Female risk-assessment and career path : -A qualitative study of the role of risk, ontological security, and immanence in law students’ future occupational choices

Gender and risk are both components of our everyday life, put in a context of occupational segregation, they become increasingly interesting. Does risk-assessment and ontological security affect occupational choices and does those aspects differ between the genders? These are some of the questions that this study aims to examine. The relevance of these questions is the possible contribution to occupational gender segregation and continued immanence for women in the labour market. Through semi-structured interviews, this study will target last year's law [in 2022] students whose future occupational choice is approaching. The interviews include both males and females, the males are primarily for comparisons between the genders and the females of the study are of main interest. The collected material was analysed with the theoretical framework of Anthony Giddens theory regarding risk and Simone de Beauvoir’s conceptualisation of immanence. The result of the thesis indicates that women assess risks and prioritise safety to a much greater extent than their male counterparts which directly influenced their occupational paths, values, and choices. Further conclusions include the notion of underlying immanence; visible in the female participants arguments and self-doubt which permeated their occupational goals and choices