Gender gap in education. How society, economy, and culture influence educational choices of women and men in Poland

This book focuses on two issues related to gender differences in education. The first is the advantage of females at the tertiary level, and the second is the underrepresentation of women in maths. This book analyses these phenomena in the Polish context. The first part of the work compares the educational pathways of women and men in the 20th century from a horizontal perspective, i.e. school levels. The comparison shows both women and men have been making different schooling decisions since the introduction of the universal and public education system in Poland after the World War II. Women were permanently more likely to choose secondary schools while men were more prone towards basic vocational schools. This difference was inherited from generation to generation and gave women an advantage in the secondary stage. Hence, when in the mid-1990s the system of higher education began to transform from the elite to the mass system, more females than males had matura and were allowed to enrol. As a result, women constitute more than a majority of students and about 60% of graduates.

The publication is a translation from the Polish version: Zawistowska, A. (2023). Luka płci w edukacji. Wpływ społeczeństwa, ekonomii i kultury na wybory edukacyjne kobiet i mężczyzn. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo FRSE. https://doi.org/10.47050/67587051