Only 2% of GCSE students study a book written by a female author, according to research by campaigners who are urging exam boards to diversify their set text lists to curb the rise of misogynistic views.
Research by End Sexism in Schools (ESIS) found that 67% of set texts for modern prose and drama were by male authors, while 58% of the set 19th-century novels were by men. It also found that 69% of the set texts for modern prose and drama papers had a male protagonist, rising to 71% for the 19th-century novel.
Rachel Fenn, a founder of ESIS and an English teacher, said: “While these stats are shocking, they are hardly surprising. The traditional canon of English literature has always valued the white male voice over others since its creation in the early 20th century.
“However, for the next generation to grow up challenging a patriarchal view of the world, both boys and girls need to be exposed to strong and empowering representations of women, not the voiceless victims and servants we see repeatedly in the perennially popular texts taught in English lessons.”
The research was based on asking each awarding body to provide numbers of pupils who answered on each text in GCSE exams in 2018, 2019 and 2022, with the pandemic years excluded as these were based on teacher-assessed grades.
The most common books authored by women on the approved text lists across exam boards between 2018 and 2022 were Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre and Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, the campaigners found.
These two novels are among the longest on set lists, at 624 and 448 pages respectively, and the campaigners said teachers were disincentivised from choosing them over shorter, more accessible books.
ESIS is calling for examining bodies to ensure an equal balance of male and female authored texts and protagonists, and to provide schools with support to change the texts they teach.
The campaigners also argued that there were too few books by male authors of colour, as exam boards adopt a “two birds one stone approach” by prioritising books by women of colour.
ESIS calculated that out of the set texts offered by AQA, the most popular awarding body, more than 70% had a male author and a male protagonist.
AQA has made some changes for 2023, replacing two male authors with females in drama, and one male writer with a female in prose. AQA declined to comment on the research.
The study, which was published to coincide with World Book Day and focused on entire novels set for the modern prose, drama and 19th-century novel papers, found that An Inspector Calls and A Christmas Carol were the two most frequently taught texts, which were studied by 80% and 72% of students respectively at GCSE level.
ESIS views the popularity of these texts as posing an additional problem since the female characters are either victims or servants, which “perpetuates a narrative of women as victims of a patriarchal society, reinforcing the notion of sexual inequality as an expected norm”.
Julie McCulloch, director of policy at the Association of School and College Leaders, said the research reflected a “need to review the current curriculum, including English literature, to make sure it prepares young people for the world as it is now”.
She said: “GCSE English literature is heavily weighted towards traditional texts which inevitably reflect societies where views of women and in general were a great deal less enlightened than they are today.
“Exam boards endeavour to provide a range of options, including female writers, but they are working within a framework set out by the government, and it does feel as though this needs to be refreshed.
“It should be possible to better balance knowledge of traditional works of literature with more opportunity to study a greater diversity of texts.
“It is particularly important, given the current rise of misogynists such as Andrew Tate, that boys and young men are encouraged to read books which are written by women and include positive and powerful female characters.”
Eduqas, one of the exam boards cited in the research, said it was “committed to continuously refining and improving the content of our qualifications and have taken positive actions to address the gender balance of authors within our GCSE English literature qualification”. From September 2023, the English literature GCSE will offer an equal split of female and male authors in modern and 19th century prose.
