The areas of interest for girls and boys in education differ, and there are also stereotypes here.
Modern.az reports that this was stated by Firudin Gurbanov, Deputy Minister of Science and Education, at a public hearing on the topic of “Gender Equality in Legislation: Achievements and Perspectives”.
The Deputy Minister stated that studies worldwide also show that only 35 percent of graduates in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) are girls. In our country, there are certain lags in this indicator at higher education institutions. The share of women here is 37.1 percent. In humanitarian fields, the share of women is 79.7 percent. This concerns us to a certain extent.
“Technical specialties are fields that generate higher income. Despite this, 76.4 percent of girls gravitate towards humanitarian fields, while 62.8 percent of boys choose technical specialties. This indicates the existence of stereotypes to a certain extent in family and school environments. Digital barriers become more pronounced in the context of digitalization. Girls choose information technology specialties approximately 1.5–2 times less frequently, which is associated with certain stereotypes. In higher education institutions, women constitute 64.5 percent of the faculty. However, their number in leadership positions is 43 percent. This also concerns us. In vocational education institutions, this situation is more positive. Women constitute 81.2 percent of the teaching staff and 63.9 percent of leadership positions. According to 2025 data, the number of female researchers in scientific organizations is 50.2 percent. The global average for this indicator is 41 percent. However, here too, women hold fewer leadership positions,” he stated.
