Partner Article

Women Close The 'Career Dreams' Gap

WOMEN TAKE TO THE INTERNET TO CLOSE THE ‘CAREER DREAMS’ GAP

• New research reveals Brits’ dream careers
• Women half as likely as men to achieve dream job before they retire
• Over a third more women than men would like to learn a new skill but are held back by a lack of confidence
• Increase in women going online to learn
• Psychologist explores what holds women back

Women are half as likely as men to achieve their ideal job before they retire according to new research.

The research also shows that it’s confidence and negative self-perception that’s holding women back. A third of women say confidence is stopping them fulfilling their career dreams and over a third more women than men would like to learn a new skill, but are held back by a lack of confidence.

But data from FutureLearn, the UK’s first provider of free online courses suggests women are heading online to close the gap on men when it comes to achieving their career dreams - more than 60% of their 3m learners are female plus, there is evidence to suggest this trend is accelerating - the proportion of female to male learners has increased by 6% year on year.

Nigel Smith, Head of Content from FutureLearn explains this phenomenon:

“The research tells us that lack of time, money and confidence are holding women back from learning something new, so the proportion of females using FutureLearn suggests that we’re successfully breaking down those barriers. I believe this is because our courses are free, you can fit them in around your other commitments and – crucially – you don’t have to worry about being judged in a classroom.“

Shirley Mitchell, 80, a journalist now residing in France, said:

“I’ve always enjoyed novel writing but had wanted to extend that into journalism. However, when I moved to France, my confidence dipped as I had to make new friends, learn a new language and essentially start my life over, which meant I had little time to focus on my career. Once I’d settled however, FutureLearn was a great outlet for me. I was able to pick up new skills from the comfort of my home, and meet new people. The cherry on the cake was becoming a journalist for my local paper – I had achieved my career dream!“

Dr Simon Moore, Chartered Psychologist comments,

“There is something more fundamental at work than a simple case of women ’lacking confidence’. Women are designed (biologically) to actually be more sensitive and mindful to risk and threat. The anterior cingulate cortex, the part of the brain that deals with threat is physically larger in women than in men. So we could say that women (in general) are biologically programmed to think much more carefully about their decisions and actions, which means while it might look like lack of confidence it is actually ’threat consideration’ or the need for greater control in terms of a decision.“

“If we take this into the career and education arena this might explain why women are taking to learning online. Undertaking an online course plays into this need for greater control over ’threats’ for women. Being able to make decisions and choose actions in their own home and in their own time suits the way women approach problems and change. Also doing something in private alleviates the anxiety of social judgement by their peers. Girls are conditioned from an early age that they are to be good and perfect. So there is this legacy of perceiving to be judged by society at all times which women are mindful of.“

To sign up to a FutureLearn course visit www.futurelearn.com

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by FutureLearn .