The Student Room Group
Uni students - Complete our survey >>
Uni students - Complete our survey >>
Uni students - Complete our survey >>

Should Universities be 50:50 male/female ratio?

Emma Watson recently spoke of gender equality. Does the massive influx of girls in university sounds like equality to you?

While iceland implemented a 40% quota for male and female MPs in their parliament, and most sports have segregated divisions for male and female athletics, should we implement a 50% quota for each gender, and the best students of both sexes gets their place in their quota, to be fair for both genders?

Scroll to see replies

Reply 1
Avatar for Mackay
Mackay
17
Not in my view. Students who are good enough should get in based on an interview process - obviously, both genders need to have quotas, but 50/50 is really rigid and I can't see it being feasible.
No, unless there is some sort of discrimination going on at a certain place. 48:52 is close enough and applicants shouldn't be looked at for an arbitrary factor such as their gender, rather for their performance and their suitability for the course. If that means 70% of females apply and only 30% of males apply to say, psychology then, if that's the ratio that are accepted, then fair enough.

Assuming that there is no discrimination. People aren't their gender, they are themselves. The genders are [mostly] equal in the UK.
No, whoever applies should be assessed equally and gender shouldn't take into account, if there's 300 spots and there are 300 men who are the best candidates then it should go to them vice versa.
I don't like positive discrimination. A baroness from the house of lords came into our school to talk about women in politics. She openly and aggressively championed having a 50:50 quota of men and women in the house of commons. Obviously, that brought cheers from every girl in the room, despite the fact that such a policy would be a step backwards for women in my eyes. I thought we want a free meritocratic society where those who are good enough get the job/placement regardless of race, gender, and sexuality. Quotas are surely a step back from that.
Original post by Mackay
Not in my view. Students who are good enough should get in based on an interview process - obviously, both genders need to have quotas, but 50/50 is really rigid and I can't see it being feasible.



This, if all got in on there on merit then the ratio could 90/10 either way and it doesnt matter

positive discrimination is still discrimination
Reply 6
Avatar for Mackay
Mackay
17
Original post by silverbolt

positive discrimination is still discrimination


Truer words were never spoken.
Reply 7
Avatar for Comus
Comus
10
Quotas and other forms of positive discrimination are often clumsy and don't seem fair - however, I would not be opposed to the (at least partial) anonymisation of university applications so as to increase the level of meritocracy.

With that said (and speaking more generally- not just uni applications), where there is a serious gender discrepancy, one way or the other, there's no harm in encouraging more people of a certain demographic to get involved/apply.
(edited 9 years ago)
**** quotas, let things happen naturally if they're going to happen at all. Names and genders should be kept out of university applications as much as possible.
Reply 9
Avatar for Mequa
Mequa
13
Improving equality of opportunity is a fine goal.

Enforcing equality of outcome through quotas and positive discrimination is not. That undermines meritocracy, is authoritarian, and has other highly undesirable effects.
In my opinion, I think that true equality is that the places be given to the best candidate, regardless of gender, race or anything else. A nameless, profile-less application, with only the predicted grades/ attained grades and personal statement to go on would ensure a 100% equal and fair application process.

But that will likely never happen, governments are too busy ticking all the politically correct boxes!
Just like with absolutely everything else, absolutely not, the more capable person should get the position, whether it be in a business, at a university, in politics it doesn't matter. If all the best people are men, or more specifically there are enough men available that are better than the best women available then 100% of positions should be filled with men, similarly if you switch the genders around 100% should be men. Putting quotas in are detrimental to progress, you're pushing the better people out just in the name of pseudo-equality.
How do you implement that?

"Sorry, you can't come here. We have too many females already"

:rolleyes:
Original post by TheTechN1304
How do you implement that?

"Sorry, you can't come here. We have too many females already"

:rolleyes:


You'd be surprised, this does actually happen. Of course they wouldn't be that open about it, but places have quotas to fill.

At an open day I actually saw signs for 'Female Engineering Students: free coffee and cake!' Why not the male ones too? Are their A Levels somehow less important than the Female prospective engineers?

It's stupid as well that, as a female applying for physics, I actually will have an advantage. As someone who firmly believes in equality, I don't want that advantage, I want to receive the place based on my academic ability alone!
No. They're pretty much equal, anyway, apart from a few places like vet schools. Places should go to the best candidates.

Posted from TSR Mobile
How come you never hear about people asking for positive discrimination for men in industries like hairdressing or in nursing?

Double standards.
Original post by AtSixesAndSevens
How come you never hear about people asking for positive discrimination for men in industries like hairdressing or in nursing?

Double standards.


Couldn't agree more. Begging for women in science, yet I see nowhere begging for men. This isn't equality by anyone's books!
Additionally, quotas put arbitrary properties, such as gender or race, above the relevant property, in this case, intelligence and/or suitability to the course. Next thing you know 20% of people doing STEM degrees will have to come from A level students who didn't do any STEM or some other *******s like that.
Nope.

I'm all for equal opportunities, but not necessarily equal outcomes.
i woudnt call it positive discrimination. Because it would leave it perfectly possible for there to be a time when a women who is perfectly qualified for a place is told, no, because she is a women,

Quick Reply

Related discussions

Latest

Trending

Trending

Articles for you