It has been widely reported that girls are out-achieving boys as early as primary school in numeracy and literacy, with the trend continuing through GCSE's, A Levels and university admissions. HEPI now claims that this pattern remains evident post-university in the hunt for graduate jobs, with male graduates 50% more likely to remain unemployed than their female peers. Furthermore, co-author of the report Bahram Bekhradnia claims that this phenomenon is not limited to the UK but that 'similar findings are being made all over the world.'
Minister for Universities and Science, David Willetts, goes even further in claiming that 'feminism has trumped egalitarianism,' with an increasing inequality evident between social classes seen alongside female academic success. Whereas women from all social backgrounds are achieving highly both at university and in all sectors of graduate employment, Willetts claims that social privilege is still highly significant in the success of male graduates, leaving men from low-income backgrounds lagging behind.
Although illuminating, such a study should not be seen as indicating that female graduates are more likely to secure graduate jobs than their male friends, nor that male graduates face an even greater challenge than women. Instead it is more likely to reflect the success of the approach taken by many female graduates in applying for graduate jobs, an approach that emphasises the importance of strong communication skills, thorough research and dogged determination, and one that can be, and often is, employed by successful male candidates too. Statistics quoted by such studies should not encourage girls to rest on their laurels and assume the graduate recruitment process will be a doddle, nor leave male graduates feeling dejected and demoralised. The hunt for graduate jobs should instead be recognised as tough, and every effort should be made to ensure success regardless of gender, class or background.
