Ethnic Differences in Gender‐Typical Occupational Orientations Among Adolescents in Germany

Abstract

We illuminate the socio‐cultural embeddedness of adolescents to explain gender‐typical occupational orientations (GTOO) from an intersectional perspective. We investigate whether and why immigrant and native youths differ in their GTOO. These issues are of practical and political importance, as deviations from the norm of the autochthonous majority society can drive change in the gender segregation of the labor market on the one hand but can also lead to difficulties in accessing training and work on the other. We use cross‐sectional data on ninth‐graders from the German National Educational Panel Study, which allows us to analyze distinct dimensions of GTOO, i.e., expectations and aspirations. The results of step‐wise multilevel models show that (a) differences in GTOO between immigrant and native youths apply to certain countries of origin—particularly females from Turkey, the country with the strongest contrast to the German context in terms of gender‐related labor market characteristics, differ in their aspirations from native females—and (b) differences between immigrant and native German expectations shrink with immigrant generation and after controlling for aspirations. This indicates that assimilation processes involving socialization‐related adaptation to the host society play a greater role than an increase in information about its labor market.

Gender typicality of occupational aspirations among immigrant and native youth: the role of gender ideology, educational aspirations, and work values

“…Yet boys and girls of immigrant origin aspired to somewhat less gender-typical occupations than their majority peers. This finding concurs with a recent study on Germany by Wicht and Siembab ( 2022 ), which showed that students from immigrant backgrounds had less gender-typical occupational aspirations than natives on average, and the difference was especially pronounced for students from Turkey, which is one of the largest immigrant groups in our sample as well. Our findings also indicate that adolescents of immigrant origin orientated themselves toward more integrated occupations, as they were not more likely than their majority peers to aspire to gender-atypical occupations.…”

“…Indeed the mediating role of educational aspirations was most evident in England, a country characterized by large earnings differentials and where ultra-feminine occupations are often low-status and low-paid (Grimshaw and Rubery, 2007 ; Eurofound, 2017 ). In countries where female-dominated occupations enjoy higher prestige, it is credible that educational aspirations would not be such an important mediating factor (Wicht and Siembab, 2022 ). Remarkably, valuing a high income hardly contributed to explaining variations by gender and immigrant background once educational aspirations were accounted for.…”

“…While we expect girls (boys) to aspire to female-dominated (male-dominated) occupations (Gottfredson, 1981 ; Risman, 2004 , 2017 ), we are interested in understanding whether there are variations in the gender typicality of occupational aspirations associated with adolescents' immigrant background within the two gender groups. As limited empirical evidence suggests that immigrant-origin youth, particularly girls, are more likely to orient themselves away from gender-typical occupations (Platt and Parsons, 2017 ; Wicht and Siembab, 2022 ), we expect the following:…”

“…Empirically, it better accounts for the diversity in Western societies, especially among adolescents. We are aware of only one study charting how gender and migration intersect in explaining occupational aspirations in Germany, pointing to a less pronounced gender typicality in the aspirations of students from immigrant backgrounds, especially girls, compared to their majority peers (Wicht and Siembab, 2022 ). The study found some support for the notion that immigrant youth are influenced by multiple cultural contexts and that countries of origin can also serve as a frame of reference.…”

Challenges in School‐To‐Work Transition in Germany and Austria: Perspectives on Individual, Institutional, and Structural Inequalities

“…For example, Pessl and Steiner (2022) examine the situation of young people with disabilities (YPWD) two years after leaving secondary education, while Patzina et al (2022) investigate first employment. Furthermore, several contributions reflect upon the formation of aspirations and competencies before the transition to upper secondary education, as seen in Wicht and Siembab (2022), Eberhard et al (2022), andKlein et al (2022). The study by Yildiz and Ohnmacht (2022) adds that formative experiences, such as discrimination, occur early in the educational career.…”