This report, the third in UNESCO's series of World Education Reports, focuses on the largest single category of persons denied equality of educational opportunity in the world today: women and girls. The report examines global trends and developments in female access to formal education in both industrial and developing countries, focusing in particular on male-female disparities and gaps in key indicators (literacy rates, enrollment ratios, years of schooling, school retention and dropout rates, fields of study), as well as on girls' experiences in the educational process itself (such as pedagogy, testing, and assessment) and on the relationship between this process and adult life chances. Numerous figures, boxes, and tables are contained within the four chapters. Appendixes offer statistical notes, regional tables, world education indicators, and national reports and UNESCO reports, publications, and periodicals concerning education, 1993-95. (MLF)