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Why do girls' and boys' gender-(a)typical occupational aspirations differ across countries? How cultural norms and institutional constraints shape young adolescents' occupational preferences

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  • Leuze, Kathrin
  • Helbig, Marcel

Abstract

Occupational sex segregation persists in all European and OECD countries; yet in some countries, it is more pronounced than in others. In this paper we seek to explain these cross-national variations by analyzing the realistic occupational aspirations of 15-year-old pupils in 29 EU and OECD countries. Based on socialization and rational choice approaches we develop hypotheses for how cultural norms and national institutions might influence the gender-typing of occupations. These are tested by applying 2-step multi-level models to the OECD's 2006 PISA study merged with country-level data from various sources. Results indicate that girls develop gender-(a)typical occupational aspirations in response to structural education and labor market differences across countries, while boys' gender-(a)typical aspirations are mainly influenced by country variations in normative prescriptions of gender-essentialist cultures and self-expressive value systems. The findings point at the necessity for differentiating both between micro- and macrolevel explanations and between explanations for women and men.

Suggested Citation

  • Leuze, Kathrin & Helbig, Marcel, 2015. "Why do girls' and boys' gender-(a)typical occupational aspirations differ across countries? How cultural norms and institutional constraints shape young adolescents' occupational preferences," Discussion Papers, Presidential Department P 2015-002, WZB Berlin Social Science Center.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:wzbpre:p2015002
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