Full bibliography

The pipeline theory suggests that increasing the number of women in male-dominated fields should lead to more equality in the labour market. This presumes that women and men in the pipeline expect comparable career outcomes. This study explores differences in academic preparation, career expectations, and career priorities among 23,413 Canadian post-secondary students. Our results indicate that women have lower salary expectations and expect longer times to promotion than men, and this gap is greater in male-dominated fields. Furthermore, women pursue career priorities that are associated with lower salaries. Gender explained the greatest amount of variance in expectations, regardless of field of study, academic achievement, or career goals. Our findings suggest that inequities in the labour market originate as gendered expectations within the pipeline. We offer recommendations to increase gender equality.