GIRLS are winning the battle of the sexes at James Cook University's Cairns campus.

New female students well and truly outnumber the blokes with three-quarters of the 523 first-year students enrolled at the campus this semester being women.

The gender imbalance is most noticeable in Bachelor of Nursing classes where there are 63 women and just four men.

Men still dominate in traditionally male-orientated courses such as Bachelor of Engineering – where there are 23 men and four women – but the overall picture is one where women clearly rule.

JCU senior deputy vice-chancellor Professor Andrew Vann said it was difficult to know exactly why the figures were so skewed in women’s favour but the strong economy and booming job market, particularly in the high-paying mining industry, might be tempting more men to choose work over study.

He predicted the disparity could create future challenges for men.

"It is a concern because potentially it could lead to a difference in employment outcomes for men and women," Prof Vann said.

"All the research shows a university education is beneficial to your career so it could limit their career options if men are not pursuing higher education."

Another reason for the strong showing by women this year is the surge in popularity for early childhood education, which is typically a women’s profession.

First year nursing student Natalie Brangwin, 17, said she had expected women to outnumber men in her degree, but not across the whole campus.

"It’s kind of sad because men do give different views so it’s a disadvantage if all the people going out into the workforce with qualifications are females," Ms Brangwin said.

Fellow nursing student Megan Fitzpatrick, 18, said there were a lot more men choosing trades now than a few years ago and heading off to the mines "because of the money". Classmate Bianca McMahon, 18, agreed.

"We live in an area where there’s a lot of development and a lot of guys just think it’s easier doing an apprenticeship," she said.

But Prof Vann said the imbalance might correct itself next year when the campus welcomes its first intake of dentistry students, who are typically mostly men.

"We don’t run courses with an eye to gender but with law, engineering, science and business on offer, you would think we would be appealing to both," he said.

At JCU’s Townsville campus, 65.6 per cent of the first-year enrolments are women compared with the statewide average of 60 per cent.

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