Perceptions and Stereotypes of Humanities and Sciences of Female Students in Interdisciplinary Departments on the Job Search

Abstract

The presence of stereotypes about women has been identified as a contributing factor to the low representation of women in science and engineering. This study explores the factors that deter female students in interdisciplinary Humanities and Science departments, who have received job offers, from opting for science-related positions, with a focus on the job-hunting period. The purpose of this study is to clarify the self-perception of “humanities” or “sciences” held by female students in interdisciplinary Humanities and Science departments during their job-hunting period, and to elucidate the trends in their career choices based on that perception. Semi-structured interviews were conducted and analyzed using the TEA qualitative research method, which revealed that although the female students in this study received a diverse STEM-type education in an interdisciplinary undergraduate program, and some students moved from humanities to science-oriented seminars, they did not recognize their strengths during the job search period and positioned themselves in the humanities, like traditional undergraduate schools. It was suggested that external factors such as having only the choice between humanities and sciences when job hunting and the lack of job information in the sciences from those around them contributed to female students positioning themselves as humanities majors and contributing to the stereotype of girls as humanities majors.