Graduation? In some way, "gender" also decides. Even today, males seem more inclined to become economists and engineers while females appear more oriented towards undertaking a career in healthcare professions (doctor, nurse, pharmacist, etc.). These are not the classic clichés but the indications directly given by the approximately 30 thousand young people leaving high school in 2023, reached by
AlmaDiploma
to build its traditional report on the profile of graduates. The vast majority of students (73.2%) expressed the intention to continue their studies after the high school diploma and, among these, almost all (91.4%) enrolled at university.
As a more in-depth analysis of the survey, carried out by the Skuolanet portal, indicates, there are
many factors that influence the distribution between the various faculties
: geographical origin, socio-economic status of the family and, as mentioned, gender. Among men, technical disciplines are currently the most popular: almost a fifth (18.2%) aim for Economics courses, while around a sixth (16.9%) are tempted by degrees in Industrial and Information Engineering. In third place, although far behind - they stop at 11.1% consensus - are the scientific area faculties.
Among women, the scenario changes, although not dramatically. Even if medical-health or pharmaceutical courses come first, selected by 1 in 5 students (19.6%), the high appeal for economic studies is confirmed. In fact, over 1 in 10 students choose them (12.1%).
Third step of the podium for degrees in Psychology, always chosen by around a tenth of the sample (11.5%).
This, however, is a general picture. There is, in fact, one more variable: the school of origin and the type of diploma obtained. And here things can change dramatically. For example, among male high school students, Economics and Industrial and Information Engineering remain at the top, but with lower percentages of appreciation, 17.6% and 14% respectively. The Medical-Healthcare and Pharmaceutical area appears in third place, with 13.2% of preferences. The latter sector confirms its leadership among female high school students, growing further and reaching 20.2%. The other two boxes on the podium, however, exchange positions: Psychology is second (12.5%), Economics is third (8.9%).
The situation is different for those who graduate from technical institutes. Among boys, Industrial and Information Engineering stands out (22.5%); the Economic sector has to settle for second place, but with more preferences than the general average (19.6%). In third position, however, the Computer Science and ICT Technologies area rises, with an excellent 16.4%. Among girls, the economic sector comes out on top, with a notable 28% intending to enrol. The Medical-Healthcare and Pharmaceutical segment climbs to second place (20.2%) and here too there is something new in third place, where we find the Legal sector (8.8%).
There is no shortage of surprises if we look at the paths taken by graduates of professional institutes who continue their studies at university. In this case, there is commonality of intent between males and females: in both universes, medical-health and pharmaceutical courses are popular, with 17.6% and 31.1% of indications respectively. After that, among boys, motor and sports sciences climb the rankings with 15.1% of the consensus, while, among girls, courses in education and training do the same, which stand at 18.4%. Economics, for males, and Psychology, for females, are the third choices, with 14.5% and 15.3%.
“Unfortunately, the choices of university courses still follow some age-old gender stereotypes today: men 'should' mainly work as managers and engineers, women 'would' be more suited to professions essentially linked to care and therefore to people's health. The latest AlmaDiploma data confirm that these social conditioning significantly guide the post-diploma path. And they confirm the need to intervene in a targeted manner on activities that allow students to choose more consciously what to do after graduating from high school", comments Daniele Grassucci, director of Skuola.net.
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