Gender gap in education
Gender gap in education

Author(s): Alicja Zawistowska
Subject(s): Education, School education, Adult Education, Higher Education
Published by: Fundacja Rozwoju Systemu Edukacji
Keywords: education;gender gap;STEM;mathematics;school decisions
Summary/Abstract: This book focuses on two issues related to gender differencesin education. The first is the advantage of females at the tertiarylevel, and the second is the underrepresentation of womenin maths. This book analyses these phenomena in the Polish context.The first part of the work compares the educational pathwaysof women and men in the 20th century from a horizontalperspective, i.e. school levels. The comparison shows both womenand men have been making different schooling decisions sincethe introduction of the universal and public education systemin Poland after the World War II. Women were permanently morelikely to choose secondary schools while men were more pronetowards basic vocational schools. This difference was inheritedfrom generation to generation and gave women an advantagein the secondary stage. Hence, when in the mid-1990s thesystem of higher education began to transform from theelite to the mass system, more females than males hadmatura and were allowed to enrol. As a result,women constitute more than a majority ofstudents and about 60% of graduates.

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