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The relationships between family socioeconomic status, gender inequality, and higher education selection from 1962 to 2018: a secondary analysis of the China General Social Survey data

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Abstract

This study contributes to the substantial body of studies on the relationships between family socioeconomic status (SES), gender inequality, and higher education selection. It does so by 1) examining the association between SES and gender inequality in higher education, and 2) comparing changes in socioeconomic and gender inequality before and after the 1999 higher education expansion using eight waves of China General Social Survey (CGSS) data (2008–2018), which comprised a total sample of 57,067. The results of this study revealed that gender inequality in higher education selection in China is driven by SES, and that higher education expansion in China has not reduced socioeconomic and gender inequality in terms of higher education selection. The established inequality persists for low SES students, especially low SES females. This study not only underscores the importance of SES and gender but also expands the conceptual validity of SES (effects of SES on gender inequality) in higher education selection.

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Data Availability

The data utilized in this study is sourced from the public resource available at http://cgss.ruc.edu.cn/English/Home.htm.

Notes

  1. The gross enrolment rate in tertiary education before 1997 was consistently lower than 7% (Wan, 2006), meaning that the vast majority of students went to work after graduating from high school.

  2. Mainland China consists of 23 provinces, 4 municipalities, and 5 autonomous regions (the equivalent of provinces).

  3. 1999 <= year i <= 2008.

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  1. Hunan University, Changsha, China

    Qiongjiang Song

  2. The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong

    Cheng Yong Tan

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Song, Q., Tan, C.Y. The relationships between family socioeconomic status, gender inequality, and higher education selection from 1962 to 2018: a secondary analysis of the China General Social Survey data. High Educ (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-023-01140-7

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