Gender-based performance in anatomy modules among students of the School of Medicine and Pharmacy, the University of Rwanda

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Narrowing the gender gap and making education more inclusive are the primary objectives of the government of Rwanda and its stakeholders. However, women are underrepresented in science, technology, and engineering. Fortunately, female medical students have increased steadily in recent years. The objective was to investigate the difference between female and male performance in Anatomy METHODS: The marks of five academic years 2017-2018 to 2021-2022 were used. IBM SPSS Statistics 23 was used to analyze the data. Male and female performance was analyzed based on the general mean scores, then the mean scores of each module, and finally the grade ranges [<50%], [50-59%], [60-69%], [70-84%], [>85%] in five years. The standard deviation and P-values were calculated for difference analysis. RESULTS: 2433 records, 1534 (63.1%) males and 899 (36.9%) females, were pulled out, of which 35 students retook the modules; 19 females and 16 males. 41% of females and 39.6% of males scored between 60-69%, followed by 28.7% of females and 33.5% of males scored between 7084%, 22.5% of females and 20.4% of males scored between 50-59%, and then 6.7% of females and 6.0% of male failed by scoring <50%, while 0.4% of both female and male scored >85%. CONCLUSION: There is no significant difference between male and female students’ performances in Anatomy when compared (p>0.05). However, efforts should be made to determine the reasons for the gender gap in sciences and also to find means to attract more female students into science-based courses and professions.