Researchers: Men tend to choose programs that provide high incomes

The fact that more women than men study at universities and colleges has been a fact in Sweden since 1977 and is a trend seen throughout the world.

- I think it does matter that there are career choices, traditionally male, that give good income without college studies, and that it allows men to choose to start working after high school instead of studying further and still getting fairly good income and working conditions. It can make it attractive to renounce college studies, says Anna Sjöberg, active at the Institute for Labor Market and Education Policy Evaluation (IFAU).

The men who choose to study tend to choose an education that provides higher pay and good career opportunities, such as an engineer or economist.

- If you look at the type of job and career choices that lead to top positions, men still make up a fairly large proportion. There, women do not dominate yet.

Sjögren cites boardrooms in business as an example. In 2018, the share of women on the boards of Swedish listed companies was 34 percent, one percent higher than the year before, according to a report from the Allbright Foundation.

- It is clear that things are happening there, but this large influx of women in higher education tends to fall into occupations and positions considerably further down the payroll.

Where do the women go then?

- The major programs are, for example, teachers, nurses, socio-economists. Large occupational groups that are very female-dominated, but also doctors, lawyers and social scientists.

Once the students get out into the job market, things are better for the men.

- Unambiguous. Somewhere, men catch up. When you look at the average income and the entire distribution of wages, men are better off in terms of income than women.

Even in leadership positions, where there is still a male dominance, the pay gap is to the men's advantage. But that's where the women key in.

- But there is no clear tendency for women across the entire distribution to deduct men in terms of income, but on the contrary, the wage gap has been extremely stable over time. Many people are surprised that they are so stable that so much has not happened.