5 - Towards global gender equality in education? Economic incentives, global cultures and international organizations’ policy recommendations

Summary

Introduction

Women's education and the inclusion of women in productive career paths are crucial for the development of societies and economies. Research on value change indicates a global trend towards more egalitarian and emancipatory gender norms (Welzel, 2013, p 109), which in part is a result of women's participation in education. “Feminization of society” (Inglehart, 2018, p 102) – that is, acceptance of gender equality as a dominant cultural norm – positively affects social developments, democratic empowerment of citizens and wellbeing.

The global diffusion of gender equality is driven by different agencies. Previous research has shown that international organizations (IOs) in particular have played a significant role in this process by setting normative standards and disseminating them globally (Finnemore, 1993). Hence, IOs also facilitate the movement of education policies between countries. To date, however, systematic studies on the global spread of trends in women's education are rare, specifically with respect to the Global South. Research on the Global North demonstrates that the observed convergence in education systems and education policies can be partially attributed to initiatives of IOs (Martens et al, 2010). While domestic education reforms are moderated by national institutions, IOs set the basic aims for reforms by disseminating norms and values. In doing so, IOs are equipped with a portfolio of ideas allowing them to translate abstract policy goals into concrete policy recommendations (Niemann, 2022).

In this chapter, we focus on IOs that traditionally view education from an economic- centered perspective, focusing on the generation of human capital for the labor market. We argue that this neoliberal thinking, which was prevalent in these IOs in the early 1980s, distinctively framed the link between education and equal pay laws (EPLs). In particular, the World Bank (WB) and the Organisation for Economic Co- operation and Development (OECD) lobbied for the improvement of human capital formation at all educational levels. Despite recent shifts in the IOs’ programs towards a more social integrative view on education that emphasizes human rights, social cohesion and social justice, their basic neoliberal paradigm still exists (Niemann, 2022). Both IOs assume a homo economicus who invests in education if the expected payoff is sufficiently large and outweighs the costs (Becker, 1964).