Women surpass men in first-class degrees

Citation

(2001), "Women surpass men in first-class degrees", Education + Training, Vol. 43 No. 3. https://doi.org/10.1108/et.2001.00443cab.003

Women surpass men in first-class degrees

Women surpass men in first-class degrees

Keywords: United Kingdom, Gender, Women, Qualifications

Female students gained more first-class degrees than their male counterparts for the first time last year, according to the Higher Education Statistics Authority. Some 11,000 women were awarded first-class honours in 2000, compared with 10,800 men. A total of 263,700 students gained degrees last year, up 1 per cent on 1999. Out of 17 subjects, women were awarded more firsts in 12. Male students did better in mathematics, physics, computing, engineering and architecture. But the women gained more first-class degrees even in traditionally male-dominated areas such as agriculture, business and law. In 1995, 7,500 firsts were awarded to women, compared with 9,300 for men. Women are now the superior sex at every examination level. Girls gained more A-grade passes at A-level than boys last year. And girls have surpassed boys at GCSE every year since the qualification was introduced in 1988.