Advancing Gender Equality and Inclusive Institutions Through Education: A South Korean Case Study

A recent study provides critical insights into how educational structures can impact long-term civic and political engagement, with significant implications for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Research conducted in South Korea reveals that women who attended all-female high schools demonstrate a greater propensity for political participation and leadership roles later in life compared to their counterparts from coeducational institutions. These findings directly inform strategies related to SDG 5 (Gender Equality) and SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions).

Background and Alignment with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 5: Gender Equality

The persistent underrepresentation of women in political and organizational leadership is a global challenge. SDG Target 5.5 explicitly calls to “ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic and public life.” This study investigates whether single-sex educational environments can serve as a mechanism to foster the skills and ambitions necessary to achieve this target.

SDG 4: Quality Education & SDG 16: Strong Institutions

The research aligns with SDG 4 by examining how specific educational settings contribute to learners acquiring skills for active civic life. Furthermore, by fostering greater political participation among women, such educational models contribute to SDG Target 16.7, which aims to “ensure responsive, inclusive, participatory and representative decision-making at all levels.”

Research Methodology: A Natural Experiment

The study leveraged a unique policy in South Korea. Between 1974 and 2009, the government’s equalization policy led to the random assignment of students to high schools within their districts in Seoul. This created a natural experiment, allowing for a causal analysis of the effects of single-sex versus coeducational schooling.

• Sample: A survey was conducted with over 3,400 adults who graduated from high schools in Seoul between 1990 and 2010.
• Control: The random assignment to either single-sex or coeducational schools minimized the influence of confounding variables like family preference.
• Standardization: Government standardization of curriculum, tuition, and school quality ensured that observed differences in outcomes could be more confidently attributed to the school’s gender composition.

Key Findings and Implications for Sustainable Development

Increased Political and Civic Participation (SDG 16)

The research found that attendance at an all-female high school had a statistically significant positive effect on women’s subsequent political and civic engagement. This suggests that such environments can be instrumental in building more inclusive and participatory institutions.

1. The overall political participation score for women from single-sex schools increased by an average of 4.1 percentage points.
2. These women reported higher rates of voting.
3. They were more likely to engage in private activism, such as donating to political causes or participating in boycotts.
4. They demonstrated a greater likelihood of contacting public officials or engaging with political content online.

Notably, these effects were not observed among male graduates, indicating a uniquely empowering influence of the single-sex environment on women’s civic development.

Enhanced Leadership Outcomes (SDG 5)

The study provides strong evidence that single-sex schooling for women correlates with a higher incidence of leadership, directly supporting the objective of SDG Target 5.5.

• Women who attended all-girls schools were 7.3 percentage points more likely to have held a leadership position in a group or organization during their adult lives.
• A modest increase in self-reported interest in leadership was also observed.
• The proposed mechanism is that in an all-female environment, all leadership roles—from class president to top athlete—are held by girls, which may normalize female leadership and foster greater ambition.

No significant differences in leadership outcomes were found for men based on school type.

Unchanged Gender Attitudes

An unexpected finding was that despite higher rates of participation and leadership, women from all-girls schools did not hold more progressive views on gender roles or demonstrate lower levels of sexism compared to women from coeducational schools. This suggests that while single-sex environments may foster behaviors aligned with SDG 5, they do not automatically alter underlying social attitudes without a specific curricular focus on promoting a feminist agenda.

Conclusion and Limitations

The study concludes that single-sex educational environments can be a powerful tool for advancing SDG 5 and SDG 16 by significantly boosting women’s long-term political participation and leadership attainment. The findings suggest that the structure of the educational environment itself, by providing more opportunities for girls to see and occupy leadership roles, can have a durable positive effect.

The report acknowledges several limitations:

• The findings are specific to graduates from Seoul, South Korea, during a particular period and may not be universally generalizable.
• The data is based on self-reported behaviors and attitudes.
• Further experimental research is needed to explore these effects in different cultural contexts and to analyze the impact of specific curricula.

SDGs Addressed in the Article

• SDG 4: Quality Education

  The article directly addresses this goal by examining how different educational environments—specifically single-sex versus coeducational high schools in South Korea—impact students’ long-term development. It investigates whether the type of schooling provides a “more empowering context for young women” and influences their skills and self-perceptions, which aligns with the goal of ensuring inclusive and effective learning environments.

• SDG 5: Gender Equality

  This is a central theme of the article. The study’s primary motivation is to understand the persistent gap in leadership and participation between men and women. It analyzes how single-sex schooling affects women’s likelihood to “engage in political and civic life,” take on “leadership roles,” and their attitudes towards “gender roles and stereotypes.” The entire study is framed around achieving gender equality in public and professional life.

• SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

  The article connects to this goal by focusing on political and civic participation. It measures outcomes like voting, contacting public officials, and engaging in collective action. These activities are fundamental to building responsive, inclusive, and participatory institutions, which is a key aspect of SDG 16.

Specific Targets Identified

1. Target 4.7: Ensure all learners acquire knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development, including gender equality.

   The article explores whether an all-female educational environment fosters attitudes that promote gender equality. The researchers specifically tested if single-sex schooling makes women “more likely to hold feminist views or reject traditional gender roles.” The finding that it did not have an effect on these attitudes is a direct analysis relevant to this target.

2. Target 5.5: Ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic and public life.

   This target is directly addressed. The study was designed to see if single-sex schooling increases women’s “willingness to participate in civic life and seek out leadership roles.” The results showed that women from all-girls schools were “7.3 percentage points more likely to have held a leadership position” and had higher overall political and civic engagement, directly linking the educational experience to the outcomes specified in this target.

3. Target 16.7: Ensure responsive, inclusive, participatory and representative decision-making at all levels.

   The research measures women’s participation in political processes, which is a prerequisite for inclusive and representative decision-making. The article states that women from all-female schools were more likely to “vote, take part in private forms of activism like donating or boycotting, and contact public officials or engage with political content online,” all of which are forms of participation that contribute to this target.

Indicators Mentioned or Implied

1. Indicator for Political and Civic Participation

   The article explicitly describes an indicator used to measure progress. The researchers “created an index based on self-reported involvement in activities such as voting, attending rallies, contacting public officials, signing petitions, and donating to political causes.” This composite index, with scores ranging from 0 to 1, serves as a direct, quantifiable indicator of political participation. The study found that single-sex schooling increased this score by an average of 4.1 percentage points for women.

2. Indicator for Leadership Roles

   A clear behavioral indicator for leadership is mentioned. The study measured whether respondents “had ever held a leadership position in any group or organization, such as a volunteer group, community association, or professional society.” The finding that women from single-sex schools were 7.3 percentage points more likely to have held such a position provides a specific metric for leadership attainment (related to SDG Target 5.5).

3. Indicators for Gender Attitudes

   The article implies the use of specific indicators to measure attitudes toward gender equality. It states that researchers used “two well-established measures to assess this: one for hostile sexism and one for traditional beliefs about gender roles in the household.” These survey scales function as indicators to gauge whether the educational environment promoted progressive gender norms (related to SDG Target 4.7).

Summary of Findings

Source: psypost.org