This research paper reports on findings from a comprehensive synthesis of research related to gender and Melbourne’s system of Select Entry High Schools (SEHS). The research described in this report was commissioned and funded by the Department of Education and Training, Victoria, with industry partners Portable and Huddle. This research is situated within a larger project entitled: Gender Equity - Consultation and Codesign. The report synthesises previous research in the field, alongside reflections on new data collected over 2021/2022 from students, parents and educators from both within, and in proximity to, the SEHS system, with the aim of generating original, empirically-driven recommendations for policy and practice in the area of SEHS entrance for young women. The project aimed to better understand and address the drivers of gender disparity for high performing girls at SEHS in Victoria, given the larger proportions of male-identifying students and the subsequent gender imbalance present within the system. As feminist gender scholars whose research engages with gender identities and sexuality, the authors acknowledge the complexities inherent to discussions of gender identities. Therefore, throughout the report, we use a range of socio-linguistic terms to represent gender. As the codesign workshops themselves did not explore gender identity, we cannot know how the participants understood their gender identities. To reflect this we have used the terms ‘boys’ and ‘girls’ in order to engage with gender disparity, and also the terms ‘female identifying’ and ‘male identifying’ and ‘girl identified’ and ‘boy identified’ to attempt to capture some of the nuances of contemporary gender identities (see, for example, Miller, 2016; Zimman, 2009)
