In the professional realm, fields of study that are more likely to be chosen by young women, such as humanities and social sciences, may not be as appealing to employers as the male-dominated technical and scientific disciplines. Thus, their skills are seldom the primary barrier to their participation in the economy. At the same time that the youth population has expanded and become more educated, domestic and foreign companies have expressed an increasing unwillingness to invest in the region.209 The overall scarcity of jobs can exacerbate traditional barriers faced by women in the workplace.