Gender Gap in Studying Abroad

Abstract

Despite the apparent rise in countries offered, programs provided, variety of durations within the programs given, an unrelenting gender imbalance continues to exist between United States male and female college students studying abroad. This research study attempted to explore marketing, and particularly marketing materials, as a potential factor that could contribute to the definite dearth of American male college students traveling internationally to receive academic credit from home institutions. This research study aimed to discover whether a difference existed between the genders of college students concerning level of interest in receiving international education. This research study also utilized marketing to determine if there was influence of inclusion of models and/or gender of models in marketing materials on both student interest to participate in the study abroad program displayed and perceived likelihood level of actually taking part in the program. Students enrolled in the Labovitz School of Business and Economics at the University of Minnesota Duluth were surveyed about interest level in studying abroad, as well as placed in one of four mock advertisement conditions to inquire about interest in and likelihood of partaking in the promoted study abroad program. The findings from the survey’s respondents suggest that males retain a significantly lower interest level in traveling abroad while pursuing an academic degree. Male college students seem to be not affected by inclusion of models and/or gender of models in marketing materials, but American female students are considerably more sensitive to these factors in advertisements. These results imply that international education marketing can be carefully analyzed and utilized strategically to increasingly influence the college student population or even certain subgroups of college students to attain academic credit in a foreign country