For a long time, the topics in the ethos of femininity or fields that women, for the most part, choose to study within have not been taken seriously. The social sciences and humanities are seen this way: dismissed under the assumption that they add less to societies, especially compared to subjects traditionally dominated by men. Even when women make serious contributions in fields like science, politics, or literature, their work is often overlooked or undervalued. There appears to be an unwritten conclusion that if a subject is connected to women, it’s therefore less significant. This underlying valuation doesn’t just hurt women—it means we all miss out on important ideas and perspectives.
More women study social sciences than men, and there are a few reasons why. From a young age, girls are encouraged to be interested in people, relationships, and helping others, which aligns with subjects like psychology, sociology, and education. Boys, meanwhile, are more often pushed toward logic—math, science, and technology. Careers that come from social sciences, like teaching and counselling, have long had more women, making those fields feel more welcoming and accessible.
For women who choose social sciences or humanities, the disrespect these fields sometimes get can feel personal. Not only do they have to deal with the stereotype that their majors are “easy” or “useless,” but they’re also pushing back against the ubiquitous belief that women’s interests, albeit perhaps stereotypically, aren’t important. Someone studying sociology, psychology, education, or gender studies is often confronted with the big question: What are you going to do with that? It’s as though their work doesn’t tackle some of the most complicated and meaningful issues in society. The kind of issues that build the very foundation of society.
These fields explore how society works—how people interact, how power spreads, and how race, gender, and class shape our lives. Women in these areas often lead conversations about change, justice, and inclusion. So when their work isn’t taken seriously, it isn’t only frustrating, it’s a reminder that some kinds of knowledge still aren’t valued as they should be. Choosing to study these subjects is a statement: these issues matter, women’s perspectives matter, and we won’t stop asking tough questions just because the answers might be uncomfortable.
Gender and women’s studies are important for this reason. The field creates dialogue around issues that have been left neglected or dismissed for too long. Whether it’s researching unpaid labour, analyzing media portrayals of women, or exploring gendered health issues, gender and women’s studies proves that women’s lives and contributions are essential to understanding the world.
Take unpaid domestic labour as an example—tasks like cooking, cleaning, and caregiving—which has been ignored in traditional economics. For years, economic models focused only on paid work, usually done by men, and left out unpaid labour that is done predominantly by women to keep households and societies running. Gender and women’s studies helped highlight this problem, showing how this unpaid work adds billions to the economy. This research has led to policy changes like paid family leave and better childcare support and has changed how we think about what counts as “real” work.
Studying psychology, another female-dominated major, matters because it helps us understand how people think, feel, and act not just in extreme situations, but in everyday life. It explains, for example, why people procrastinate. It isn’t laziness, but because of fears or how their brains respond to rewards. Psychology helps us figure out strategies to manage stress and improve how we work, learn, and relate to others.
Sociology helps us understand how society works and how things like culture, race, class, and gender shape our experiences. It explains why some neighbourhoods have better schools or why certain jobs are valued more. Sociology encourages critical thinking about the systems that shape our lives and helps us see connections that aren’t always easily apparent. This kind of work is critical for how we can untangle and catalyze political and social progress.
Anthropology is another social science that often doesn’t get the respect it deserves. It’s all about studying human cultures, societies, and how people live and interact around the world. Even though it gives us important insights into things like inequality, identity, and social change, anthropology is sometimes seen as less practical or too academic compared to STEM fields. But what people miss is that anthropology helps us understand the roots of many social problems by looking at different cultures and perspectives. It challenges what we think of as “normal” or natural, which is important for creating a more open and fair society.
A lot of women are drawn to anthropology because it connects to issues like gender, race, and power across different communities. Still, just like in other social sciences, anthropology often gets undervalued because it’s linked with women’s interests and what some see as “soft” skills. The work requires deep research, empathy, and critical thinking, but it doesn’t always get the recognition it should. This hurts the field and the mostly women who choose it as a path. Understanding why anthropology matters is key to seeing the full picture of human life and tackling social challenges in a meaningful way.
Because these degrees are often seen as less practical or valuable than STEM fields, funding and resources can be harder to come by, and the issues that they seek to resolve may remain stagnant.
And, indeed, social science majors tend to earn less than those in STEM fields. That’s because social science careers are often in lower-paying sectors like education, social work, or non-profits, usually coming with smaller budgets and salaries on account of their misled valuation. STEM careers, by contrast, tend to be in fast-growing, high-paying industries.
Society also tends to undervalue work that involves caring for others or supporting communities. There’s a belief that this kind of work is “natural” or emotionally rewarding enough that it doesn’t need high pay. This mostly affects jobs traditionally done by women, like teaching or counselling, which remain underpaid compared to male-dominated fields.
Since more women study social sciences, this pay gap affects women more. Women are more likely to enter lower-paying fields and face additional gender pay gaps within those fields. So even though social sciences can make meaningful impact, they often come with financial trade-offs.
There’s also a pattern where as more women enter a profession, the field tends to lose status and pay. This isn’t because the work changes or becomes less important, but because society devalues what it sees as “women’s work.” Fields like teaching and human resources saw this trend—the more women entered, the less those jobs paid and the less prestigious they became.
And, in the other direction, programming used to be considered women’s work and was low paid, but when men dominated it, salaries and prestige rose.
This reflects a deep gender bias: anything linked to women is often seen as less valuable. That harms not only women but also devalues important work that keeps society running. This trend is clear in social sciences, where most professionals are women and the fields don’t get the respect they deserve. That’s not about the work itself but about society’s tendency to undervalue women’s contributions.
This lack of respect matters because it limits the kinds of questions researchers ask and the solutions they propose. Women in social sciences bring vital perspectives on inequality, identity, and social change. These are issues that affect everyone. When their work isn’t taken seriously, academia misses out on important knowledge that could help build a fairer society. That’s why supporting women in social sciences and valuing their research isn’t just about fairness, it’s about making sure the social sciences can fully contribute to understanding and improving our world.
At its core, the way society values different fields of study reveals a lot about deeper biases, especially around gender. Ironically, these challenges also highlight why gender and women’s studies, psychology, sociology, anthropology, and other social sciences matter so much. When we listen to and support research that centres on gender, identity, and social justice, we gain a deeper understanding of the challenges people face every day. This knowledge helps shape policies, improve health care, promote equality, and build stronger communities. That is why no academic discipline can be considered useless; every bit of knowledge contributes. Some, even, hold the crucial tools for change.