A report from a UN division titled World’s Women Report 2015 found a continuing issue with gender equality in education after revealing two-thirds of all illiterate adults are women.

“Of the 781 million adults over the age of 15 estimated to be illiterate, 496 million were women, the World’s Women 2015 report found. Women made up more than half the illiterate population in all regions of the world,” according to The Guardian.

The sustainable development goals (SDGs) produced by the UN this past September seek to remedy global issues of gender equality by ending illiteracy and gender disparities by 2030.

The report found that many adults who are illiterate are over the age of 65, not having learned the skills in youth and presently not having access to adult literacy programs to help them improve. “Over the age of 65, 30% of women and 19% of men were found to be illiterate,” the report found.

Says Ionica Berevoescu, a member of the UN division that prepared the report, she is “confident that ending illiteracy among under-24-year-olds was possible by 2030, but ‘for the overall adult population we have to think more in terms of adult [programs] in literacy and life-long learning, otherwise [the SDGs] will not be met.”

“She added that a gender perspective needed to be integrated into all areas, not just literacy or education, and to make sure women are able to participate in [programs.]”

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Article by Nicole Gorman, Education World Contributor

10/23/2015