Social Dimensions of Development: Gender, Health, and Ed

The social dimensions of development are the aspects of well-being that go beyond income, including gender equality, health and education, and they are central to both human development and economic growth. In brief: gender equality means that women and men have equal rights, resources and opportunities. Health and education are both goals in themselves and drivers of development: educated, healthy people are more productive, have healthier children and take part more fully in society. Indices such as the Gender Inequality Index and the Human Development Index measure progress, and the Sustainable Development Goals include health (SDG 3), education (SDG 4) and gender equality (SDG 5).

Large gaps remain between and within countries, especially for girls and women, the poor and rural populations. This guide explains gender gaps and how they are measured, the links between health and education and development, key policy approaches, compares the indicators in a table, works through calculations, outlines the history and corrects common mistakes.

What are the gender dimensions of development?

Women face disadvantages in many societies in access to education, health care, jobs, land, credit and political power. Women do most of the world’s unpaid care and domestic work, which limits their time for paid work and education. Globally, the labor force participation of women is about 47%, compared with about 72% for men, and women earn on average about 20% less than men for similar work, according to the International Labour Organization. In many countries, women hold under a quarter of the seats in parliament. In some places, discriminatory laws and customs, early marriage (hundreds of millions of women alive today were married as children), violence and a preference for sons limit women’s rights and freedom.

The UN Development Programme measures gender inequality in the Gender Development Index (the ratio of women’s to men’s HDI) and the Gender Inequality Index (GII), which combines reproductive health (maternal mortality and adolescent births), empowerment (women’s share of parliamentary seats and of secondary education) and labor market participation. Improving gender equality has benefits: when women are educated and earn income, families invest more in children’s health and schooling, birth rates fall and economies grow. Policies include girls’ education, legal reform, access to credit and land, family planning, childcare, social protection and the political participation of women.

How does health shape development?

Health affects development by determining how long and how productively people live. Key measures are life expectancy, infant, child and maternal mortality, and the burden of disease. Global life expectancy has risen from about 47 years in 1950 to over 70 years, though some low-income countries lag by 20 years or more. The maternal mortality ratio fell from about 340 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2000 to around 220 in recent estimates, but it remains very high in parts of Sub-Saharan Africa. Children’s survival has improved strongly: deaths of children under 5 fell by more than half since 1990. Priorities include primary health care, vaccination, clean water and sanitation, nutrition, control of infectious diseases (malaria, HIV, tuberculosis), maternal and reproductive health services, and growing attention to non-communicable and mental health conditions. Barriers include poverty, a lack of trained health workers and facilities, the cost of care, conflict and weak health systems. The goal of universal health coverage aims to ensure that everyone can use the services they need without financial hardship.

How does education shape development?

Education improves skills, productivity, health, civic participation and equality. The rate of return to an extra year of schooling is on average around 8–10% in higher earnings, with higher returns for girls in many countries. Key indicators are the literacy rate, enrolment and completion rates, years of schooling, learning outcomes (not only attendance) and the gender parity index (the ratio of girls to boys enrolled). Primary school enrolment has increased greatly since 2000, and gender gaps in primary and secondary enrolment have narrowed or closed in most regions, and in some countries girls now outnumber boys in higher education. Challenges remain: hundreds of millions of children are out of school, many of those in school are not learning basic skills (the “learning crisis”), girls face barriers in some regions, such as Afghanistan, and conflict, poverty and early marriage keep children from school. Investments in teachers, school facilities, free tuition, school meals, cash transfers and the use of local languages can raise enrolment and learning.

How are gender, health and education linked?

The three dimensions reinforce one another. Girls’ education is one of the most effective ways to reduce child mortality, improve nutrition, delay marriage and lower fertility. Healthy children can attend school and learn more, and healthy adults are more productive. Gender discrimination in health and schooling harms both. Poverty, rural location, ethnicity, disability and conflict can multiply disadvantages, so the poorest rural girls often have the lowest levels of education and health. For this reason, development agencies stress intersectional approaches and targeting of excluded groups. Social progress can also precede high income: Sri Lanka, Costa Rica and the Indian state of Kerala reached high levels of health and education at relatively low incomes through public investment, which shows that policy choices matter.

Key indicators compared

Worked example: gaps and ratios

The values are hypothetical and illustrate the calculations.

1. Gender parity index: in a country, 420,000 girls and 500,000 boys are enrolled in secondary school. The gender parity index is 420,000 ÷ 500,000 = 0.84. A value below 1 means that fewer girls than boys are enrolled, and the gap is (1 − 0.84) = 16%.

2. Literacy gap: the literacy rate is 88% for men and 72% for women. The gap is 16 percentage points, and the female-to-male ratio is 72 ÷ 88 = 0.82.
3. Maternal mortality ratio: 1,200 women die from pregnancy-related causes in a year in a country with 600,000 live births. The ratio is 1,200 ÷ 600,000 × 100,000 = 200 per 100,000 live births.

4. Improvement over time: if the ratio was 400 ten years ago, it has fallen by 200, a reduction of 200 ÷ 400 = 50%, an average annual decline of 1 − 0.5^1/10 = 6.7%.
5. Return to education: a woman with 6 years of schooling earns 8,000 a year and each extra year raises earnings by 9%. Four more years raise her income to 8,000 × 1.09⁴ = 8,000 × 1.4116 = 11,293, an increase of 3,293 (41%).

6. Child mortality and parents’ education: the under-5 mortality rate is 90 per 1,000 for children of mothers with no education and 45 per 1,000 for mothers with secondary education. The risk is halved, and of 10,000 births, 450 fewer children die.
7. Labor force gap: the participation rate is 72% for men and 47% for women. The gap is 25 points. If the female rate rose to 60%, in a population of 10 million women of working age, 0.13 × 10,000,000 = 1,300,000 more women would be in the labor force.

How have international goals developed?

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) set out rights to education and health. The UN Decade for Women (1976–85), the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW, 1979) and the Beijing Conference of 1995 advanced gender equality. The Declaration of Alma-Ata (1978) made primary health care a priority, and the 1990 conference in Jomtien launched “Education for All.” The Millennium Development Goals (2000–2015) included universal primary education, gender equality, and reductions in child and maternal mortality, with substantial progress. The Sustainable Development Goals (2015–2030) widened the agenda to quality education, universal health coverage and gender equality in all areas. The Covid-19 pandemic disrupted education and health services in 2020–2022 and set back progress in many places, and the targets for 2030 are not on track for several indicators.

Which mistakes are common?

Mistake 1: Treating school enrolment as the same as learning

Many children attend school but do not learn basic skills. Quality, teachers and materials matter as much as attendance.

Mistake 2: Seeing gender equality only as a women’s issue

It concerns whole societies and benefits men and boys too. Engaging men and boys is part of effective programs.

Mistake 3: Thinking that national averages show everyone’s progress

Averages hide large gaps by income, region, ethnicity and disability, so data should be broken down by group.

Mistake 4: Considering health, education and gender as separate sectors

They interact strongly, and joint approaches, such as girls’ schooling with health services and cash support, often produce larger benefits.