Women Pull Ahead
The gender gap is widening.
By Kaspar Manz
Every year, young men and women sweat in classrooms, writing the final tests that will qualify them for higher education – be it at a university or at a university of applied sciences. In the past 35 years, there has been a change, though.
No longer are parents deciding that their "girl doesn't need a higher education, she'll marry" – quite the opposite. Women are pulling ahead. More women are getting the qualification than men.
The tables have turned: Women are the majority when getting the higher education qualifications
Difference in percentage points between women and men reaching higher education qualifications, as part of the age bracket in the canton
Experts see several effects at play here. Some argue that at the crucial moments, when the students have to decide which way to take, girls are further in their mental development than boys, giving them a clearer outlook to their future – and how to get there.
Others argue that new trends in education – less ex-cathedra teaching, more group work – might favour girls, as it lacks the competitive aspect supposedly preferred by boys.
Luckily, young men aren't just sorted out at an early age. While many of them choose to do a vocational training at first, leaving school in hope of a more hands-on experience, many will then do the higher education qualification at the end of their training, which allows them to study at universities of applied sciences.