Hungary: Report warns that education in the country has become ‘too feminine’

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The report indicates that the “feminization” of the profession may have resulted in more than 80% of Hungarian teachers being women

A report said Hungary’s “pink education” phenomenon that favors women might jeopardize the economy, lower birth rates and harm men.

Women are overrepresented in Hungary’s higher education, according to parliament’s economic watchdog, which is seen as close to Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

The authors warned that an increase in the number of female graduates might make women less likely to marry and have children.

Orbán sought to bolster Hungary’s poor birth rate.

It was announced in 2019 that women with 4 children will be exempted from paying income tax for life.

The report was published by the State Audit Office last month, but the newspaper Nebszava has just picked up its findings. Its contents have been criticized by many Hungarian politicians and human rights experts.

Over the past decade, it has been found that more women than men are enrolled in universities in Hungary, this fall reaching 54.5%. Whereas, male students were dropping out at a higher rate, indicating that the feminization of the teaching profession may have resulted in 82% of teachers being women.

The report found that “female traits” such as emotional and social maturity were favored in the Hungarian education system, meaning that gender equality “will be significantly weakened”.

The researchers warned that the Hungarian economy might be in jeopardy if the “masculine traits”, which are listed as technical skills, risk tolerance and entrepreneurship, are underestimated.

The report concluded that this may even affect daily life with young people confused regarding what to do with “a frozen computer, or a dripping tap…”.

Hungarian opposition politician Andre Toth criticized the report on Facebook, saying, “It’s time to remove your glasses from the last century.” He also considered the differentiation of the so-called feminine and masculine traits to be “complete scientific absurdity”.

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Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has described his goal for Hungary as creating an “illiberal state”.

Lydia Gall of Human Rights Watch tweeted that it was “another blow to gender equality and women’s rights in Hungary.”

Hungary has faced criticism for its gender inequality, for some time. After a visit in 2019, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Dunja Mijatovic said Hungary was experiencing a setback in gender equality and women’s rights.

Hungary recently elected its first female president, Katalin Novak, but it still has the lowest percentage of female politicians in the European Union.

Viktor Orban, who has clashed repeatedly with the European Union on rule of law issues such as press freedom and immigration, called his vision of Hungary an “illiberal democracy”.