Abstract

SEGAT, Juliana Lazzaretti; VIEIRA, Ana Gabriela da Silva  and  CAETANO, Marcio. Gender equality in and through education: a critical analysis of UNESCO’s strategy amidst the neoliberal and neoconservative shift. Educ. Rev. [online]. 2025, vol.41, e95501.  Epub July 10, 2025. ISSN 1984-0411.  https://doi.org/10.1590/1984-0411.95501.

In a context marked by social inequalities and environmental crisis, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are created based on a proposition of the United Nations (UN). Among these goals, particular emphasis is placed on numbers four and five, which respectively aim to address challenges in the areas of education and gender inequality. This article aims to study a strategy developed by UNESCO - the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization - which aligns with SDGs number 4 and 5 as it presupposes the pursuit of gender equality in and through education. The article discusses that strategy, problematizing it regarding its alignment with neoliberal and neoconservative discourses. Although the strategy advocates for gender equality, it leans towards a discussion of liberal feminism by not questioning the relationship between capitalism and women’s oppression. It also encompasses an educational model linked to the neoliberal notion of “human capital” and economic development, valuing women’s access to science and the job market through education while remaining silent on central issues such as care work and the structural specificities of each country’s context, especially in the Global South where racism and coloniality still prevail.

Keywords : Neoliberalism; Gender Equality; Women; Education.

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