Gap in math by gender. Case: university students from Colombia

Abstract

The paper analyzes the gender gap in mathematics (quantitative reasoning) among Colombian university students, based on the results of the State higher education exit tests Saber Pro, 2018; including the regional factor. Based on a quantile modeling and a Juhn-Murphy-Pierce decomposition, the study identifies the existence and persistence of a gender gap in the evaluated area and differences between the Andean and Caribbean regions. The most remarkable points include: favouring men; importance of educational and institutional characteristics; importance of secondary mathematics (accounting for about 25% of the differential); widening of the gap in the highest quartiles; and regional heterogeneity of the gap, widened by gender-region interaction.