Sectors, professions and jobs are still "gendered". In 2022, women and men still do not share the labour market equally. Admittedly, business schools are now close to parity, but the choice of specialities still shows an economic imbalance. What can be done? At NEOMA's Talent & Career department, we are trying to get to the root of the problem.

The obstacle of cognitive bias

"Let's go beyond our stereotypes to choose our careers: we all have something to gain!" This was the theme of a conference organised on 10 January by NEOMA. This is a welcome initiative when you consider that 17% of the students in the "Finance, consulting and auditing" courses are girls compared to 83% of the boys; 30% of the "Business Analytics" courses are girls compared to 70% of the boys; only 9% of the "International Business Development" courses are girls. The only one to come out on top? The 'Supply Chain' course, with a perfect balance in its ranks. Even though both sexes are equally represented on the business school benches, boys are more likely to go into technical specialities or entrepreneurship, while girls prefer marketing or communication. Is this a problem? Yes, insofar as the former lead to the less saturated and more remunerative professions. In the end, it is economic equality that is at stake.

In this respect, the speakers at this conference recalled the figures: in 2017, only 9% of high earners were women. The gap is more pronounced in the private sector. However, everyone is convinced that men and women have the same skills and professional qualities. 82% of people think so, according to a CGE-AFMD study. The same people also think that empathy is a rather feminine virtue, and self-confidence rather masculine. Proof that there is still a little work to be done. And a little education.

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