Family Influence, Critical Consciousness, and Career Calling in Women of Color

Abstract

Research on calling has examined the presence of and search for career calling. This cross‐sectional study investigated the relationship between family influence and career calling (presence and search) in a sample of 400 women of color (mean age = 31.2 years) in the United States. The authors also examined whether this relationship was partially or fully explained by critical consciousness. Participants were recruited using Amazon Mechanical Turk, where they completed an online questionnaire. Structural equation modeling was used to test 2 models, with calling presence and calling search as disparate outcomes. Analyses revealed that most of the significant pathways in the model involved family influence, critical consciousness, and calling search. In addition, findings suggested that critical consciousness did not explain the relationship between family influence and career calling (presence or search); however, given the significant pathways, it may still be an important consideration for counselors when working with women of color on their career development.