Various reasons are given as to why two-thirds of all nonliterates are women. Most of these are cultural and economic.

Here are some common explanations:

• Families may attach much more importance to male offspring than to female offspring. Therefore, parents make much more of an effort to see that their male offspring go to school.
• Female children are needed at home more urgently to help the mother take care of the family. Their help with household chores is viewed as a higher priority than going to school.
• A female child may be less marriageable if she is too educated. It is a common perception that a young man would not want to marry a young woman who knows more than he does.
• There may be few jobs or positions in the society open to educated females. The family, then, has little economic incentive to educate a female child.

There are a number of reasons why the problem of female illiteracy has become something of a "cause" among planners and policy makers:

• First is the simple matter of equality of person. International sentiment is building against patterns of discrimination and inequality. While this often leads to a clash of values between cultures and peoples, advocates of gender equality maintain that such equality is a “higher value” than prevailing or traditional cultural values.
• Growing research suggests that mothers play a central role in supporting children's education. Nonliterate mothers, obviously, cannot be of much assistance to the child in the educational process. Conversely, literate and educated mothers not only push their children to go to school, but are also able to help them with their school work when they do go to school. Therefore, it is argued, literate mothers are a strong weapon in the fight against illiteracy.
• Women have economic potential just as men do. If women remain nonliterate, some of that economic potential is lost (as it is for men). Therefore, for a people or a nation to achieve development ideals, it is necessary that their female population be educated as well.
• Educated women tend to have fewer children than nonliterate women. There is a strong statistical correlation between education and number of children. Worldwide in developing countries, the average woman with no education gives birth to about eight children. The average for countries where there is no female illiteracy is three children. Each additional 20 percent of illiteracy correlates with another child. In countries where population growth is seen as a serious problem, female literacy and education is seen as a pressing priority.
• Similarly, there is a high correlation between female illiteracy and infant mortality (or life expectancy at birth). In countries with the highest rates of female illiteracy, life expectancy at birth is 41 years. In contrast, in countries with very low rates of female illiteracy, life expectancy at birth is 72--a huge difference. Life expectancy increases 3 years with each 10 percent increase in female literacy.

For many these statistics provide convincing evidence that women should be a primary focus of literacy programs. Such a focus, it is argued, provides the best return on investment for all concerned.