/nginx/o/2013/07/24/1918108t1h0b25.jpg)
Nowhere in Europe do men lag as far behind, in education, as in Estonia – for every hundred male students, over 150 ladies enter universities. Among graduates, women are twice as abundant.
Male Estonians kept outside of education
Please note that the article is more than five years old and belongs to our archive. We do not update the content of the archives, so it may be necessary to consult newer sources.
Of applications filed to enter Tallinn University last year, 70 per cent came from women; today, the female dominance is even greater: 72 versus 28 per cent i.e. 256 girls for a hundred boys.
With University of Tartu, however, slight shrinking of the gender gap is to be detected. While last year’s applicants were 64 per cent female and 36 per cent male, this year it is 62:38.
Low male participation in higher education was also underlined as problematic in Estonian Human Development Report (HDR). «This is definitely a problem. There are specialties where gender balance is vital. I think this would be important in social sciences,» said Marju Lauristin, a professor at University of Tartu and a HDR veteran.
Individual admission
According to her, the gender gap might be reduced by a more individual order of admissions in universities, as girls excel with formal exam results, interviews allowing assessing other personal characteristics.
Considering the smallness of Estonia, individual approach should not be difficult to use. According to Ms Lauristin, every youth ought to be valuable enough not to let them study things they are unfit for, or be left outside of the higher education system due to the formal «point count».
Mati Heidmets, professor of psychology at Tallinn University and editor-in-chief of HDR 2013, is convinced the higher education gender gap is not just a problem but a nasty destroyer of society – resulting in a situation where many educated ladies do not find a spouse and turn their eyes abroad.
Girlish education
«Boys are not more stupid; often, they are just different. Estonian schools wear the good-girl-face; sadly, many a boy will never be able to adjust to that,» said Mr Heidmets. According to him, schools should not just aim at stuffing students’ head with knowledge; rather, they should turn young guys into men.
Mr Heidmets agrees with Ms Lauristin: at admissions, academic tests and specialty-related interviews should be used.
As revealed by EU gender equality index, specialty choices of men and women vary, with «traditional» female and male specialties developed. According to the index, 40 per cent of all female students study specialties related to health care, education and arts; the corresponding male percentage being a mere 13.2.
«In any case, gender equality in education is a complex issue, requiring thorough study and broad analysis,» said Estonia’s equality commissioner Mari-Liis Sepper.