Much has been written about the importance of education for girls, particularly the strong association between educational attainment and reproductive, maternal and child health in developing countries. The objective of this systematic review is to summarize and assess evaluations of policies and interventions to address gender-related barriers that are believed to undermine girls' school participation and learning. The authors define gender-related barriers as factors that prevent girls from enrolling, attending, fully participating and/or learning in school. Barriers may exist at the individual, household, community, school or policy levels and the authors draw on the work of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the Global Partnership for Education and the United Nations Girls' Education Initiative on barriers to girls' education to collate what barriers may exist.