Gender gap at university has grown even wider

WOMEN are shooting further ahead of men in gaining entry to university, with the gender gap wider than ever, figures reveal.

University admissions figures released today show young women are now 35 per cent more likely to start a degree course than men – rising to 50 per cent among those from poor backgrounds – with tens of thousands of men ‘missing’ from higher education.

The total number of students entering university has increased to a record high, but while the number of women rose by 5 per cent on last year, the number of men rose by only 2 per cent.

Of the 463,715 UK candidates gaining a place this summer, only around 201, 60 – or 43.5 per cent – were male. Among 18-year-olds, 26.2 per cent of men started university compared with 35.4 per cent of women.

The data, published by universities admissions service Ucas, will fuel growing concerns that too many men are turning away from

‘Unacceptably

large gap’

education at an early age. Mark Corver, Ucas director of analysis and research, said: ‘We have seen quite a pronounced widening of the gap between men and women.

‘Young women are now 35 per cent more likely to enter higher education than men. This is the largest proportional gap that we have ever measured.’

He added that the difference equates to 36,000 fewer young men starting a degree course than if the entry rates were the same.

Ucas chief Mary Curnock Cook said: ‘We have previously highlighted the unacceptably large and widening gap between entry rates for men and women and this year shows young men, and especially young white men, falling even further behind.’

The body also pointed out the differences in admission rates between ethnic groups, with the rate for white students at 28 per cent – compared with 41 per cent for Asian students and 58 per cent for Chinese students.