Factors Contributing to the Gender Disparity in Academic Achievement: A Systematic Review of the Research Literature in Pakistan

Pakistan lies in the region of the globe where 75% of the world’s illiterate population resides, the vast majority of whom are women. However, examining the educational performance of young adults shows that female students perform better than male students in almost every subject and at every level. Consequently, researchers are becoming increasingly interested in studying the factors which contribute to the better academic performance of female students.

The published research (50 articles) carried out in Pakistan was. reviewed. Most of these studies were either presented in conferences and published in booklets of abstracts from the 1990s to 2015 or were articles published in national and international psychological journals.

The review of the literature indicates that, when compared with male students, female students’ significantly better academic performance is due to positive study attitudes that are reflected in appropriate study habits. Another factor that results in the better performance of female students is the gender difference in the use of information and communication technology, utilizing digital libraries and accessing and using digital resources.

To the best of our knowledge, this is the only study which has documented in detail a review of research projects in this area, which examines the factors which contribute to the academic achievement of Pakistani male and female students. This review also discusses the factors which contribute to the gender disparity in academic performance.