There were 40 times more pictures of female students than male students receiving their A Level results on the morning of results day, according to the Guardian’s picture desk.
Writing on the Guardian’s live results day blog, Guardian picture editor Matt Fidler wrote:
“It’s 11.30 on the Guardian picture desk and so far we have only one photograph on our agency feeds of a male student receiving his results, from Wigan in Lancashire, v 40+ photographs of female students getting theirs.
“Luckily the Guardian has its own photographer out in Bristol to correct the balance later. In the meantime, here’s a group picture of taking in both sexes.”
The BBC’s education story featured three pictures of successful female students, with no male students.
Journalist Martin Daubney reported that there were no young men on the morning’s Sky News results day coverage.
The disproportionate number of images of successful female students were accompanied by headlines in The Times and The Independent that appeared to celebrate the widening gap between female and male university admissions.
The Independent ran the headline: “A-Level results 2015: Women outperform men again as record numbers secure university places.”
The front page headline of this morning’s Times was: “Women take record lead in university admissions.”
The Independent reported that in excess of 27,000 more females are due to start degree courses this autumn than males.