A new international survey spans three continental regions and nine markets to explore how women and men view household economics, the division of domestic duties, and careers that future generations of both sexes should pursue.
YouGov Omnibus’ quantitative study of over 14,000 people – 7,225 women and 7,320 men – ran from January 9 through 24, 2018 and reveals that though more women have joined the workforce around the world, their role as the central figure in the home hasn’t diminished.
Future Careers for Boys and Girls
The top three occupations that people across the world would encourage for boys are:
Girls are also encouraged to become doctors (54%) and scientists/engineers (46%) but many encourage them to become teachers (46%).
Globally, women are significantly more likely than men to encourage boys to pursue jobs as a teacher (41%), nurse (32%), housemaker (20%), and nanny (19%).
For girls, women are more likely to say they should pursue a career as an entrepreneur (42%), a police officer (31%), video game developer (30%), and firefighter (26%).
In fact, out of the survey’s thirty listed professions, women were more likely than men to encourage girls to pursue all careers.
The data suggests that for both boys and girls, women are more likely than men to challenge traditionally gendered-roles and encourage boys to go into previously female-ascribed roles such as those in the teaching and nursing industries.
In a similar vein, they are also more likely than their male counterparts to encourage girls to pursue traditionally male roles such as emergency service workers, entrepreneurs, and developers.
Around the world, women reinforce the idea of encouraging boys and girls to go against traditional career norms.
For example, the women most likely to encourage boys to become a nurse are from the UK (63%) and US (59%).
The women least likely to encourage a boy to go into that role are women from Thailand (11%) and India (18%).
Women from the UK are the most likely to encourage girls to become entrepreneurs, followed by women from the US (61%) and India (59%).
The least likely women to encourage this occupation are from Saudi Arabia (11%) followed by women from Hong Kong (34%) and Germany (34%).
The study concluded that in households around the world, while high-earning women support their household financially, they continue to play a central role in domestic life and its associated responsibilities.
Many of these women who contribute a majority of their household’s income take on a diverse range of responsibilities like managing finances, driving, and maintenance, the survey said.
Women also seem focused on addressing gender imbalances in future generations in a way that men are not.
With most people finding female role models in their personal life, and more women saying they would personally encourage boys and girls to pursue careers outside of traditional gender-stereotypes, the stage is being set for a generation who, inspired by today’s women, see a limitless future for themselves.
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