Image Sources

1. Bettmann/Getty Images
2. Peter Keegan/Keystone/Getty Images
3. Barry Thumma/AP
4. Eliseo Fernandez/Reuters
5. Unknown/flickr
6. Unknown/UN Photo
7. Gitika Noyes/UN Photo
8. Victoria Walshe/UNFPA Zimbabwe
9. Paula Bronstein/Getty Images
10. Anna Johnson/AP Photo

A woman’s education is closely related to her economic status, reproductive decisions, and long-term life choices. In Japan, for instance, women’s level of education is found to be negatively correlated with the number of childbirths (Shirahase 2000). Furthermore, sexual education for adolescent girls is pivotal to the prevention of unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases (STIs) (Gbagbo 2023). These observations prompt us to examine the evolution of gender-consequent living conditions in various countries.

In this project, we examine the nuanced relationships between women’s socioeconomic status and their access to sexual education and its influence on a woman’s contraceptive knowledge and likelihood of adolescent pregnancy.

We analyzed data sources from the Gender Data Portal, provided by the World Bank, which contains a wealth of information on various gender-related issues. This dataset is relevant for our analysis because it describes variables such as the percentage of teenage mothers, maternal mortality rates, and average contraceptive prevalence in different countries worldwide, across various years. The longitudinally and geographically labelled data allowed us to compare gender-related conditions in other regions and observe temporal trends of change.

Various scholars in their individual research have concluded that sexual and reproductive health is significantly influenced by socioeconomic status, access to education, public policy, and culture. Some scholars held contradicting opinions regarding the topic of education as an article based in Tanzania found education may oppress reproductive rights due to the nature of the school. Additionally, in Ghana it was found on a scholar’s research that the teachers’ attitude did not have a significant impact on the students’ learning and overall is not a significant factor. All scholars agreed upon the idea that sexual and reproductive health are a multifactorial variable that can depend on many variables. Studies had an emphasis on marginalized groups coming to the collective conclusion that they are disproportionately facing significant issues regarding sexual and reproductive health. Although these scholars conducted extensive research some questions remain. Is it important to consider who the intersection of all these variables may result in one’s sexual and reproductive rights. Given the date of some of this literature, how could the new modern word technology help bridge the gap regarding sexual and reproductive justice? 

The project furthers current understandings of the relationship between socioeconomic status and educational attainment in regards to women’s access to contraception and their reproductive outcomes. With a recognition of comprehensive and intersectional factors, our team was able to explore varying results across multiple countries regarding their reproductive outcomes and assess which practices promote safe reproductive sexual health. We focused on understanding: how a nation’s education status relates to women’s knowledge of contraception, how a woman’s knowledge of contraception relates to their financial status, and determining whether the absence of sexual education and reproductive health care impacts adolescent pregnancy rates? The aim is to underscore a holistic review of reproductive health worldwide, deconstruct global biases and negative stigmas, and uplifting the practices that have proven to be successful in ensuring equitable access to reproductive healthcare.