Traditionally male-orientated courses have become a thing of the past with women now outnumbering men in medicine, dentistry, veterinary, law and some of the sciences.

New figures released by the Higher Education Authority (HEA), show that in the 2004/05 academic year there were more women students in many high-profile third-level courses. Some 60% of places in journalism and medicine were filled by women with even higher levels in veterinary (64%), pharmacy (67%) and dentistry (72%). These places were in HEA-funded colleges, which include UCD, UCC, DCU, Trinity College and NUI Galway and Maynooth.

Over the last five years women have also overtaken men in agriculture courses. In 1999, just 42% of places on these courses were filled by women. Last year, that figure increased to 53%. This was largely due to a big increase in women taking up veterinary courses. In common agriculture courses and its sub-disciplines, men continued to outnumber women at 52%, but this gap is continuing to narrow.

There are now more women than men in several science courses, including social sciences (61%) and life sciences (60%). However, men continue to outnumber women in mathematics, statistics, computer science and physical sciences.

The traditionally male-oriented areas of engineering, manufacturing and construction continue to hold few attractions for female students. Women make up just 24% of places in courses including combined engineering, metal work, electricity, architecture and civil engineering. In the science area overall, women account for less than half of all places, at 43%.

In some areas, however, there has been little change.

Nursing and caring courses continue to attract women almost exclusively, with nearly 92% of places in these courses being filled by female students. Overall, women accounted for nearly 78% of all places on health and welfare courses last year while places in the humanities and education were filled by 63% and 78% women respectively.

Men are, however, beginning to show more of an interest in these courses, with 5% more successful applicants since 1999.

Despite the fact that women are outnumbering men in the vast majority of university places, their wages after graduation are still below the male average. They also continue to be at a higher risk of poverty than men.

According to the latest CSO figures, women's earnings are just 89% of men's.

"Too many employers continue to permit 'glass ceilings' to exist, with comparatively few women promoted to senior management positions in many companies and industries, " said Kelly Mackey of the Union of Students in Ireland. "USI believes employers that are reluctant to address gender pay inequality must face aggressive government action.

"In terms of social pressures, women are sometimes expected to take lower-paying jobs in order to raise young children, while men develop their careers."