Young women tending to avoid technical professions

(CONNECT) A research team from the Universities of St.Gallen and Bern has carried out a study in which it has been revealed that young women tend to avoid going in a technical direction when it comes to selecting a profession. As detailed in a press release, female applicants tend to prefer jobs involving creativity, social interaction and routine processes, while young men tend to prioritize jobs that involve working with computers and modern technologies.

For this purpose, 2,000 8th grade students were surveyed. In a choice experiment, they were given the opportunity to choose between two fictitious job descriptions, which differed in eight characteristics: five related to the skill requirements (e.g., working with modern technology, social interactions, creativity), and three related to workplace features (wage, part-time opportunities, meaningfulness). The results showed that there was a gender alignment with regard to workplace features, while the aforementioned split occurred in relation to the skills profile.

In order to achieve greater gender equality in this area, the researchers believe that enhancing feelings of self-worth in technical skills represents a strong lever to break down established gender patterns. “We have found that young women tend to reject occupations with high technological requirements, whereas young men show greater interest in them”, as Scherwin Michael Bajka, lead author of the study, comments in the press release, adding that: “This is partly due to gender-specific self-perceptions of competence. This is where we need to start if we want to break down stereotypes and reduce social inequalities surrounding entry into the labour market”. ce/ww