10/19/2015 1

19/10/  The last two decades of the 20 th century have been marked in Greece by important changes concerning › The social position of women › Gender relations in the family › Gender roles › The lives of female population › Attitudes and believes about gender identities

19/10/  Greek young women - gained a massive increase in access to all levels of education (female students reached almost 60% of the total student population) - participate in increasing numbers in the labour market (they constitute officially the 40% of the labour force)

19/10/  The successful participation of women in education does not challenge dominant ideologies  In all occupations and independently of their level of education, women are in the lowest positions in the professional hierarchy and receive lower income than men

19/10/  Changes in the Greek society shape new attitudes for young women and men  Within this changing social context conflicts and contradictions are identified in the transitions from youth to adulthood

19/10/  Recent Greek research on gender and transitions investigates the pressures, conflicts and contradictions young people, and especially young women, face, when trying to take dicisions regarding their education and their adult life in the labour market and the family.

 To present recent research findings that show aspects of youth transitions in Greece at the beginning of the 21 st century  To connect these findings with strategies that would promote gender equality in the transition process from school to work and to adulthood 10/19/2015 7

Older research data (70’s and 80’s) on  Boys and girls’ access in education  Girls’ school achievement  The role of the school in reproducing gender 10/19/2015 8

Recent research data (90’s) on  Boys’ and girls’ access in primary and secondary education.  Female students in Higher Education  Girls’ achievement 10/19/2015 9

Greek data show  Amelioration of the level of women’s education during the last three decades  Very good female achievement in all types of examinations  Massive participation of young women in higher education (constituting the 60% of the total students’ population) 10/19/

However  Women’s educational decisions are still very traditional and gender specific  Gender divisions observed in higher education are reflected in their occupational choices 10/19/

o Recent bibliography on the role of the school in youth transitions o Research on gender and transition o Gender identities and our understanding of the transition processes and life choices 10/19/

 Research conducted in the frame of the project ‘Promoting gender equality in the transition from education to the job market’  Aims of the research: To contribute in our understanding of › The transitional mechanisms at the beginning of the 21 st century › Young people’s experience of femininity and masculinity 10/19/

 Representative national sample  8511 male and female pupils of Gymnasia (3d Grade) and Lycea (1 st Grade of General and Vocational Institutions)  7908 valid and fully answered questionnaires  51% boys - 49% girls  44% Gymnasium pupils, - 36% General Lyceum pupils - 20% Vocational Lyceum pupils  309 male and female pupils of Intercultural Schools  596 pupils of Evening Schools 10/19/

 44.3% of male pupils and 58.4% of female pupils wish to continue their studies in higher education  10.3% of boys wish to find a job and stop studying after the Lyceum (girls: 5.2%) 10/19/

GirlsBoys General educational choice University or Private Higher Institution Technical School or Technical Higher Education (TEI) Pupils of General Secondary Education Social Sciences and Humanities Science and Technology New Technologies Pupils of Vocational Secondary Education Nursing, Hair-dressing, Business Administration Accounting, Applied Art Electronics, Car Mechanics, Electrical Engineering, Informatic 10/19/

GirlsBoys Attitude towards school PositiveNegative or neutral Views on school knowledge Knowledge and the process of learning are means of self empowerment School knowledge is absolute and a product of the dominant ideology 10/19/

GirlsBoys Teachers of all levels (18,7%) Public or private sector employees Freelancers with University degree Deny the role of the housewife Selection criterion: the job should be interesting, creative, allow the combination of family and work, offer financial independence Teachers of all levels (6.5% only) Small entrepreneurs and specialized technicians (25.8%) Athletes and artists, farmers, entrepreneurs and civil servants of higher level Selection criterion: the job should offer financial security, fame and money 10/19/

GirlsBoys Agree with  progressive views on women’s work and gender roles in the family Agree with  conservative views regarding the gendered division of work in the society and gender roles in the family  traditional views on the role of women in the family 10/19/

GirlsBoys  Creating a family is their first priority for their adult life  Chose a job that would allow the combination of family and work  Create a family is not a priority  Prefer their wife not to work (they want her to stay at home, do the household and take care of husband and children) 10/19/

Results show o A general view of gender divisions in the disciplines, occupations and roles o A broadened conception of female identity showing that social change is connected with and promoted by women o A differentiated association of the two genders with education, which now plays a much more important role in girls’ than in boys’ transitions 10/19/

o Reconstruction of the official and dominant discourses of gender in education, with the aim to broadening the content of male and female identities (emphasis in the role of teachers and education policy makers) o Promoting the idea that gender equality has not only to do with changing women, but should involve both genders in a process of change (promoting changes in education that should influence male identities) o Developing projects of Vocational Guidance and Counseling that focus on the reconciliation of family and working life for both genders (trying to involve adolescents, vocational guidance counselors and young people’s parents in this process) 10/19/