Gender Inequality: Boys Falling Behind

Gender inequality is not just about the advancement of women and girls, but also about the boys and men who have fallen behind. There are significant gender gaps with boys lagging behind girls in education, particularly in college campuses. Two-thirds of top academic performers in high school are girls, while two-thirds at the bottom are boys. This trend is not limited to the US, as there is an average 13 percentage point gap in college degree attainment between young men and young women in the 20 most economically advanced countries. In some countries, such as Norway, the gap is even larger. These differences at the college level reflect what is happening earlier in the school system.