In China, women are usually called “the other half of the sky” in society. Now, they seem to dominate “more than half or even the whole sky” in many of the universities in China in master and doctorate studies.

 

The Foreign Philosophy School of Shandong University plans to enroll eight students for doctorate degree study this year, and it turns out that the eight students enrolled are all female. “Philosophy used to be considered as a major favorable to male students, but now, it seems that female students dominate in this field,” a professor in the Foreign Philosophy School joked. Not just for this year, most of the Foreign Philosophy School graduates in previous years were women.

 

And the phenomenon for female students to dominate in some school majors, especially in liberal arts, is also overwhelming in some other universities.

 

Experts analyze that many factors contribute to this phenomenon. One important reason is that many male students find it easier for them to look for a job than their female classmates, and some work units even employ male students only. Under high employment pressure, women might miss out on many of the job opportunities and go back to school to study for a higher degree. In addition, some experts say that China’s current examination system is more suitable for female students, and many female students perform better in examinations than male students, placing them in a more advantageous position since currently universities will enroll students as long as they pass the university’s scoring requirement.

 

(Chinanews.cn April 17, 2006)