Neither male nor female: non-binary students and challenges they face

A gender-equal European Higher Education Area (EHEA) must include all genders. If diversity and equality are to be achieved, it is particularly important to include disadvantaged and under-represented students (Advisory Group 1 on Social Dimension, 2020). Consequently, European higher education policy and research must also include students who identify outside the binary categories of man and woman. The results of the EUROSTUDENT 8 data presented show that this under-researched group of students is among the most disadvantaged students, often burdened by health problems and discrimination.
The data from EUROSTUDENT 8 offer comparable insights into the experiences of discrimination and detailed information on mental health for several European countries for the first time. Furthermore, data on students outside the female/male categories are now available for 13 countries. Therefore, this intelligence brief provides a first comparative investigation of the experiences of discrimination and mental health of non-binary students in Europe. It is important to note that this is a brief bivariate investigation of a complex topic that cannot be summarised in a few simple conclusions. Nevertheless, there are considerable differences in the study experience between students with binary and non-binary gender indications. These findings provide impetus for in-depth research into the structural relationships between the experiences of non-binary students, discrimination, and mental health. For further research, intersectional analyses, multivariate and mixed methods, relevant literature and, in the longer term, improved data collection on gender must play an important role.