let m equal the number of males.
let f equal the number of females.
3/5 * m + 3/4 * f = local.
this makes 2/5 * m + 1/4 * f = foreign.
local + foreign = total.
this makes m + f = 403.
you are given that the number of foreign males and foreign females is equal.
this means that 2/5 * m = 1/4 * f
solve for f to get f = 8/5 * m
in the equation of m + f = 403, replace f with 8/5 * m to get:
m + 8/5 * m = 403
combine like terms to get 13/5 * m = 403.
solve for m to get m = 5 * 403 / 13 = 155.
since m + f = 403, this makes f = 248.
you have m = 155 and f = 248.
you know that 3/5 * m + 3/4 * f = local.
this means that 3/5 * 155 + 3/4 * 248 = local.
this makes 93 males and 186 females that are local.
you know that 2/5 * m + 1/4 * f = foreign.
this means that 2/5 * 155 + 1/4 * 248 = foreign
this makes 62 males and 62 females are foreign.
since the number of males and females that are foreign are supposed to be equal, this confirms the equations are correct.
if you made a table, it would look like this:
local foreign total
male 93 62 155
female 186 62 248
total 279 124 403
from this table, it's easy to see that the number of local females is 186.