Young women choosing careers: Who decides?

Now is a time when young women are doing well educationally and, alongside changes to the structure and timing of families and other life stepping stones, appear to have greater job and career opportunities than previous generations. But how much choice do young women really have and who shapes their choices?

This paper is a narrative about young women in Australia, their career choices and attendant anxieties. The data presented provides a window into young women’s experiences when choosing their career destinations in school, and how their transitions to post-school life are enmeshed in long-term social, political and economic change. It reveals the complexities involved in how young women develop and navigate their possible career selves. It also highlights the diverse career-related emotions, beliefs and experiences they have as they do this.