Dr Paul Baker, Rector of Waitaki Boys’ High School and a member of the Ministerial Reference Group set up two years ago to guide the Government on boys' education is speaking today to a conference on Boys’ Education at Massey University Albany Campus. These are his speaking notes.

A four-year study observed how 14 young chimps in Tanzania learned, by observing their mothers, how to catch termites, using a thick stick as a tool. The mothers showed no gender preference in teaching. The daughters copied them closely while the sons "would quickly lose patience and play games". On average, the females learned the skill in 31 months; the males 58 months.

Adrienne Alton-Lee cautions about using the gender gap "as a kind of absolute measure of what matters". But, even in the Simian world, it's the gender gap by which we have come to judge male achievement - and in the human world, it is changes in the gender gap, more than any other factor, that brings us here today.

Good afternoon, everyone, and a special greeting to Team Waitaki, and to my wife who is here to ensure that this speech is finally delivered and over, so the gender gap in our domestic duties can be diminished.

My aim today is to advance our understanding of the gender gap in New Zealand.

Much of this presentation has had to be researched from scratch. The research base on boys' education in New Zealand is minimal. In consequence, this might be entitled the Hans Brinker Memorial Speech, as I'll be skating on thin ice throughout. In various aspects of the topic I've done enough research to form a hypothesis, but not enough properly to test it. I'll be identifying ten areas where further research is vital, if we are to do our best for the boys of this country.

I'll be arguing the following

1. The Level 1 gender gap is significant and has existed since 1993.

2. The Level 3 gap is larger than Level 1, larger than normally reported, and still growing.

3. The gender gap is subject based, and influenced by how we choose to construct subjects, teach and assess them.

4. The gap reflects and may contribute to changing gender patterns in tertiary education and employment.

5. The gap is not connected to race, class or rurality.

6. There is a crisis in the gender composition of the primary work force and a potential crisis at secondary level.

7. Boys' schools or classes have particular advantages in meeting male needs.