Women push ahead in degree stakes

Student numbers grew rapidly through the 1990s

Women are now more likely to attend university than men in the developed world.

Research from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, looking at long-term trends in education among member countries, shows that 53% of first-degree students are now women.

And that in 17 out of 25 developed industrial countries, there are more female than male undergraduate students.

"At all levels of education parity is increasing," said Andreas Schleicher of the OECD's education department, to the extent that "in some countries there is serious concern for boys being disadvantaged".

But despite women's increasing academic success, the report highlights the gap between male and female earning power - with women continuing to earn less than their similarly educated male counterparts.

The figures, published on Tuesday and based on data from 1997, show that this growing participation of women in higher education has contributed to a substantial overall growth in student numbers.

Drop-out rates

University education, once the preserve of a small minority, is now attended by 40% of young people (as an OECD average) - rising to over 50% in countries including Sweden, Norway and Finland.

The United Kingdom saw one of the largest increases in student numbers - rising by 88% between 1990 and 1997 to a higher education participation rate of 48%.

The OECD data, published as Education at a Glance, also shows that university drop-out rates in the United Kingdom are among the lowest among member countries.

In the UK, over 80% of students complete higher education courses, which the survey contrasts with much higher drop-out rates in countries including Italy, Portugal and Austria.