[Deleted for abuse.]

I think pelican just called me Johnny Rotten. I know I'm a bad boy, but I didn't know I was that bad. HA.

Antiseptic you wouldn't have the guts to say that to my face.

:"Antiseptic you wouldn't have the guts to say that to my face."

Hold on, I'll go get a pair of reggies I prepared earlier...

Here you go, lots to enjoy in those.

Now, where were we? Oh yes, "guts". You see, "Johnny" (can I call you Johnny, old girl, or do you prefer "Dimwit"?), there's something deeply amusing about someone pretending to be a tough guy on an internet forum.

"ypu're so vicious
you hit me with a flower"

My apologies Johnny30 - there is another poster "JohnnyRotten" whom I confused you with. I am sure you are not rotten - welcome. :)

Anti
"You seem determined to avoid considering any form of moderation in the level of discrimination in favour of thpose women who wish to take on professional roles. I'd be interested to hear your reasons. "

I am unsure of what you mean by this? If my interpretation of your assertion is correct, I have to disagree. There is no positive discrimination directed at women (as opposed to men) in regard to tertiary participation or being attracted to professional roles. We should be asking why are boys choosing not to enter into those professions? You are asking the wrong questions. Universities don't discriminate on gender as far as entry into courses go they go purely on results particularly since the corporatisation of education.

You have to consider the fact that most women don't aspire to trades roles for various reasons although participation of women in the trades has increased just as more men are choosing nursing. Boys are choosing trades, this is not a cause of concern as you make it out to be. In my experience, and I won't generalise, boys seem more interested in technical jobs than women. Maybe that will change as time goes on - I am not psychic. I know as a young girl I had no interest in trades or technical work and it was more than a result of conditioning.

Let me ask you (in the context of a mutual understanding that life is never fully 'equal') why you don't like the idea of women earning more than men, or in this case girls earning more than boys?

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pelican, "It is too early, on the basis of one example, to accept this statistic as the beginning of a trend."

Nothing wrong with cohort analysis, it is a valid statistical method for examining any differences.

However (and it is a big however), while the young women are doing well earlier on and that might be down to a range of factors including for instance better presentation at interview and possible greater willingness to switch areas to get ahead (young men are more 'loyal'), things can change later on and males could outpace females. It can be expected for example, that women would be less inclined as a group to sacrifice relationships, family and child bearing to climb the greasy pole. Later the women might return to work but many want a different role, which is reasonable.