Equal opportunities for girls is the subject of this far-reaching and topical study. The author analyses educational provision in the decades following the passing of the Sex Discrimination Act, and asks whether the school curriculum is male-orientated. Are women still presented as the second sex? Are they, as has been suggested, almost invisible? Is the language of the classroom sexist? Despite many apparent handicaps, however, girls actually achieve more examination passes than boys. There is therefore a problem of squaring up the disadvantages shown up in girls' experiences of schooling and the measurable outcome of that process - a conflict which this engaging text seeks to address.