Project background
Over the past few decades, women have entered an increasingly larger part of the educational system and labour market, while men have continued to make gender-traditional choices. The representation of men in female-dominated educational fields and professions remains persistently low. Within the research field of gender segregation in education, the issue of men’s educational choices is vastly understudied compared with the issue of women’s choice of education. We know too little about men's perceptions of female-dominated professions and the barriers for men’s entry into these educational and professional fields. Furthermore, research on gendered educational choices has primarily concentrated on explaining the persistence of gender segregation in education and the workforce, with less emphasis on how changes in gendered perceptions may come about.
Project Aim
Missing Men will gain new insights into the barriers and opportunities specific to men's entry into female-dominated fields of study, concentrating on the potential for change in perceptions of gender-typed education and work. The project will develop the
theoretical framework of gendered educational choices, and introduce concepts tailored for understanding how non-traditional choices come about.
We aim to answer three research questions:
- In what ways are assessments of skills, work, and qualities gendered, and what are the implications for educational choices?
- What may promote change in gendered perceptions of skills and work?
- What are the barriers and potentials specific for men’s entry into female-dominated fields of study?
Project Approach
The methods employed in this project include in-depth individual interviews, factorial survey experiments, and the analysis of population-wide registry data. The project is organized into two work packages (WPs). In WP1, we will examine assessments of female-dominated work, in what way young people’s perceptions of types of skills, work and qualities are gendered, and how this relates to their educational aspirations. This WP will combine qualitative interviews with factorial survey experiments. In WP2, we will study men’s pathways into gender non-traditional study fields and work. We will use registry data to study what impacts non-traditional choices for men and women. We will also conduct interviews with male students in nursing studies and primary education.
Privacy
The project processes personal data received from public records. It has been assessed to have the same purpose as the project Individual and collective outcomes of formal and informal institutions in the Nordic setting (NORLAB). This project has been assessed by Sikt - Data Protection Services. The Sikt reference is 219596. A data protection impact assessment (DPIA) has been prepared for this project.
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