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‘Not Rewarding’, ‘Not Relevant’, ‘Not Interesting’: Career Choices of Female Economics Students

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2023

Paula Haslehurst ,
Sandra Hopkins  and
Michael Thorpe
Michael Thorpe
Affiliation:
Department of Economics at Curtin University, Perth, Australia
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Abstract

Increasing female participation rates in undergraduate economics programs are not reflected in increasing female representation in the ranks of academic economists. Approximately 42 per cent of undergraduate students are women but the percentage of women participating declines in postgraduate programs and in academic positions in economics departments, where approximately 26 per cent of academics are women. Female representation in the academic labour market has an importance beyond its numbers. A lack of female role models and mentors among academics is one factor that may affect students’ motivation and career aspirations. We use the results of a national survey of Australian economics students to assess the relative importance of a number of factors in the career choices for postgraduate and undergraduate students in economics. We assess the factors that make academia an unattractive career choice for females.

Type
Current Issues
Information
The Economic and Labour Relations Review , Volume 9 , Issue 1 , June 1998 , pp. 108 - 122
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 1998

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Footnotes

*

We wish to acknowledge financial assistance from the Curtin Business School Research and Development Funds. We wish to thank workshop participants at the Economic Society of Australia Annual Conference, the Australian National University, Canberra, September 1996.

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