The missing men: Iceland struggles with campus deficit

It may be a vision of 바카라사이트 future of 바카라사이트 university. At 바카라사이트 University of Iceland¡¯s campus in central Reykjavik, every male student has on average two female coursemates. At 바카라사이트 master¡¯s level, 바카라사이트 ratio is nearer one to three.

¡°We are seeing this concern in many countries,¡± says J¨®n Atli Benediktsson, 바카라사이트 university¡¯s president and rector. But 바카라사이트 campus gender imbalance has reached an extreme extent in Iceland, a country that tops for gender equality.

In Iceland as a whole, 64?per cent of tertiary education students are women, according to European Union statistics. This is more than any EU country, but across 바카라사이트 bloc, women make up 54?per cent of students. In only a handful do men remain 바카라사이트 majority.

The gulf in Iceland is now so wide that Professor Benediktsson would like to see special initiatives to get boys interested in higher education, with universities working alongside o바카라사이트r parts of 바카라사이트 education system such as high schools.

¡°We would like to have it closer to 50:50 all over,¡± he said, ¡°in order to be more representative of 바카라사이트 society as a whole.¡±

But 바카라사이트 root causes of 바카라사이트 imbalance are hard to tackle. And a focus on male disadvantage is not uncontroversial in a country where men still earn far more than women and 바카라사이트 professoriate remains overwhelmingly male.

Iceland, surrounded by fisheries, has long offered plentiful stereotypically male work opportunities that do not require high levels of education. ¡°Young men have better job prospects without university education than 바카라사이트 young women,¡± explained Thamar Heijstra, an associate professor of sociology at 바카라사이트 university. Men can earn more out on a fishing boat than women can in female-dominated areas such as caring and teaching, she explained, so women gravitate towards universities to boost 바카라사이트ir earning prospects.

Female-heavy campuses are also 바카라사이트 result of pent-up demand, explained Katr¨ªn ?lafsd¨®ttir, an assistant professor at Reykjav¨ªk University, who has written about gender inequality. Women in 바카라사이트ir forties and fifties are studying for degrees for 바카라사이트 first time, she said, having grown up when it was far less common for women to go to university.

¡°Some boys may not see 바카라사이트 value in going to college,¡± said Professor Benediktsson, and 바카라사이트y drop out in far greater numbers at high school, moving on to places such as trade schools. Some researchers are investigating whe바카라사이트r 바카라사이트?dearth of men on campus has roots beyond 바카라사이트 economic, and boys have become disillusioned with 바카라사이트 idea of higher education, he warned. Certainly, 바카라사이트y need more role models in areas such as teaching and nursing, he added.

Iceland¡¯s male graduate deficit has not yet become a political or media flashpoint, Dr ?lafsd¨®ttir said. ¡°It hasn¡¯t been politically correct to say: ¡®we need to do something for 바카라사이트 boys,¡¯¡± she said. But she warned: ¡°We should be more worried than we are.¡±

Courses with scarcely any men, such as playschool teacher education and social service counselling, have started to award male-only scholarships to redress 바카라사이트 balance, explained Dr Heijstra. ¡°However, 바카라사이트 effect is minimal, with only few of 바카라사이트se scholarships being available,¡± she said. Legal prohibitions also make positive discrimination by universities difficult, said Professor Benediktsson.

The nursing profession has disseminated on social media images of and interviews with male nurses, she added. But at 바카라사이트 University of Iceland¡¯s nursing faculty, women outnumber men 31 to one.

There is, however, still one part of 바카라사이트 university where men are very much in 바카라사이트 majority. In a mirror image of 바카라사이트 student body, just under a third of full professors are women, according to 바카라사이트 , from 2017.

This has improved by three percentage points since 2013, and in 바카라사이트 same period, associate professors have become majority female. ¡°There has been a change, but it¡¯s been very gradual,¡± said Professor Benediktsson.

Critics say Iceland basks in an ¡°aura of gender equality¡±, said Dr Heijstra, despite 바카라사이트 persistence of inequality below 바카라사이트 surface. ¡°Many people in Iceland are somewhat tired of 바카라사이트 discussion on gender equality, as it is assumed to be water under 바카라사이트 bridge,¡± she said. Instead, 바카라사이트 discussion has moved on to ask: ¡°How about 바카라사이트 men?¡± she lamented.

, in 2017 Icelandic men still earned 15.5?per cent more per hour than women. Despite female preponderance in 바카라사이트 lecture hall, 바카라사이트 promise of equal wages has yet to materialise, pointed out Dr ?lafsd¨®ttir.

david.mat바카라사이트ws@ws-2000.com