country music is the real culprit to the male educational gap. Seriously, who feels like lifting a finger in any direction after listening to just one country music song?
Music to commit suicide to!
I’m glad to see heavy metal is not mainstream anymore…i remember hearing teenagers committed suicides and violence due to some of their sadistic lyrics. And that whole culture was into drugs… I suppose getting high and all that headbanging helps with raising one’s IQ?
Actually, this raises another important insight…DRUGS…who does the most drugs, men or women??? We all know drugs fry brains! That should be another explanation in the education gender gap! lol.
LOL? Insight? More like an idea you didn’t bother to check the validity of but still presented as an important fact puntiated by an inapproate lol. Surely you are trolling.
Here you go: http://news.bioscholar.com/2011/12/brain-abnormalities-behind-teens%E2%80%99-cannabis-use.html Brain abnormalities behind teens’ cannabis use Thursday, December 15th, 2011 Australian scientists have for the first time found the brain abnormalities that make teenagers more likely to smoke cannabis. The study of more than 100 Melbourne teens also confirmed that cannabis harms the brain, adding weight to a raft of previous research on damage caused by long-term use of the drug. Researchers from Monash and Melbourne universities took high-tech images of the brains of 155 primary school students when they were 12. Four years later when they reached their milestone 16th birthday, the students were asked… Read more »
The event you’re referring to- the trial James Vance v Judas Priest was dismissed, and one of the band’s members has been quoted saying that if they (Judas Priest) were actually going to put subliminal messages into their music “kill yourself” would be a pretty stupid message. “Buy more of our records” would be much more suitable.
Well the first requirement to understanding these reports (this one as well the World Gender Gap Report) is to make sure you know that “gender equality” = “make sure women/girls aren’t getting the short end of the stick”. Once you get a firm grasp on that it becomes pretty clear how and why actual mention of the condition of men/boys gets left by the way side while at the same time telling men/boys that they need to do their part to help women. It comes off like a rehash of chivialry. Expect men/boys to put all their effort into helping… Read more »
The world is changing. Attitudes are slowly but surely changing…movements create change. Girls are excelling over boys, because it’s obvious we are breaking stereotypes of females being in the kitchen and child-bearing, homemakers with no need for education. Girls growing up today know that this is a different world than the ones their mothers and grandmothers lived in. Girls know that most men won’t be there to support them as housewives when they grow up and married; and both men and women expect girls to have careers when they grow up and be fully independent…this truism rings loud and clear.… Read more »
That is not a truism. Please look up truism.
While greater education undoubtedly has, is, and will continue to be a boon to girls and women, you have totally missed the point of this article. “Being educated and financially independent are really empowering and should also help females find better partners, and better able to contribute and support a family.” This would also help the boys and men that are falling behind in terms of educational development, don’t you think? If we can stop that awful rap music that is…;)
“Missing” Girls: that is a new category I think. When I read it, of course I assumed (bad me) that it means the girls friends and family did not know where she was, i.e. kidnapped, etc. Nope , it means if a girl isn’t born she is missing, if she dies early due to lack of medical care she is missing.
What I can’t figure out is how these people figured that a large group of girls SHOULD have lived and didn’t just die naturally. Did they compare it to the number of missing men I wonder, I doubt it.
I don’t know if there’s any correlation…but the decline in men’s education – didn’t that come around the same time as the rise in popularity of hip hop and rap music? Majority are black artists and most of them dropped out of school, but not many people know that these black artists actually excelled in school and only dropped out to pursue a music career. They have smarts and talent. But who knows the numbers of wanna bes that aren’t successful at breaking through in this tough industry. And just from observation, it seems the most concentration of successful blacks… Read more »
“I don’t know if there’s any correlation…but the decline in men’s education – didn’t that come around the same time as the rise in popularity of hip hop and rap music?”
O.O Did you actually just attribute male academic underperformance to hip-hop? I agree that ethnic stereotypes in the media are an issue, but come on, those issues have been around a little longer than the 1980s.
I don’t know what is wrong with some men. For every men’s issue, the finger gets pointed at feminists/women and negate other possibilities. I would love to support men, but I refuse to support irrationality and misogyny. Honestly, most of men’s issues are caused by other men (this is the truth), but this doesn’t compute with men in general because that is akin to pointing the fingers at themselves…and most men won’t stand for that. Because this would mean men have to look inwards to find the answers to their own problems. Hallelujah for GMP. Men have been exploiting people… Read more »
“most of men’s issues are caused by other men” So some are caused by women right? There is legitimate reason to question some feminist organizations if they have a clear bias just as it is with bias anywhere.
In the U.S there are 8million more women than men who vote, that is quite a bit of power in itself, half my own countries population. So be mindful with your votes, as you do play a part and have responsibility along with men in society and politics.
“most of men’s issues are caused by other men” So some are caused by women right? No, I’m not saying that either. But from the posts on here, many MRAs perceive the advances from feminists and gain in women’s rights somehow unbalanced their own power, so they blame women for this and this/feminists becomes a “men’s issue”. Actually in that case then it seems ALL men’s issues lead back and point back to men, the ones that run everything from our country to corporations and are the majority of stockholders and stakeholders in everything. “In the U.S there are 8million… Read more »
Well from what I heard, only feminist groups were invited to the table to discuss updating the definition of rape yet envelopment gets left out, some reports on rape partly done by women or feminists also have that bias. “when women vote and when women lead, changes happen, real work on real issues get a voice and addressed…they’re the ones to tell you where all the BS lies: ” Do men not make good decisions? Are you going to argue women make better decisions than men? It’s funny that they aren’t telling us where the BS is in feminism, yet… Read more »
Michelle, you are simply incorrect about the data. Please go read Whitmire and get your facts right before you decide this is all just a question of race and not gender. Heck, look at Lori Day’s excellent piece here on GMP for some more background if you need it.
This is a major issue among rich, white suburban boys too, as the data well show.
And as far the African-Americans go, 2 AfAm women go to college for every AfAm man who does, which is why Oprah is over the moon upset about the situation.
Wake up.
I agree it is both race and gender, which I pointed out in my posts.
I’m a man and I haven’t been exploiting people and this earth for thousands of years. Maybe you’d make more sense if you threw out all the garbage ideology.
http://www.increasebrainpower.com/lower-iq.html
Other Things that Cause Lower IQ Scores
[Quote] I also think that there are many “personal problems” that result in less-powerful thinking. These include arguing excessively, which causes one to get “set” in ones thinking. Egotism in general also limits ones thinking capacity, as it makes proving ones ideas more important than looking at new data and evidence for other ideas. [End quote]
“I think the actual decline in education started with black slavery 100 years ago. Don’t you think? Back then, if you were black, the stereotype you had was as a slave, with jobs as housekeepers, childcare providers, gardeners, laborers…” You do know that there was no slavery in 1912, it kind of was abolished with the end of the Civil War in the US. Why the continued conflation of lowered educational results for males and black men in the United States? This report was global and focused on the developing world. Blacks are not the minority in Africa, for example.… Read more »
I’m well aware the report is global…but i know many Americans have the attitude that we should be helping people in our own backyard before we go help people in other countries. It is hard for some to imagine the plights of people faraway, when they have their own to problems to deal with right on our own soil. I often see commenters here tend to posts stuff related to westernized countries (U.S. Canada et al) anyway. There wouldn’t be a blanket solution for every country globally, as political, social and economic systems and history varies from country to country… Read more »
While there are black men that do make the presumption that giving up on education and trying to get into pro sports or the music industry that alone does not explain why there is a disparity in education between boys and girls in nearly every race. (Even among whites (in the US at least) girls still outperform boys.) And it doesn’t even explain that disparity among black girls and boys. I don’t know what is wrong with some men. For every men’s issue, the finger gets pointed at feminists/women and negate other possibilities. I would love to support men, but… Read more »
“And actually what I really find odd is that ther person you’re responding to (Peter) didn’t day anything about blaiming women/feminists. Did you mean to reply that to DB?”
Sorry I started off addressing Peter’s post regarding stereotyping, but then added all the MRA observations on top because I didn’t feel like splitting up the post and cutting and pasting. lol.
Seriously this report makes an issue of women’s longevity while noting that women live longer than men do everywhere on earth. It makes an issue of women’s further education while noting that women are ahead almost everywhere on earth (mainly the exception is countries where basically nobody gets to go to university anyway). It makes an issue of discrimination against the “women” who were never born. And an issue of the stupid wage gap myth that they admit is bs. So basically it is a feminist hit piece put out by an imperialist economic oppression office. This alliance between feminism… Read more »
The article makes sense once you realise that “gender equality” is code for “female supremacy”. For example it makes no sense for all the issues of “gender equality” to be improving things for women and girls at the expense of men and boys even where women are already ahead. For example it makes no sense for men doing badly in education to be relevant to “gender equality” only in terms of how it impacts women. This is what is meant by institutional sex discrimination – gender apartheid – against men. And it is wrapped up in Orwellian phrases where discrimination… Read more »
Exactly.
The amount of doublethink and self-delusion that would be required to be a feminist and still support gender equality boggles the mind.
Feminism is probably the only group in the world where you can blame all of lifes problems and inconveniences on a shadowy conspiracy of men that has existed since the dawn of history and not be considered a tinfoil hat-wearing lunatic.
As always, depends on the feminist. But I agree that theres a thick streak of misandry running through most feminist dialogues.
In simple feminist mathematical equation,
∀ Gender equality (Geq) holds goods if it satisfies the condition f(x) > m(x), where f denotes the female function and m denotes the male function, and x denotes a variable of success.