Despite the great diversity of professions and careers in todays professional world, the majority of girls and young women still selects a typical womens career, such as hairdresser. These fields of work are, however, characterized by a lack of promotion prospects and poor remuneration. Only few women choose a profession or a course of studies in a male-dominated field, such as the technical field, despite the variety of attractive career opportunities that are offered, including good career prospects, better payment and a general alleviation of their everyday burdens. A closer look at the choices of this minority of women and an analysis of their reasons for choosing a technical career path are therefore highly relevant and pedagogically valuable.In this regard, this master thesis first discusses the importance of gender with respect to the learning biography and professional orientation of girls and young women. Further emphasis is put on the question to what extent parents influence their daughters‘ choices of technical professions. In the empirical research part of the academic paper, female students at the University of Technology Graz as well as their parents are interviewed about their selections of technical courses. In the interviews, their motives for their choices as well as their parents‘ influence become visible and are analyzed. In summary, the results from the empirical study will be outlined together with the theoretical findings. |