These graphs show the share of women and men in the professions

Imagine a person working on a construction site and then a caring person in the hospital: do jobs have a gender?

Of course not. But it is clear that there are professional fields that are clearly dominated by one gender. History shows that these patterns can also be changed. There are some professions such as: B. Psychiatrist, psychologist, veterinarian, pharmacist or optician, which were previously considered “men’s jobs”, but are now mainly practiced by women.

Nevertheless, today there are jobs that are under- or over-represented in a gender group. Here you will find an overview of the current situation.

Which basic vocational training someone chooses has an impact on their future career and career path.

According to figures from the Federal Statistical Office, a trend is already visible in basic vocational training in which professions women and which men choose. Women are predominantly represented, especially in healthcare and social services. About 88 percent of the people who started training in the healthcare sector in 2022 will be women. Men, on the other hand, more often choose a technical career. In 2022, 93 percent of men opted for training in the fields of computer science or engineering and technology.

The following graph shows in more detail which educational areas are mainly represented by women and men. The wholesale and retail trade, catering industry and catering appear to have a balanced distribution of men and women. Nursing and maternity care, social work and guidance in particular are more often chosen by women. In 2022, 95 percent of male students were mainly interested in the field of electronics and automation. In the field of electricity and energy, female students are the most underrepresented with only three percent.

The exciting graphics continue like this, but first a quick commercial break:

And now back to the story…

The same pattern can also be seen in the choice of study at universities of applied sciences. Here too, men more often choose technical fields and women more often choose specialist fields in the field of health care and social services or languages. In 2022, around 86 percent of men started technical training in the IT and technology sector. The field of applied linguistics will have an 85 percent share of women among new students in 2022. The sectors of chemistry and life sciences (53% women / 47% men), business and services (47% women / 53% men) and agriculture and forestry (46% women / 54% men) appear to be relatively balanced.

At universities, women are more likely to enroll in the humanities and social sciences, law, medicine and pharmacy. The study areas of economics, technical sciences, exact sciences and natural sciences, on the other hand, seem to be mainly interesting for men.

Women often have a lower professional position than men and are more often employees without a management position. These differences persist even when women and men have the same level of education. However, since 1996 there has been a slight increase in the number of women in management positions. Today, just over a third of management positions are held by women.

Of course, the question arises as to why “women’s and men’s jobs” exist at all. A new study from the University of Zurich shows that men leave a profession when the share of women becomes too high. According to this study, the common assumption that women and men choose different careers because of different skills and interests is being questioned.

Among other things, the study compared two hypothetical professions, which differ only in that the share of women in one profession is 25 percent and in the other profession 75 percent. The analysis found that men were twice as likely to leave the female-dominated profession.

This also explains why in the past there were jobs that were performed by more men, but are now considered “women’s jobs”. For example, primary education used to be a male-dominated profession, but today there are significantly more women in the field.

According to the study, typical ‘women’s and men’s jobs’ do not exist because of certain professional characteristics, but are the cause of them. Job descriptions would be tailored to the predominant gender.

An example: the nursing profession is described more with stereotypical feminine qualities: social, empathetic, caring. But he could just as easily be described with stereotypical masculine characteristics: responsible, assertive or physically demanding, study author Per Block said in a statement from the University of Zurich.

It doesn’t really matter whether there are more men or women in a profession. However, the Federal University Institute for Vocational Training (EHB) points out some problems in this area:

The majority of typical “women’s jobs” pay less than typical “men’s jobs.” According to the EHB, women who work in typically male occupations have poorer career and wage prospects in these professions.

In addition, it is not ideal if people learn professions that do not really suit them. This weakens productivity and, according to the EHB, the person’s interests and skills cannot be optimally expressed in society.