Young women avoid technical professions

Researchers at the University of St.Gallen and the University of Bern have investigated which factors influence eighth-grade students most when choosing a career (“Skill requirements versus workplace characteristics: exploring the drivers of occupational gender segregation”, Socio-Economic Review, 2025).  

Based on statements from over 2,000 young people, it became clear that young women and men have similar preferences when it comes to key workplace characteristics such as salary, part-time options and social relevance. Differences mainly arise in terms of the skills required: girls avoid technical requirements, while boys value them.

This has far-reaching consequences. This is because wages tend to be lower in female-dominated industries, which contributes to the gender pay gap. Despite numerous efforts to achieve equality, gender-specific career choices remain the norm.  

Gender-specific preferences

Despite comparable levels of education among young people, gender-specific preferences for certain occupations continue to exist. Previous studies have explained this primarily with wages or part-time opportunities. "Our study refutes the widespread assumption that young people's career preferences are influenced more by work-life balance criteria such as wages or part-time options than by skill requirements,” emphasises study author Scherwin Michael Bajka.  

In the experiment, the young people surveyed chose between two fictional job descriptions that differed in eight characteristics – five relating to skill requirements (such as working with modern technology, social interactions, creativity) and three relating to workplace characteristics (salary, part-time options, meaningfulness). This allowed the influence of each individual characteristic to be measured precisely.  

Differences in technical requirements

Both genders show similar preferences when it comes to salary, part-time work and social relevance. Differences are particularly evident in the skills required. The use of computers and new technologies makes professions more attractive to young men. Creative or routine tasks, on the other hand, appeal mainly to young women, while young men rate them neutrally. Social tasks are an important factor for both genders. The findings contradict common assumptions about the importance of workplace characteristics and illustrate that gender-typical attributions of abilities already have an effect in adolescence – and thus contribute significantly to occupational segregation.  

Dispelling stereotypes

The researchers see the targeted promotion of self-value in technical skills as an important lever for breaking down gender-specific career choice patterns. In an increasingly digitalised world of work, where technological skills determine income and career prospects, young women's lower preference for technology-intensive occupations threatens to reinforce existing inequalities. "We have found that young women tend to reject occupations with high technological requirements, whereas young men show greater interest in them. 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," says Scherwin Michael Bajka.    

The findings not only provide new impetus for research, but also concrete pointers for education policy, career guidance and schools.  

The study ‘Skill requirements versus workplace characteristics: exploring the drivers of occupational gender segregation’ by Scherwin M. Bajka, Benita Combet, Patrick Emmenegger and Sabine Seufert, published in the “Socio-Economic Review”, is available for download at: https://doi.org/10.1093/ser/mwaf034