The Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) on Friday said even though education is a key component of human capital, the overall illiteracy rate among Ghanaian women exceeds that of men.

In Ghana the overall literacy rate for women is 46 per cent as against 67 per cent for men, the FAO stated in a report commissioned in 2012 dabbed: “Gender Inequalities in Rural Employment in Ghana,” made available to the Ghana News Agency in Accra.

The report emphasised that education plays a fundamental role in determining household ability to access better labor opportunities and escape poverty but disparities between men and women exist.

The report however acknowledged progress towards parity which is now higher among the younger generation.

FAO said Northern, Upper East and Upper West are well below the national average and rural areas have significantly lower rates compared to urban areas.

Northern Region showed the most accentuated gender differences in adult literacy.

Gender disparities in literacy rates are greater within older populations, while there was relative gender equality for younger populations.

However, it observed that gender parity in enrollment rates was not far from being achieved at both the primary and secondary levels in rural areas.

The report said an extremely high percentage of women and men in the country have not completed primary education and the situation is particularly critical for women.

The FAO recommended that training in teaching and preparation for obtaining the Higher National Diploma needed to be more accessible to women.