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The paper innovates on the existing literature by assessing the gender gap in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) tertiary education enrolment and career choice in a small country setting and by extending on Master and Meltzoff (2016) theoretical framework to provide a holistic explanation of the gender disparity through a mix of personal, environmental and behavioural factors. The study first probes into the existence of potential gender disparity in STEM tertiary enrolment in Mauritius. Second, in contrast with existing studies where selective factors are used to measure the gender gap in STEM education, this paper investigates into a combination of personal, environmental and behavioural factors that may influence participation in STEM education and career.

The study uses a survey of 209 undergraduates enroled in the main public university and investigates into the existence of a gender gap in STEM tertiary education enrolment and the reasons behind this disparity. Consistent with the theoretical model, the empirical analysis also investigates into the work environment (which cannot be measured from the survey), via semi-structured interviews of 15 women in STEM professions.

The logit regression results first reveal the existence of a gender disparity in the choice of STEM-related degrees. The probability of a female student to enrol in a STEM degree is lower than that of a male student, after controlling for all the personal, environmental and behavioural factors. The most important set of reasons influencing the student's STEM degree choice are self-efficacy and the student's academic performance in STEM subjects at secondary school level. The findings also demonstrate that young women are relatively more likely to choose STEM degrees than their male counterparts when they are supported by their family, school and teachers. There is further evidence of lower participation of women in STEM professions as well as significant challenges which women in STEM careers face compared to their male colleagues.

This study adopts a holistic framework to assess the factors that hinder women's participation in STEM tertiary education and career in Mauritius.

CSR is seen as a constant source of debate in the research of company laws and has attracted wide attention from scholars. It is at the forefront of strategic outlook of contemporary organisations of all kinds. It is associated with the conduct of corporations and whether corporations owe a duty to stakeholders other than shareholders has been debated at various times. The CSR concept itself is not a new one and the social responsibilities of business in a market society has been discussed for decades, long before globalisation became a catchword. However, globalisation has been seen as a new phenomenon that affects our everyday life and the business life. New social networks with mutual dependences are created, thus leading to emerging new responsibilities. Community, work and capital are losing their home and locus and we are confronted with different cultures and life styles, whereas society is pluralised and common traditions, cultural values and social certainties emerge into a melting pot of various values and life styles.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the role of women in the small island economy by focussing on the education sector and labour market access. First, we analyse the educational path of women in Mauritius and second we examine the labour market opportunities available to them. We link the two sectors by adopting a gender perspective. Third, we investigate whether the same opportunities are made available to both men and women and whether or not there exist a gender gap in economic participation in the country.

The author used data from the World Bank Development Indicators (2012) for a comparative analysis of the gender situation in Mauritius relative to other African countries. Gender statistics were also made available from the statistical office: statistics, Mauritius. The Global Gender Gap Report (2012) and the SADC Gender Protocol Barometer 2012 were used as secondary data.

The analysis reveals that though girls’ outperform boys at all education levels, starting from primary, secondary and tertiary level, their access to job opportunities are reduced. Female unemployment rate is higher than that of male unemployment and even for those women who manage to enter the labour market, they remain in the low-occupation jobs. This puzzling relationship between good educational performance and female unemployment or low-occupation may first be explained by the wrong choice of subjects at secondary and tertiary levels. Mauritian women are more likely to obtain a degree in education and humanities which are the traditional areas rather than moving to the non-traditional spheres of science and engineering. Hence, not only is it difficult for them to penetrate the labour market which is already saturated in these traditional disciplines but jobs in these fields may not be in the high wage range. Consequently, these subject choices have repercussions for the occupations they choose and the wages they earn. Significant and persistent gaps remain in the fields of study that women and men choose as part of their formal education. These gaps translate henceforth into gender differences in employment and ultimately into differences in productivity and earnings.

No study has focused on the puzzling link between good education performance of girls and their inability to access the labour market in Mauritius.

Rethinking development along the lines of corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a new and exciting area of research and development practice. Newly emerging forms of global governance are now relying on private actors (business, non governmental organizations (NGOs)) rather than states. Therefore, CSR policy and programmes are necessary steps in securing responsible corporate behaviour in support of development. The objectives of this paper are to identify the areas of interventions for CSR activities and examine the rationale behind the CSR activities in Mauritius. It aims to analyse the relation between business and poverty reduction and also the successes and failures of CSR initiatives and how the programmes are delivering to the company's business objectives. In short, how is CSR redefining development?

Both primary and secondary data have been collected for this study. Qualitative methods of data collection were privileged to address complex issues such as the relationship between CSR and development. In‐depth interviews were carried out and seen as an appropriate research technique in order to explore and capture the perspectives of the stakeholders, namely private sector and the NGOs on CSR. Secondary sources in the form of company publications, annual reports, press cuttings, web sites of companies and survey reports were consulted.

Although CSR initiatives go quite a long way back in Mauritius, it is still believed that CSR is not embedded in its corporate culture. However, in some cases, CSR is merely being used as window‐dressing, for the gallery as a sideshow since it is a trendy issue and that everyone is doing it alongside with the wide media coverage. For CSR to become the national development tool, it is important that coordinated and concerted efforts be undertaken at the private sector level, in the civil society and at government level in achieving equitable, inclusive and sustainable development.

This work contributes to the scarce literature on CSR in Mauritius as well as in the African continent, investigating the relationship between CSR and development in the Mauritian context. It also provides an extensive and critical literature review on CSR and CSR activities in Mauritius.

Güler Aras (www.guleraras.com) is professor of finance and dean of the faculty of economic and administrative sciences at Yildiz Technical University, Istanbul, Turkey. She is also visiting professor at De Montfort University, Leicester, UK. Her research is into financial economy and financial markets with particular emphasis on the relationship between corporate social responsibility, sustainability and a firm's financial performance. Güler has published more than 15 books and has contributed over 150 articles to academic, business and professional journals and magazines and to edited book collections. One of the most recent books (2009) is The Durable Corporation: Strategies for Sustainable Development (with David Crowther), which addresses the topical issue of the sustainability of corporate activity. Güler is a founder and member of various associations and research centres in Turkey and worldwide. She is also a member of a number of international editorial and advisory boards and is vice chair of the Social Responsibility Research Network; series editor of the Gower Applied Research in Corporate Social Responsibility book series; associate editor of Social Responsibility Journal and convenor of the International Conference Series on Corporate Social Responsibility, now in its 10th year. She has also spoken extensively at conferences and seminars and has acted as a consultant to a wide range of government and commercial organisations.