Lisbon, June 29, 2025 (Lusa) -In Portugal, only a small proportion of women currently hold qualified professions in electricity, electronics, or construction, and stereotypes that ultimately shape the educational choices of boys and girls have remained unchanged over the last decade, according to data accessed by Lusa.
Among skilled construction and related workers, excluding electricians, the proportion of women in 2010 was 1.29%, a percentage that fell to 1.26% 13 years later, according to data that students from the economics degree seminar at the Instituto Superior de Economia e Gestão (ISEG) collected under the guidance of the director of the Gender, Work and Power Observatory, Sara Falcão Casaca, and the second Barometer of Labour Participation of Women and Men will include it.
Of skilled workers in electricity and electronics, women accounted for 2.98% of these workers in 2010, falling to 2.58% in 2023, according to statistics from "Quadros de Pessoal" Statistics Portugal (INE) makes available the data of the Strategy and Planning Office of the Ministry of Labour, Solidarity and Social Security for the research.
According to sociologist Sara Falcão Casaca, between 2010 and 2023, the distribution of women and men in predominantly male or female areas occasionally changed. Still, clear segregation persisted, and in some professions, such as those classified as electricity and construction, where women were already underrepresented, segregation worsened.
In her opinion, the data show that in 2023 there continued to be a high representation of professions in which the majority are men or the male sex predominates, and that society has made progress toward overcoming stereotypical conceptions, which are present from the outset in socialisation and shape the educational and training choices of boys and girls.
To combat this segregation, we must carry out in-depth work that involves all agents of socialisation, including the family. The sociologist emphasised that the toys we give to children act as agents of socialisation, and she highlighted the value of reducing the current high degree of specialisation in toys for girls and boys.
These social and cultural representations are deeply rooted and present in the family and other agents of socialisation, a traditional cultural mark on the social roles of women and men that guides the professional fulfilment of girls and boys toward more balanced opportunities, she explains.
“Social expectations shape their aspirations, and this often guides the aspirations of a man who could be an excellent nursery school teacher or a woman with a vocation for electrical engineering along a different path,” she argued.
Citing several studies, the sociologist explained that environments with both men and women are more conducive to teamwork and favour decision-making processes, as well as the way people work, creativity, and innovation. This is why it is important to ensure that the professional aspirations of women and men flourish.
The director of the observatory emphasised that vocations must be genuine and that education, as well as freeing boys and girls from gender stereotypes, fosters professional aspirations.
Recruiters’ decisions reflect gender stereotypes, shaping the choices and decisions on both the supply and demand sides of the labour market.
When a company hires an electrician, the prevailing expectation is that a man will fill the job, she specified.
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