Parental resistances towards the election of a major in engineering: the role of sex and vocational attitudes

The election of a major is a crucial decision for adolescents in Latin America. In Perú, around a third of the total students choose to follow a major in a university. In this context, several factors influence the final decision, like family expectations, social and economic status, and student abilities. Also, students have individual attitudes towards specific careers based on the profit and status they believe they can receive from particular careers. However, parents' opinion is also a significant influence for the vocational decision because their approval of the dreamed career may guide an adolescent to study a profession that is not necessarily their real vocation.Moreover, the processes for parental support of the desired career are still under investigation. As well as adolescents, parents' opinions can be influenced by many contextual factors. Gender stereotypes are one of these factors. Previous research has shown that fathers are more influenced by gender stereotypes towards more desirable careers for both men and women. Gender stereotypes may discourage women from pursuing a career in technological professions. According to UNESCO, despite the advances we have made over the last years, women are not involved enough in engineering careers. Engineering careers have an essential role in our society because they use scientific principles to develop and apply technologies that improve our lifestyles. However, these careers are primarily associated with masculine traits, and many parents in Peru have this perception.On the other hand, engineering careers are perceived as profitable careers being in the top 10 careers with the highest income. Also, they are perceived as high-status careers in our society. Given these benefits, some parents may be willing to nudge their children to study an engineering career, not necessarily considering the real vocation they hold. It is also possible that parents influence their children's vocational attitudes of profit and status, believing that there are better careers than others. Given this context, the present research's main aim is to determine the role of gender and attitudes towards the vocation in predicting parental approval of a dreamed career in engineering.A sample of 1159 students (66.09% male) from the fourth and fifth grades from secondary private and public schools was gathered in Arequipa – Peru. A self-administered survey developed by the authors concerning professional preferences and parental resistance was administered. All data were collected under informed consent, and during class time with the presence of a researcher to clarify any doubt. A set of logistic regression models were estimated that show that fathers are 90% less likely to approve a career in engineering for their daughters than for their sons. If adolescents have profit and status-oriented attitudes towards vocation, there is a decrease of 21% in the likelihood of the father's approval. However, for non-engineering careers, there is no prediction of gender and attitudes. On the other hand, mothers' approval is not conditioned by gender or attitudes; there is only an increase in support if the child declares that they want to study an engineering career. The implications for gender stereotypes and attitudes are discussed, and the possible interventions to orientate parents of the importance of the inclusion of women in STEM careers.