Le laureate in Sociologia tra sottoimpiego e sottovalutazione

Abstract

Several studies have highlighted the marketplace and the employment difficulties related to the degrees in Sociology. Less attention has been devoted to examining the gender condition of female graduates in Sociology according to the expectation and motivation toward the Sociology degree and the professional and work paid position. The empirical evidence shows that in Italy women, despite having better university performances – both in terms of duration of studies and degree grades – not only find greater difficulties in “job placement”, but, usually, have more modest job positions and receive lower salaries. This paper explores these topics, focusing on the degree in Sociology, via a secondary analysis of data drawn from the survey on Market, employment status and skills by graduates of the three-year courses (class of degrees 36 – Sociological sciences and L40 – Sociology). The authors aim to investigate both the dimension of perception regarding the training path, the acquired and required skills by the labor market, and some essential reference data on the employment status of the female sociologists. Findings confirm the underemployment of female graduates in Sociology; furthermore results underline as women, compared to men, perceive a lower evaluation of their acquired performance and, also, of the required competences in the labor market.