The 2010 Census of Population and Housing revealed that a higher percentage of females were attending school for both full-time and part-time study in the Cayman Islands. In that same year, 18.3% of females aged 15 years and older had passed no examinations compared to 21.5% of males in the same age group. A near equal percentage of males and females had a secondary school diploma, but females were more likely to have an Associate's Degree or a Bachelor's Degree or higher. Males were more likely than females to have a vocational or trade certificate or diploma.
Highest examination passed by sex
Among those aged 20 years and older, both Caymanian and Non-Caymanian females were more likely than their male counterparts to have a Bachelor's Degree or higher.
Gender ideology or ideas about what it means to be a boy or a man are at the root of gender disparities in relation to the issue of education. Boys and men are just as capable as girls and women of succeeding in educational systems, but we have to examine and address at a macro level what it is that causes boys to retreat from the classroom and men to under-participate in education systems.
Boys' Underachievement in Education
Recently, Ministers of Education from across the Commonwealth have raised the issue of boys' underachievement and poor attendance at school, a growing phenomenon in all regions. This study, undertaken jointly by the Commonwealth of Learning and the Commonwealth Secretariat, responds to that concern. The big question for many Ministries of Education will be what can be done inside the education system to improve the attendance and performance of boys.
Is learning becoming taboo for Caribbean boys?
Gender dynamics in education in the English-speaking Caribbean have undergone significant shifts in recent years. On the one hand, educational access, retention and attainment by girls have improved significantly and should be celebrated as key success stories. On the other hand, retention, completion and attainment by boys appear to be slipping. The question at the centre of these changes is whether the decline for boys is relative or real. To explore this question preliminary data from a larger qualitative project on Caribbean masculinities were examined. As a result of this work new perspectives have emerged that may help to explain boys' changing educational achievements.
Teacher Trade Union Actions Challenging Gender Stereotypes and Gender Segregation in the Labour Market
This May 2012 report of the European Trade Union Committee for Education Peer Learning Activity is part of an ongoing project to work towards education systems that reduce gender stereotypes. The objective of the Peer Learning Activity was to raise teacher unions' awareness on how gender stereotypes are linked to gender inequality in the labour market and to exchange ideas on how to address gender stereotypes in education and, by extension, gender segregation in the labour market.
Gender Achievements and Prospects in Education: The GAP Report
In this first part of the 2005 UNICEF GAP Report for Latin America and the Caribbean, researchers touch on progress in the region, lingering inequalities, barriers and interventions to reach gender parity in education. The region has substantial work ahead to make school, especially at the secondary level, attractive and welcoming to boys and young men, but the interconnected inequality of girls and women also cannot be downplayed. The challenge in Latin America and the Caribbean is to translate girls' education into female empowerment – economically, socially and politically. At the same time, an additional charge is to ameliorate gender disparity in education for boys and young men.
