Impact of Gender Dominance of Occupations on Career Choice of Undergraduates: Evidence from a National University in Sri Lanka

Abstract

Career choice is one of the imperative life decisions that an individual has to make in their life with careful consideration. Gender dominance of occupations plays a significant role in the process of career decision making. Previous theoretical explanations and empirical findings on that relationship are very limited in nature. Thereby, the current study aims to examine the effect of gender dominance of occupations on career choice of undergraduates by taking a sample of 113 undergraduates from a National University who are studying in their third and fourth years in different faculties. Primary data were collected through an online survey and convenience sampling technique was used in selecting the sample. Moreover, the current study was conducted as a quantitative study following a hypothetico-deductive approach together with a cross-sectional survey design. The collected data were analyzed with the aid of SPSS statistical software. Findings revealed that gender dominance of occupations is positively related to career choice as well as gender dominance of occupations significantly impacts career choice. Hence, it is concluded by proving that people still show a greater interest to choose occupations, where their own gender is represented to a higher extent and gender dominated occupations are deeply rooted in the society where young people stereotype occupations as feminine and masculine further. Thus, it is suggested not to determine the suitability of the jobs based on the percentage of their own gender in an occupation and should establish a culture where the priority is given to the talent that one possesses, when choosing careers. Moving towards a substantial population by considering undergraduates from a wide variety of universities including national universities and private universities to get a clear picture of how gender dominance of occupations affects their career choices along with a qualitative approach is recommended for the prospective researchers, which will enrich the substance of the present study.