Why are there so few women in information technology? Assessing the role of personality in career choices

Do Non-Cognitive Skills Help Explain the Occupational Segregation of Young People?

“…Thus, non-cognitive skills provide an important explanation for the disparity in the fields that men and women study as well as in the occupations in which they are employed. This is consistent with previous research documenting the link between noncognitive skills and college enrollment (Jacob 2002), the effect of preferences on college major choices (Daymont and Andrisani 1984;Turner and Bowen 1999;Freeman and Hirsch 2008;Rosenbloom et al 2008), and the occupation-and gender-specific nature of the returns to noncognitive skills (Nyhus and Pons 2005;Mueller and Plug 2006;Cobb-Clark and Tan 2010). At the same time, there remains a large gap --despite our extensive controls --in the gender composition of the fields of study and occupations that men and women are entering.…”

“…It seems reasonable to expect, for example, that non-cognitive skills may be one more basis on which labor market discrimination can occur. In addition, men and women appear to have different preferences over the job attributes inherent in different occupations (Daymont and Andrisani 1984;Turner and Bowen 1999;Montmarquette et al 2002;Boudarbat and Montmarquette 2007;Freeman and Hirsch 2007;Rosenbloom et al 2008;Zahfar 2009). The process generating gender differences in preferences is complex and not well understood, but is likely to stem from social expectations about appropriate gender roles, disparity in educational experiences (including discrimination), information asymmetries, etc.…”

“…This complex relationship between occupational segregation and other key labor market outcomes makes it important to understand the process that leads men and women to work in different jobs. Second, although researchers have traditionally focused on the importance of gender differences in human capital and labor market discrimination, new estimates of the role of preferences in occupational choice are beginning to suggest that a substantial fraction of the gender gap in occupations may stem from men's and women's preferences over job attributes (Daymont and Andrisani 1984;Turner and Bowen 1999;Rosenbloom et al 2008;Zahfar 2009). Men are often shown to be more responsive than women to expected earnings when choosing their fields of study, for example (Freeman and Hirsch 2008;Montmarquette et al 2002;Boudarbat and Montmarquette 2007;Zafar 2009).…”

Female peers in small work groups enhance women's motivation, verbal participation, and career aspirations in engineering

“…Even though women who initially intend to major in STEM tend to be wellqualified in terms of prior preparation in math and science (3,8), they often report less confidence and motivation to pursue STEM careers compared with male peers (9,10). These sex differences are often assumed to be driven by individual differences and a matter of free choice in selecting one's own life path (11)(12)(13).…”

Gender Inequality in the Labor Market of Ukraine in Information Technologies

“…Розенблум у роботі "Чому так мало жінок в ІТ? Оцінка ролі особистості в кар'єрному виборі" [Rosenbloom, 2008]. Авторка вважає, що особ-ливості індивідуальних преференцій чоловіків і жінок мають визначальний вплив на розподіл на ринку праці: представники різних статей цінують різні аспекти робо-ти й тому роблять різний вибір стосовно неї.…”