Are career aspirations gendered?

What careers do young students dream of before being influenced by their education and internships? A few days before International Women’s day, the EDHEC NewGen Talent Centre studied the aspirations of young female students and compared them to those of their male counterparts …

THEIR IDEAL PROFESSIONAL LIFE 

Projecting ahead 5 years, more women than men saw themselves as employees: 68% vs 63%. But beyond this statistic, it was their motivations that differed: in both cases, whether imagining life as an employee or as an entrepreneur, the women’s choices were always much less driven by remuneration. Young women are attracted by medium-sized companies (38% compared to 29%), while men favour big firms.
But the most striking differences related to their preferred business sectors and roles. The women hope to work in communication/events agencies and media/culture, whereas the men target banking/insurance and consultancy firms. In terms of the roles they would like to take on, they see themselves in marketing and communication, whereas their male counterparts hope to work in finance and consultancy.

EXPECTATIONS, CAREER OBJECTIVES AND MEANINGFUL WORK 

While the acquisition of new skills is an objective shared by both sexes, quickly being promoted is a priority for men, while women choose a diverse range of roles. When asked what makes for meaningful work, personal fulfilment was cited first by both men and women. But the differences were striking when it came to “earning a living”, which men identified as being much more meaningful than women, who displayed more of a focus on sustainable development and social and environmental factors. 

IMPACT OF EDUCATION AND INTERNSHIPS

While the business sectors targeted are highly gender-specific before higher education, both women and men ultimately find themselves employed in the same top 5 sectors. And the areas in which young women end up working are consultancy and banking/insurance, with the media/culture sector in which they imagined themselves working actually representing less than 4% of recruitment.
The job opportunities available to young women once they graduate seem to give them fresh perspectives more closely aligned with those of their male counterparts, somewhat challenging the notion of gendered careers.

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