Recent research examined young people’s career choices

According to Yettel’s national, representative research^[1], the idea that there are “boyish” and “girlish” professions is still strongly present in Hungarian society: according to nearly 80 percent of respondents, this is still typical today. This attitude is perceived somewhat more strongly by men than by women: 84 percent of male respondents, while 75 percent of women, believe that this type of discrimination still exists. At the same time, the majority also sees a change: 79 percent say that today’s social thinking has become more flexible on this issue compared to the past 10–30 years, while 15 percent believe that the situation has essentially remained the same.

What will you be when you grow up?

The survey also revealed that many people still consider careers such as beautician or kindergarten teacher to be clearly “girly” professions, while careers such as IT, programming, web design, car mechanics, engineering, electricians or the military are considered “boyish”, among others. In addition, there are several occupations that the majority see as more neutral, but still slightly shift towards one gender: the profession of company manager or executive, police officer, chef and software developer is considered more masculine by many, while the professions of nurse, accountant, HR specialist, marketer and psychologist are more feminine.

It is particularly noteworthy that even in the thinking of the 16-29 age group, the view that certain professions are more “boyish” or “girly” is strongly present. At the same time, it is precisely in this group that the strongest shifts are visible. In the case of the data scientist position, for example, 70 percent of younger people already consider the profession neutral, and their perception of the software developer career does not shift as drastically towards men as in older age groups. The research highlights that young people do not consider the role of a company manager to be a particularly masculine field.

Another interesting lesson is that the opportunity to change careers is mostly considered feasible by the over-60s. The reason for this may be that the older generation already sees from their own experiences that a career path is not necessarily built around a single decision, and that a change can be a real possibility. Yettel believes this is an important message for younger people as well: you don’t have to take your first choice for granted and it’s worth staying open to new directions, especially in today’s rapidly changing environment.

“At Yettel, we also see examples of how transitioning between different fields of expertise, retraining and changing careers is no longer extraordinary, but increasingly a natural part of the modern labor market. We believe that this approach can empower young people and help them to choose more courageously, even in areas that society still tends to associate with one gender. Our goal is to support a workplace and social environment in which career choices are less and less determined by gender stereotypes and more and more shaped by individual interests, talents and opportunities,” said Szalai.

Enikő, Deputy CEO of HR at Yettel Hungary.

Own desires, family patterns and the role of the media – these also influence young girls

According to more than half of the respondents, young girls’ career decisions are mostly influenced by their own desires and individual talents (55%), but family patterns and parental expectations (49%), as well as labor market opportunities and salary (48%) also play an almost equal role. In addition, the impact of the media, social media and influencers cannot be ignored: according to 41 percent of respondents, these also significantly shape young people’s career choices. According to Yettel, the more open-minded approach of the next generations can also significantly transform the labor market in the long term. However, for change to happen, it is not enough for the social perception of a profession to be reduced; it is also necessary for more girls to choose these careers at the very first decision points. This is what we see with mobile service providers.