Men receive higher grades in third-level education despite the fact that women enter college with better Leaving Certificate results, a study has found.
A research paper to be published today by the Commission on the Points System found that 39 per cent of men gained first-class or higher second-class honours compared to 29 per cent of women.
The difference is most pronounced in the university sector where men are nearly twice as likely as women to be awarded a higher degree in the Humanities. In business subjects at third-level colleges 93 per cent of men received a second-class degree or higher compared with 66 per cent of women.
The study found greater gender equality in science subjects:
47 per cent of women attained high honours in sciences compared to 46 per cent of men. However, the paper also highlights that female students achieve on average 10 points more than male students in their science Leaving results. The study concludes that gender plays a role in determining the results achieved by students in college.
It says: "Although young women entering higher education tend to have higher Leaving Certificate points than men, nonetheless they do not receive a proportionate number of higher-level awards in the university or in the technological sector."
The results were compiled from a study of 1,042 students who entered college in 1992 from 27 higher education institutions in the Republic.
The research also investigated the link between social class and education. It found that students from working-class backgrounds were underrepresented in prestigious subjects such as medicine, law and architecture.
The study also found that 26 per cent of students entering third-level colleges in 1992 had not completed their course by 1998. This study will form part of the final report from the Commission on the Points System established in October 1997 to review the system of entry into third-level education. This report is expected to be published in the autumn.