Poor careers advice hampers women

Young women are more likely to end up in stereotypically "female" jobs because they were poorly advised on the further and higher education options available, a report revealed this week.

The Equal Opportunities Commission report calls for action by the Careers Service to address the gender gap in achievement and career choice. It says that sexual equality has a low profile in the Careers Service and that only a third of services have sound equal opportunities policies.

It also wants the Department for Education and Employment and the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority to set an equality agenda for schools.

According to the report, sexual segregation in employment results from occupational choices at age 16 and of the subject choices of those who stay in full-time education. For instance, most A-level arts subjects are dominated by women, while the physical sciences are male strongholds. As a result, choice of further and higher education subjects is highly differentiated by sex, and this contributes to gender segregation in employment.

The research, carried out by Heather Rolfe at the National Institute of Economic and Social Research, suggests that sexual equality has suffered because of the preoccupation with issues of educational disaffection and of underachievement.