Traditional stereotypes remain the biggest challenge for gender equality in education

On June 7th 2010 the European Commission presented a new study which examines how gender inequality in education is addressed in European countries. It shows that gender differences persist in both choice of study and outcomes. The Commission study is based on the work the Eurydice network, which collects and analyses data on education systems. The study covers 29 countries (all EU Member States except Bulgaria, plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway).

Key findings of the study:

Gender roles and stereotypes are the main concern
With a few exceptions, all European countries have, or plan to have, gender equality policies in education. The primary aim is to challenge traditional gender roles and stereotypes. Other objectives include enhancing the representation of women in decision-making bodies, countering gender-based attainment patterns and combating gender-based harassment in schools. Government initiatives that aim to inform parents about gender equality issues and involve them more closely in promoting gender equality in education are rare.

Gender-sensitive vocational guidance is focused on girls
Many young men and women in vocational schools and general secondary education still opt for career choices reflecting traditional gender roles. Better vocational guidance is needed to address this issue and for career advisers to be more gender aware and thus more able to challenge stereotypes.

Gender-sensitive guidance, which is currently only available in half of the European countries, is more often targeted at girls than boys and usually aims to encourage girls to choose technology and natural science careers. Although interesting individual initiatives and projects exist, overall national strategies to combat gender stereotypes in career choices and initiatives aimed at boys are lacking.

Policies on higher education focus mainly on increasing numbers of women in maths, science and technology (MST)
Women represent the majority of students and graduates in almost all countries and dominate in education, health and welfare, humanities and arts. Men dominate in engineering, manufacturing and construction. Around two thirds of countries have gender equality policies in higher education. However, almost all these policies and projects target only females.

On the other hand, the proportion of women among teaching staff in higher education institutions declines with every step on the academic career ladder. However, only about a third of the countries have implemented concrete policies to address this problem.

Read more on http://ec.europa.eu/education/news/news2364_en.htm