Choice of speech and language therapy as a career

Abstract

ABSTRACT  This paper presents an investigation of some of the factors involved in career selection by young adults approaching graduate education in the UK and Ireland. It examines reasons behind choices of courses and gender characteristics related to choice of career. Statistics of entrants to this University show that numbers of women entering previously male‐dominated courses are increasing, but the converse is not occurring. Speech and language therapy was examined in an attempt to discover reasons behind the gender bias in some careers, in particular those in the NHS or ‘caring professions’. An initial survey of 330 male and 406 female young adults attending careers Open Days and 150 applicants attending for interview for the speech therapy course at the University of Ulster was conducted. An experiment was also designed to test the effect on the 736 attending for careers information, of gender‐biased and gender‐free career literature on perception of the gender‐relatedness of speech therapy. The original survey, some of the results of which were first presented to the American Speech‐Language‐Hearing Association (ASHA) conference in New Orleans (Patterson & Woodward, 1994), has been followed up by a subsequent survey of applicants to speech and language therapy over 3 years. Significant differences were found between young adult males and females in priorities for career choice. ‘Job satisfaction’ was the primary reason for both, but other factors mattered in different proportions to males and females. To those applying for speech therapy, ‘helping people’ and ‘working with people’ were significantly more important, whereas ‘career advancement’ and ‘opportunity to earn high salary’ were not deemed important. Statistical association between gender and factors influencing choice of speech therapy as a career was found in the categories of ‘helping people’, ‘variety in the work’ and ‘meeting people’ (Cramers V = 0.331; 0.305 and 0.297, respectively). All were rated positive influences by both males and females, but more frequently by females. Factors given second order of importance revealed significant differences between males and females (p = 0.00001, chi‐squared test = 55.78 df = 10, Cramers V = 0.33). Males gave more importance to career advancement and prospects of earning a high salary, whereas females considered helping other people and caring for others as more important. Both sexes saw speech therapy as a career suitable for either sex, but females showed greater knowledge of the work of a speech therapist and significantly more were interested in pursuing it as a career, which was borne out by statistics of applicants for the speech therapy course at the University of Ulster and by numbers currently in the profession and in training. The range of choice of careers of the applicants for speech therapy group (99% were females) reflected a range within the confines of previously cited ‘feminine careers’. The effect of the gender‐biased literature was non‐significant. Females perceived the careers as more gender‐neutral than males, particularly when presented with gender‐neutral literature. It was concluded that factors other than gender bias of literature led to occupational stereotyping of a career.