Higher Education in East Asia: What Does It Mean for Gender and Family?

Everyone would agree that education is essential in our lives to a certain extent, particularly in Singapore, where competitiveness is deeply ingrained in the culture. But an important question arises: Why is education important? Besides the obvious benefits of career progression and expanding knowledge, education can contribute to something beyond that—empowerment in the household and a shift in the perception of marriage and family.

At the heart of this issue lies higher education, particularly in European countries and countries in East Asia. Numerous studies from these regions have historically shown that higher education has significantly empowered women and contributed to changing perceptions of family formulation. Recent evidence from South Korea has demonstrated the role of higher education in improving women's decision-making power within the household. This can be attributed to highly educated women finding spouses from higher socioeconomic status, having better job prospects themselves, and experiencing attitudinal changes towards women's independence from their spouses. However, higher education has also influenced their perspectives on marriage and family. Highly educated women are less inclined to favor early marriage and having many children, indicating a strong association between South Korea's ultra-low fertility rate and women's higher education.

So, does that mean we need to hinder women from pursuing further education to prevent a drop in fertility rates? No, education is key to ensuring gender equality in almost all regions, not just in the workplace but also within households. In my opinion, this rather implies that if there are no supportive environmental and policy measures in place for women during the country's development stage when a large number of women are pursuing higher education, it may lead to a backlash from women with a negative viewpoint towards marriage and family. This suggests that gender equality is a crucial issue to address in conjunction with fertility solutions, as the two are interconnected.

Further readings:

Kim, D. (2023). Women’s Higher Education, Assortative Mating, and Empowerment: Long-Term Evidence from College Enrollment Expansion in South Korea. The Journal of Development Studies, 59(3), 430-447.

Kim, D., & Jung, H. (2023). The long-term impact of college education on women’s attitudes toward marriage and children. Journal of Family Issues, 0192513X221150982.