Female students lose out

Employers may be discriminating against women in favour of men when helping out employees studying part-time for degrees, according to new figures. Male students are far more likely than women to have their tuition fees paid by their employers, the research shows. They are also more likely to be offered perks such as paid time off for study and money for books and materials.

The findings, from a survey by the Policy Studies Institute, confirm women are hit much harder than men by the present student support system, which denies 500,000 part-time higher education students access to the subsidised loans available to full timers and requires them to pay for tuition.

The PSI figures reveal that two-thirds of male part-time students have all or part of their fees paid by their employers, compared with only 42 per cent of women. Nearly three times as many men as women get their books, materials or equipment paid for by their employer.