User:Olivia Kettler/sandbox

Education
Girls traditionally have been less likely to be formally educated than men. Traditional gender roles lead women towards 'female jobs', such as nursing and teaching, which are underpaid and underappreciated. Women still have a lower literacy rate than men: as of 2011, the literacy rate was 90.2% female and 93.1% male. In recent years, several programs have promoted education for the indigenous girls and women.

The situation for indigenous people is worse. When it comes to educational attainment in 1999, while the number for non-indigenous females aged 12-65 was 8.0 years to complete the education, indigenous females had only 3.8 years. It means that indigenous women can take less time to study compared to men. In terms of school enrollment rate, there is no big difference for primary school because of gender difference and indigenous or not, but indigenous females had much less lower-secondary and higher-secondary enrollment rates. For lower-secondary, indigenous females had only 10.08% while non-indigenous females had 59.79%. These facts make it more difficult for indigenous people in Ecuador to get a job. In Kichwa's case, mestiza women tend to be hired more than Kichwa women because many people assume that indigenous people are not "advanced." It is a common idea that mestiza are more intelligent like WASPs.

Social reproduction happens among women in Ecuador in terms of education. According to Shenton's interview, some women had attended to an university, own their own business, and they seek to let their daughters do what they did. Shenton stated that it is a obligation for educated people to provide their children with the education. They hope their children get educated and have more possibilities for their life.

Reproductive health[ edit]
Poor information and access to contraceptive methods often lead to unwanted pregnancies, especially among teenage girls and young women. The maternal mortality rate in Ecuador is 110 deaths/100,000 live births (as of 2010). The HIV/AIDS rate is 0.6% for adults (aged 15-49), as of 2012 estimates. Abortion in Ecuador is illegal, with only few exceptions for special circumstances. According to a Human Rights Watch report, legal abortion is usually denied to women, even in the case of rape. In recent years, being confronted with the highest teenage pregnancy rate in South America, Ecuador has decided to liberalize its policy regarding contraception, including emergency contraception.

A study was conducted in 2017 to identify infectious diseases associated to preterm delivery. This study focused on the effects of the Zika virus on pregnant women. The study found that thirty-two of the fifty-nine women tested were Zika positive. They found that the virus was prevalent in the women's reproductive tract. The Zika virus has been linked with birth defects in newborns. These defects include microcephaly, Gullian-Barra syndrome, and a weakened immune and nervous system.