UNESCO GEM Report 2024–25 Highlights Persistent Gender Gaps in Education and Leadership Worldwide.
International
In June 2025, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), headquartered in Paris, France, released its latest "Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Report 2024/25" titled Leadership in Education: Lead for Learning.
- The report raises significant concerns over persistent gender disparities in education outcomes and leadership roles across the globe, including in India.
- One of the key findings reveals that boys consistently lag behind girls in reading proficiency worldwide. On average, for every 100 girls who achieve minimum reading proficiency, only 87 boys reach the same level.
- The gap is even more pronounced in Middle-Income Countries (MICs), where just 72 boys attain the minimum reading standards for every 100 girls.
Main Point :- (i) The report highlights a severe learning crisis in developing nations, revealing that 73% of children are unable to read and understand a simple text by the age of 10. This alarming figure reflects the growing gap between years of schooling and actual learning outcomes—an indicator commonly referred to as learning poverty.
(ii) Women constitute 57% of secondary school teachers globally, but their leadership roles lag significantly, with female principals trailing teachers by 20 basis points and only 27% of education ministers being women.
(iii) In India, women constitute 60% of elementary-level teachers. However, their numbers decline significantly in leadership roles, especially at the secondary and tertiary education levels. According to the report, as of 2021, only 5% of women held top academic posts such as vice-chancellors or directors, and just 2% served as registrars across 189 institutions.
About United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO)
Director-General (DG) : Audrey Azoulay
Headquarters : Paris
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