Scottish universities could impose gender quotas by 2030

The Engineer 26 February 2016

A new report on the gender gap in Scottish universities has suggested that by 2030 no individual course will be permitted to have more than 75% male or female students, writes Andrew Wade for The Engineer.

The Gender Action Plan: Interim report is published by the Scottish Funding Council, and seeks to outline the actions required to help rebalance the gender gap. In Scotland, as across the United Kingdom, STEM subjects – science, technology, engineering and mathematics – in universities tend to be dominated by male students, while subjects such as psychology, teacher training, social studies and nursing are populated with a high proportion of women.

While the intention of the quotas is no doubt admirable, it raises questions around certain initiatives that are already under way in Scotland. Last week West College Scotland announced plans to create an all-female computing course in an effort to encourage higher female participation in IT. It is unclear whether exemptions will be in place for programmes such as this.
Full report on The Engineer site

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