Why women graduates outnumber men in the UAE

An analysis of why 70% of Emirati college students are women by Natasha Ridge, acting Director of Research at the Dubai School of Government.

I generally agree with her analysis. There are some factors that I would emphasize.

1. Young women use education as a way of getting out of the house, and delay marriage. It's part of the negotiation they have with their parents about how much freedom they can have and when they will be married.

2. For young men part of the problem is that their future is determined largely as an accident of their birth. This undercuts the incentive of pursuing education in order to be judged on merit. Similarly, the government provides jobs for young men who do not complete high school in the military and police forces.

Ridge points out that for girls their teachers are Emirati women. For boys they are (poorly paid) expats. As in many societies, including the west until recently, one of the few jobs open to women was as a teacher. As in many societies it is difficult to attract men into teaching on the same employment terms as female teachers. The remedy is to pay women and men more, but few societies take this attitude.