Gender gaps in healthy life years were in favour of women in Poland and Estonia, while men were expected to live in a healthy condition longer than women in Denmark and the Netherlands. Healthy life years were highest for both sexes in Sweden and Norway. As outlined in the 2012 OECD report Closing the Gender Gap: Act Now, girls have higher rates of graduation at secondary level. When success is measured in terms of outcomes rather than participation and retention, boys perform noticeably less well in reading, and are more likely to be defined as having special educational needs (Hibel et al.,