“Is it a boy? Then new parents (according to statistics) must prepare for bigger problems. This is what Martin Spiewak writes at ZEIT ONLINE. ‘In their development, boys lag behind girls. They are more likely to suffer from autism, ADHD, or dyslexia’ and have lower school grades.”

There is little concern in this country about the global boys’ crisis. The #GenderEducationGap: hardly known.

  • Girls have long been ahead in reading, but now they also lead in the sciences (only in math are boys still slightly better).

  • Today, 55% of girls and 43% of boys pass the Abitur. Girls are 80% more likely to achieve top marks.

  • Percentage of women in medical studies: 64%, in psychology: 80%; for university degrees (overall): 52.5%.

“As soon as both genders have the same access to education, women perform better. But why is that?” asks Spiewak.

  • Girls have a “higher intrinsic interest in school” and more self-discipline. For boys, good academic performance is generally seen as uncool.

  • Bias in grading: Teachers often automatically expect better performance from girls – and generally give boys lower grades.

  • Boys are late bloomers, both physically and psychosocially. “When girls, at 15 or 16, kick into high gear on the long journey of learning, many boys are still trotting along – or veer off course.”

One reason for the lack of concern about boys’ struggles: the strength of men, because “they still dominate at the top of the hierarchy.” Future men, therefore, don’t need support – in the end, they’ll win anyway.
“But this thinking is flawed. Today’s losers are not tomorrow’s winners. Someone with a poor school record won’t become a DAX executive.” And educational underperformers impose costs on society: fewer tax revenues, higher social spending, more crime.
Moreover, “while young women tend to become more liberal, young men are increasingly leaning to the right. (…) Because they feel like losers of modernization. Because they see that women are overtaking them. Because they see their traditional role being questioned, without finding a replacement.”

  • Teachers should be aware that boys have a harder time in school. More men in education would be beneficial, also as role models.

  • “Do schools need to become more masculine, or boys more feminine? The answer is: both.” “Masculine” traits such as competitiveness and dominance have little future in education and the workplace, unlike “feminine” skills like creativity, communication, and cooperation.

  • Additional ideas: enroll boys in school a year later; create support programs for young men who want to become educators, teachers, or caregivers. Raising awareness of boys’ issues strengthens gender equality policies: “Gender equality is not about just one gender.”

herVIEW - Natascha Hoffner

Posted by Natascha Hoffner, Founder & CEO of herCAREER, WiWo columnist, LinkedIn TOP Voice 2020, W&V 2019 – 100 Köpfe
published on LinkedIn on 01.10..2024

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