Do Atypical Individuals Make Atypical Choices? Examining How Gender Patterns in Personality Relate to Occupational Choice and Wages Among Five Professions in Sweden

Anne Grönlund,Charlotta Magnusson

doi:10.1007/s12147-017-9194-9

Anne Grönlund, Charlotta Magnusson

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1007/s12147-017-9194-9

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Abstract

The article provides a close-up picture of gender and personality in relation to the gender composition of occupation and the gender wage gap. Using a survey of newly graduated highly educated men and women in five occupations in Sweden (engineers, lawyers, police officers, social workers and psychologists, n ≈ 2400), we examine (a) if personality traits—measured as Big Five traits, risk-taking and self-esteem—differ between men and women (b) if differences in personality traits are systematically related to the gender composition of the occupation, (c) if individuals who have chosen an occupation dominated by the other gender are gender-atypical in their personalities and, (d) how personality traits are related to wages and the gender wage gap. The results show significant gender differences in agreeableness, emotional stability and perceived risk-taking. The male-dominated occupations score higher on risk-taking than those dominated by females, but the pattern for agreeableness is less clear and the scores on emotional stability are no higher in these occupations. Further we find that individuals who have chosen a gender-atypical occupation tend to display gender atypical personality traits. In line with previous research, we find that risk-taking and self-esteem are positively related to wages but these associations do not account for gender differences in wages. The valuation of personality traits does not vary systematically with the gender composition of the occupations but being agreeable has a more negative wage effect for women than for men.

Highlights

Gender differences in personality traits is a topic that attracts great interest in societal debates
Using a survey of newly graduated highly educated men and women in five occupations in Sweden, we examine (a) if personality traits—measured as Big Five traits, risktaking and self-esteem—differ between men and women (b) if differences in personality traits are systematically related to the gender composition of the occupation, (c) if individuals who have chosen an occupation dominated by the other gender are gender-atypical in their personalities and, (d) how personality traits are related to wages and the gender wage gap
The aim of the article is to examine (a) if personality traits differ between men and women, (b) if differences in personality traits are systematically related to the gender composition of occupations, (c) if individuals who have chosen an occupation dominated by the other gender are gender-atypical in their personalities and, (d) how personality traits are related to wages and the gender wage gap

Summary

Introduction

Gender differences in personality traits is a topic that attracts great interest in societal debates. Such differences have been focussed in research studies, both in psychology and in labor market research. We bring these research fields together in a close-up study of personality, gender, occupational choice and wages. There is a growing recognition that personality traits affect both preferences and productivity [26]. Several studies have shown that personality traits affect job performance and wages [5, 28], while others point to links between personality and occupational choice [4, 27]. To our knowledge no study has yet explored how gender differences in personality relate to the choice of male- or female-dominated occupations

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