Re: Oh dear, that won't do at all

'Classics dons who marked last year's exam papers said the gender gap is
“very troubling”, adding that it must be addressed as a matter of
"urgency".'


Ah, fascinating.  Don’t miss the *Telegraph's* companion article
<https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.telegraph.co.uk%2Fpolitics%2F2019%2F02%2F09%2Fdont-have-left-wing-run-oxbridge-college-nowadays-certainly%2F&amp;data=02%7C01%7CCLASSICS-L%40lsv.uky.edu%7C7962cc996ecd4eb3bd1608d68ed9c373%7C2b30530b69b64457b818481cb53d42ae%7C0%7C1%7C636853463269789845&amp;sdata=%2Ft2%2Bv2%2BSWPoOnjKdmJ4LGumgagg9CA1EFgQ0Bz3Gigs%3D&amp;reserved=0>
:

"You don't have to be Left-wing to run an Oxbridge college - but nowadays
it certainly helps"

I spotted the article Ralph mentions but it was, as he said, gated.  He
could quite easily paste in the contents for others to read.
It won't be possible to work on this without more data, and so far,
possibly oddly, the *Telegraph *has the only coverage.  There are obvious
questions to ask, one of which will be: are awards equally imbalanced at
Cambridge?
Beyond this, we might want to look at performance by male and female
graduates.  In areas I'm familiar with --  Thucydides,  social and economic
history,  the fifth century BCE generally -- women are doing excellent
work.  Did their undergraduate institutions recognize and reward their
promise?  Another interesting research question.

Assuming the *Telegraph *report is correct, men are primarily getting
Firsts.  Assuming Neville Morley's
<https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.telegraph.co.uk%2Fpolitics%2F2019%2F02%2F09%2Fdont-have-left-wing-run-oxbridge-college-nowadays-certainly%2F&amp;data=02%7C01%7CCLASSICS-L%40lsv.uky.edu%7C7962cc996ecd4eb3bd1608d68ed9c373%7C2b30530b69b64457b818481cb53d42ae%7C0%7C1%7C636853463269789845&amp;sdata=%2Ft2%2Bv2%2BSWPoOnjKdmJ4LGumgagg9CA1EFgQ0Bz3Gigs%3D&amp;reserved=0>
fascinating report is correct, Oxonian classicists in Parliament are
primarily male, Tory, and pro-Brexit.  Assuming my quick 'n dirty survey of
these folks is accurate, they're largely from high middle or upper-income
constituencies, many in the SW.  How many Eton etc?  Haven't checked.   But
these overlaps may not be random.

We need more info.  Now, gotta get back to reading (Polly Low, *Athenian
Empire*, fine scholar*.*)

Dan


On Sat, Feb 9, 2019 at 4:08 PM Ralph Hancock <[email protected]>
wrote:

> From the _Daily Telegraph_ web site:
>
> *Oxford University's Classics degree to be overhauled in bid to boost
> number of female students getting Firsts*
>
> One of Oxford University's oldest degrees is to be overhauled in bid to
> boost number of female students getting top grades.
>
> Classics dons who marked last year's exam papers said the gender gap is
> “very troubling”, adding that it must be addressed as a matter of
> "urgency".
>
> More than double the number of men were awarded first class honours in
> their Finals last year than women, with 46.8 per cent of men achieving the
> top grade compared to 12.5 per cent of their female peers.
>
> Academics noted that the gender gap in Finals - which was “already very
> noticeable” - had “dramatically increased” in the most recent cohort of
> students due to an a record number of men taking Firsts.
>
> -----
>
> The rest is behind a paywall, though you can register free to read a small
> number of articles.
>
>
> https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.telegraph.co.uk%2Feducation%2F2019%2F02%2F09%2Foxford-universitys-classics-degree-overhauled-bid-boost-number%2F%3FWT.mc_id%3Dtmg_share_tw&amp;data=02%7C01%7CCLASSICS-L%40lsv.uky.edu%7C7962cc996ecd4eb3bd1608d68ed9c373%7C2b30530b69b64457b818481cb53d42ae%7C0%7C0%7C636853463269789845&amp;sdata=eFbgu5PL5GfvsL7gmO%2FV7l%2BEPuLUViW%2BXGwBf7JaOuc%3D&amp;reserved=0
>
> RH
>