Preferences, Constraints, and the Process of Sex Segregation in College Majors: A Choice Analysis

Abstract

The persistence of horizontal sex segregation in higher education continues to puzzle social scientists. To help resolve this puzzle, we analyze a sample of college entrants in Germany with a discrete choice design that allows for social learning from the experiences of others. We make at least two contributions to the state of research. First, we test whether essentialist gender stereotypes affect major selection mostly through internalization or rather as external constraints that high school graduates adapt their behavior to. Empirically, we find that internalized vocational interests better explain gendered major choices than conformance with friends’ and parents’ expectations does. Second, we scrutinize whether segregation results from women’s anticipation of gendered family roles or from their anticipation of sex-based discrimination, but we find no evidence for either of these hypotheses. As in most previous studies, differences in mathematics achievement fail to explain gendered patterns of selection into college majors.

Gender and mathematics: Pathways to mathematically intensive fields of study in Australia

“…In the 1980s, American girls were more likely than boys to value the importance of self-expression and social interaction at work, and they were more likely to pursue fields of study that offered ample opportunities for social interaction rather than mathematics and related science (Frehill 1997). Similarly, in Germany, high school graduates who entered college in 2010 had a lower chance of choosing a mathematically intensive degree if they showed higher interest in careers that involved helping and caring for others (Ochsenfeld 2016). Motivating career choices by good fit with individual identity, that is 'this job is me while that job is not me' type of reasoning is prevalent in post-industrialist societies among youth of both genders.…”

Gender, Anticipated Family Formation, and Graduate School Expectations Among Undergraduates

“…'s () study of college graduates finds that both men and women who selected women‐dominated occupations placed a higher priority on family than those who selected men‐dominated occupations and experienced earlier transition into family formation. Conversely, however, Ochsenfeld () found that anticipated parenting roles did not account for gendered patterns of college major selection. Limited detail on college major and intended occupational field in our data prevented us from taking these potential mechanisms into consideration but present opportunities for future research.…”

Gender differences and similarities in work preferences: Results from a factorial survey experiment

“…Similarly, other survey studies have suggested that men generally score higher on extrinsic work values, such as pay and status, whereas other studies have found extrinsic work values to be equally important to men and women in the US (Marini et al, 1996; Rowe and Snizek, 1995). However, a German study employing a discrete choice design have documented that, in contrast to men, women place importance on other job attributes besides the extrinsic ones, such as the intrinsic, altruistic and social aspects of a job (Ochsenfeld, 2016). Consistent with the results suggesting that men attach greater importance to money, studies analysing survey data from both the US and France have shown that expected earnings is a stronger determinant of college major choices for men than for women (Rapoport and Thibout, 2018; Zafar, 2013)…”