RESEP have been involved in research focused on understanding gender inequalities in educational achievement and progression in South Africa. This occurs in a context where South Africa recorded the largest pro-girl gap in Grade 4 reading and Grade 5 mathematics among participating countries in the 2021 Progress in International Literacy and Reading Study and the 2023 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study. Across various papers, we have aimed to answer questions such as:

1. How large is the pro-girl gender gap in primary and secondary school achievement, and how does it vary across subjects?
2. How large is the pro-girl gender gap in school achievement relative to the socio-economic divide in educational achievement?
3. Is South Africa’s pro-girl gender gap unusual relative to that of other countries?
4. Has the gender gap in school achievement widened over time?
5. Does the pro-girl gender gap widen as learners progress through the school system?
6. Are there gender gaps in mathematics and science subject choice and matric performance?

Our work in this area contributes to broader discussions on gender, schooling, and educational inequality in South Africa through analyses of administrative and large-scale survey datasets, including PIRLS and TIMSS, as well as through engagement with policy debates on learning outcomes, grade repetition, and educational equity. This work also situates gender disparities within South Africa’s much larger socio-economic learning divide. The research builds on existing evidence of South Africa’s female advantage in schooling (Van Broekhuizen & Spaull, 2017; Spaull & Makaluza, 2019; Zuze & Beku, 2019; Hofmeyr, 2022).

Our work in this area has been funded by the Gates Foundation, but intersects with various projects in which we are involved including the MILAPS project funded by Optima, and Roots and Shoots.