Gender Segregation in Higher Education

Sa？etak The aim of the paper is to compare the findings of the existing research on gender segregation in higher education in developed Western countries with data on former socialist countries of Central and Eastern Europe, with a particular focus on Croatia. The feminization of higher education and consequent segregation are not seen as signs of growing gender equality, but as indicators of continuing patterns of gender inequality. It is established that Croatian higher education is gender-segregated even more than that of comparable countries. Explanations for horizontal gender segregation are sought in gender differences in abilities, education and self-perception, only to establish their insufficiency. Gender segregation of higher education is thus viewed as a parallel symptom of ”gender essentialism”, rather than as a cause of labour market inequalities. Cultural and socioeconomic differences between Croatia and post-socialist countries in general, and developed Western countries demonstrate a variation in the content of gender essentialism, showing that it is not based on any ”external” criteria