ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the status of women in higher education in the Third World with regard to access and equity in education and workplace opportunities and summarizes how present-day economic, cultural, and religious barriers that women face while in pursuit of higher education can subtly or overtly deny this right. Access to education has been the primary focus of educational development for girls and women in the Third World. Human-capital theory is a major argument used in Western-based economic theory to explain the difference in occupations and earnings between men and women and to justify how an increase in education results in an increase in economic production. The United Nations (UN) sponsored Third Conference on Women was instrumental in painting a global picture of women's lack of social, political, and economic power throughout the Third World. The chapter explores the regional gender politics in the Third World that have had an effect on present condition of women in higher education.
