... and ain't i a woman?: Female students' success provokes backlash

As year 12 results for 1995 are released across the country, there has been an improvement for female students in comparison to male students. In every state and territory more young women than young men stay on to the end of school, more young women take out academic prizes and more gain entry to university. You would think that after years of inequality in education, where male students have traditionally led the field, the improving results of female students would be something to be applauded. This certainly could be seen as an achievement by society. So why has it provoked such a reaction? In NSW, it reached the extent that the state government ordered its secondary school Board of Studies to make an inquiry into the "lower performance of boys". Of the students completing the Higher School Certificate (HSC) in NSW in 1995, female students returned an average score of 54.04 out of 100 compared to 46.15 for male students; young women also made up 58% of the top 5000 students; and of the 13 to receive perfect scores of 100, nine were women. The establishment media have sought to drum up some sort of outrage at these results. The Sydney Morning Herald published an opinion piece by Peter West, a lecturer at the University of Western Sydney, titled "Now it's time to help the boys". West's hypothesis for the disparity in grades has several different points, some based on fact but many based on anecdotal evidence, for example: "... one of my student teachers watched a teacher ignore the boys for a whole lesson last year ...". Further, "Girls who fail are seen as unlucky, but boys who fail are seen as thick". A feminist academic was quoted as saying that the result should be seen as a positive outcome for boys because it gives them an opportunity to see girls in a new light. West's response was: "On this basis, people would be happy to have their houses burgled, because it gives them an opportunity to find out about criminals." This was one example of many of presenting the argument as though it was the opinions of men versus the opinions of women. This tactic is common for the establishment media: to make women's issues appear more as a "gender war", rather than an issue of human rights. In the search for an explanation of the improving performance of female students, two of the most substantial claims are that English was made a compulsory unit in 1995, and that there has been added emphasis to ongoing assessment. These factors are claimed to be a disadvantage for male students. The action of the NSW government displays a similarly gender-biased attitude. If it is really concerned about the standard of education in NSW, it need look no further than reversing the cuts to education funding. Huge inequities in education do exist, but currently it is not primarily between male and female students. Usually it depends on where you live and what school you go to. Throughout this whole discussion, almost nothing has been mentioned of the disparity between private schools, government selective schools and other government schools. Very little was mentioned about the fact that of the 13 students who achieved a perfect score of 100, only one came from a government comprehensive high school (that is, a government school that is not selective). The "debate" has not been aimed at addressing the inequities in education. It has been an opportunity for governments and the establishment media to continue the backlash against women's rights. They have used it as part of the ideological campaign to "prove" that women are now equal, that we don't need to fight for our rights any more, and if we do, it is men who will suffer. By Trish Corcoran