Webinar: Boys and education

Boys are falling behind girls in school completion in more than 90 countries, at the same time as girls continue to face significant barriers to learning. This recorded panel, bringing together Room to Read, UNESCO, UNGEI, the World Bank and Equimundo, asks what gender transformative education looks like when it is taken seriously, and how it can improve learning for all children.

This webinar, part of the Global Boyhood Initiative's webinar series, responds to research from UNESCO and the World Bank showing that boys are falling behind girls in graduation rates, school completion and grade progression in more than 90 countries worldwide. Recorded on 5 April 2023 under the title 'Boys & Education: What Does Gender-Transformative Education Look Like?', it brings together practitioners and researchers from Room to Read, UNESCO, UNGEI, the World Bank and Equimundo.

Moderated by Equimundo's president and CEO Gary Barker, the discussion covers transformative, scalable and evidence based approaches to education, and how these can be adapted across different geographies. It considers what education systems and adult caregivers can do to support healthy, emotionally connected and non-violent boyhood.

A central argument of the session is that supporting boys' education is not in tension with promoting girls' education and empowerment, but complementary to it, and that both are necessary to achieve full gender equality.

Key messages

• UNESCO and World Bank research cited in the webinar shows boys falling behind girls in graduation rates, school completion and grade progression in over 90 countries.
• The panel brings together practitioners from Room to Read, UNESCO, UNGEI, the World Bank and Equimundo to discuss what gender transformative education means for boys specifically.
• The discussion frames support for boys' education as complementary to, rather than competing with, efforts to promote girls' education and empowerment.
• The session explores scalable, evidence based approaches that can be adapted across different countries and contexts.
• A recurring theme is how education systems and adult caregivers can support healthy, emotionally connected and non-violent models of boyhood.