On Closing the Gap, at least in relation to Indigenous higher education participation, in the latest Ed. Dept data (2018), Indigenous women commencing university study make up 2.42 % of all Australian domestic female commencements.

Given the inflation in ABS data, maybe as high as 20 %, in relation to Indigenous numbers, and the DEflation in Ed. Dept data, around 20 %, it's possible that the Gap between female Indigenous and non-Indigenous commencements may be very small these days, perhaps zero.

In fact, Indigenous women are commencing university studies at higher rates than Australian non-Indigenous men.

Historically, in Australia, higher education was at first reserved in practice for children of the upper classes (up until the War); then the middle class (up to the sixties); then the working class (from the late fifties); then, Indigenous people generally as they moved into the cities from the sixties onwards, from the eighties and nineties.

Of course, here have been Indigenous tertiary graduates, mainly in teaching and nursing, since the forties.

Why are Indigenous women participating at universities at much higher rates than men ? Is it because Indigenous males coming through secondary schooling, tend not to have the STEM background needed for many male-stereoptyped courses AND are reluctant to enrol in stereotypically female courses such as teaching and nursing ? Hopefully, that 'Gap' will close as far more Indigenous students, male and female, finish Year 12.

But let's remember that the great majority of Indigenous university students and graduates are from the cities: they have been born there and will probably live their lives there. They don't have any particular links to remote populations - after all, not all Indigenous people are the same. So, strictly speaking, they have no more obligation to go out to remote settlements than anybody else.

Joe

Why are Indigenous women participating at universities at much higher rates than men ?
Loudmouth2,
traditionally, in indigenous culture women did/do most of the work ! I'd imagine the same applies to learning !

Hi Individual,

Good point ! I suppose that something similar occurred in those very few regions of the world (the Middle East, Mexico, north China) where societies moved from hunting and gathering, to farming - that, after all, vegetable products are women's business, men are so involved with more important things like hunting and serious religious business.

Cheers,

Joe

Hi there Joe,

Big Nana, didn't agree with your view of the CDEP scheme, I had nothing at all to say about that particular scheme, so she deflected the criticisms to me. These conservative Abbottish government schemes using the big stick approach, regardless as to whom they are directed at, white, black, brindle, are doomed to failure, as the "recipients" often just don't have the inbuilt resources and motivation to comply.

When you say; "CDEP/CDP. It may have worked (or may be working) elsewhere but not positively down this way." Is that a gut feeling of yours or do you have some evidence to back the claim up.

BTW; A good friend of ours, her job is to type up doctors reports at a large Sydney hospital. In her time she most likely has typed up tens of thousands of pages, just like you. Would I have her operate on me given her vast typing experience, NO, definitely not. Like you, a great typists, but expert in the field, No way!

When I said, there was an attempt to breed Aboriginals out, you said bloody nonsense, so I said O. A. Neville, who blew your bloody nonsense out of the water. Did you forget about Neville, then again he wasn't all that active with the 5% of Aboriginals in South Australia was he.

Paulo,

After he retired, Neville was one of the initiators of the Coolbaroo Club in Perth, bringing together Aboriginal people working in the city. The grandmother of a dear friend was one of those involved, later she worked with my mum as cleaners at the Darwin Hospital. If the aim of the Club was to get young Aboriginal people to mix with and marry non-Aboriginal people, I don't know if it worked, but certainly many Aboriginal people met their Aboriginal partners here. Hence my dear friend :)

When Neville died a few years later in 1950, a thousand Aboriginal people attended his funeral.

It's also overlooked that for the duration of his tenure as Protector between 1915 and 1945, Neville was often the only employee of the Native Welfare Department (a.k.a. other names). For the first decade of that time, he was the only employee, then split the State with another bloke who had responsibility for the North. From around 1935, Neville also had a typist/clerk based in Perth to help him. So three employees.

But what do I know, I know only of South Australia.

Joe

"CDEP/CDP. It may have worked (or may be working) elsewhere but not positively down this way.
Paul1405,
it's sort of working elsewhere because there aren't do-gooders indoctrinating the CDEP participants.
CDEP was a good idea until bureaucrats saw an opportunity & hijacked it as they do with most schemes that are supposed to be helping people to become part of the local economy.