Gender & Achievement: External Factors (AQA A Level Sociology): Revision Note

Statistics on gender & educational achievement

• Official statistics show there are differences in educational achievement based on gender:

  • Traditionally, boys achieved better results at A Level than girls

  • By the early 2000s, girls were doing better than boys at both GCSE and A Level

    • In 2023, girls outperformed boys in gaining grades A*-C by 5.8 percentage points

  • A Level results in 2014 suggest that the gender gap is narrowing

  • In 2015, women in the UK were 35% more likely than men to go to university

    • Men who start university tend to drop out

  • In 1990, 34,000 women graduated from universities compared to 43,000 men

  • By 2000, the pattern was reversed, as 133,000 women graduated compared to 110,000 men

• Sociologists argue that factors outside school have significantly contributed to the improvement in girls’ educational achievement. These include:

  • the influence of feminism

  • changes to the family

  • changes in women's employment

  • changing attitudes

Impact of feminism & changes in women’s employment

Impact of feminism

• The feminist movement has raised awareness of gender inequality in both private and public life

• Feminism has challenged traditional gender roles and improved women's rights and opportunities

• Although not all feminist aims have been achieved, changes in attitudes have raised girls’ expectations and ambitions

• McRobbie (1994): Girls' magazines shifted from focusing on marriage (1970s) to independence and careers (1990s)

Changes in the family

• There has been a rise in divorce rates, lone-parent families, and cohabitation, and a decline in first marriages

• These changes have led to more women taking on the role as the main earner, creating new role models for girls

• Girls are more likely to value education to secure independence, as women need well-paid jobs and therefore good qualifications

Changes in women's employment

• The 1970 Equal Pay Act and 1975 Sex Discrimination Act have made gender discrimination illegal and improved the employment options of females

• Women’s employment increased from 53% (1971) to 70% (2013)

• The growth of the service sector and flexible working has opened more job opportunities for women

• This encourages girls to see a future in employment, motivating them to gain qualifications

Changing attitudes and aspirations

• Girls’ ambitions have shifted significantly over time:

  • Sharpe (1994): In the 1970s, girls prioritised love and family; by the 1990s, they prioritised education, careers and independence

  • O’Connor (2006): Found that among 14–17-year-old girls, marriage and children were not a major part of their plans for the future

  • Beck & Beck-Gernsheim (2001): Girls now value individualism and self-sufficiency compared with previous generations of women

  • Fuller (2011): Some girls saw educational success as central to their identity and self-worth

Evaluation of external factors and gender differences in achievement

Criticisms

• Persistent gender inequality

  • Despite educational success, women remain under-represented in senior positions and continue to earn less than men on average (Women and Work Commission, 2016)

  • Therefore, an invisible barrier is still in place that prevents women from rising to the highest positions of power or leadership, even when they are qualified and capable

• Radical feminist view

  • Radical feminists argue that changes in education have not gone far enough to dismantle deeply rooted patriarchal structures within society and the curriculum

• Overlooks class differences

  • External factors do not affect all girls equally

  • Biggart (2002) found that many working-class girls continue to view motherhood as a more realistic goal than career success due to economic insecurity and low aspirations

• Traditional roles still influence some girls

  • Some girls continue to conform to gender stereotypes

  • This suggests that changing opportunities do not automatically transform gendered expectations or identities