Women in Higher Education: A Concern for Development?

Women's education is currently at the center of international development discourse. In the discourse on education and development, "education" has tended to mean primary-and to an extent, secondary-education. The issue of higher education has so far received modest attention. This article examines the global situation of women, higher education, and development; suggests some possible reasons for the modest academic as well as policyrelated debate on the issue; and considers some implications of the situation for analyses of women's higher education achievements in developing contexts. It is argued that cultural context may play a major role in how women's higher education is perceived, valued, and employed. Seen from an economic growth-related perspective, investment in women's higher education may therefore appear less cost-effective than investment in men's. However, seen from either a rights-based or a human development perspective, which considers women's education and gender parity to be central indicators of development in themselves, women's higher education stands out as a highly efficient way of shaping more gender-equitable societies and thus as a major vehicle for general development.