The future is female, job figures show
But a new analysis shows that they are poised to become the dominant force in the workplace over the next decade, paving the way for a dramatic feminisation of society.
Statistics compiled by The Sunday Telegraph reveal that women now provide half of recruits and trainees for what were once the traditionally male bastions of medicine, law and the church, while the proportion of women in professions like architecture and veterinary medicine is also rising sharply.
The phenomenon is thought to be the result of girls overtaking boys at school and university, greater expectations among women growing up in the post-feminist age and recruitment practices which encourage and even favour them.
But while young women are finally being allowed to fulfil their potential, there are now fears that increasing numbers of young men are becoming alienated from the world of work and education.
Dr Mark Batey, of Manchester Business School, said: "Women are going to be dominant in the professions over the next decade. They will begin to hold far more positions of power in the workplace.
"Employers realise that women are more suited to the modern workplace, where the emphasis is on the qualities of team-work, leadership skills, communication and emotional intelligence in which they excel – rather than the intellectual ability or physical strength on which men have relied. Already employers, such as law firms, are struggling to find good male candidates for vacancies because women are not only getting better academic qualifications, they have a better range of skills."
Dr Batey, a lecturer in organisational psychology, warned that urgent measures had to be put in place to encourage boys to engage with education and raise their career ambitions if they are to avoid falling further behind their female contemporaries.
"Ministers must take note of these figures and do more to support boys at school to stop them falling off the ladder. On the positive side I think we will see a re-alignment of gender roles, with men taking greater responsibility for child care and running the home," he said.
The figures clearly how the workplace is undergoing a gender revolution.
The proportion of solicitors who are women has risen ten per cent to 43 per cent in the past decade. Of those who qualified last year, 60 per cent were women, while 61 per cent of new law trainees were women.
"We have seen significant changes in the last ten years and the profession is becoming more female, especially at entry level. This is a welcome development" said Fiona Fitzgerald, of the Association of Women Solicitors.
"But we still have a long way to go. Ten years ago 19 per cent of partners were women, now its still only 22 per cent. Women are leaving the profession before they get to the top because the long hours culture does not fit in with the work life balance they want."
The profile of the Anglican church – once an all-male domain – has undergone a dramatic transformation since women were first ordained in 1994. Nearly half of all new priests are now women.
The medical profession is undergoing similar feminisation. In the NHS nearly 60 per cent of first year student doctors last year were women, as were nearly half of second year doctors. Significantly more women than men accepted a place at medical and dentistry schools last year, with 5,128 women enrolling compared to only 3,929 men.
Tests being piloted by a number of medical schools are likely to reinforce the trend. The tests, which assesses integrity, resilience, communication and empathy, are expected to result in higher scores for women, who are deemed to be better communicators and more able to empathise with patients.
Katie Perry Saphon, executive director of the Medical Schools Council, said: "It is particularly white boys who don't apply. Perhaps until now they thought they could make more money in the city. There are also concerns that it could be the interview process. The focus on communications has perhaps advantaged women."
Among veterinary surgeons there is a growing belief that more men need to be encouraged into the profession, as it becomes increasingly feminised. There are fears that while women are well suited to veterinary practice more vets may be needed to fill the gaps caused by women working part-time working and taking career breaks.
Only 13 per cent of newly qualified primary teachers are men. Although the number of teachers has risen slightly in recent years, many fear the imbalance has left young boys without positive role models.
Last month the Scottish Executive announced a multi-million pound campaign to attract more men into teaching, while England's Training and Development Agency for Schools is working to increase the number of male teachers.
"Parents want to see more male primary teachers. We agree with them," said a TDA spokesman. "Both male and female authority figures play an important role in the development of young people, and we want the teaching workforce to reflect the strengths of our diverse society."
Sue Palmer, the author of Toxic Childhood whose new book The Trouble with Boys will be published in the spring, said the gender imbalance in education had gone too far and threatened to lead to a similar imbalance in the workplace.
She said: "School is becoming increasingly feminised. We have the concentration on coursework in exams, schools becoming more and more risk averse, which is a female trait, and there is less emphasis on the physical, outdoor stuff. Boys are turning off."
However, equality campaigners point out that the influx of women into the professions has yet to loosen the grip of men on the highest positions of power.
A report by the Equality and Human Rights Commission last month found fewer women are reaching the top in politics, the judiciary and policing than a year ago. The report also showed a fall in the number of women running councils, health bodies, police forces, unions and other professional bodies.
Diana Warman, diversity adviser for the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, warned that some employers had to adapt work practices to suit women with family responsibilities, or risk losing them to competitors or drop out of the employment market all together.
"Working patterns and work hours have to change because at the moment 'presenteeism' is regarded as more important than anything else at the top end of organisations," she said. "If women don't get the working conditions they want they will just go somewhere else."
TEACHING
* 74 per cent of newly-qualified student teachers in 2005/06 were women, down slightly from 76 per cent in 2001/02
* 13 per cent of newly-qualified student primary teachers in 2005/06 were men, compared to 11 per cent in 2001/02
* 38 per cent of newly-qualified student secondary teachers in 2005/06 were men, compared to 35 per cent in 2001/02
MEDICINE
* 61 per cent of trainee GPs in 2007 were women
* 59 per cent of first year House Officers in 2007 were women
* 5,128 women students accepted a place at medical and dentistry school in 2007 compared to 3,929 men
* 72 per cent of consultants in 2007 were men
VETS
* 79 per cent of first year student vets in 2007-8 were women
* 74 per cent of newly-qualified vets in 2007-08 were women.
* Half of all qualified vets are now women
* By 2015, 90 per cent of newly qualified vets will be women, compared to 34 per cent in 1975
LAW
* 63 per cent of students enrolled with the Law Society in 2007 were women
* 61 per cent of new law trainees in 2007 were women
* 60 per cent of newly-qualified solicitors in 2007 were women
* Since 1997 the proportion of solicitors who are women has grown from 33 per cent to 43 per cent
CLERGY
* Only 10 per cent of priests in 2000 were women
* 47 per cent of newly-ordained priests in 2007 were women
* Predicted that by 2025 half of all priests will be women
ARCHITECTURE
* 42 per cent of students entering architecture courses in 2006/07 were women the highest ever recorded and up from 39 per cent in 2005/06
* 14 per cent of qualified architects in 2007 were women
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