On average boys outperform girls by 10 points or more in Japan, while it is the other way round in Malaysia and Thailand. Top performers in the PISA mathematics and sciences tests are predominately boys, while the top performers in the reading test are girls. In most economies, there are more girls than boys among bottom performers in mathematics, but the gender gap is less significant than among the top performers (Figure 2.4). Women have been entering the labour force in larger numbers and remain longer in employment over their life course.