Although girls and boys perform similarly in the PISA science assessment at age 15, girls are less likely than boys to envision a career in science and engineering, even in countries where they outperform them.

Current gender disparities in the labour market will not be addressed by the inflow of new graduates: in all OECD and partner countries, women significantly outnumber men in education while men largely outnumber women in engineering, manufacturing and construction in both fields of study and the labour market.

Male-dominated fields of study such as engineering, manufacturing and construction have high employment rates but also the greatest difference between the employment rates of men and women.