Gender Differences in Education

Yuri Belfali

Gender differences in Education through the lens of PISA

Francesca Borgonovi

Educational attainment

Measured in the most common metric - years of schooling - the industrialised world

essentially closed the educational gender gap in the 1960s

Years of schooling over the 20th centuryOECD average

1896

-...

1901

-05

1906

-10

1911

-15

1916

-20

1921

-25

1926

-30

1931

-35

1936

-40

1941

-45

1946

-50

1951

-55

1956

-60

1961

-65

1966

-70

1971

-75

1976

-80

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

Men Women

Ave

rage

yea

rs o

f sch

ool-

ing

About half of the economic growth in OECD countries over the

past 50 years has been due to increased educational attainment,

and mainly among women

Source: Barro and Lee, 2013.

Gender difference in performance (15-year-olds)

OECD average-50-40-30-20-10

010203040

Reading

MathematicsScience

Scor

e po

int d

iffer

ence

(b

oys-

girls

)

Boys perform better

Girls perform better

Source: Table I.5.8a, I.2.8a, I.4.8a

In science, boys perform better than girls in most of the top performing countries

Sing

apor

eJa

pan

Esto

nia

Chin

ese

Taip

eiCa

nada

Hong

Kon

g (C

hina

)B-

S-J-G

(Chi

na)

Finl

and

New

Zea

land

Germ

any

Aust

ralia

Neth

erla

nds

Slov

enia

Unite

d Ki

ngdo

mSw

itzer

land

Belg

ium

Irela

ndPo

rtug

alDe

nmar

kPo

land

Aust

riaNo

rway

Unite

d St

ates

Czec

h Re

publ

icSp

ain

Fran

ceO

ECD

aver

age

Swed

enRu

ssia

Luxe

mbo

urg

Latv

iaCr

oatia

Hung

ary

Lithu

ania

Icela

ndSl

ovak

Rep

ublic

Chile

Gree

ceM

alay

siaUr

ugua

yBu

lgar

iaCo

sta

Rica

Unite

d Ar

ab E

mira

tes

Turk

eyCo

lom

bia

Mex

icoTh

aila

ndM

onte

negr

oQ

atar

Braz

ilPe

ruTu

nisia

Dom

inica

n Re

publ

ic

300

350

400

450

500

550

600

Girls BoysMean score (science)

Source: Table I.2.8a

In many countries, more boys than girls struggle to reach a baseline level of performance in science

Figure I.2.19

Dom

inica

n Re

publ

icKo

sovo

Tuni

siaJo

rdan

Peru

Qata

rMo

nten

egro

Thai

land

Unite

d Ar

ab E

mira

tes

Mexi

coMo

ldov

aCo

sta

Rica

Urug

uay

Malta

Chile

Lithu

ania

Hung

ary

Croa

tiaFr

ance

CABA

(Arg

entin

a)Cz

ech

Repu

blic

Norw

ayNe

ther

land

sBe

lgiu

mAu

stra

liaSp

ain

Portu

gal

Kore

aSl

oven

iaGe

rman

yIre

land

Chin

ese

Taip

eiHo

ng K

ong

(Chi

na)

Maca

o (C

hina

)Ja

pan0

102030405060708090

100Boys Girls%

Dom

inica

n Re

publ

icAl

geria

Indo

nesiaPeru

Mexi

coAl

bani

aTh

aila

ndMo

nten

egro

Mold

ova

Braz

ilTr

inid

ad a

nd T

obag

oUr

ugua

yGr

eece

Unite

d Ar

ab E

mira

tes

CABA

(Arg

entin

a)Sl

ovak

Rep

ublic

Russ

iaHu

ngar

ySp

ain

Malta

Hong

Kon

g (C

hina

)Vi

et N

amPo

land

Czec

h Re

publ

icFr

ance

Portu

gal

Maca

o (C

hina

)Sl

oven

iaSw

itzer

land

Kore

aAu

stra

liaFin

land

New

Zeal

and

B-S-

J-G (C

hina

)Ja

pan0

5

10

15

20

25

30Boys Girls%

But in a majority of countries a larger share of boys performs at the top in science.

Figure I.2.20

Despite similar average performance in science, boys are more likely to be TOP performers

-20

-10

0

10

20

30Average Lowest performers Highest performers

Boys perform better than girls

Girls perform better than boys

Source: Table I.2.8a, I.2.16d, I.2.17d, I.2.18d

99 Aptitude, behaviour, confidence

Despite major progress in closing gender gaps, we need to find new ways to address the social and

emotional aspects of opening children’s minds to their abilities and future careers

Girls are more likely than boys to have low self-efficacy in science (OECD average)

Recognise the science question that underlies a newspaper re-

port on a health issue

Explain why earthquakes occur more

frequently in some areas

than in others

Describe the role of antibiotics in the treatment of

disease

Identify the sci-ence question

associated with the disposal of

garbage

Predict how changes to an

environment will affect the survival of certain species

Interpret the sci-entific informa-

tion provided on the labelling of

food items

Discuss how new evidence can lead

you to change your understand-

ing about the possibility of life

on Mars

Identify the bet -ter of two expla-nations for the

formation of acid rain

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

Boys Girls%

Figure I.3.20

Percentage of students who reported they could do this "easily”

I often worry that it will be difficult for me

in mathematics classes

I get very tense when I have to do mathemat -

ics homework

I get very nervous do-ing mathematics prob-

lems

I feel helpless when doing a mathematics

problem

I worry that I will get poor marks in math-

ematics

01020304050607080

Boys Girls%

Girls are more anxious towards mathematics than boys (OECD average)

Source: Figure 3.10 (PISA 2012, ABC of Gender Equality)

In countries where there is a wider gap in self-efficacy in favour of boys, the achievement gaps among top-performing boys and girls tend to be wider

Figure I.3.23

-0.30 -0.20 -0.10 0.00 0.10 0.20 0.30 0.40 0.50 0.60-30

-20

-10

0

10

20

30

OECD average

CABA (Argentina)Costa Rica

Sweden

Bulgaria Romania

Jordan

Luxembourg

Viet Nam

UruguayPolandUnited STatesNorway

ChileDenmark

Hungary

ItalyCzech Rep.

AustraliaB-S-J-G (China)

TurkeyGeorgia

Chinese Taipei

MexicoPortugal

Iceland

RussiaKorea

Hong Kong (China)Qatar

JapanBelgium

Israel

Trinidad and Tobago

Croatia

Lithuania

FYROM

United Arab Emi-rates

Montenegro

Algeria

Ireland

Indonesia

Greece

New Zealand

Colombia

Tunisia

Peru

Macao (China)

Spain

Switzerland

Malta

EstoniaLebanon

Dominican RepublicNetherlands

GermanySingapore

Slovak Rep.

Austria

CanadaUnited Kingdom

Slovenia

FranceBrazil

KosovoFinlandThailand

Latvia

Moldova

R² = 0.1818176272233G

ende

r ga

p in

sci

ence

per

form

ance

am

ong

high

-ach

ievi

ng

stud

ents

(s

core

-poi

nt d

iffer

ence

at t

he 9

0th

perc

entil

e (b

oys –

girl

s))

Gender gap in self-efficacy(difference in mean index values (boys – girls))

Girls and boys have different interests in science topics (OECD average)

Figure I.3.12

Biosphere (e.g. ecosystem services, sustainability)

Motion and forces (e.g. velocity, fric-tion, magnetic and gravitational

forces)

Energy and its transformation (e.g. conservation, chemical reactions)

The Universe and its history

How science can help us prevent disease

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

All students Girls Boys

%

Percentage of students who reported that they are "interested" or "highly interested" in the following topics

Boys are more likely to report enjoyment of science than girls (OECD average)

Figure I.3.9

I like reading about <broad science>

I am happy working on <broad science> topics

I generally have fun when I am learn-ing <broad science> topics

I am interested in learning about <broad science>

I enjoy acquiring new knowledge in <broad science>

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

All students Girls Boys

%

Percentage of students who reported that they "agree" or "strongly agree" with the following statements

1515 Aptitude and confidence

Career choices seem to reflect aptitude and confidence more than performance

This is significant not only because women are severely under-represented in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields of study and

occupations, but also because graduates of these fields are in high demand in the labour market and because jobs in these fields are among the most highly paid.

More boys expect to have a career in engineering than girls while more girls expect to have a career in the health sector than boys

Figure I.3.5

...science and engineering professionals

...health professionals

...information and commu-nication technology (ICT)

professionals

...science-related techni-cians or associate pro-

fessionals

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20

5.3

14.4

0.4

0.8

12.2

5.9

4.8

2.1

Boys Girls

%

Students who expect to work as...

Doctors and nurses are from VenusUn

ited

Stat

es

4

Colo

mbi

a

2.8

Braz

il

2.7

Cana

da

3

Chile

3

Leba

non

1

.6

Unite

d Ar

ab E

mira

tes

2.

2

Alge

ria

2.3

Trin

idad

and

Tob

ago

4

.1

Thai

land

5

.2

Israe

l

2.2

Norw

ay

7.2

Icela

nd

4.4

New

Zea

land

3

.1

Pola

nd

4.3

Mal

aysia

2

.7

Spai

n

2.9

Slov

enia

3

.4

Belg

ium

2

.5

OEC

D av

erag

e

2.9

Arge

ntina

2

.4

Mac

ao (C

hina

)

2

Rom

ania

2

.3

Viet

Nam

1

.4

Sing

apor

e

1.9

Croa

tia

2.5

Geor

gia

2

.4

Russ

ia

2.9

Italy

2

.4

Swed

en

3.4

Fran

ce

2.5

Switz

erla

nd

3.5

Alba

nia

1

.2

Luxe

mbo

urg

2

.2

Czec

h Re

publ

ic

2.8

B-S-

J-G (C

hina

)

1.8

Germ

any

2

.9

05

1015

2025

3035

Boys Girls

% o

f boy

s an

d gi

rls e

xpec

ting

a ca

reer

as

heal

th p

rofe

ssio

nals

Girls

are

...

times

mor

e lik

ely

than

boy

s to

expe

ct a

ca-

reer

as h

ealth

pro

fess

iona

ls

PIF 69 Figure 2

Engineers and scientists are from Mars (for now)Do

min

ican

Rep

ublic

...

Peru

2

.1

Uni

ted

Arab

Em

irate

s ...

Chile

2

.3

Leba

non

2

Braz

il

1.7

Uni

ted

Stat

es

3.3

Cana

da

2.7

Uni

ted

King

dom

2

Colo

mbi

a

1.9

CABA

(Arg

entin

a)

...

Aust

ralia

2

.9

Arge

ntina

2

.1

Tuni

sia

1

.4

Irela

nd

2.6

Belg

ium

2

.6

OEC

D av

erag

e

2.4

Fran

ce

2.6

Koso

vo

1.8

Luxe

mbo

urg

2

Isra

el

1.7

Gre

ece

1

.4

Slov

enia

2

.3

Esto

nia

1

.6

Russ

ia

1.3

Kore

a

2.2

Mac

ao (C

hina

)

3.2

Croa

tia

1.7

B-S-

J-G

(Chi

na)

1.

4

Icel

and

1

.4

Mon

tene

gro

1

.2

Pola

nd

n.s

.

Mol

dova

n

.s.

Geo

rgia

2

.2

Thai

land

1

.6

Slov

ak R

epub

lic

1.6

Indo

nesi

a

1.7

05

1015

2025

3035

Boys Girls

% o

f boy

s an

d gi

rls e

xpec

ting

a ca

reer

as s

cien

ce a

nd

engi

neer

ing

prof

essi

noal

s

Boys are ... times more likely than girls to expect a career as scientists and engineers

Boys

are

... ti

mes

mor

e lik

ely

than

girl

s to

expe

ct a

care

er a

s sci-

entis

ts a

nd e

ngin

eers

1919 Closing the gaps

What's needed is neither extensive nor expensive reform but a concerted effort

by parents, teachers and employers

What parents can do

Hung

ary

(28

)

Port

ugal

(2

7)

Chile

(2

8)

Italy

(2

4)

Croa

tia

(18)

Germ

any

(19

)

Mex

ico

(21)

Hong

Kon

g-Ch

ina

(13

)

Kore

a (

7)

Mac

ao-C

hina

(1

0)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60 33 30 3330 25

2422

147 11

Boys Girls Gender gap%

Parents are more likely to expect their sons, rather than their daughters, to enter a STEM career – even when boys and girls perform equally well in school

Source: Figure 5.1 (PISA 2012, ABC of gender equality)

Gender gap among boys and girls with similar

results in mathematics, reading and

science performance

STEM stands for science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Percentage of students whose parents expect that they will work in STEM occupations

Shan

ghai

-Chi

na

-1.2

Kaza

khst

an

-1.2

Italy

-3

.1

Rom

ania

-1

.8

Viet

Nam

Aust

ralia

-1

.0

Lithu

ania

-2

.8

Hong

Kon

g-Ch

ina

-1.

8

Unite

d St

ates

-1

.8

Alba

nia

Colo

mbi

a -

0.6

Mex

ico

-0.6

Croa

tia

-2.2

Belg

ium

-1

.7

Cana

da

-1.8

Thai

land

-2

.0

Mal

aysia

-1

.0

OEC

D av

erag

e -

1.3

Fran

ce

-1.7

Urug

uay

-1.

1

Israe

l -1

.2

Germ

any

-1.

7

Denm

ark

-1.

2

Jord

an

-1.1

Japa

n -

0.6

Mon

tene

gro

-1.

8

Tuni

sia

-0.3

Cost

a Ri

ca

-0.4

Chile

-0

.5

Liech

tens

tein

Swed

en

-1.1

Czec

h Re

publ

ic -

0.9

Finl

and

-1.

1

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16Boys GirlsHours

Girls spend more than an hour more per week than boys doing homework, on average

Source: PISA 2012, Figure 2.12 (ABC of gender equality)

Size of the gender gap (when statistically significant)

Boys spend more time on the Internet than girls

Source: PISA 2012, ABC of gender equality, Figure 2.3

Boys

Girls

Boys

Girls

Boys

Girls

0 50 100 150 200

OECD average-29

Minutes

… at school

… outside school during the week

… outside school during the weekend



by parents, teachers and employers

What teachers can do

010203040506070

Boys Girls%

Boys and girls read different materials when they read for enjoyment (OECD average, PISA 2012)

Source: Figure 2.10

Colombia

Tunisi

a

Uruguay

Belgium

Portuga

l

Luxe

mbourg

Netherlands

Chile

Switz

erland

Mexico

Turke

y

Liech

tenstein

Qatar

OECD av

erage

Austria

Shan

ghai-

China

Canada

Irelan

d

Slova

k Republic

Greece

Czech

Republic

New Zeala

nd

Sweden

Slovenia

Romania

Albania

Lithuan

ia

Croatia

Israe

l

Kazakh

stan

Icelan

d05

101520253035404550

Girls NS Boys NS%

Boys are more likely than girls to have repeated a grade (PISA 2012)

Source: Figure 2.15

Alba

nia

Icel

and

Gree

ce

Spai

n

Israe

l

OEC

D av

erag

e

Unite

d St

ates

Chile

Denm

ark

Fran

ce

Indo

nesia

Peru

Bulg

aria

Mac

edon

ia (F

YR)

-12

-10

-8

-6

-4

-2

0

Marks given by teacher in readingGender differenceGender difference after accounting for PISA scores

Dif. in marks (B-G)

Teachers tend to give girls better marks – despite students’ performance in PISA 2012

Source: Figure 2.16Al

bani

a

Israe

l

Icel

and

Gree

ce

Unite

d St

ates

Spai

n

OEC

D av

erag

e

Indo

nesia

Bulg

aria

Chile

Mac

edon

ia (F

YR)

Peru

Denm

ark

Fran

ce

-8

-6

-4

-2

0

2

4

Marks given by teacher in mathematics

Gender differenceGender difference after accounting for PISA scores

Dif. in marks (B-G)

Boys awarded higher marks than girls

Girls awarded higher

marks than boysGirls

awarded higher marks than boys



by parents, teachers and employersWhat employers can do

Yes, at school Yes, outside of school No0

10

20

30

40

50

60Boys Girls

%

Large proportions of both boys and girls have not learned how to prepare themselves for a job interview (OECD average)

Source: Figure 4.4 (PISA 2012)

Do boys and girls know how to prepare themselves for a job interview?

01020304050607080

Boys Girls%

Boys are more likely than girls to get “hands-on” experience in the working world (OECD average)

Source: Figure 4.2

1. Institutions providing further education are ISCED 3-5 in the PISA 2012 questionnaire.

Japa

n

Finl

and

Neth

erla

nds

Kore

a

Flan

ders

Swed

en

Esto

nia

Aust

ralia

Czec

h Re

publ

ic

Germ

any

OEC

D av

erag

e

Aust

ria

Cana

da

Pola

nd

Norw

ay

Denm

ark

Slov

ak R

epub

lic

Fran

ce

Unite

d St

ates

Irela

nd

Unite

d Ki

ngdo

m

Russ

ian

Fede

ra...

Spai

n

Italy

250

260

270

280

290

300

310

Men Women Mean score

The gender gap in literacy narrows considerably by the time people are young adults (16-29 year-olds)

Source: Figure 4.15, PIAAC database.

Japa

n

Kore

a

Aust

ria

Nor

way

Net

herla

nds

Flan

ders

Fran

ce

Czec

h Re

publ

ic

Germ

any

Cana

da

Swed

en

Denm

ark

Unite

d St

ates

OEC

D av

erag

e

Unite

d Ki

ngdo

m

Irela

nd

Spai

n

Finl

and

Aust

ralia

Italy

Esto

nia

Slov

ak R

epub

lic

Russ

ian

Fede

ratio

n

Pola

nd

-0.30-0.20-0.100.000.100.200.300.400.50

Reading at work (index) Writing at work (index)Mean index difference (Men-Women)

Men are more likely than women to read and write at work

Source: Figure 4.19, PIAAC database.

Men are more likely to write and read at work

Women are more likely to write and read at work

Parents

EmployersTeachers

Challenge stereotypes about science-related occupations to help all boys and girlsachieve their potential

Encourage positive attitudes towards learning science among boys and girls.

Cultivate boys’ andgirls’ interests in a diverse range of science topics.

Policies and practices for gender equality

THANK YOU

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