ABSTRACT
On the 16th December 2003, the top BBC news item announced (BBC News, 2003): 'women have overtaken men at every level of education in developed countries around the world, and girls are now more confident of getting better-paid, professional jobs than their flagging male counterparts'. It went on to say that in the UK, 63 per cent of girls expected to have 'white collar, high-skilled' jobs by the time they were 30 compared to only 51 per cent of boys. In the early to mid 1990s, most multinationals, professional firms and FTSE 100 companies were taking on at least 50 per cent women at graduate entry level – simply because academically, psychometrically, in social skills and life-skill tests they were the best of the crop. Today, taking on more than 50 per cent women at this level (and other levels) is becoming common practice for many companies and professional firms.
