Although he had been warned, when Jean arrived in his first course of the BTS communication of ISCOM, in Paris, at the beginning of the 2021 academic year, he was a little surprised: "We were only three boys! I admit, it made me laugh, and at the time I wondered if I had chosen the right studies for me." But a year and a half later, as the young man finishes his BTS, he is able to confirm that this immersive experience has not traumatized him at all; Even better, he repiles one more year in his school to integrate the 3rd year of the Grande Ecole program. Always in the middle of girls.
"They learn to accept seeing girls become chiefs"
If in French higher education, according to figures for the 2021 academic year, female students are very slightly in the majority, and represent 56% of students, all sectors combined, the orientation is still very gendered: more boys in computer science, mathematics, engineering schools, and more girls in social, health, education, literature, biology. Thus, boys represent only 13% of the workforce in paramedical and social courses, and 30% in training in letters, languages, and humanities at university.
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Proof by example with the School of Industrial Biology (EBI), a state-recognized engineering school based in Cergy-Pontoise: 80% of students are female students, a rarity in the world of engineering schools. "It's probably related to our opportunities, in the health, beauty, well-being, nature sectors," says Florence Dufour, the school's executive director and founder. We wondered if we should act to have more boys, but that would be positive discrimination against girls, so we didn't want to do it."
On the other hand, the school surveyed its students to find out what it changed for them to study in a "girls'" school: "The students find that the environment is more relaxing, they see it as an opportunity to take more responsibility, without necessarily attributing this to the fact that there are few boys - whereas in my opinion, This plays a lot, because in this environment they take more confidence, "decrypts the director.
The boys of the EBI, on the other hand, start by putting out clichés about girls, "it's calmer", "it's studious", "it chats", "but when we go further in their reflection, they recognize that they feel a little different from other boys, says Ms. Dufour: "They learn to work with many girls, and to accept to see girls become chefs: President of association, project manager, also on their internship grounds. I believe that these boys when they are in a management situation will be better able to promote girls as well as boys."
"We have to forget about stereotypes, and everything will be fine"
Corentin, 22, finishes his studies at the EBI, and confirms what the director says: "During the first weeks at school we stayed a lot between boys, but in fact we get used to it very quickly, and quickly we no longer differentiate between boys and girls, we are more interested in the personality of people than in their gender". Same impression for Rafaël, 22, student midwife and also in charge of tutoring for the National Association of Student Midwives (ANESF).
This stream has 4000 students, of whom only 3% are boys: "I was very well received by the students, who were delighted to have at least 2 boys out of 80 students in their class, as well as by the teachers, exclusively women in my school. I could almost say that I was even a little pampered, at first, laughs Rafael. If boys read me and hesitate to enroll in a training where there are many girls, I advise them not to hesitate, not to be afraid. We have to forget the gender stereotypes that society imposes on us, and everything will be fine."
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Jean for his part, who says he is "very happy" in his school, notes however some differences in the way of working between groups of girls and groups of boys - he is well placed to talk about them since in college he has always been in classes of boys: "I find that in group work girls are more attentive to others, More composed, the boys more direct, more messy. As a boy working with girls, I may have had to argue and explain my point of view more often than when I was only with boys."
As a collateral effect to their immersion in a female environment, both Corentin and Jean note that this experience has helped to make them more vigilant about the difficulties that girls may encounter, especially in the evening: "I think I have become more benevolent," says Corentin, "in the evenings with other engineering schools where there are many more boys, The girls who are approached know they can come to me if it bothers them." "By talking to friends from school, I better understood why girls do not feel comfortable on the street at night, when it is a situation that I have never experienced personally," says Jean, who always says he worries about how his girlfriends get home at night.
At the EBI, Florence Dufour notes another collateral effect of this overrepresentation of girls, positive this one: "Students with fluid genders, who do not define themselves as either boy or girl, are very comfortable at the EBI!" And a little extra detail, the school has decided to make gender disappear on the bulletins and letters: no more Madam, nor Sir, students are called by their name and surname, quite simply.
