Do STEM women feel ethically and emotionally better prepared for their careers than men?

Despite a growing imperative for graduates to possess STEM skills, both to boost their employability prospects and their perceived economic value, it is critical to also consider the professional or 'soft skills' that will enable these graduates to thrive in their careers. Ironically, gender differences in personality and occupational choice are larger, not smaller, in more gender-equal countries. This is known as the gender equality paradox and in STEM it highlights the importance of purposeful initiatives throughout the educational trajectory, even in countries with higher levels of gender equality. This study employed an online self-assessment of perceived employability (PE) using a validated instrument and analyzed the data from 2493 STEM students studying at multiple Australian universities. The findings, underpinned by Social Cognitive Careers Theory, indicate that female report greater confidence than their male peers in ethical literacy and in some emotional literacy skills; these are understood to be critical soft skills for STEM graduates. This distinction is more pronounced in the natural and physical sciences and within information technology fields. Theoretical contributions and practical implications are discussed.

Tourist behaviour: The role of digital marketing and social media.

Social media and its applications are a part of daily life in Turkey and the rest of the world. In 2022, about 80.7 % of Turkey's population (69.9 million people) spent an average of 8 h daily using the Internet, providing a significant opportunity to encourage and influence tourists' purchase intentions through social media. This study aims to determine the effects of digital marketing and social media on tourist behaviours in Turkey. This study proposes a comprehensive model for the antecedents of tourists' behavioural intentions in their destination selection that can be found in the tourist destination online content (TDOC). The quality and user-friendly accessibility of the online information provides essential clues that influence tourists' behavioural intentions (intention to visit the destination and eWOM). Tourists' level of satisfaction with their first destination visits and the digital marketing interaction channels through which they share their experiences may positively affect their repeat visits/other tourists' behavioural intentions. Therefore, this study investigates the mediator effect of satisfaction and digital marketing interactions on the behavioural intentions of tourists of Eastern origin during their destination selection. Data was collected from 264 structured questionnaires and analyzed using partial least squares structural equation (PLS-SEM) modelling. Findings show that tourists' TDOC perceptions directly affect their behavioural intentions and that tourist satisfaction has a mediator role in the relationship between tourists' TDOC perceptions and behavioural intentions. Also, the results show that satisfaction and digital marketing interactions are important determinants of the intention to visit a tourist destination and eWOM intentions. Understanding tourists' perspectives on destination choice is crucial for policy makers, businesses and marketers as it will help formulate appropriate strategies to increase destination visits. In this respect, it is recommended to develop strategies to encourage tourists to share their experiences and satisfaction levels through digital marketing channels by improving the quality of products and services. Finally, the population of this study is limited to Turkey, and future research can extend this study to countries with different cultures and make new contributions to the related literature.