Here's A Shock for Women

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By LYSIANE GAGNON

The next generation of Quebec women might face a difficult love life. According to the September figures on student enrolment unearthed by La Presse reporter Andre Noel, in a few years the province will be filled With high-paid, ambitious, professional women. Across the dance floor will be a large group of losers -- uneducated men stuck in small, low-paying jobs.

More and more women -- and fewer and fewer men -- enroll in universities. In 1991, 57 per cent of the students at Universite Laval in Quebec City were female. By 1996, the proportion was up to 60 per cent; now it is 63 per.

This fall, the Universite de Montreal has twice as many female students as male. Women make up 80 per cent of the medical school's student body. The same imbalance can be found in most departments, including dental, veterinarian and law school. Most criminals are male, but when they're brought into court, they'll be surrounded by female lawyers and judges and observed by female criminologists and psychologists. The only areas where male students remain predominant are science, math and business; but Even there, the gap is shortening.

The good news is that women are becoming more educated. The bad news is that the proportion of men with university degrees is decreasing every year.