The latest census statistics from Stats NZ show that men and women chose different fields of study in 2013. Engineering was the most popular area for men – 32% of men chose this area – while management and commerce was the most popular for women. 21% of women chose this area. The least popular for men was education. Only 3% of men chose education. On the other hand 15% of women chose education.
Other fields of study for women were health (19% of women), society and culture (19%), and creative arts (7%). On the other hand 15% of men studied management and commerce, 13% studied architecture and building, 11% studied society and culture and 5% chose sciences.
Overall, slightly more women than men had a qualification – 80% of women to 79% of men. However, in university degrees, women did well. 58% of those with a Bachelor’s degree were women and 60% with a Master’s or Honours degree were women. Although the numbers with a PhD were small, 60% of those were men.
Level 1 to 3 qualifications were mostly related to retail and were mostly held by women. Level 4 certificates, though, were mostly held by men: 71%. Most Level 4 qualifications were technicians’ certificates or trade certificates for jobs like mechanics or electricians. 17% of these people were self-employed and another 10% were employers.
Questions
1. What do you think “society and culture” includes?
2. Are any of these figures surprising to you?
3. Does it matter if very few men are choosing to be teachers?
4. Why is “creative arts” more popular amongst females than males?
5. With more women than men in management and commerce, do you think that very soon there will be more women bosses or CEOs than men and more women than men on boards of directors?