Education inequality encompasses unequal access, quality, and results, a lack of respect for variation in educational structures, procedures, and material, and unequal involvement in educational decision-making. Educational inequality—measured by skill inequality—is positively connected with violent crime and political instability and adversely correlated with political and civil liberty. Education disparity exacerbates societal inequality, increasing conflict risk. Gender disparity in education, measured by mean years of schooling, is linked to intra- and inter-state conflicts. High fertility rates and labor force participation in gender-inequal nations increase the risk of domestic strife. Why this link? Analysis should concentrate on "ideas about masculinities and femininities which are utilized to justify these disparities" rather than "manifestations of gender inequality" to explain conflict and violence. Thus, masculinities and femininities create genderings and violence. Conceptualizing conflict as military conflict, institutional violence, and cultural violence—any component of culture that makes direct violence or systemic violence acceptable—helps explain the relationship between conflict and gender inequity. ‘Structural and cultural violence for gender constitutes the foundation of structural inequality' also involves gender.
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