Chapter 1: A Difficult Balance: Policies on Gender Imbalances in the Higher Education Student Population in Flanders

Gender gaps in higher education have over the years been documented extensively. With regard to the entrance of students to higher education, in general, women have reversed the gap in OECD countries and their share of first-time new entrants is now larger than that of men (OECD, 2019). This does however not mean that gender differences are no longer important in higher education. The share of women is unevenly distributed in different fields of study, with an underrepresentation in STEM and an overrepresentation in health and welfare, and tends to decline with the education level (highest share in short cycle programs below bachelor level, lowest share in programs at master level, and underrepresentation at the doctoral level; OECD, 2019). Conversely, when it comes to completion rates, it is the men who are doing worse, and this is true across all OECD countries (OECD, 2019).