During the 2023/2024 winter semester, women made up 50.9% of all registered students, according to a study from the Centre for Higher Education (CHE) released Thursday. This is an increase from 50.2% in the 2021/2022 winter semester, .
The increase marks an historic development: just 125 years ago, Johanna Kappes made history as the first woman to study at a university in Germany.
“More women than men are , for example through the Abitur. New academic training occupations in the fields of nursing and health care are also playing a role in this development,” said Cort-Denis Hachmeister, a CHE data analyst. The Abitur is the most common test German students need to pass to study at colleges and universities.
Gendered differences still prevalent in study paths
The CHE found that there were still notable differences between the subjects men and women study and that the differences often reflect stereotypical gender roles. For example, women make up 22.5% of computer science students, and 15.6% of electrical engineering and IT students.
On the other hand, women outnumber men in fields such as educational sciences (79.6%) and veterinary medicine (86%).
“A gender imbalance in certain subjects becomes socially problematic if it further exacerbates problems such as the gender pay gap or skills shortages in certain sectors,” Hachmeister added.
But there are exceptions: 70% of German language and literature students are women. Business administration and economics are also the most popular study paths for both women as well as men.
Edited by: Sean Sinico
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