Educational expansion and economic development: do they necessarily promote gender employment equity? Evidence from job satisfaction in Chinese universities

The expansion of higher education and economic development is widely believed to improve gender employment equity by enhancing women’s access to education and skills. However, recent studies suggest these benefits may not extend universally, particularly regarding subjective well-being, where women often face new challenges amid educational and economic transitions. This study examines how education scale and regional economic scale moderate gender employment equity, offering a novel perspective on the intersection of higher education, labour markets, and gender disparities. Utilizing publicly available survey data from the China Higher Education Student Information Network (CHSI), comprising 49,615 undergraduate graduates from Chinese universities, the analysis reveals significant variations in job satisfaction across programmes with differing gender compositions. In high-female-proportion fields, educational expansion correlates negatively with job satisfaction, while in low-female-proportion fields, the correlation is positive. Furthermore, high-female-proportion fields show higher job satisfaction in economically underdeveloped cities, whereas low-female-proportion fields perform better in economically developed cities. These findings highlight the unintended consequences of educational and economic policies for gender equity, emphasizing the need for targeted, gender-sensitive interventions that consider programme composition, disciplinary characteristics, and regional economic contexts to advance equity in higher education and labour markets.