and it appears that the disparity between public and private graduate enrollments is widening. Graduate education is largely a male preserve, and women, particularly at the master's level, are most heavily represented in the humanities, social sciences, and education. Men are frequently found in engineering programs where, at the master's level, women comprise only 2% of the students. At the doctoral level, the two highest levels of female enrollment are found in medical programs and the humanities, where in both fields 30% of doctoral students are women. Women account for about 13% of all doctoral enrollments. The generally small numbers of graduate students and the graduate enrollment profile results from a number of factors, especially the traditional employment pattern of industry. In the private sector, the demand for students with advanced degrees (especially in the non-hard sciences and liberal arts, social sciences, and humanities) is low compared to other developed countries. This is because private sector companies frequently prefer to hire new university graduates and train them to operate according to company guidelines. Vocational education Though university is the most prestigious form of higher education in Japan, a number of Japanese students choose to attend vocational schools instead. Vocational schools provide students with employment skills without them having to undertake the pressure of the national university entrance exam. In Japan, parents traditionally place a higher emphasis on traditional academic education rather than vocational education. Vocational school remains as a backup option for students with lower grades or those who come from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. Vocational schools have not only been successful in attracting secondary school graduates with lower grades but also university graduates who weren't able to secure employment upon graduation. Junior colleges – mainly private institutions – are a legacy of the occupation period; many had been prewar institutions upgraded to college status at that time. More than two-thirds of the students in junior colleges are women as many attend them as a form of preparation for a short-term career before marriage. Students who complete the course of study at a junior college are awarded an associate degree or a diploma. Junior colleges offer vocational education with a practical applicability as these institutes train people who will work in early childhood education or in health care. Though the enrollment number of women going to junior colleges is decreasing as more Japanese women desire to gain access to more white-collar