Why are girls less likely than boys to apply for top universities?

Gender a far more persistent factor than socio-economic differences when it comes to who applies to elite universities, experts tell Maya Oppenheim

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Boys are more likely to apply for Oxbridge and other top universities than their female classmates, according to new research, prompting questions about why this gender gap exists.

A study by University College London’s Institute of Education found 15-year-old boys had more ambitious goals for university than girls of the same age, even when they had come from similar family backgrounds, attended the same school and performed equally well in exams.

Dr Nikki Shure, one of the report’s authors, told The Independent the gender gap between students applying for Oxbridge could be linked to girls having less confidence because they've faced sexism during their early years.

She said: “They may be less confident and that could of course be driven by sexism. It could make them less keen to articulate these plans.

“We saw these trends across girls of a range of abilities. We still see it among the girls who are doing really well at school. We see it for the girls who really could go to Oxbridge or a Russell group university. It is especially worrying that we still see that gender difference there.

“One explanation could be women being less likely to want to compete. We know from other studies that even really qualified women, who perform really well, shy away from competition. And you can think about applying for Oxbridge as a form of competition - it is a really elite thing. A really small proportion of undergraduates are going to be accepted there.

“There is also some evidence of women being more likely to apply for their closest university so they are close to their parents, family and their networks, but I don’t think that is the main explanation. Historically, these institutions were restricted to males. Fewer women have been to these institutions so there are less female role models. We need to help high achieving girls make concrete, specific, high-achieving plans.”

A study by Plan International UK which came out earlier in the year found six in 10 girls and young women felt that males get greater treatment, and 57 per cent said they had been in a situation where they believe they would have received better treatment if they were a boy.

Professor John Jerrim, who co-wrote the study, said: “We thought there would be a really big socio-economic difference in who wants to go to an elite university, but were surprised at how persistent the gender difference is.”

Jacqui Hunt, of Equality Now, told The Independent: “It is disheartening but not surprising to hear that girls are still less likely than their male counterparts to apply to top universities. Deep-rooted sexism continues to manifest in words, images, ideas and action that permeate societies and prevent girls and young women from fulling their potential.

”Men still hold the majority of highest level positions, such as amongst lawmakers, judges and law enforcers, and much more needs to be done to address this imbalance so that young women can aspire to these roles and have the means to rise to the top.

“We need to do more to end harmful stereotypes that are portrayed in the media about ‘pink’ jobs for women and ‘blue’ jobs for men. Positive change must also involve a move towards more inclusive, flexible working practices that benefit women and families and the disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic provides an opportunity for this.”