Why Educate Ghana

Ghanaian women have historically been denied the same educational opportunities as their male counterparts, creating a gender gap in education levels that persists today.

A Prejudiced Beginning

Formal education in Ghana has been gender-biased since its inception in the eighteenth century. The state offered education to women for the purpose of making them better wives, and families viewed educating women as a waste of resources since the benefits would only go toward their husband. By the 1890s, only 11 girls for every 100 boys were enrolled in primary school.

Enduring Inequality

Despite numerous and diverse attempts to address gender parity in Ghanaian education, a gender gap persists today. Education reform movements, constitutional changes, Academy improvement initiatives, and the assistance of various world donors have not been able to close the gap between the education of males and females. While progress has been made and gender parity nearly achieved at the pre-school and primary levels, equitable attention and resources have not been directed at secondary education.

There is a vast literature documenting the impact increasing education has on the lives of individual women and, more broadly, on the countries in which they live. Failure to educate girls and women perpetuates needless hunger. Gains in women’s education contributed most to reducing malnutrition from 1970–1995, playing a more important role than increased food availability (UNESCO). Baah Boateng, senior economist at the University of Ghana in Accra, says that any solution that helps women helps Ghana: “Women control the Ghanaian economy. Women are absolutely vital to the success or failure of the country’s poverty reduction drive.”