Support for Educating Boys and Girls

In 18 of 22 nations surveyed by the Pew Global Attitudes Project, a majority opposes the idea that a university education is more important for a boy than for a girl. Valuing a boy’s education over a girl’s is strongly objected to in Lebanon (84% completely disagree), Brazil (78%), Argentina (72%), Britain (71%), France (70%), Mexico (65%), Germany (64%), Spain (62%), the U.S. (60%) and Kenya (59%). Still, a solid majority in India (63%) and about half in Pakistan (51%), Egypt (50%) and China (48%) say that a university education is more important for a boy than for a girl, and sizeable minorities in several countries agree. A considerable gender gap existed in four of the six majority Muslim nations surveyed (Turkey, Egypt, Pakistan and Jordan) with women far more likely to reject prioritizing a boy’s education than men (the gap was far less pronounced in Turkey, though). In the U.S., seven-in-ten women completely disagree that it is more important for a boy to receive a university education than a girl, compared with just about half (49%) of American men. Read More