Can legislation reduce gender differences in subject choice? A survey of GCSE and a level entries between 1970 and 1995

This paper investigates the extent of gender differences in subject choice patterns at GCSE and A level between 1970 and 1995. A Gender Inequality Ind ex (GII) is derived to analyse national examination entry data, in particul ar to compare the impact of the Sex Discrimination Act and National Curricu lum on the overall time trends. The paper finds that the GII slopes downwar ds over time, but that neither intervention had a significant impact on the rate of decline at A level and only the National Curriculum did so at GCSE level.