A college on every cape: gender equality, gender segregation and local college openings

Abstract The expansion of higher educational systems in Western countries in the latter half of the 20th century is central to the reversal of the gender gap in education. In Norway, major reforms starting in the late 1960s aimed at making higher education more accessible for large segments of the population. This occurred through the establishment, upgrading, and gradual expansion of local colleges across the country, especially in female-dominated fields associated with work in expanding welfare sectors. Previous research has suggested that the gendered profile of educational expansions contributed to the cementing of horizontal gender segregation patterns in education and the labour market. We shed light on these processes using new and detailed data on the establishment and upgrading of higher educational institutions between 1969 and 1992. Linking these to individual-level register data, we study how regional variation in educational opportunities affected the educational attainment and field of study choices of young women and men, using an event study approach. While increased access to college education was a prerequisite for the reversal of the gender gap, our results suggest that the location of colleges had, at most, a very modest impact on local educational attainment and gendered field of study choices.