Detemple, Jonas RaphaelJonas RaphaelDetemple0000-0003-4946-55302026-09-012026-09-012026https://fis.uni-bamberg.de/handle/uniba/116453Kumulative Dissertation, Otto-Friedrich-Universität Bamberg, 2026Gender inequalities in career pathways have remained a persistent issue in Western societies, despite some progress over the past decades. Explanations for these inequalities are often sought at the individual or family level. Yet, their extent also varies considerably across local contexts, highlighting the importance of examining how such contexts shape gendered career outcomes—a task taken up in this cumulative dissertation. Gender inequalities can be explained from a rational choice perspective that highlights decision-making processes, as well as from sociological perspectives that emphasize gendered cultural expectations and beliefs. Over the life course, gender inequalities typically emerge across different stages, three of which I consider in this dissertation: adolescents’ gendered aspirations for STEM careers, graduates’ gendered earnings at the career start, and parents’ gendered career advancement. I argue that dependence on the local context varies by life stage: adolescents and young families are more strongly tied to their local context, whereas graduates face lower costs of mobility. Moreover, different contextual characteristics are likely to matter at different life stages, shaping career outcomes in gendered ways—for instance, through their interaction with prevailing gender-specific occupational images, mobility decisions, and the division of labor in partnerships. The analyses draw on longitudinal data from the German National Educational Panel Study (NEPS; starting cohorts 3 and 5) and the German Socio-Economic Panel (GSOEP), linked with administrative data from the Federal Institute for Research on Building, Urban Affairs and Spatial Development (BBSR) and the Federal Employment Agency (BA) at the district level (NUTS-3). The first study shows that the local prevalence of STEM occupations is reflected in boys’ aspirations for STEM careers, particularly non-academic ones, whereas girls’ aspirations are largely unaffected and remain lower overall. The second study finds that graduates who leave their place of study for their first job earn higher wages, with gender differences emerging primarily in relation to partnership status: male graduates benefit from spatial mobility mainly when cohabiting with a partner, while female graduates do so only when not tied to a partner. The third study highlights that mothers’ career advancement depends much more strongly on local public childcare coverage than fathers’: a well-developed and widely used local public childcare infrastructure reduces the time mothers need to attain wage gains and leadership positions, whereas fathers are affected only when they are not in the traditional breadwinner role. Together, the studies illustrate the complex role of local contexts in shaping gendered career outcomes, which manifest differently across life stages. The findings imply that contextual effects stem from different mechanisms: For adolescents, local cultural norms and role models appear most relevant, while for graduates and parents, local opportunity structures can open or constrain career options. Moreover, context dependence is particularly pronounced for more vulnerable groups, such as non-academically oriented boys, female graduates in partnerships, and mothers. Overall, the dissertation demonstrates that local structures influence gender-specific career orientations and behaviors. A comprehensive understanding of gender inequalities in career pathways therefore requires systematic attention to differences in local contexts.engCareer pathwaysGender inequalitiesLocal contextsCareer aspirationsCareer startCareer advancementLocal labor marketsSpatial mobilityDivision of labor in partnerships300doctoralthesisurn:nbn:de:bvb:473-irb-116453x