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ZorbaTHut  2yr ago (text post)   35549 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of September 19, 2022

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Hungary officials warn education is becoming ‘too feminine’

(from a month ago, but not discussed yet, I think)

Hungary's State Audit Office wrote a 19-page (+appendices and references) report on gender and education in Hungary, that is, the gender ratio among teachers, university students, parents' and teachers' expectations of what traits (related to school performance) are feminine and masculine... that sort of things. But the main thing that ruffled people's feathers was something that's probably not so surprising to people of the Motte but is a no-go for the zeitgeist: that so many women having high education leads to issues in partner-finding and therefore it impacts fertility and having children. Concretely, that women try to partner up with men of equal or higher educational and professional level as themselves.

The report: "Pink education" phenomenon in Hungary?! Factors and socio-economic impacts of the overrepresentation of women with tertiary education (Unfortunately, it's only available in Hungarian) (Out of the five authors four are women, if it matters.)

Here is the "Conclusions" section from the beginning:

Hungary's Constitution states that women and men have equal rights. Under Article XI of the Fundamental Law, our country ensures the right to education by providing higher education for all, accessible to all on the basis of ability, and by providing financial support for those who pursue education, as defined by law. According to the National Curriculum, the main aim of learning is to develop the competences of pupils that enable them to apply knowledge creatively in different situations and to develop creative and logical thinking. The strategy for a change of gear in higher education states that 'even among the functions of higher education, which are so important, the promotion of social mobility should be emphasised'.

Between 2010 and 2021, more women than men entered higher education in Hungary each year, so that in the autumn semester of the 2022 academic year, the proportion of women among higher education students was 54.55%. The proportion of women among graduates was even higher, at around 60%, due to a higher drop-out rate among male students. In the 2020/2021 academic year, almost half of the students were enrolled in upper secondary schools, where female students were also statistically over-represented, at 55.4%. 58.1% of those admitted to higher education and almost 70% of those admitted to full-time education came from upper secondary schools. The shift in gender ratios may have been driven by the feminisation of the teaching profession. In 2021, 82% of the 96 000 teachers in Hungarian public education were women.

Research data show that the average intellectual ability of men and women does not differ, but that there are differences in the distribution of intelligence and in some sub-skills.

In our own research, we asked parents and teachers (a representative sample of 700) about their perceptions of the gender gap presented in the literature and the importance of different attributes/competences in education. The perceptions of the respondents, similar to the literature, showed a significant gender difference for all attributes. According to respondents, the most feminine qualities were emotional and social maturity; diligence; verbal fluency; manual dexterity; good oral and written expression; tolerance of monotony and precision and accuracy. In contrast, the most masculine qualities are technical and mechanical aptitude; risk-taking; liveliness, agility; spatial awareness; entrepreneurship and logic. The results show that respondents consider the qualities they perceive as more feminine to be more important in public education. One of the skills rated as least important in public education is technical and mechanical aptitude, along with innovativeness and entrepreneurship. It is also surprising that girlish qualities such as diligence, verbal skills and adaptability are considered by respondents to be more important than logic, without which it is difficult to imagine meaningful learning, lasting, useful knowledge and problem-solving. The qualities considered to be boyish, which are necessary for the sciences are considered less important by both parents and teachers.

Of the compulsory subjects, three are humanities (Hungarian language and literature, history, foreign language) and one is science (mathematics). In terms of social mobility and gender equality, this fact raises the risk that boys may suffer disadvantages in terms of secondary school leaving examinations and further higher education. It may be appropriate to consider equalising the humanities and science baccalaureate subjects, both in order to prepare them for everyday life and for the labour market. Boys are also significantly behind girls in terms of emotional and social maturity, which may be taken into account when determining the age at which children should be admitted to school.

The so-called "pink education" phenomenon has a number of economic and social consequences. To the extent that education favours feminine characteristics, it undermines social mobility and equal opportunities. A lower valuation of masculine qualities can cause mental and behavioural problems for male pupils, who are unable to display and develop their special talents optimally. The over-representation of women in higher education can also cause demographic problems, making it difficult to match young people of nearly equal qualifications. Creativity, innovation, entrepreneurship and technical and engineering skills are necessary for the optimal development of the economy, to alleviate labour market problems and to improve competitiveness and sustainability.

More emphasis should be placed in public education on the transfer and development of competences and skills to meet the changing needs of the labour market in the long term. An education strategy is needed that prepares young people, regardless of gender, for successful independent adult leadership and effective labour market participation. An important objective of national education policy could be to explore in more depth the causes and consequences of the phenomenon described above and to define measures in the light of the results.

After this they describe the percentages of female students and teachers in secondary and tertiary education and the surveys on what qualities are seen by parents and teachers as more feminine and also what qualities they think are important for school success, and they found that they overlap highly (ie feminine qualities are needed for school success).

The next interesting section is on the socio-economic consequences of the phenomenon (bold from the original).

Equality of opportunity between men and women is in the common interest of society. Women have an equal stake in ensuring that men do well, achieve and succeed. If the development and valuation of masculine, boyish qualities/competences is disadvantaged, there are many economic and social consequences.

The development of masculine qualities and competences at an inadequate level and to an inadequate extent is economically damaging and detrimental to the country's competitiveness. Creativity, innovation, entrepreneurial spirit, engineering acumen and a competitive, performance-oriented attitude are necessary for the optimal development of the Hungarian economy, the success of domestic enterprises, and the improvement of competitiveness and sustainability. These qualities are also needed in everyday life, as the young person growing up will be confronted with a frozen computer, a leaky tap or furniture that has been delivered flat packed and there is no one to solve these problems.

Labour demand data show that there is a serious shortage of labour, especially in technical and engineering fields. A report by the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (EUROFOUND, 2021) highlights that the lack of highly skilled labour is a major constraint on innovation in the Hungarian economy. Thanks to digital technology, jobs are becoming more flexible and complex. As a result, more and more employers are looking for workers who can manage complex information, think independently and creatively, and use resources efficiently. It is important that the qualities and skills needed to do this - such as logic, creativity, entrepreneurship and technical and technical aptitude - are also given an important role in public education.

If domestic education favours feminine qualities, and this causes women to be over-represented in higher education, this will significantly undermine social equality of opportunity and fairness. Failure to achieve equality of opportunity for boys and girls in education will affect social mobility and jeopardise the achievement of the education strategy.

(continues below)

The lower valuation of masculine qualities in education, and possibly their punishment, can lead to mental and behavioural problems for male pupils, who are unable to show and develop their special abilities to the full. This affects not only their behaviour, but also their diligence, which the research has identified as the most important attribute in education, clearly showing that boys are less diligent than girls. However, anyone who has observed a young boy practising 'decoupage' or taking something apart and putting it back together can see that boys (and men) can perform tasks, practise and solve problems with great concerted effort and intensity. In addition, the trait considered most feminine, as highlighted in the literature and in our own research, is emotional and social maturity, and the lack of this in boys can also affect boys' performance at school, their adaptability and their tolerance of monotony. If these factors were taken into account when setting the age of school entry, this in itself would have a significant impact on boys' equality of opportunity and achievement.

The significant over-representation of women in higher education also creates demographic problems, making it difficult to match young people of almost equal educational attainment. In addition, research (Szűcs, 1996) has shown that education also plays a role in women's choice of partner. While men often marry less educated women, women tend to marry men who are better educated than they are. According to KSH (2017), in 2010, the largest proportion of married couples were those in which both the bride and groom had tertiary education. Between 2010 and 2016, the share of tertiary educated couples among all couples entering marriage decreased, with the most significant change occurring among women with tertiary education, whose share fell from 40% to 35%. In general, couples with the same level of education are the most likely to marry, and their share increased between 2010 and 2016. Where there is a difference in the educational attainment of the married couples, the education level of the brides is mostly higher than that of the grooms. If this trend continues, a reversal of gender inequality in tertiary education could lead to a risk of fertility decline, as women are less likely to marry and thus less likely to have children. If recent trends continue, by 2025 there will be 1.8 women graduates for every man graduate in OECD countries, making it even more difficult to find a partner of the right status, cultural and educational background.

Now, again I don't think this is all too new in this space, but it's interesting what a flurry this obscure report caused even in the international media. It seems to have stepped right on a sensitive toe. The rebuttals aren't on a detailed level though:

In response, the Hungarian opposition lawmaker Endre Toth said on Facebook that talk of masculine and feminine qualities was “total scientific absurdity”. “It is time to remove your glasses from the last century,” he added.

And they immediately contextualize it with this sinister atmosphere:

Orbán has promoted a “conservative revolution” since returning to power in 2010, encouraging nativism and denigrating immigrants. He has also defended a controversial law banning LGBTQ content to minors.

In 2019, the Council of Europe’s human rights commissioner noted “backsliding in women’s rights and gender equality in Hungary” following a visit.

(I have criticized some of those LGBT-related political campaigns of the government myself, but these things can be kept separate.)

A right-wing journalist called attention to many distortions in these articles: Foreign Media Distorts State Audit Office’s Report.

Several international media outlets have published misleading summaries of the report, ignoring the data and explanations cited, and highlighting only certain conclusions out of context. The BBC wrote that “an increase in female graduates could make women less likely to marry and have children.” The BBC has also ignored the fact that it was not the authors or the ÁSZ who classified certain characteristics as feminine or masculine, but the literature cited and the parents and teachers interviewed by researchers.

The Telegraph puts it in an extremely misleading and simplistic way: “Hungary tells women: You won’t find husbands if you become smarter than men.”

Der Spiegel incorrectly wrote that the authority assumes that feminine skills are disproportionately favored in public education, but as mentioned above, this is just a hypothetical warning as the research showed that this is not the case.

According to La Repubblica, the authors of the report say that “if women spend too much time studying, they will not get married, have children, or contribute to the development of the nation.” No such conclusion is drawn in the report, nor is there any value judgment.

I think it's a good example of how even just touching these types of issues immediately triggers this mental blockage, like "crimestop" in Orwell's 1984. To even care about demography is adjacent to white supremacy, and to consider women's tendency to marry higher in status (hypergamy) is also just a non-starter and is seen equivalent to forcing them to stay in the kitchen.

For a great segment of single women, probably a majority of those who are following social media in the first place, it cuts too close to the bone. It's too horrendous. So I can understand the reactions.

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