International Women’s Day always offers a good opportunity to reflect on how far we have come and how far we still have to go when it comes to equality between the sexes.
In fact, there is a positive story to be told when it comes to women’s place in higher education. The higher education participation level for young women has now reached 56.6%, compared to only 44.1% for young men. We have previously written about this gap and underachievement by young men in higher education. While this topic garners a great deal of controversy, it is one we must seek to address in striving for equality.
However just looking at participation levels does not show the full picture. There are still significant gender differences between subjects, for example women are much less likely to study most STEM subjects.
Given women’s high levels of participation in higher education, we might expect female graduates to have greater opportunities when they go into the workplace. However last week’s report by the Institute for Fiscal Studies, looking at lifetime returns from higher education looking at graduate earnings, showed the picture to be more complex. 85% of women gain ‘positive net lifetime returns’ from higher education, compared to only around three quarters of men. On average, a university education leads to an increase in net earnings of about 20%. But the difference between male graduates and female graduates is stark: the estimated gain to the exchequer of individuals attending HE is around £110k per student for men and £30k per student for women.
There remain a variety of explanations for the gender pay gap: women taking time out to have children, occupations which receive lower pay often being dominated by women and, in some cases, companies continuing to pay women less for the same work. This highlights the difficulty with assuming the influence universities can have on their Longitudinal Educational Outcomes (LEO) data: Cranfield University, where the student body is 74% male, may have very different earnings data to Bishops Grossteste, where the student body is 80% female. It also shows the risks of using LEO data to classify which courses are ‘low quality/value’. There may be courses which appear to offer poor returns when looking at averages, but in which women still see higher salary returns than non-graduates. That is without considering the wider benefits offered beyond earnings.
Looking at these averages alone still doesn’t provide a full picture. We know when other characteristics intersect with gender, such as ethnicity, sexual orientation and disability, the gap grows even wider. Similarly, this does not even start to look at the gender differences seen in university staff, where women make up 55% of the total staff population, but only 29% of Vice-Chancellors and 37% of senior leadership teams. The gender pay gap of staff in universities is 15.9%, compared to the median level of 9.7% in other sectors.
We have made great steps in the proportion of women now entering higher education and achieving academically. It is clear, even if only looking at the economic returns, that it is valuable for women to go on to higher education. But it is also clear that the labour market they go on to enter still has a long way to go in terms of equality, even when looking at universities own labour force.
For International Women’s Day in previous years, HEPI has written about gendered data bias (2019), sexual harassment in higher education (2018) and the challenges facing female academics (2017).
The below table takes the latest HESA staff and student data, to show the gender make up of universities across the UK.
| University | Proportion of male students | Proportion of female students | University | Proportion of female staff | Proportion of male staff |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cranfield University | 74% | 26% | Leeds College of Music | 64% | 36% |
| Leeds College of Music | 70% | 30% | Royal Academy of Music | 59% | 42% |
| London Business School | 64% | 36% | Royal College of Music | 58% | 41% |
| Heriot-Watt University | 60% | 40% | The University College of Osteopathy | 55% | 41% |
| Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine | 60% | 40% | Cranfield University | 55% | 45% |
| Loughborough University | 59% | 41% | Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine | 54% | 46% |
| Solent University | 56% | 44% | Guildhall School of Music and Drama | 54% | 46% |
| The University of Portsmouth | 54% | 46% | Royal Northern College of Music | 54% | 47% |
| Brunel University London | 54% | 46% | Solent University | 54% | 46% |
| The National Film and Television School | 53% | 45% | Heriot-Watt University | 52% | 48% |
| The University of Cambridge | 53% | 47% | The National Film and Television School | 52% | 48% |
| Swansea University | 53% | 47% | London School of Economics and Political Science | 52% | 48% |
| The University of Bath | 53% | 47% | Ravensbourne University London | 51% | 49% |
| Aston University | 52% | 48% | Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance | 50% | 50% |
| Coventry University | 52% | 48% | The University of Bath | 50% | 50% |
| The University of Oxford | 52% | 48% | London Metropolitan University | 50% | 50% |
| Ravensbourne University London | 51% | 48% | City, University of London | 50% | 50% |
| Royal Northern College of Music | 51% | 49% | The Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts | 50% | 50% |
| Staffordshire University | 51% | 49% | The University of Manchester | 50% | 50% |
| University of Abertay Dundee | 51% | 49% | Royal Holloway and Bedford New College | 50% | 50% |
| Royal Academy of Music | 51% | 49% | The University of Sheffield | 49% | 50% |
| AECC University College | 50% | 50% | Aston University | 49% | 51% |
| Royal College of Music | 50% | 50% | The University of St Andrews | 49% | 51% |
| Royal Agricultural University | 50% | 50% | Brunel University London | 49% | 51% |
| The University of Lancaster | 49% | 50% | Queen Mary University of London | 49% | 51% |
| Guildhall School of Music and Drama | 49% | 50% | Loughborough University | 49% | 51% |
| The University of Warwick | 49% | 51% | Aberystwyth University | 49% | 51% |
| Newcastle University | 48% | 51% | The University of Cambridge | 49% | 51% |
| The University of Strathclyde | 48% | 52% | The University of Strathclyde | 49% | 51% |
| Buckinghamshire New University | 48% | 52% | The University of West London | 49% | 51% |
| University of St Mark and St John | 47% | 53% | Falmouth University | 49% | 52% |
| SRUC | 47% | 52% | University of South Wales | 49% | 51% |
| The University of Sheffield | 47% | 53% | The University of Oxford | 49% | 51% |
| The University of Southampton | 47% | 53% | Norwich University of the Arts | 48% | 52% |
| The University of Buckingham | 47% | 53% | Birkbeck College | 48% | 52% |
| The University of Kent | 47% | 53% | The University of Leicester | 48% | 52% |
| London School of Economics and Political Science | 46% | 53% | The University of Birmingham | 47% | 53% |
| The University of Leicester | 46% | 54% | Royal Conservatoire of Scotland | 47% | 52% |
| Harper Adams University | 46% | 54% | The University of Southampton | 47% | 53% |
| Gower College Swansea | 46% | 58% | University College London | 47% | 53% |
| University of Durham | 46% | 54% | Liverpool John Moores University | 47% | 53% |
| Liverpool John Moores University | 46% | 54% | The University of Lancaster | 47% | 53% |
| St Mary's University, Twickenham | 46% | 54% | The University of Edinburgh | 47% | 53% |
| Aberystwyth University | 46% | 54% | The University of Surrey | 47% | 53% |
| The University of Surrey | 46% | 54% | The University of Westminster | 47% | 53% |
| The University of Manchester | 46% | 54% | The University of Warwick | 47% | 53% |
| University of Nottingham | 46% | 54% | University of Nottingham | 47% | 53% |
| The University of Exeter | 46% | 54% | Birmingham City University | 47% | 53% |
| The University of Salford | 45% | 54% | Newcastle University | 46% | 54% |
| The University of Lincoln | 45% | 55% | The University of Lincoln | 46% | 54% |
| Queen Mary University of London | 45% | 55% | The University of Greenwich | 46% | 53% |
| The University of Essex | 45% | 55% | De Montfort University | 46% | 54% |
| The University of Liverpool | 45% | 55% | The University of Bolton | 46% | 54% |
| University of Northumbria at Newcastle | 45% | 55% | The University of York | 46% | 54% |
| Sheffield Hallam University | 45% | 55% | The University of Sussex | 46% | 54% |
| Bournemouth University | 45% | 55% | The University of Salford | 46% | 54% |
| De Montfort University | 45% | 55% | University of Abertay Dundee | 46% | 54% |
| Birkbeck College | 45% | 55% | The University of Exeter | 46% | 54% |
| The University of Sussex | 45% | 55% | The University of Leeds | 46% | 54% |
| University of the West of England, Bristol | 44% | 56% | Swansea University | 46% | 54% |
| Teesside University | 44% | 56% | Queen's University Belfast | 46% | 54% |
| Leeds Beckett University | 44% | 56% | Edinburgh Napier University | 46% | 54% |
| Edinburgh Napier University | 44% | 56% | Leeds Beckett University | 46% | 54% |
| The University of Bristol | 44% | 56% | Coventry University | 46% | 54% |
| The University of Reading | 44% | 56% | London South Bank University | 45% | 55% |
| The Nottingham Trent University | 44% | 56% | The University of Bristol | 45% | 55% |
| The University of York | 44% | 56% | University of Durham | 45% | 55% |
| University of South Wales | 43% | 56% | The Manchester Metropolitan University | 45% | 55% |
| The University of Bradford | 43% | 57% | Royal College of Art | 45% | 55% |
| The Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts | 43% | 57% | St Mary's University College | 45% | 55% |
| Cardiff Metropolitan University | 43% | 57% | Goldsmiths College | 45% | 55% |
| University of Wales Trinity Saint David | 43% | 57% | University of Northumbria at Newcastle | 45% | 55% |
| The University of Hull | 43% | 57% | SOAS University of London | 45% | 55% |
| The University of Huddersfield | 43% | 57% | The University of Glasgow | 45% | 55% |
| The University College of Osteopathy | 43% | 58% | Cardiff University | 45% | 55% |
| City, University of London | 43% | 57% | The University of East London | 45% | 55% |
| Ulster University | 43% | 57% | The University of Liverpool | 45% | 55% |
| Royal Holloway and Bedford New College | 43% | 57% | Bournemouth University | 45% | 55% |
| Queen's University Belfast | 42% | 58% | King's College London | 45% | 55% |
| The University of Birmingham | 42% | 58% | The University of Portsmouth | 44% | 56% |
| University of Hertfordshire | 42% | 58% | Staffordshire University | 44% | 56% |
| Royal Conservatoire of Scotland | 42% | 57% | Ulster University | 44% | 56% |
| University of Plymouth | 42% | 58% | The University of Chichester | 44% | 56% |
| Glasgow Caledonian University | 42% | 58% | The University of Kent | 44% | 56% |
| The University of Central Lancashire | 42% | 58% | The University of East Anglia | 44% | 56% |
| The University of Aberdeen | 42% | 58% | The Arts University Bournemouth | 44% | 56% |
| The University of Greenwich | 41% | 59% | Royal Agricultural University | 44% | 54% |
| Falmouth University | 41% | 58% | The University of Huddersfield | 44% | 56% |
| University of Gloucestershire | 41% | 59% | The University of Bradford | 44% | 56% |
| The University of St Andrews | 41% | 59% | The University of Essex | 44% | 56% |
| The Manchester Metropolitan University | 41% | 59% | The Nottingham Trent University | 43% | 56% |
| London South Bank University | 41% | 59% | Glasgow School of Art | 43% | 57% |
| Kingston University | 41% | 59% | Middlesex University | 43% | 57% |
| Glyndŵr University | 41% | 59% | University of Hertfordshire | 43% | 57% |
| Keele University | 41% | 59% | The University of Hull | 43% | 57% |
| University of Derby | 41% | 59% | University of Gloucestershire | 43% | 57% |
| University College London | 41% | 59% | University of the Arts, London | 43% | 58% |
| Middlesex University | 41% | 59% | Bath Spa University | 43% | 57% |
| The University of Westminster | 40% | 60% | University of Wales Trinity Saint David | 43% | 57% |
| Cardiff University | 40% | 60% | The University of Reading | 43% | 57% |
| The University of East Anglia | 40% | 60% | The University of Sunderland | 43% | 57% |
| Bangor University | 40% | 60% | The University of Aberdeen | 42% | 58% |
| Rose Bruford College of Theatre and Performance | 40% | 60% | Kingston University | 42% | 58% |
| Oxford Brookes University | 40% | 60% | Buckinghamshire New University | 42% | 58% |
| The University of Glasgow | 40% | 59% | SRUC | 42% | 58% |
| The University of Sunderland | 40% | 60% | The University of Dundee | 42% | 58% |
| The University of Bolton | 40% | 60% | Oxford Brookes University | 42% | 58% |
| University of Bedfordshire | 40% | 60% | The University of Brighton | 42% | 58% |
| The University of Leeds | 39% | 61% | Cardiff Metropolitan University | 42% | 58% |
| University of the Highlands and Islands | 39% | 61% | Sheffield Hallam University | 42% | 58% |
| University of Suffolk | 39% | 61% | The University of Central Lancashire | 42% | 58% |
| The University of Edinburgh | 39% | 61% | The Institute of Cancer Research | 41% | 59% |
| The Open University | 39% | 61% | Liverpool Hope University | 41% | 59% |
| The University of East London | 38% | 62% | University of the West of England, Bristol | 41% | 59% |
| The Robert Gordon University | 38% | 62% | University of London (Institutes and activities) | 41% | 58% |
| The University of Brighton | 38% | 62% | University of Derby | 41% | 59% |
| The University of West London | 38% | 62% | York St John University | 41% | 59% |
| The Institute of Cancer Research | 38% | 62% | University of Plymouth | 41% | 59% |
| Norwich University of the Arts | 38% | 62% | Bangor University | 41% | 59% |
| The University of Chichester | 37% | 63% | The University of Winchester | 41% | 59% |
| Birmingham City University | 37% | 63% | Conservatoire for Dance and Drama | 41% | 59% |
| The University of Wolverhampton | 37% | 63% | St Mary's University, Twickenham | 41% | 59% |
| University of London (Institutes and activities) | 37% | 63% | Leeds Arts University | 40% | 58% |
| The University of the West of Scotland | 36% | 64% | The University of the West of Scotland | 40% | 60% |
| Roehampton University | 36% | 64% | Anglia Ruskin University | 40% | 60% |
| Anglia Ruskin University | 36% | 64% | The Open University | 39% | 61% |
| The University of Northampton | 36% | 64% | London Business School | 39% | 61% |
| The University of Stirling | 36% | 64% | The University of Buckingham | 39% | 60% |
| King's College London | 36% | 63% | Teesside University | 39% | 61% |
| Leeds Trinity University | 36% | 64% | Harper Adams University | 39% | 61% |
| The University of Dundee | 35% | 64% | Roehampton University | 39% | 60% |
| Conservatoire for Dance and Drama | 35% | 64% | The University of Stirling | 39% | 61% |
| London Metropolitan University | 35% | 65% | Hartpury University | 39% | 61% |
| St George's, University of London | 35% | 65% | The Robert Gordon University | 39% | 61% |
| Goldsmiths College | 34% | 66% | Rose Bruford College of Theatre and Performance | 39% | 61% |
| SOAS University of London | 34% | 66% | Newman University | 39% | 59% |
| York St John University | 34% | 66% | The University of Wolverhampton | 39% | 61% |
| Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance | 33% | 66% | The University of Northampton | 39% | 61% |
| Royal College of Art | 33% | 66% | Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine | 39% | 61% |
| University of Cumbria | 33% | 67% | The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama | 39% | 61% |
| The University of Winchester | 33% | 67% | University for the Creative Arts | 39% | 61% |
| London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine | 33% | 67% | Keele University | 39% | 61% |
| Glasgow School of Art | 32% | 67% | London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine | 39% | 62% |
| The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama | 32% | 68% | Leeds Trinity University | 38% | 62% |
| University College Birmingham | 32% | 68% | Plymouth College of Art | 38% | 62% |
| Hartpury University | 32% | 68% | Canterbury Christ Church University | 38% | 62% |
| Edge Hill University | 31% | 69% | University of Chester | 38% | 61% |
| Bath Spa University | 31% | 69% | Glasgow Caledonian University | 38% | 62% |
| Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine | 31% | 70% | AECC University College | 38% | 63% |
| University of Chester | 31% | 69% | University College Birmingham | 37% | 63% |
| The Arts University Bournemouth | 31% | 69% | Glyndŵr University | 36% | 64% |
| Liverpool Hope University | 30% | 69% | University of the Highlands and Islands | 36% | 64% |
| Canterbury Christ Church University | 30% | 70% | University of Bedfordshire | 36% | 64% |
| University of Worcester | 30% | 70% | University of Suffolk | 36% | 64% |
| University for the Creative Arts | 30% | 70% | St George's, University of London | 36% | 64% |
| Plymouth College of Art | 30% | 70% | Edge Hill University | 35% | 65% |
| St Mary's University College | 28% | 72% | Stranmillis University College | 35% | 65% |
| University of the Arts, London | 25% | 75% | Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh | 35% | 65% |
| Newman University | 24% | 76% | University of St Mark and St John | 35% | 65% |
| Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh | 24% | 76% | University of Cumbria | 34% | 66% |
| Leeds Arts University | 22% | 77% | University of Worcester | 34% | 66% |
| Writtle University College | 21% | 79% | Bishop Grosseteste University | 33% | 67% |
| The Royal Veterinary College | 21% | 79% | Writtle University College | 32% | 66% |
| Bishop Grosseteste University | 19% | 80% | The University of Wales (central functions) | 32% | 68% |
| Courtauld Institute of Art | 19% | 81% | The Royal Veterinary College | 31% | 68% |
| Stranmillis University College | 18% | 82% | Courtauld Institute of Art | 25% | 75% |
The blog raises an interesting question.
Is the right answer to e.g. graduates from working-class background, those from some ethnic minorities and those from “left-behind towns” doing less well in the labour market than similarly qualified white middle-class graduates in the southeast to restrict the number of people from these backgrounds who can access those qualifications?
Is that effectively what we’re going to end up with given the likelihood of simplistic LEO-based metrics determining what a low-value course is?
Very interesting commentary to the numbers.
Basically the article feels very misandrist. The jest of it is:
“We successfully pushed boys down in education, and the trend for boys participation is going down. But there is more to do – boys still dominate some fields and we must push them down there as well. Boys still manage to outearn girls in the later life, but hopefully if we continue pushing boys down, we can get proper equity”.
How can anyone even talk about helping girls in education when boys are now struggling more?
I can’t agree more Stan. Seems like we should be striving for excellence with both genders? I’d like to see numbers closer to 50:50 male:female.
Very true Stan.
Without any intention of coming across as controversial, Stan, I think you are reading it only from your own perspective, a White middle-class man. The question here is why two people that have achieved the same qualification have different retribution
‘the estimated gain to the exchequer of individuals attending HE is around £110k per student for men and £30k per student for women.’
That is the real question.