Insights for Mitigating the Gender Gap in Education

When the Lumina Foundation invited Glocalities to explore a pressing challenge in US education, their goal was to delve deeper into the concerning trend: fewer young men are enrolling in or completing higher education, while women continue to progress. The underlying reasons for this divergence were less clear, but our decade-long research in values could shed light on them and help identify ways to effectively communicate with young people who feel disconnected from the world of campuses and classrooms.

At Glocalities we specialize in understanding people at their core. Through our global survey, conducted almost every year in dozens of countries, we have mapped the values, aspirations and motivations of hundreds of thousands of citizens. We’ve repeatedly seen how decisions – whether to buy a product, join a movement, or as in this case, continue studying, are not only driven by practical considerations but also by whether people see themselves in the story being told.

Values and archetypes play a crucial role in shaping our deeper motivations. Archetypes, such as the Hero, the Explorer, the Caregiver, and the Creator, are universal characters that resonate across cultures and narratives. They inhabit myths, novels, and films, and influence how individuals perceive themselves. These archetypes also manifest in educational philosophies, visions of personal futures, and even in the identities of sectors or specific employer brands that resonate with individuals. They serve as powerful shortcuts to understanding identity and purpose.

When values and archetypes are authentically integrated into communication, they can transform a message from being overlooked to one that deeply resonates, prompting someone to think, "This speaks to me." By aligning with these deeper motivations, communication can forge meaningful connections and inspire action.

Following the trail of the gap

We began with a simple question: what lies beneath the educational gender gap? Our first phase of research compared young men and women, students and nonstudents, in the US and eight European countries. Because we could draw on several years of Glocalities survey data, the picture that emerged was notably detailed.

As anticipated, youth cannot be defined by a single profile. Using our segmentation approach, we delved deeper into the characteristics of young women and men. Among American male students aged 18 to 24, nearly as many fall into our Creative values segment, characterized by open-mindedness, personal growth, and cultural engagement, as into the Challenger segment, which is characterized by competitiveness, ambition, and a willingness to take risks. But remove the student factor, and the picture changes dramatically. Over half of nonstudent young men are Challengers, with far fewer in the Creative values segment. Female students form their own pattern, leaning more toward archetypes like the Caregiver, Explorer, Lover and Creator, worlds of empathy, curiosity and self-expression.

A similar analysis in Europe showed many of the same contrasts, but with one notable twist: European students of both genders tended to score more strongly on the Glocalities Control – Freedom dimension, embracing diversity, gender role flexibility and modern relationship norms even more than their US counterparts. While designing messages or programs to cross these boundaries and resonate with both female and males students in the US, those cultural currents matter.

Meeting the hardest to reach

Numbers alone cannot tell the whole story, so in our second phase we deliberately turned to the margins: the young people labelled NEET (the acronym for Not in Education, Employment or Training). They are more than a statistic; they are individuals at high risk of drifting away from both the labor market and civic life, and they are often absent from recruitment strategies.

Here too, the contrasts that emerged from the research were telling. Many NEET men carry the Challenger’s hunger for independence and quick, tangible rewards. They feel drawn to a variety of high scoring archetypes, just like other young people, but also resonate more with archetypes of the Jester and the Rebel. They prize humor, irreverence and non-conformity. They are wary of authority and the slow arc of traditional education. NEET women often carry more family responsibilities and resonate relatively more with the Caregiver and Creator archetypes, valuing stability, nurturing and practical creativity. Both NEET groups are generally pessimistic about their future, share a strong weariness with institutions and a sense of being let down.

These groups may be hard to reach, but there are starting points that can facilitate engagement. For NEET men, short skill-based experiences with visible payoffs can appeal, especially when they allow for independence and self-direction. For NEET women, flexible and supportive programs that acknowledge their dual focus on self-development and family offer the best chance of re engagement. And the variety of archetypes that they resonate with reveals that there are important and more personalized ways in for practically engaging with these groups in relation to their search for meaning, purpose and ambitions. Education and employment can empower these groups with the independence they seek, so long as engagement strategies are grounded in a true understanding of their needs, aspirations and search for meaning and purpose.

Listening to the institutions

For the third phase of the study we shifted perspective. Given what the Glocalities survey reveals about students and non-students (their identities, values, the archetypes that resonate, etc.) how does that align with the messaging they receive from educational institutions? Utilizing our representative Glocalities US survey data in combination with the Glocalities AI Assistant - that we have developed for reviewing and optimizing audience communications based on the data - we analyzed a range of recruitment text samples, from community colleges to highly selective institutions.

Through this process, distinct and powerful patterns surfaced. Some institutions already radiate clear archetypes in their tone and promises. One of the Academies, for example, clearly speaks as the Hero and the Ruler – honor, discipline, leadership and tradition. This can be magnetic for certain profiles but will leave others cold. More liberal arts‑driven colleges often channel the Explorer or the Creator archetypes, emphasizing curiosity, creativity and transformation. While examining promotional text samples from the institutions, we found that these archetypal signatures might have originated culturally and instinctively rather than from a conscious archetype narrative connection and audience fine tuning strategy.

Strategically tailoring outreach to student audiences and addressing gender dynamics presents numerous opportunities and can act as a powerful lever to enhance message resonance and drive engagement. By intentionally broadening or narrowing the range of values and archetypes in communications, institutions can more effectively connect with multiple value segments simultaneously, including those currently underrepresented within their halls.

These strategies are increasingly pertinent given the study's context: declining enrollment and completion rates among young men in higher education, coupled with the significant challenge of engaging NEETs (young people not in education, employment, or training). Successfully addressing these challenges depends on the unique strategy, mission, culture, communications capabilities and outreach programs of each educational institution.

Weaving the strands together

Taken together, the three phases of the research highlight that education is as much an emotional and cultural journey as it is an intellectual one. A young person who sees themselves reflected as an Explorer embarking on a challenge, or a Caregiver building skills to help their community, feels a resonance that course catalogues and statistics alone will not spark.

The Glocalities survey gives substance to this intuition. It shows where the overlaps are (for example the Caregiver, Explorer and Creator resonate across genders among students) and where the divides lie, such as between Creative‑minded students and Challenger‑dominated nonstudent peers. It exposes the reality of the “student / educational bubble” (that generally skews toward the Creatives values segment) and the different worlds inhabited by young people who are already employed, and the smaller group of NEETs. And it reveals the sometimes unconscious values and archetypes already embedded in institutional language.

From exploration to application

This collaboration with Lumina was intentionally exploratory, a test of whether our values based Glocalities methodology and data could illuminate such a complex issue. The answer is yes. We now have a map that not only describes the terrain of the gender gap, but points towards bridges: more tailored engagement strategies, conscious use of values based framing, and program and communications design that matches the diverse motivations of potential students.

For Lumina, whose mission is to make higher learning accessible to all, these insights offer a way to meet young people where they are, from the lecture halls to the edges of engagement. As researchers at Glocalities, we find it exciting to discover that our holistic survey insights hold significant relevance in crucial areas like the education of current and future generations. By more deeply understanding values and mastering archetypes in storytelling, we can help transform complexity into meaningful connections, both at deeper and practical levels.

In the end, education is not just a transaction. It holds the potential to unfold as a narrative with the learner at its core. Some may identify with the Hero's quest and bravery, others with the Explorer's journey and curiosity, or the Caregiver's mission to nurture and uphold a supportive environment. Values like courage, curiosity, and compassion, when communicated effectively in educational contexts, can help guide and motivate learners in discovering and shaping their paths. The true opportunity and responsibility lie in engaging and inspiring each young person to craft and embrace a personal narrative that empowers them to envision and realize a reality where they flourish, succeed, contribute, and find belonging in society, workplaces, and communities. Through this learning process, education aids them in discovering, developing, and excelling in their unique values, ambitions, and talents.

About Glocalities

We help organizations align strategy with the values of the people they serve, blending robust global and national survey data with the timeless power of values and storytelling to inspire change and facilitate growth.

About Lumina Foundation

An independent private foundation in the US committed to making opportunities for learning beyond high school available to all. Visit luminafoundation.org to learn more about their mission and initiatives.