A simple measurement of the existing disparities between girls and boys in education in a given country can be obtained by calculating the ‘gap’ regarding certain indicators (such as primary intake, drop out or completion rates e.g.) and national average values for selected indicators.
Except for the Nordic countries, unadjusted odds results show that participation tends to be slightly higher among men. This result is probably due to the interaction between gender, age and educational attainment. For example, there is a strong gender gap in educational attainment among older generations. In the countries considered, however, the educational attainment levels of women are catching up with those of men (and in some countries are overtaking them), especially among younger generations (Desjardins, Rubenson and Milana, 2006: 65).