This happens because of what we call "gender stereotypes": traditional ideas about what boys and girls can or should do.

They may not always obvious but stereotypes are everywhere.

And they start to follow us from our earliest days in the toystore and continue to influence us when choosing subjects at school.

For instance, girls are expected to be good at arts and humanities, while boys are led towards maths and science.

When we come across the same stereotypes again and again, they begin to feel natural and start to shape our preferences and career paths.

More men go in to better paid jobs in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics field, and women tend to choose teaching and social work professions.

Acknowledging gender stereotypes and their consequences is the first step towards breaking the mould, so that we build our lives based on our own choices.