The Gender Gap — Where, How Big, and Is It Changing?

Girls typically outperform boys in reading and writing, while math gaps are smaller and vary by context. This page measures the gender gap precisely across grades and boards, and tracks whether gaps are widening or narrowing over four years.

1. Province-Level Gender Gap Over Time

Female vs. male % at Level 3/4 for each subject, all four years. The gap between lines is the gender gap.

2. Gap Magnitude by Subject — Is Reading/Writing Bigger Than Math?

Province-level gender gap (female − male, in percentage points) by subject and year. Positive = girls ahead.

3. Does the Gender Gap Widen Between Grades?

Comparing the gender gap at Grade 3 vs. Grade 6 for the same subject and year. Points above the diagonal = gap grows from G3 to G6.

4. Grade 9 Math — Do Girls Fall Behind?

Province-level G9 math gender gap compared to G3 and G6 math gaps over four years.

5. Board-Level Gender Gap Variation

Gap = female % − male %. Positive (pink) = girls ahead; negative (blue) = boys ahead. boards shown; have a reversed gap (boys outperform girls in ).

6. Reading Gap vs. Math Gap — Board-Level Scatter

Each dot is a board. X = reading gender gap, Y = math gender gap. Boards in the top-right have large gaps in both subjects; bottom-left have small/reversed gaps.

7. Gender Gap Trend by Board

How has the gender gap changed from 2021–22 to 2024–25 at the board level? Each line is one board; the province average is highlighted.

8. School-Level Gender Gap Distribution (Grade 3)

How many schools have a reversed gender gap (boys outperform girls)? This histogram shows the distribution of school-level gender gaps across all English G3 schools.

schools — (%) have boys outperforming girls. Median gap: pp.