IB HL Geography

The map above represents the gender disparity over Education in different countries around the world. Education is a vital tool that leads to many great opportunities for girls and boys around the world, and it should be the most important aspect in which to reduce the gender gap because if women do not get the education that is needed, they won’t be able to live a better life with the same opportunities that men are given. It is not surprising to see that the top ten countries (Iceland, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Philippines, Ireland, New Zealand, Denmark, Switzerland and Nicaragua) in the gender gap index are all green representing the most equal countries for women to receive an education, meaning that one of the best ways to reduce the gender gap is to offer and promote education for women. When women receive an education, it will create a better economic and political representation of women in the country, adding to the gender gap index as well. However, countries such as India, Nepal, Pakistan and Bangladesh, where the cultural norm is to prioritize education for boys over girls because it is believed that the men will become the bread earners for the family, there is still a large gender gap for education which is affecting the gender gap index overall. The trends suggest that the more economically developed countries are better for women’s education, which could be because decent education is more likely to be accessible all around the country, reaching people from rural parts of the country too, which leads to people all around the country being more aware of the education that is being offered; while less economically developed countries are some of the least equal countries to be in for women’s education. Overall, the more economically developed countries offer better and equal education for women, and have a better ranking on the gender gap index, because education is the key to everything.