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About 259 million children and youth are out of school according to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, including 127 million girls and 132 million boys. Twothirds of the 750 million non-literate adults around the world are women. This gender disparity remains one of the persistent challenges in adult literacy and education.

The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated existing challenges, disrupting the education of over 1.5 billion learners. UNESCO estimates that close to 24 million children and youth, including over 11 million girls and 13 million boys, may drop out of school due to the pandemic’s economic impact. A window of opportunity is now more than ever open to build back equal.

This communication strategy is designed to provide strategic guidance on communicating on gender equality in and through education.

While prepared for UNESCO Education Sector staff, including those at Headquarters, in Field/Regional/Cluster Offices and in Institutes as well as for implementing partners, a broader audience of gender focal points, partners, Member States and others with an interest in and commitment to gender equality in and through education may also find this strategy particularly useful.