Equal opportunity policy and the reverse gender gap in academic achievement: Evidence from a quasi-experiment in Hong Kong

What happens when education systems remove gender barriers? We examine this question through an educational reform in Hong Kong, where a gender quota system in secondary school allocation was replaced by a merit-based one. Using TIMSS data with a quasi-experimental design, we find the reform reversed male advantages in mathematics and science by reshaping school access-girls secured more seats in higher-quality schools while boys became overrepresented in lower-quality schools. These results reveal how gender quotas had artificially constrained girls' academic potential. More importantly, they demonstrate that equal opportunity policies do not merely level the playing field- they unleash pre-existing female advantages that ultimately reverse traditional achievement gaps.