Gender Equity and the Boys Debate: what sort of challenge is it?

Abstract

Recently public and policy discussions about gender equity have become strongly concerned with boys. This article discusses some aspects of the form, the context and the implications of these developments in Australia (and notes some points of similarity and difference with developments in the UK). It focuses on three main areas: the ways examination and other ‘indicators’ have been used in public policy constructions of gender inequality; secondly, the issue of what types of reforms constitute gender equity as a project; and thirdly, the issue of research agendas and the entry of masculinity to gender research.