{"title":"Global Inequality of Opportunity in Education Decreased During the 20th Century.","authors":"Michael Grätz, Mobarak Hossain, Martina Beretta","doi":"10.1111/1468-4446.70105","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>We document changes in global inequality of opportunity in education for women and men born between 1941 and 1983, using individual-level census and survey data on 46.7 million individuals from 95 countries, representing all major regions of the world. We measure global inequality of opportunity in education as inequality in education due to circumstances beyond the control of individuals. In addition to gender and social origin, we treat a person's country of residence as a circumstance that produces inequality of opportunity, because the country of residence is, to a large extent, beyond an individual's control. We test whether global inequality of opportunity in education has increased or decreased across cohorts. Our results show a decline in global inequality of opportunity. The decline is stronger among women than men, although inequality of opportunity remains higher among women than men.</p>","PeriodicalId":51368,"journal":{"name":"British Journal of Sociology","volume":" ","pages":"844-850"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6000,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13536524/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"British Journal of Sociology","FirstCategoryId":"90","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-4446.70105","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2026/3/17 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"SOCIOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
We document changes in global inequality of opportunity in education for women and men born between 1941 and 1983, using individual-level census and survey data on 46.7 million individuals from 95 countries, representing all major regions of the world. We measure global inequality of opportunity in education as inequality in education due to circumstances beyond the control of individuals. In addition to gender and social origin, we treat a person's country of residence as a circumstance that produces inequality of opportunity, because the country of residence is, to a large extent, beyond an individual's control. We test whether global inequality of opportunity in education has increased or decreased across cohorts. Our results show a decline in global inequality of opportunity. The decline is stronger among women than men, although inequality of opportunity remains higher among women than men.
期刊介绍:
British Journal of Sociology is published on behalf of the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) is unique in the United Kingdom in its concentration on teaching and research across the full range of the social, political and economic sciences. Founded in 1895 by Beatrice and Sidney Webb, the LSE is one of the largest colleges within the University of London and has an outstanding reputation for academic excellence nationally and internationally. Mission Statement: • To be a leading sociology journal in terms of academic substance, scholarly reputation , with relevance to and impact on the social and democratic questions of our times • To publish papers demonstrating the highest standards of scholarship in sociology from authors worldwide; • To carry papers from across the full range of sociological research and knowledge • To lead debate on key methodological and theoretical questions and controversies in contemporary sociology, for example through the annual lecture special issue • To highlight new areas of sociological research, new developments in sociological theory, and new methodological innovations, for example through timely special sections and special issues • To react quickly to major publishing and/or world events by producing special issues and/or sections • To publish the best work from scholars in new and emerging regions where sociology is developing • To encourage new and aspiring sociologists to submit papers to the journal, and to spotlight their work through the early career prize • To engage with the sociological community – academics as well as students – in the UK and abroad, through social media, and a journal blog.