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COVID-19 and the Gender Gap in University Student Performance

Author

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  • Bratti, Massimiliano

    (Università degli Studi di Milano)

  • Lippo, Enrico

    (University of Milan)

Abstract

The gendered impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has been observed in many domains, such as labor market outcomes and mental health. One sector that was particularly disrupted by the pandemic was education, owing to the need to close educational institutions and move all learning activities online. In this paper, we investigate the gender gap in university student performance, focusing on a large public university located in one of the European regions most affected by the first pandemic wave (Lombardy, in Northern Italy). Despite concerns that the pandemic might have had a heavier toll on the educational performance of female students, our empirical analysis shows that the gender gap in student progression (number of credits earned) was not affected by the pandemic and that in some college majors (social sciences and humanities) women even improved their GPA relative to men.

Suggested Citation

  • Bratti, Massimiliano & Lippo, Enrico, 2022. "COVID-19 and the Gender Gap in University Student Performance," IZA Discussion Papers 15456, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp15456
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    Cited by:

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    2. Riudavets-Barcons, Marc & Uusitalo, Roope, 2023. "School Closures and Student Achievement: Evidence from a High Stakes Exam," IZA Discussion Papers 16074, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    COVID-19; university; student performance; gender gap;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • I23 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Higher Education; Research Institutions

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