The 'Gender Education Transition': What it Might Mean for the Labour Market.

Abstract

While overall tertiary education participation has been rising, some groups are lagging. Men, and particularly Maori and Pacific men, are increasingly underrepresented in many education institutions, especially at higher levels of education. For example, in 1994 in the under 30 age group and when foreign students are excluded there were 13% more women than men enrolled in degree courses. By 2004 this had risen to 36%. For Maori undertaking degrees, the difference had risen from 21% to 79% in 2004, while for Pacific students the figures have gone from 27% to 52%. The cohorts that are part of this tertiary ‘education transition’ are now a key part of the population that are forming couples or deciding to live on their own, establishing their careers and deciding whether to have children. Some of the possible implications of this ‘education transition’ for the labour market are explored.