This research was undertaken to better understand the changing patterns of gender differences in higher education. While women’s university participation has increased markedly, men’s enrollment has declined, raising important questions about the drivers of this trend. At the same time, persistent differences in men’s and women’s choice of field of study continue to shape occupational trajectories and earnings, contributing to enduring gender gaps in the labor market. Examining these dynamics provides insight into how educational decisions reinforce broader inequalities in economic outcomes.
Over the past 30 years, women consistently enrolled in university at higher rates than men, with the gap widening from 10 to 16 percentage points. Women’s enrollment also rose more strongly than men’s when tuition increased. In field-of-study choices, both genders reduced participation in traditional STEM, though the gender gap narrows when Health is included, partly due to 2005 tuition discounts in nursing and teaching. Adding Business and Economics shows little overall change. Women’s subject choices were generally more responsive to tuition than men’s, especially after 2005, though effects vary by period. These patterns reflect differences in labor market opportunities, expected returns, and risk attitudes: men benefit from strong non-university options and higher STEM returns, while women are more sensitive to costs and risk. This helps explain why women outnumber men in university overall but remain underrepresented in STEM.
The findings demonstrate that tuition policy is not gender neutral. Tuition policy interacts with structural labor market inequalities and behavioral differences to shape enrollment outcomes. For policymakers, this highlights the importance of considering gender-specific incentives when designing tuition structures and subsidies. These insights are particularly salient with respect to efforts to promote a more gendered balance with respect to the pursuit of STEM programs.