Sarah Wamala-Andersson ^1* Matt X Richardson ¹ Karin Schölin Bywall ¹ Therese Norgren ¹ Nick Chambers ²

• ¹ Mälardalen University, Västerås, Sweden
• ² Education and Employers, UK, Cambridge, United Kingdom

Research on young children's occupational aspirations and the factors shaping them is still limited, especially in early interventions addressing gender disparities in high-status fields like STEM. This is the first study in Sweden utilizing the Drawing the Future method, surveyed 1,832 children (aged 5-13) from 28 schools in Skåne region of southern, asking them to draw their dream jobs. This exercise was conducted in a classroom setting and facilitated by their class teacher.Significant gender differences emerged, revealing distinct stereotypical patterns in children's future occupational aspirations and influencing factors. Only three occupations-footballer, doctor, and police officer-were popular among both genders. Girls preferred people-or animal-centered roles, while boys leaned toward jobs involving "things" (P<0.001). Girls felt they could pursue similar careers as boys, but boys showed more skepticism (P<0.001).Influence patterns also varied by gender: 25% of girls were inspired by mothers, while 45% of boys were inspired by fathers (P=0.02).Beyond immediate family, girls often sought career information from acquaintances, while boys turned to media (P<0.001). STEM interest was limited, with "game developer" being the only STEM job on boys' lists. Additionally, a larger proportion of boys ranked STEM subjects among their top ten favorite school subjects, while girls preferred crafts, art, and English (P<0.001).These findings highlight the need for early, unbiased, evidence-based career interventions and policies to broaden children's awareness of diverse job options and opportunities in the labor market.