The bar chart compares the number of men and women in Britain who pursued further education, either full-time or part-time, during three academic years: 1970/71, 1980/81, and 1990/91.
Overall, part-time education was significantly more popular than full-time education for both genders throughout the period. However, while the number of men in part-time education slightly declined in the first decade and then rose again, the number of women steadily increased. In contrast, full-time education figures rose moderately for both men and women over the years.
In 1970/71, around 1 million men were enrolled in part-time education, compared to approximately 700,000 women. By 1990/91, the number of female part-time students had risen sharply to about 1.1 million, surpassing their male counterparts, whose numbers stood at just under 900,000.
For full-time education, male participation increased gradually from around 100,000 in 1970/71 to about 200,000 in 1990/91. The number of female full-time students, though initially lower at roughly 50,000 in 1970/71, showed a more substantial growth, reaching around 200,000 by 1990/91—matching the number of males by the end of the period.
In conclusion, while part-time study remained the dominant mode of further education, particularly for women, the most striking trend was the significant rise in female participation in both study modes over the two decades.