ERIC Number: EJ753002
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2006-Aug
Pages: 14
Abstractor: Author
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1380-3611
EISSN: N/A
Why Don't They Want a Male-Dominated Job? An Investigation of Young Women Who Changed Their Occupational Aspirations
Frome, Pamela M.; Alfeld, Corinne J.; Eccles, Jacquelynne S.; Barber, Bonnie L.
Educational Research and Evaluation, v12 n4 p359-372 Aug 2006
We examined 2 hypotheses regarding why some young women do not maintain their espoused occupational aspirations in male-dominated fields from late adolescence through young adulthood. The first hypothesis concerns attitudes towards math and science; the second concerns the desire for job flexibility. The sample of young women (N=104) was taken from a larger longitudinal investigation of approximately 1,000 young women from a midwestern metropolitan area in Michigan, USA, who were followed from age 18 (in 1990) to age 25 (1997). Findings suggest that desire for a flexible job, high time demands of an occupation, and low intrinsic value of physical science were the best predictors of women changing their occupational aspirations out of male-dominated fields. These results suggest that despite the women's movement and more efforts in society to open occupational doors to traditional male-jobs for women, concerns about balancing career and family, together with lower value for science-related domains, continue to steer young women away from occupations in traditionally male-dominated fields, where their abilities and ambitions may lie. (Contains 7 notes and 3 tables.)
Descriptors: Late Adolescents, Occupational Aspiration, Metropolitan Areas, Females, Longitudinal Studies, Mathematics, Sciences, Scientific Attitudes, Work Attitudes, Adults
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 325 Chestnut Street Suite 800, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Fax: 215-625-2940; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/default.html
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Michigan
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A