Over the past decade, it found that more women than men had enrolled in Hungary's universities - with the number this autumn at 54.5%. Male students were meanwhile dropping out at a higher rate, and it suggested that the feminisation of the teaching profession may have led to 82% of teachers being women.
The report found that "feminine traits" such as emotional and social maturity were favoured in Hungary's education system, which meant that gender equality would be "considerably weakened".
The researchers warned that Hungary's economy could be put at risk if "masculine traits" were undervalued, which they listed as technical skills, risk-taking and entrepreneurship.
Having too many female college graduates threatens the economy and demographics by skewing education in their favor and making it more difficult for them to have children, according to a report by the State Audit Office.
The report concluded that this could even impact everyday life with young people at a loss for what to do with "a frozen computer, a dripping tap, or furniture that has arrived flat-packed and there is no one to put it together".
Hungarian opposition politician Endre Toth criticised the report on Facebook: "It is time to remove your glasses from the last century." He also called the differentiation of so-called feminine and masculine traits as "total scientific absurdity".
"If education favours feminine traits [such as] emotional and social maturity [and] therefore causes an over-representation of women at university, [gender] equality will be significantly weakened."Hungarian PM Orbán has promoted a "conservative revolution" since returning to power in 2010 and has pledged to encourage the birth rate while denigrating immigration and banning LGBTQ content for children.Although Hungary recently swore in a female president -- Katalin Novak -- justice minister Judit Varga is the only woman in the government.The country also ranks second to last in the European Union in terms of the number of female MPs (12.6%), ahead of Malta.
The study said this stemmed partly from women being over-represented in the teaching profession, leading to “male attributes being underrated, possibly penalized” in the classroom. It didn’t mention gender inequality elsewhere.
There’s just one woman in Orban’s 15-member cabinet, and women comprise about 13% of lawmakers in Hungary, the lowest ratio among the 38 members of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development after Japan.
Lydia Gall of Human Rights Watch tweeted that it was "another blow to gender equality and women's rights in Hungary".
In a new study, the authority warned that Hungary's education could pose demographic challenges and impact the development of boys.“The phenomenon called ‘pink education’ has numerous economic and social consequences,” it wrote.
Hungary has faced criticism for its gender inequality for some time. The Council of Europe rights commissioner Dunja Mijatovic said Hungary was backsliding in gender equality and women's rights.
Hungary recently elected its first female president, Katalin Novak, but continues to have the lowest share of female politicians in the European Union.
Viktor Orban, who has repeatedly clashed with the EU over rule of law issues such as press freedom and migration, has described his vision of Hungary as an "illiberal democracy"
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