An empirical analysis of the career expectations of women in science and technology courses

Using data from a recent survey of first year university students, this study examine the career and occupational expectations of students enrolled in science and technology courses as a way of shedding further light on the labour market outcomes of women in these fields. It has been suggested that...

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Main Author: Preston, Alison
Format: Journal Article
Published: Centre for Workplace Culture Change RMIT 2006
Online Access:http://search.informit.com.au/fullText;dn=200611968;res=APAFT
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/18975
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author Preston, Alison
author_facet Preston, Alison
author_sort Preston, Alison
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Using data from a recent survey of first year university students, this study examine the career and occupational expectations of students enrolled in science and technology courses as a way of shedding further light on the labour market outcomes of women in these fields. It has been suggested that women's apparent lack of career success in science and technology stems from factors such as their lack of motivation and career commitment. Findings in this study show shared career goals and expectations between young male and female science technology students, but differences in expected family care plans. Young women typically see themselves balancing work and family responsibilities through engagement in part-time work, while young men typically envisage that they will work full-time and take on the main breadwinner role. The findings highlight the likelihood of an ongoing masculine culture within science and technology and call for efforts to ensure quality part-time work if the industry is to avert ongoing skill shortages and retain highly qualified women who hold similar career aspiration to men.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-189752017-02-27T14:43:09Z An empirical analysis of the career expectations of women in science and technology courses Preston, Alison Using data from a recent survey of first year university students, this study examine the career and occupational expectations of students enrolled in science and technology courses as a way of shedding further light on the labour market outcomes of women in these fields. It has been suggested that women's apparent lack of career success in science and technology stems from factors such as their lack of motivation and career commitment. Findings in this study show shared career goals and expectations between young male and female science technology students, but differences in expected family care plans. Young women typically see themselves balancing work and family responsibilities through engagement in part-time work, while young men typically envisage that they will work full-time and take on the main breadwinner role. The findings highlight the likelihood of an ongoing masculine culture within science and technology and call for efforts to ensure quality part-time work if the industry is to avert ongoing skill shortages and retain highly qualified women who hold similar career aspiration to men. 2006 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/18975 http://search.informit.com.au/fullText;dn=200611968;res=APAFT Centre for Workplace Culture Change RMIT fulltext
spellingShingle Preston, Alison
An empirical analysis of the career expectations of women in science and technology courses
title An empirical analysis of the career expectations of women in science and technology courses
title_full An empirical analysis of the career expectations of women in science and technology courses
title_fullStr An empirical analysis of the career expectations of women in science and technology courses
title_full_unstemmed An empirical analysis of the career expectations of women in science and technology courses
title_short An empirical analysis of the career expectations of women in science and technology courses
title_sort empirical analysis of the career expectations of women in science and technology courses
url http://search.informit.com.au/fullText;dn=200611968;res=APAFT
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/18975