Educational Attainment and Egalitarian Attitudes Toward Women in the MENA Region: Insights from the Arab Barometer

Authors

Amy Auletto, Michigan State University
Taeyeon Kim, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Rachel Marias, Michigan State University

Date of this Version

Fall 2017

Citation

Current Issues in Comparative Education 20:1 (Fall 2017), pp 45-67.

Comments

Current Issues in Comparative Education (CICE) is a leading open-access online academic journal from Teachers College, Columbia University. © 2017

Abstract

Despite increasingly egalitarian attitudes toward women in the Middle East and North Africa, nations in this region continue to rank among the lowest in measures of gender equality. Using survey data, we examine the relationship between educational attainment and support for women. We find that increased educational attainment is predictive of greater support for women’s employment and women’s participation in post-secondary education. We also find that egalitarian attitudes have increased over time and education continues to remain a strong predictor of these attitudes. We argue for increased investment in education that promotes egalitarian attitudes for both genders in the MENA region.