First, let me thank Gregory Charles. I do not agree with all the solutions he proposes, but he had the courage to raise a taboo in Quebec. Of course, some people did not hesitate to call him a stage manager while taking great care not to offer a solution.
Here is a portrait of the situation. The data used here is taken from the 2021 undergraduate (full-time) enrollment data from the Ministry of Higher Education database. Let’s start with the average distribution of girls (60%) and boys (40%) in CEGEP and undergraduate university. A real gap of around 17-18 points. It’s a huge gap, but the details are still interesting.
At Polytechnique Montréal, women represent 29% of students and this is what justifies the significant budgets invested in promoting engineering among girls. On the other hand, if you look at the side of the University of Montreal, men represent only 31% of the students, and this is not a cause for concern.
We also note that at the École de technologie supérieure (ETS), women represent 14% of the clientele, which is very low. But the ETS specializes in the DEC-Bac transfer. Its clientele therefore comes largely from DECs in engineering. In health, we can consider that the faculties of nursing sciences are the equivalent of the ETS, because they also recruit at the level of technical DECs. In these faculties, there are 10% men, which is really very low.
Let us examine the situation in the region. In the universities of Quebec (UQTR, UQAR, UQAT and UQO), we find a proportion of nearly 70% women.
Québec databases on school attendance are open to everyone. Here is what you might find about the percentage of male presence in certain programs in Quebec: 31% in law, 23% in health sciences, 23% in education sciences and 31% in human sciences.
Have you ever heard of a ministerial action to encourage men in these professions?
Here is an example that shows that our governments are ignoring the problem. Currently, the Ministry of Higher Education has implemented a strategy based on transition poles. These deal with the following five topics:
1. Returning to school.
2. Interorder transitions.
3. Aboriginal people.
4. Socio-professional integration.
5. Girls in STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math).
There is absolutely nothing on the success of boys, on their access to post-secondary studies or to careers in health, law or education.
Here is what I believe the government should do.
1. Recognize the problem.
2. Edit the 5and point of transition poles to make it more inclusive. That is to say, include the promotion of non-traditional trades according to gender.
3. Put in place the means that have already proven their worth, such as the promotion of non-traditional trades and the highlighting of positive models of academic success for boys. There is a “Hats off, girls!” » Why not a « Sarreau, guys! »
4. Fund credible research that can produce conclusive data on the issue of boys in school.
Of course, that would be a good start, but I must confess that I am pessimistic. Because when this subject is discussed publicly, it quickly seems defined as a non-issue and it quickly disappears from the media horizon. Sometimes, one has the impression to discuss with “climatosceptics” of education.
What level will we have to reach to move the ministries: 15%, 10%, 5% or 0%? Should a private foundation be set up to focus on the problem of boys in school? It could be used to finance research and implement positive actions. If anyone is interested, I’m ready to help.
Here is a phrase that I have often heard in education circles: you cannot help the boys, because it would risk harming the girls. I would like to clarify my thought. It’s not about enrolling fewer girls in college, it’s just about enrolling more boys. One does not exclude the other.
Finally, it is obvious to me that, to develop a better society, less violent and more egalitarian, it is imperative to pass through education. The education of girls, but also that of boys. In fact, more educated men in a society are not a nuisance to women, rather the reverse.
Actors in society (and I tend to say especially women) have no interest in producing generations of frustrated and undereducated men. After all, they will vote and they will become spouses.