Gender Inequality in Education: Past, Present, and Future

In the late nineteenth-century Britain, girls were taught domesticity, while boys learned mathematics for work. Women's entry into higher education was very slow. The situation began to change in the 1960s and 1970s. Today the secondary school curriculum no longer distinguishes between boys and girls. However, there are various other points of entry for the development of gender differences in education.

Some History

Until recently, it was common for storybooks in primary schools to portray boys as showing initiative and independence, while girls, if they appeared at all, were more passive. Stories written for girls take the form in a domestic or school setting. Boys' adventure stories are more wide-ranging, having heroes who travel off to distant places or who are sturdily independent. Females tend to be 'invisible' in most science and maths textbooks. Girls are more likely to be encouraged into less academically prestigious subjects than boys.

Narrowing the Gender Gap

In recent decades, girls have grown up surrounded by examples of working women. Teachers have become more aware of gender discrimination. By 1990, there were more women than men in further education (post-compulsory). By 2005, there were more women than men in higher education. By 2005, there were seven times as many female students in further and higher education than there had been in 1970, but only 2.5 times as many male students.

But Important Differences Remain

Women are concentrated in education, health, and service-related professions. In subjects such as social sciences, life sciences, and business management, gender parity has been achieved. However, the gap is very wide in computer science and engineering subjects. Women are under-represented in power positions in the education system. There remain significant inequalities once highly educated women move into the workforce.