The gendered landscape of UK higher education: do men feel disadvantaged?

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

The landscape of UK higher education (HE) has changed significantly over the past decades. Key shifts relate to the changing gender balance of the undergraduate student body and to emergent gender gaps in retention and attainment. Men are now less likely to access HE, complete their degrees or achieve ‘Upper' degrees. There has been minimal empirical exploration of men’s perceptions of the current gender patterning of HE, and none focusing on the extent to which they identify as a minority, or experience minority disadvantage, within this context. This study explores these questions via analysis of quantitative and qualitative data from 333 male and female survey respondents. The findings suggest that men do not recognise themselves as comprising a disadvantaged minority within HE, and that both men and women perceive that women face greater challenges because of their gender, both during their studies and in relation to post-degree life chances.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)15-32
Number of pages18
JournalGender and Education
Volume31
Issue number1
Early online date20 Feb 2017
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2 Jan 2019

Keywords

  • Higher education
  • Men
  • Women
  • Gender
  • Minority status

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