ZURICH, November 12 (AJP) -Thousands of Swiss schoolchildren spent Thursday trying out jobs dominated by the other gender as Switzerland held its National Future Day for the 26th time.
Boys helped out in care homes and therapy practices. Girls put on hard hats at building sites and tried their hands at joinery. More than 1,700 companies and public bodies participated in Nationaler Zukunftstag, Switzerland’s annual career exploration day for pupils in grades five to seven, Swiss public broadcaster Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen (SRF) reported.
The day’s motto is “Seitenwechsel,” German for “switching sides.” Organizers say it is not an ordinary career taster day. The aim is to introduce children to a working world they might never picture themselves entering.
At an occupational therapy practice in Regensdorf near Zurich, two boys aged 10 and 12 spent the day with therapist Fabian Debrassine. Men make up only about 10 percent of his profession. He told SRF that male therapists can be role models for boys who would otherwise never consider the field.
In Effretikon, northeast of Zurich, three girls aged 10 to 12 tried their hand at a training center for the building trades. Women hold about one in 10 jobs in Swiss construction, up from just under 6 percent around 30 years ago, according to figures reported by SRF last year.
Switzerland’s vocational system makes that early exposure particularly relevant. While university remains a major goal for teenagers in South Korea and Japan, most Swiss students enter vocational apprenticeships after completing compulsory schooling at around 15 or 16.
The trade they choose can shape much of their working life. Future Day tries to reach them years before that decision, while their ideas about work are still forming.
Those ideas take root early. Children begin forming views about which jobs suit them between the ages of 4 and 6, said Elena Makarova, an education researcher at the University of Basel.
“The Swiss job and training market is strongly divided by gender,” Makarova told SRF. She cited a study showing that only about two in 100 Swiss men choose an occupation in which men are a clear minority. Among women, the figure is about six in 100.
Pressure to conform to gender norms appears stronger for boys than for girls, she said.
The event began in 2001 as “Daughters’ Day,” when girls accompanied their fathers to work to explore occupations dominated by men. Boys joined in subsequent years, and the event took its current name in 2010.
Alongside those persistent divisions, children face a changing career landscape.
SRF highlighted jobs that barely existed 20 years ago, from artificial intelligence (AI) product manager to civilian drone pilot and professional gamer. At the other end of the spectrum, cashiers and administrative assistants are among the occupations the World Economic Forum (WEF) expects to see the largest declines worldwide by 2030.
Gaming illustrates how opportunities in emerging careers differ across countries. Switzerland’s first salaried esports team, Team Helix, paid each player 2,500 Swiss francs a month in 2018 — roughly $2,560 at that year’s average exchange rate. The team folded within a year after its sponsor withdrew. Full-time gaming careers remain far more accessible in South Korea, China or the United States, SRF said.
Asia also faces persistent gender divisions. In the WEF’s Global Gender Gap Report released in September, East Asia and the Pacific ranked fourth among eight regions, behind Europe, North America and Latin America. South Asia ranked second to last.
New occupations will not necessarily erase old patterns. Women account for fewer than one in five AI engineers worldwide, according to the WEF.
Makarova said a single day could achieve little on its own. Lasting change requires sustained support, visible role models and career advice that does not steer children by gender.
Whether either of the boys in Regensdorf becomes a therapist will not be known for years.
Tags: Switzerland, Zukunftstag, Future Day, gender equality, apprenticeships, vocational training, careers, esports, Asia, South Korea, Japan, World Economic Forum, AI jobs
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