Climate Change Impact and Structural Reforms in Kiribati
KIRIBATI
GENDER EQUALITY IN KIRIBATI: ACHIEVEMENTS AND
PROSPECTS¹
Kiribati has made significant progress in promoting gender equality in many aspects including in
health indicators and access to education. However, gender inequalities in labor force participation,
living standards, and legal equity persist. This paper illustrates how improvement in gender equality,
including female legal equity, could help support growth. Policies to address gender gaps could include
strengthening gender equality in the legal framework, introducing gender budgeting and fiscal policy
reforms, and developing gender-disaggregated data collection for better monitoring.
A. Context
Gender Difference in Secondary Gross Enrollment Rate
(In percentage point, 2020 or latest available data)
20
10
0
-10
1. In Kiribati, females fare better compared to their male peers in several human
development indicators. Health outcomes are significantly better for females where they have
much lower child mortality rates and are expected to live longer than men by about 8 years (Table
1). A similar picture could be observed in
education attainment. While females and
males have equal net enrollment rate at the
primary school level, net enrollment rates of
females are significantly higher than those of
males in both lower and upper secondary
schools. This phenomenon of higher
education for females (in terms of secondary
gross enrollment rate) is found to be similar in
most Pacific Islands countries (text chart).
Females also have better education outcomes,
as shown by their lower share in reading or
writing difficulty compared to their male
peers.2
-20
Papua New Guinea
Solomon Islands
Palau
Tuvalu
Nauru
Fiji
Marshall Islands
Micronesia
Vanuatu
Sources: World Development Indicators; and IMF staff calculation.
Samoa
Kiribati
Tonga
Note: Gross enrollment ratio is the ratio of total enrollment, regardless of age, to the population
of the age group that officially correspond to the level of education shown. Gender difference is
calculated as the difference between female and male ratios.
Prepared by Lisa Kolovich (SPR) and Anh Thi Ngoc Nguyen (APD).
2 While efforts to improve attendance rate in higher education are necessary for both genders, male education needs
to be better promoted. This could partially be done by eradicating the worst forms of child labor for boys, as it is
estimated that 8.6 percent of boys aged 5-17 years old engaged in child labor in 2019, higher than a 5.5 percent of
girls (ADB, 2021). In 2015, the government tackled the issue by amending the Employment and Industrial Relations
Code with an increase the minimum working age, the abandon of worst forms of child labor, and requirements to
register child employees.
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