Informal Institutions and Educational Attainment: A Gendered Analysis of Ghanaian Higher Education, 2021–2026

This original research article investigates the influence of informal institutions—specifically, familial expectations, community norms, and religious practices—on gendered educational outcomes within Ghanaian higher education. It addresses a critical gap by examining how these deeply embedded social structures, rather than formal policies, perpetuate disparities in access and attainment. Employing a rigorous qualitative, feminist methodology, the study analyses data from 40 in-depth, semi-structured interviews with female and male undergraduate students across three public universities, supplemented by focus group discussions with community elders and educators. The findings demonstrate that informal institutions consistently channel resources and encouragement towards male students, while imposing disproportionate domestic responsibilities and framing higher education as a lower priority for women. The analysis establishes that these informal constraints constitute a primary mechanism sustaining the ‘leaky pipeline’ phenomenon, where female representation declines at postgraduate levels. The research concludes that achieving substantive gender equity in African higher education necessitates a fundamental engagement with the informal sociocultural realm. Policy interventions must, therefore, move beyond legislative frameworks to actively transform community-level norms and kinship structures, advocating for culturally situated programmes that directly challenge and renegotiate these gendered expectations.