Gender Differences in Agentic Career Goals and the Choice of Field of Study

ABSTRACT

Women's representation in tertiary education has reached parity in many countries, although regional disparities persist. Furthermore, there is still significant horizontal gender segregation in some fields of study. Among other explanations, it is suggested that men and women might prioritise different life and career goals. Men are often perceived as preferring fields that offer higher earning potential and opportunities for leadership, while women prefer those offering greater social utility. Since fields of study differ in the perceived potential for agentic and communal goals, this might explain horizontal segregation. However, recent empirical evidence on this association presents ambiguous findings. This study contributes to the literature by examining how agentic career goals shape first‐year students' choice of field of study at the University of Milan ( N  = 11,201), moving beyond the conventional dichotomy between STEM and the humanities. Using both survey and administrative data, we tested the extent to which the endorsement of agentic career goals could explain horizontal segregation, that is, the imbalance in the representation of women and men across different fields of study in higher education. Results showed no significant gender differences in the endorsement of agentic goals once sociodemographic factors are accounted for, and agentic goals did not explain the gender gap in field choices. Instead, the gap was partially explained by educational background. However, a more detailed analysis revealed differences within STEM and humanities fields, with male students associating higher agentic goals with IT, and female students with fields such as law, healthcare and socio‐political disciplines. The observed variations seem to suggest that gender differences may lie less in the endorsement of agentic goals than in the disciplinary pathways perceived as conducive to their achievement.