Gender is a key factor in outcomes of higher education in Australia.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) collects data annually on education attainment, most recently in Education and Work, Australia, May 2024, released on 8 November 2024 https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/education/education-and-work-australia/may-2024
In 2024, 47.1% of 25 to 34 year olds have at least a bachelor degree because 53.7% of young women are graduates and 40.7% of young men are graduates.
Degree Qualifications and 25-34 Year Olds
Bachelor Degree Completions
There were 130, 015 domestic Bachelor degree completions in 2023, on the basis of data from the Australian Department of Education and Training https://www.education.gov.au/higher-education-statistics/student-data/selected-higher-education-statistics-2023-student-data , released in September 2024.
The gender agenda is in play here also. Of 130,015 domestic Bachelor degree completions in 2023, 79,300 or 61.0% were women and 50,342 or 38.7% were men. This gender split means that 58% more women than men are completing Bachelor degrees.
Research Higher Degree Completions
At the other end of the higher education experience, there were 6,460 research higher degree completions (PhD or Masters by Research) by Australian students in 2023, again from https://www.education.gov.au/higher-education-statistics/student-data/selected-higher-education-statistics-2023-student-data, released in September 2024.
The gender agenda is in play here also. Of 6,460 domestic research higher degree completions in 2023, 3,621 or 56% were women and 2,820 or 44% were men. This gender split means that 28% more women than men are completing research higher degrees.
NSW Higher School Certificate 2024
Choice of field of education can occur at a young age.
There were 80,166 candidates for the Higher School Certificate in NSW in 2023. 41,304 (51.5%) were female, 38,757 (48.3%) were male, from the NSW Education Standards Authority at https://www.nsw.gov.au/education-and-training/nesa/hsc/facts-and-figures/2024-hsc-facts-and-figures/course-enrolments#toc-hsc-general-enrolments.
Only 5% of female HSC candidates in 2024 studied Physics, and only 5% of female HSC candidates in 2024 studied Economics.
Are young female students turning away from the key subjects Physics and Economics at 15 or 16 years of age?
Strategy and Policy are guided by Research in Education. Detail is in the paper The Gender Agenda at the What’s New page of http://www.spre.com.au
