How do educational impacts vary by gender? Evidence from rigorous evaluations around the world

• In Event: Roundtable Session (Tuesday V)
  In Refereed Round-Table Session: Frameworks for measuring gender-responsive and equitable education

Proposal

Despite substantial progress in increasing school participation overall, girls of primary school age remain less likely to be in school than boys (UNESCO 2017). Policymakers often cite gender-specific cultural barriers, such as restriction on girls’ mobility during menstruation, as a limitation on girls’ educational attainment. Mobility issues can mean girls’ attendance is more sensitive to distance to school than boys are.

When evaluating strategies to increase school participation, it is therefore important to analyze results by gender. A recent review by the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) included randomized evaluations of 25 programs to increase school participation that disaggregated results by gender. Most programs that improved school participation were as effective—if not more effective—for girls as they were for boys. Programs aimed at increasing participation tended to help the gender with the lowest initial attendance most.

However, there have been few randomized evaluations that focus on alleviating gender-specific barriers. One example of a randomized evaluation in this area studied the impact of a program to reduce mobility restrictions related to menstruation for girls. The program in Nepal sought to improve girls’ attendance by providing seventh and eighth-grade girls with sanitary products. The evaluation found that, on average, menstruation was not a key barrier: girls only missed 0.35 days of school out of a 180-day school year due to their period. Although girls reported liking the product, it had no impact on closing this small attendance gap. More research is needed to understand the effect of gender-specific barriers on girls’ enrollment and attendance.

The first part of this presentation will share the results from a gender analysis that looked at how student participation programs affect boys and girls differently. This presentation will then highlight a number of studies specifically targeted at improving educational outcomes for girls. These include a girls negotiation curriculum in Zambia, a school-based program to change gender attitudes in India, and an adolescent empowerment program and incentives to reduce child marriage in Bangladesh.

References:
J-PAL Policy Bulletin. 2017. “Roll Call: Getting Children Into School.” Cambridge, MA: Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab

Oster, Emily and Rebecca Thornton. 2011. “Menstruation, Sanitary Products, and School Attendance: Evidence from a Randomized Evaluation.” American Economic Journal: Applied Economics 3: 91-100.

Nava Ashraf, Natalie Bau, Corinne Low, and Kathleen Mc Grinn. "Negotiating a Better Future: How Interpersonal Skills Facilitate Inter-Generational Investment." Working Paper, May 2018.

Diva Dhar, Tarun Jain, and Seema Jayachandran. "Reshaping Adolescents' Gender Attitudes: Evidence from a School-Based Experiment in India" Working Paper, July 2018.

Diva Dhar, Tarun Jain, and Seema Jayachandran. "Intergenerational Transmission of Gender Attitudes: Evidence from India." Working Paper, April 2018.

Buchmann, Nina, Erica Field, Rachel Glennerster, Shahana Nazneen, Svetlana Pimkina, and Iman Sen. "Power vs Money: Alternative Approaches to Reducing Child Marriage in Bangladesh, a Randomized Control Trial." Working Paper, September 2018.

Author

• Sam Friedlander, Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL)