Social origin and gender of doctoral degree holders

Within the scope of this article we went further into the question to what extent particularistic attributes - social origin and gender - can affect selection processes (1) in access to and (2) in later career attainment after achieving the doctoral degree. The analyses are based on a questionnaire survey (n = 2 244) among doctoral degree holders achieving the doctoral degree in six selected disciplines (biology, electrical engineering, German studies, mathematics, social sciences, and business studies/ economics) at German universities. In terms of our first object of investigation, the analyses show that in four out of six disciplines doctoral degree holders are a selected group compared to university graduates with regard to both social origin and gender. In terms of our second object of investigation - the impact of particularistic attributes on several indicators of further career attainment after achieving the doctoral degree (career inside or outside higher education and science, career position and income) - the results point to a stronger impact of gender compared to social origin. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.