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This paper examines whether state capacity delivers inclusive development when women’s property rights remain weak. It shows that state capacity improves growth and education outcomes more strongly where female, not only male, property rights are protected.

Paper long abstract

Despite sustained global commitments to gender equality, women and girls in many low- and middle-income countries continue to face persistent disadvantages in access to education, particularly under conditions of economic stress, conflict, and political uncertainty. This paper argues that gendered property-rights regimes shape whether state capacity can effectively translate into inclusive development outcomes.

The study examines whether the effect of state capacity on economic growth and human capital formation depends on the relative strength of female versus male property rights. Using cross-country panel data covering 1972–2023, the empirical analysis estimates interaction models that allow the growth and education returns to state capacity to vary with gender-disaggregated property rights. Baseline specifications employ country and year fixed effects to control for unobserved heterogeneity, while dynamic panel GMM estimators are used as robustness checks to address potential endogeneity. Education outcomes are examined explicitly as a key human-capital channel linking state capacity to long-run development.

The findings show that state capacity is associated with significantly higher growth and educational returns in countries where female property rights are relatively stronger. By contrast, in male-dominated institutional environments, the developmental effects of state capacity are substantially attenuated, particularly with respect to girls’ access to education. These patterns suggest that even administratively capable states face binding constraints when women lack secure economic rights, limiting household investment in girls’ schooling and weakening the transmission of public policy into human capital formation.

By highlighting when state capacity fails to reach girls, the paper underscores the need for institutional reform.

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Education for girls in Nigeria is severely disrupted by Boko Haram, including the 2014 Chibok abduction. This paper examines how conflict, poverty, and gender norms limit schooling and highlights interventions like BBOG, advocating for gender transformative and conflict resilient education policies.

Paper long abstract

Education is a vital pathway for achieving gender equality and sustainable development. In conflict affected contexts, however, access to education, particularly for girls is severely compromised. In Nigeria, the Boko Haram insurgency has generated prolonged insecurity, displacement, and social disruption, disproportionately affecting girls’ access to schooling in the northern regions. A defining example of this crisis was the 2014 abduction of 276 schoolgirls from the Government Girls Secondary School in Chibok, an event that drew global attention to the insurgency’s devastating impact on education. This paper examines how Boko Haram activities undermine girls’ educational opportunities by intersecting with pre-existing gender norms, poverty, and weak institutional capacity. Attacks on schools, fear of abduction, forced displacement, economic hardship, and increased domestic responsibilities contribute to declining enrolment, retention, and completion rates. Furthermore, insecurity reinforces conservative social practices, early marriage, and son preference, further marginalizing girls’ education. The study also highlights interventions aimed at restoring educational access, including the advocacy, reintegration, and support of abducted girls from Chibok, illustrating the critical role of community, civil society, policy engagement, and feminist activism like Bring Back Our Girls (BBOG): a women-led social movement in Nigeria. Drawing on qualitative and secondary data from conflict affected communities, the paper argues for conflict resilient, gender transformative education policies that prioritize safety, social protection, and long-term investment in girls’ education. In doing so, it contributes to broader debates on gender justice, education, and development in contexts of global uncertainty.

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Paper short abstract

Drawing on a qualitative study of higher education access in Nigeria, this paper examines how high-stakes, 'gender-neutral' national admissions policy and practice reproduces gendered inequalities and undermines inclusive development and social justice.

Paper long abstract

Despite decades of global and national efforts to expand girls’ access to education, women in many low- and middle-income countries remain disproportionately disadvantaged at critical points of educational transition. While policy attention has focused on participation disparities in basic education, less is known about how gendered inequalities are reproduced at the point of entry into higher education - an increasingly consequential site for social mobility in massifying systems.

Drawing on in-depth qualitative data from a study of university access in Nigeria, this paper examines the everyday realities of young women navigating high-stake national entrance examinations. Focusing on the account of a rural female school-leaver, the analysis shows how a 'gender-neutral' policy intersect with gendered family support, digital inequalities, and patriarchal expectations to shape who can compete - and on what terms. Using feminist conceptualisations of intersectionality and marginalisation, the paper approaches academic achievement not as a neutral indicator of ability, but as a socially and relationally produced outcome shaped by gendered and socio-economic conditions.

The analysis highlights how girls’ educational trajectories are constrained not only by structural barriers, but by moral and affective labour in contexts of scarcity and uncertainty. In foregrounding lived experience, the paper challenges technocratic development frameworks that cast inclusion as a technical policy adjustment rather than a relational and situated process. It also demonstrates why higher education warrants closer attention as a critical site of gendered access inequalities, and how these inequalities reproduce - and rework - broader concerns about social justice across the life course.

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Paper short abstract

This presentation examines leadership and policy strategies to enhance girls' and women's access to education in developing nations. It introduces a customised adaptive leadership and policy framework, emphasising collaboration, local empowerment, and continuous adaptation to dismantle barriers.

Paper long abstract

Access to education for girls and women in developing nations remains a pressing issue, particularly in South Asia and Africa, where progress has stagnated over the past decade. This presentation explores the intersection of leadership and policy implications aimed at dismantling the barriers hindering educational access. Key factors contributing to this disparity include socio-cultural norms, economic challenges, and political instability, which often perpetuate a cycle of disadvantage.

Effective leadership is crucial in promoting policy initiatives that challenge entrenched gender biases and prioritise educational equity. By examining successful case studies, this research identifies best practices and innovative strategies employed by leaders committed to enhancing access to education for girls and women. It advocates for multi-sectoral collaboration among governments, NGOs, and community organisations to create inclusive educational environments that address specific challenges faced by marginalised girls.

Additionally, the paper presents a customised adaptive leadership and policy framework that focuses on diagnosing barriers, engaging stakeholders, and creating a vision for change. This framework emphasises empowering local leaders and grassroots advocates to drive initiatives while adapting solutions based on continuous feedback.

In light of ongoing global crises, this research provides actionable insights for policymakers, educator-leaders, and other stakeholders, enabling them to navigate disruptions effectively and advance the right to education for all women and girls. Ultimately, equitable access to education is not only a fundamental human right but also a cornerstone for achieving sustainable development and social justice in the developing world.