In this installment of DSG’s Gender and Public Policy Research Seminar Series, Fatma Abdulla and Natasha Ridge discussed the reasons behind the low participation of Emirati men in higher education. 

In the UAE and across the Gulf States women’s participation in higher education has been increasing at a far greater rate than that of men. While research has been conducted on male participation rates in some OECD countries very little similar research has been done in the Middle East despite even lower male higher education participation rates.

This session will focus on the United Arab Emirates and will explore reasons for the lower higher education participation rate of Emirati men from an economic and sociological perspective. Key factors such as the link between educational effort and probable rewards, social and educational stratification and relatively poor prior academic attainment of Emirati males will be discussed.