Disciplinary and gender variations in employability-related support across higher education

Graduates across higher education have indicated a strong desire to see employability-related support incorporated into undergraduate degree programmes (O’Leary, 2016) and this
research explores in further depth whether the support provided across disciplinary areas matches that desire. It is shown here that it is those disciplines that are predominantly populated by female students that are less well provided for in terms of employability-related support. The Higher Education Statistics Agency (2016) highlights significant disciplinary gender imbalances across the higher education sector. At Faculty levels, Humanities (63%) and Social Sciences (63%) tend to be female-dominated while Sciences (55%) and Engineering (80%) have predominantly male students, with even more pronounced splits in specific disciplines and subjects. This research provides proposals on how to enhance the provision of employability-related support, such as developing academic staff, using
external speakers, utilising business and management expertise, cross-disciplinary liaisons and incorporating professional services into the curriculum.