Part of the reason for education gender gap is that young men need money more than young women

I know these two young people, a boy and a girl, neither of whom could be described as gifted students. They both come from disadvantaged backgrounds.

The girl goes to university and lives on a shoestring budget, but she has an older boyfriend with a car and an apartment. When she graduates, she is likely to get a low paid white-collar job (health education administration literacy). Statistically speaking, she is expected to marry up.

The boy told me that he cannot go to university because he needs to start earning money now. Statistically speaking, he is expected to be a bread winner.