From education to employment: gendered labour market outcomes across care and non-care fields in Italy and Finland

Abstract A substantial body of research indicates that graduates’ field of study is a key predictor of the gender wage gap. While previous studies often compare groups based on women’s minority status in a given field, we reframe this by distinguishing between care and non-care fields—defined by their links to stereotypically feminized characteristics and their core care component. Taking the case study of Italy and Finland – representing distinct gender equality contexts, and contrasting welfare state regimes (conservative and Nordic) – we first investigate whether gender gaps in labour market outcomes differ between graduates of care- and non-care related fields of study. Second, adopting a comparative perspective, we further examine whether these gender gaps vary between Italy and Finland. Using administrative data from both countries, which include detailed fields of study classifications, our study supports the gender comparative advantage argument. Women experience smaller gaps in outcomes when graduating from care-oriented fields than from other fields, narrowing disparities particularly in wages and eliminating gender disparities in access to high-service occupations, while field-specific disparities in gender gaps were less pronounced in employment and job authority. Analyses are broadly consistent across Italy and Finland, suggesting limited cross-country variation in gender gaps in outcomes when comparing care and non-care fields.