On the reciprocal relationship between gender and occupation: Rethinking the assumptions concerning masculine career development

Abstract

Social scientists who study the career development of women have tended to ignore variables which function to inhibit or facilitate change in the traditional pattern of men's vocational behavior. Although such neglect is understandable, given the pervasive promasculine bias of society and the parallel disparagement of what has traditionally been considered “women's work,” economists and sociologists have long pointed out that the vocational behavior of both sexes must change for there to be any significant alteration in the sexual division of labor. The present paper suggested the utility of viewing masculine career behavior as an extension of male sex role, and investigated counselors' reactions to an experimental analog of the vocational counseling process. As predicted, the counselors demonstrated negative reactions to a male aspiring to a nontraditional (i.e., feminine) occupation. The discussion outlined suggestions for research into factors which may relate to change in the traditional patterns of men's vocational behavior.