Choosing a Career in Health Sciences : How High School and Other Factors Influence Men and Women Differently

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

In Peru, even though a higher proportion of women than men are pursuing higher studies, the majority of them are enrolling in lower paying careers than those chosen by men, and are particularly absent from STEM fields. Therefore, it is possible to infer that at least part of the gender wage gap could come, not just from different payment for the exact same work, but rather from the differences in value of the jobs men and women are performing. Based on that assumption, the purpose of this research was to analyze the different internal and external factors that influenced the career choices of male and female students, focusing on those enrolled in Health Science careers, as that is one area of STEM in which women are not severely underrepresented. Particular attention was put on how aspects of their high school education, and other factors such as the people around them, their experiences and their culture may have impacted their career choice. Additionally, students were asked their perception of the quality of education they received during high school as well as whether they perceived any instances of gender bias during that time.
Through surveys administered to first year Health Science students from a national university and in-depth interviews with female Health Science professionals, it was found that the major factor of influence on their career choice was their own personal interest on the field or a sense of personal calling. However, it was also possible to identify other external influences such as their family members and their high school education, to varying degrees. Likewise, even though overall they consider their high school education to have been only partially relevant to their future development, they appeared to have been generally pleased with it; especially the female students, particularly with respect to the curriculum and school subjects. Lastly, only very minor instances of gender bias were perceived by respondents during the course of their high school education.

국문 초록 (Abstract)

페루에서는 남성에 비해 더 많은 비율의 여성이 높은 학력을 취득하지만, 대부분의 여성들이 남성들에 비하여 낮은 임금수준의 직업군에 종사하고 있다. 특히 STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) 직군에서는 더욱 그러하다. 따라서 성별간의 임금격차가 단순히 동일한 업무에 종사하면서도 다른 수준의 급여를 받기 때문만이 아니라 종사하는 업무 자체가 다르기 때문에도 발생할 수 있음을 추론할 수 있다. 이러한 가정에 기초하여, 본 논문에서는 STEM 영역, 그 중에서도 여성의 비중이 현저히 낮지 않은 보건과학(의료)분야에 집중하여 여학생들과 남학생들의 직업선택에 영향을 미치는 다양한 내부적 및 외부적 요인을 분석하고자 한다. 특히 중·고등학교시절의 교육 그리고 주변인들로부터의 영향, 개인적 경험, 문화 등의 요소가 직업군을 결정하는데 어떠한 영향을 미치는가에 주목하여 연구를 진행하였다. 더불어, 학생들에게 중·고등학교에서 양질의 교육을 받았는지, 젠더편향적인 교육을 받은 적은 없는지에 관한 설문조사를 실시하였다.
국립대학 보건과학(의료) 전공 1학년 학생들을 대상으로 실시한 설문조사와 현직 보건과학(의료)에 종사하는 여성들을 대상으로 한 심층 인터뷰를 통해, 해당 분야에 대한 흥미 혹은 소명(직업)의식이 직업선택의 주요한 요인임을 알 수 있었다. 그러나 가족 구성원, 중·고등교육과정과 같은 다른 외부적 요인들 또한 직업선택에 영향을 미칠 수 있음을 발견하였다. 비슷한 맥락에서, 설문대상자들은 그들이 받은 고등교육에 대체적으로 만족하였으나, 그러한 교육이 그들의 삶에 실질적으로 큰 영향을 미친다고 생각하지 않았으며, 여학생들에게서 특히 학교 커리큘럼과 수업에 관하여 이러한 영향이 두드러졌다. 마지막으로, 설문 결과에서 중·고등학교시절 젠더편향적인 교육을 받은 학생들은 극히 일부인 것으로 나타났다.

목차 (Table of Contents)

• I. Introduction 1
• II. Country Background 6
• A. Peru in Brief 6
• B. Gender Inequalities in Peru 8
• C. Education Sector 17
• D. STEM Labor Market 22
• III. Literature Review 27
• A. Development, Education and Women’s Empowerment 27
• B. Gender Inequality and Gender Bias in Education 32
• 1. Gender Inequality in Education 32
• 2. Measuring Gender Inequality in Education 34
• 3. Gender Bias in Education 35
• C. Women and STEM Careers 38
• 1. Definition of STEM Careers 38
• 2. Lack of Women in STEM 41
• D. Gender and Career Choice 44
• IV. Data Analysis 47
• A. Summary of Respondents 49
• 1. Characteristics of Health Sciences Students 49
• 2. Characteristics of Health Sciences Professionals 54
• B. Student and Professional Perspectives 55
• 1. Perceptions of Factors Influencing Career Choice 55
• 2. Perceptions of Influence of Secondary Education on Career Choice 65
• 3. Perceptions of Quality of Secondary Education 71
• V. Conclusions and Recommendations 78
• A. Conclusions 78
• B. Recommendations 82
• References 85
• Appendix 96
• Appendix 1: Student Survey 96
• Appendix 2: In-depth Interview Questionnaire 101
• Appendix 3: APEIM: Proportion of Homes of Each Socioeconomic Status, by area of residence 105
• Appendix 4: Summary of Female Professionals Interviewed 106
• Appendix 5: Alternative First Career Options, by Gender 107
• Appendix 6: Perceived Level of Influence of Each Intervening Factor by Gender 110
• Appendix 7: Opinions on Quality of School Aspects, by Gender 121
• Appendix 8: Opinions on Quality of School Aspects, from Students Who Thought High School Was of Good Quality 127
• Korean Abstract 133