Research degrees were more popular with men because women with equal academic abilities tended to put family commitments first, Professor Wong said.

'More women care about their career advancements today but there are still clear gender differences in the kinds of jobs they pursue. Many of those taking taught postgraduate [courses] are probably teachers, doing the postgraduate diploma in education as required by their job.

'There is a more promising picture for men in research careers. Linguistics is perhaps the only field dominated by female research students. Even at universities, the majority of the faculty are male. To many women, educational qualifications are not necessary. They care more about being good wives and mothers.'

A survey on behalf of the Women's Commission last year shows most local men believed housework was beneath them, with one-third doing no housework at all.

Women spent an average of 3.3 hours a day on domestic activities such as housework, taking care of family and voluntary work for friends and relatives, compared with 1.1 hours for men.

'Well-educated women do not want to marry 'down'. This means the better educated a woman is, the harder it is for her to find a husband,' Professor Wong said.

Lam Yu-shan, a doctoral student at the University of Hong Kong who is due to present her oral defence of her dissertation on the work of renowned linguist Chen Wang-dao, considers herself lucky that her boyfriend is also a doctoral candidate.

'A friend of mine who has a doctoral degree broke up with her boyfriend because he thought she was too well-educated,' said Ms Lam, 28. She believes some women are held back from doctoral studies due to worries that men do not want wives better educated than themselves.

'Some of my not well educated relatives said that I might be threatening to men,' she added.

Career choice is a significant factor too. Ms Lam is intent on teaching sub-degree courses or even degree courses in future. A doctoral qualification is becoming a common requirement.

Last year 5,485 women were enrolled in taught postgraduate programmes in publicly funded institutions, compared with 5,189 men, statistics from the University Grants Committee show.

There were a lot fewer women enrolled in the research-oriented programmes, including those leading to the Master of Philosophy and PhD degrees. Women accounted for 43 per cent of enrollees, or 1,957, compared with 2,596 men. In 2002, women made up 40 per cent of the total 4,445 enrollees.

For determined women such as Ms Lam, it makes no difference whether she is in the minority or not.

'I feel so inadequate. I have become more and more interested in my studies and do not want to waste the chance. The whole process is also challenging,' she said, relieved that the gruelling process of thesis writing was finally over.

'It was so painful at one stage. I had to think hard before I could decide on the precise focus of my thesis. But it was good training for time-management and self-discipline,' she said.

Another 28-year-old, Teresa Zheng Xiaohong, a PhD student at the University of Science and Technology's department of finance, is equally drawn to her intellectual pursuits, despite the strong stamina it requires. Only one-third of her 15 fellow PhD students are women.

'Some women are scared off by the whole process. I used to feel intimidated by woman doctorate [students] and had never thought of getting a PhD until I was about to graduate from university,' she said.

'But having a PhD will help me get a more respectable, stable job in future, even when I get older. In China, it is usually hard for women to find a well-paid job after the age of 35,' said Ms Zheng, who left Liaoning province three years ago to come to Hong Kong to study for her doctorate.

Enjoying the convenient lifestyle and close interaction with her professors in Hong Kong, she has no regrets about pursuing further studies here, although many of her former classmates at the Xian Jiaotong University chose the United States instead.

Both women agreed that they had learned a lot from the vigorous training they had enjoyed. Perhaps contrary to popular perception, women PhD students are not necessarily career-minded. They may conform to traditional roles at some stage.

'Some are willing to give up their job to look after their family. They just want to prove their ability by pursuing a PhD degree,' said Ms Zheng, who aspires to be a financial analyst in either Hong Kong or the mainland.

Ms Lam said she would not mind teaching in a secondary school should she fail to find any job in the sub-degree sector.