Survey Finds Female Students Less Likely To Apply For Top Graduate Jobs, More Likely To Get One If They Do

By Danni White on August 18, 2016

salon.com

With Hillary Clinton clinching the democratic presidential nomination and countless other women making strides in almost every arena of life, it isn’t any wonder that women continue to focus on breaking the proverbial glass ceiling.

A recent survey released in July by the Association of Graduate Recruiters has found that female students are more likely to get a top graduate job even though far less of them actually apply for one. The diversity report reveals that improving the gender gap is largely a matter of graduate programs working to attract female students in the first place.

The responses by 170 employers showed that while 54 percent of students are women, graduate job applicants make up just 47 percent. However, when women do give in to their better selves and apply for the top job post, they are relatively more likely to get the job over men, making up 49 percent of the job hires.

With more opportunities being open to female graduates, industries have a better chance at increasing the productivity of the workforce and improving the work-life balance of its employees. This trend seems to be consistent across the board as women are more successful in getting the job they apply for no matter what industry it is in.

Even in what is generally deemed as male-dominated industries such as IT and engineering, women hold an advantage over men in getting hired. (It would be interesting to know what that advantage is.) But while women make up 17 percent of IT students and 15 percent of engineering students, they succeed at being hired for 27 percent of the IT jobs and 25 percent of engineering jobs. In reverse, while law students are 63 percent female, law firms hire only 58 percent of them.

The report found that graduate employers are working to increase the number of women they hire. Student perceptions are one of the biggest challenges employers face in attracting a gender-diverse workforce and 83 percent urged a closer look at the issue. Over 50 percent had a strategy in place to address the gender imbalances, and when compared to other forms of diversity, the majority stated it as one of their top concerns.

Stephen Isherwood, the CEO of AGR said:

“Despite investment to develop a more diverse graduate workforce, there remain considerable barriers. Improving gender diversity is less about changing selection processes and is largely an attraction challenge. Many female students don’t apply for the top programs when they should.”

He went on to say:

“Graduate employers want to hire women, there are lots of opportunities are out there and these candidates are more likely to succeed, so we need to address why they’re not applying. Industry-wide collaboration to tackle student perceptions will be a key step forward. We know women are hugely successful in the selection process, more so than men. We just need them to realize it. We need to boost confidence and encourage more female graduates to reach their potential.”

Perhaps, this study shows on a deeper level that there are really no glass ceilings after all.

View full AGR report here.

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