Gender differences in young people’s
aspirations for their future
Anna Bagnoli and Jackie Scott
Department of Sociology, PPSIS Faculty
Presentation outline
• Young people and SET
• Family background and young people’s choices
• The BHPS Youth Survey
• Questions on future aspirations and on future job
• Quantitative and qualitative analysis
• Gender and SET subsample
• Conclusions and next stages of analysis
Young people and SET
• The Roberts’ review (2002) highlighted significant downward trends in
the number of people taking scientific qualifications, particularly in
physics, mathematics, chemistry, and engineering.
• Girls seem to be put off early from scientific studies, and even if their
overall number studying scientific subjects has increased, in some
disciplines, like physics, they remain under-represented (Greenfield,
2002).
• Recent statistics (UKRC, 2009) show that girls do well in SET A levels,
but are still fewer than boys:
The number of girls attempting SET A levels in 2009
Girls and SET
• Despite achieving good results, girls and women drop out from every
stage of a scientific career at a much higher rate then men: the ‘leaky
pipeline’.
• The reduced number of women entering the labour market with
scientific skills is one key factor associated with the persistence of a
gender pay gap (Purcell and Elias, 2008).
• For girls, an early interest in science seems discriminating as to whether
they will eventually choose a career in SET (Schoon et al, 2007). Boys
may just ‘drift’ into science, SET careers being more open to them,
because of their being perceived more gender appropriate.
How do young people choose a scientific career?
• It is important to consider young people’s agency, as well as the
structural conditions in their lives.
• Family socioeconomic background has a strong impact on young
people’s life choices, and education is a crucial mechanism through
which families transmit their dis/advantage to their children (Scott, 2004;
Sullivan, 2007).
• Through the transmission of cultural capital privileged families ensure
educational advantage to their children (Sullivan, 2001, 2007). Families
in which parents are educated more easily provide a context in which
education is valued (Brookes, 2003; Scott, 2004).
Young people’s life choices and family background
• The educational and occupational attainments of children is related to
the education and occupation of both parents, with parental
characteristics being stronger for same sex children (Lampard, 2007).
• The effects of maternal employment have been widely investigated and
there is evidence that they are beneficial for girls, for whom working
mothers provide role-models (Scott, 2004; Kiernan, 1996).
• Particularly in some professions young people may be reproducing
existing family patterns in their choice of occupations (Devine, in press).
The BHPS Youth Survey
• The BHPS is an ongoing longitudinal study which began in 1991 and
which annually surveys a nationally representative sample of the UK
population consisting of 5000 households.
• Since 1994 the BHPS has been running a Youth Survey of the young
people in households aged 11 to 15. Once they reach 16, young people
enter the adult panel.
Future aspirations
• ‘Thinking of your own future, what would you like to be doing with your
life in about ten years’ time from now?’
• This open-ended question was asked in waves 12, 13, and 16 (2002, 2003, and
2006) to young people aged 13 to 15.
• In 2002, the respondents were 723, with 379 girls and 344 boys. In 2003, total
respondents were 694, 361 girls and 333 boys. 2006 data have not been
transcribed yet.
• The first two mentions in young people’s responses have been pre-coded.
However, the codes do not go into much detail. For instance, one code applied
is ‘particular career’, which does not distinguish what sort of careers the young
people mention.
• Qualitative analysis of the young people’s responses.
Qualitative analysis
• Initial focus on aspirations regarding job or studies.
• Identifying from the open-ended answers those young people with an
interest in SET.
• SET careers categorised as: science professionals; engineering
professionals; IT professionals; architects, town planners, surveyors;
science and engineering technicians; draughtspersons and building
inspectors; health professionals.
Panel data and open-ended questions
• Including some qualitative elements in panel surveys may be beneficial:
the use of some open-ended questions may be insightful, allowing
respondents the possibility to describe some aspect of their social world
in their own words (Scott et al, 2009).
• Neither panel surveys nor open ended questions are new methods, but
they are rarely combined. Their combination may be fruitful.
Coding responses as SET-related
• Some difficulties in coding the responses as SET related: in many cases there
are only a few words, and often these words are vague:
‘I would like to work with animals’
‘Working with animals or working in a zoo’
‘I hope to have finished school with all my exams and be a member of the
R.S.P.C.A as I would enjoy working with animals’
• The responses were coded as SET-related if respondents indicated more
clearly that their wished-for job required some specific SET training:
‘I would like to become a vet because I like animals and I want to help
them after they are ill’
‘I would like to be working with marine animals and to help them with their
environment’
The SET subsample in the BHPS Youth Survey
SET-related careers
Year
Total
Boys
Girls
2002
87
42
45
2003
71
26
45
Girls
Percentages
Year
Total
Boys
2002
12%
11.8% 12.2%
2003
10.2%
7.8% 12.4%
SET career interests
• There is a drop in boys’ SET interest in 2003.
• The percentage of girls interested in SET careers is very high, and even
higher than that of boys. However, a high number of these SET-related
responses is due to a large interest in health professions.
• The career interests of these young people already at this young age
indicate gendered choices:
Gender and SET interests
2002
2003
m
f
m
f
Doctors
3
7
4
6
Nurses
0
13
0
7
Other health
4
13
3
16
Vets
1
8
2
8
13
1
6
0
Engineers
6
0
1
1
Architects
8
1
5
0
IT
Gender differences in interests
• Already at age 13 to 15 boys and girls are orienting themselves towards
different occupations:
• The majority of those interested in health related professions are girls.
• Being a doctor, and to a lesser extent a vet, is interesting for both boys
and girls, but there is a predominance of girls who are interested.
• All of those who want to be nurses are girls.
• Very few girls are interested in engineering, architecture, or IT. The vast
majority who are interested in these disciplines are boys.
Future jobs and SET
• ‘What job would you like to do once you leave school or finish
your full-time education?’
• This question was asked to all young people aged 11 to 15, both in
2002 and in 2003. The data have not been transcribed, but have been
coded according to the Standard Occupational Classification.
• There are 932 valid responses in 2002, 427 boys and 505 girls. 86
boys, 20.1%, give a SET-related response.120 girls, 23.7%, give a
SET-related response.
• There are 915 valid responses in 2003, 428 boys and 487 girls. 59
boys, 13.7%, indicate a SET-related occupation, 110 girls, 22.5%,
indicate a SET-related occupation.
Gender and SET jobs
2002
2003
m
f
m
f
Doctors
12
15
6
20
Nurses
1
19
1
16
Other health
0
33
7
25
Vets
6
35
6
28
12
2
8
1
Engineers
9
1
7
1
Architects
13
3
12
1
IT
Conclusions
• These data on the jobs the young people would like to have after
leaving school confirm that those boys and girls who express an interest
in a SET-related occupation are already orienting themselves towards
different occupations at an early age.
• Re-coding the responses on future aspirations was necessary to
discern what the young people had said regarding their wished for
careers. However, the qualitative analysis of these open ended
questions did not add much to what could also be found through the
more specific question on the jobs they would like after school.
• Perhaps a qualitative analysis might be more insightful with regards to
the other dimensions that young people mention amongst their future
aspirations: for instance with regards to the articulation between career,
relationships, and family formation.
Next stages
• Analysis will move on to look at family background in relation to interest
in SET. Young people’s data will be linked to data from the adult sample
concerning family background characteristics, such as the occupation
and education of mother and father.
• This will allow investigating the extent to which young people may be
reproducing family patterns in their interest in SET, as well as whether
parents may be role-models to their children.
• Longitudinal analysis of those young people who expressed an interest
in SET will also be carried out, to see whether they are in fact pursuing
a career in SET a few years later.
Contacts
• Dr Anna Bagnoli
email: [email protected]
tel: 01223 769323