Report: Can women really choose their careers?

Melbourne: A new report from Monash University sheds light on the social and psychological troubles women face while choosing the right career path.

It’s not uncommon to hear the catch cry ‘women can do anything they choose’. 

Now is a time when young women are doing well educationally and alongside changes to the structure and timing of families and other life stepping stones, young women appear to have greater job and career opportunities than previous generations, unlimited life choices. 

But how much choice do young women really have and who shapes their choices?

To mark International Youth Day 2022 (Friday August 12) the Monash Centre for Youth Policy and Education Practice has released an important new report; Young Women Choosing Careers: Who Decides?

Key findings of the report include:

• A third of young women were highly stressed about choosing the right career
• One in five young women were overwhelmed by the career information and choices they face. 
• Two in five young women said they had no career direction. 
• 39% of young women were concerned about ever achieving a real career. 
• Nearly 40% of young women were worried that their studies will not lead to a “real” career. 
• Around a third of young women felt unemployable. 
• Over a third of young women who had chosen a career were still anxious about their future careers.