| In 2009,the total number of female students in general higher education institutions in China exceeded that of male students,and this paper cites "feminization of higher education" as the name of this phenomenon.This study uses a combination of documentary,comparative,qualitative,and quantitative research methods to explore the causes and social values of women’s access to higher education,analyze the academic status of women in the higher education process,and discuss the opportunities and challenges faced by women at the exit of higher education.It is hoped to move from increased access for women to quality improvement in the education process and educational outcomes.First,The China Education Statistical Yearbook(1949-2020)of successive years shows that female enrollment in higher education in China has been increasing.Examining the feminization of higher education from a provincial perspective,it is found that there are significant regional differences in the feminization of higher education in China.Feminization of higher education in border minority regions emerged earlier and with significant characteristics due to national compensation policies and local educational development characteristics.Most of the provinces in economically developed regions entered the feminization of higher education relatively late.Second,besides showing the quantitative advantage,the qualitative advantage of women in the field of higher education has gradually emerged.In this study,the gender difference data of national scholarship recipients are used to describe the current situation of women’s academic quality in higher education,and the number and proportion of female students among national scholarship recipients show an overall and global leading trend.At the same time the rising number and proportion of female students at master and doctoral levels of higher education is also an additional illustration of the advantage of female academic quality in higher education.Third,the female advantage at the entrance and process of higher education does not persist to the exit.Gender discrimination in the job market was found through qualitative interviews to be an important reason for post-90 s women to continue to seek higher education.In order to obtain better employment opportunities in the future through academic advantages,graduate education has also shown female advantage since 2010.Women face many challenges in seeking employment opportunities in higher education outlet,such as homogeneous employment,proliferation of employment,and implicit discrimination against women by employers.Fourth,we analyze the causes of feminization of higher education in China.The study is conducted from two perspectives: the level of social structural changes and the changes in self-identity and educational selection mechanisms of Chinese youth.The introduction of the basic state policy of gender equality,the popularization of basic education,and the expansion of higher education have all positively influenced women’s participation in higher education.Some changes in self-identification and selection mechanisms regarding education have also occurred in young men and women in different eras,and this is used as an entry point to explain the causes of the feminization of higher education in China at the levelFifth,Women’s access to higher education not only benefits themselves and their families,but also the country and society as a whole.The lack of role of higher education institutions in women’s career guidance,the continued gender segregation of disciplines,the numerical advantage of women overlapping with employment pressure,and the prominence of gender conflicts pose challenges to women’s development.Possible countermeasures include encouraging universities to take positive actions,building a diversified evaluation system,and optimizing the employment environment. |
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