FACTORS AFFECTING FEMALE STUDENTS' CHOICE OF MARITIME MAJORS

Abstract

Gender equality has gradually become a prominent topic in the field of social science. However, for employees in traditional industries, such as sailors in the maritime industry, society has long held preconceived notions regarding gender as well as different societal expectations for different genders. In the current study, we explored the degree of influence of gender culture beliefs and social information on female students' choice of maritime majors. We conducted group discussions to fommlate the study hypotheses and administered a questionnaire survey to 474 freshman and sophomore students at two marine-oriented institutes located in the north of Taiwan to collect data. Results of a regression analysis reveal two main conclusions: (i) The gender culture beliefs of female students in marine-oriented institutes are significantly and negatively related to the choice of a gender-atypical major, and (ii) social information from professional referents is critical in determining female students' choice of a gender-atypical major.