ABSTRACT
In France and Germany, inequalities between the sexes within the educational system, whether general or technical and vocational, have tended to decline sharply since the post-war period. But in recent years the German system still is not producing much equality for girls, whereas French girls are now doing better than boys, diploma-wise, all along the line. French women’s breakthrough is even clearer in higher education. They gained access to universities before their German counterparts (in the last quarter of the 19th century, as against the first years of the 20th century for German women) and their numbers rose faster. In terms of both final level reached and diversification of fields of study, then, girls have made more progress in France. French girls who choose engineering schools do so because they have excellent school records and see these institutions as a route to very broad career opportunities rather than because they prepare them for “men’s work.”.
