Gender gap in outcomes in economics distance education: Age, work-life balance and COVID-19

What is it about?

There is an ongoing debate about whether gender equality in education has been achieved or not. However, there is not systematic research on gender differences in higher education, and few studies refer to distance education. We observe that adult outcomes differ from young outcomes in higher education and gender equality is far from achieved. This article presents a gender analysis of educational outcomes in economics at Spain’s leading distance university, UNED, which is also the largest university in the European Union in terms of enrolment. The COVID-19 lockdowns provided a social experiment where structural conditions were changed for men and women. This helps to understands the probable causes of changes in gender gap found. Before and after, women underperformed significantly in terms of passing and scoring, especially among those between 30 and 45 years of age, who are more likely to have young children. Both the distribution of family tasks biased against women and the higher average age of distance learning university students can explain that gender gaps are greater in nonface-to-face education. During the COVID-19 hard lockdown period the gender gap narrowed, as some men and women staying at home together were able to improve task sharing capabilities. After the lockdown, however, women’s results worsened compared to pre-COVID-19 levels. They continued performing the same family duties in addition to substituting education and caring services (e.g., nurseries and day centres for the elderly) that did not resume activity immediately or continuously, while men come back to regular work out home.

Featured Image

Photo by Alexander Dummer on Unsplash

Photo by Alexander Dummer on Unsplash

Why is it important?

The degree of sharing care and household responsibilities and tasks between men and women impact on all the activities in adult life. Thus, how men and women share care also impacts on higher education outcomes, equally as it impacts on their labour market position or the presence and conditions in fields as politics, social life or leisure. COVID19 lockdowns provided a social experiment. And data shows that if people don´t have access to educational and care services, there is a negative gender impact. When men are more present at home, they get more involved in home activities and this has a positive gender impact. Women assume most care and households which are not cover by other agents: men, public sector or organisations. This evidence provided by high education field gives relevant insights for public policies in general. Structural changes which affect how care is sharing in society has gender impacts across spheres of adults, no matter that they were unforeseen, as this case is. COVID19 hard and soft lockdowns changed structural conditions and men and women behaviours changed rapidly in one and other sense.

Perspectives