A project was conducted in Broward County, Florida, to help students ranging in age from 14 to 25 to become more openminded in regard to career options for women and to encourage them to participate in nontraditional vocational programs. Because of their generally accepted openmindedness, students in middle schools received additional emphasis.…

The Career Aspiration Profile was used to study barriers to the entrance of both men and women into nontraditional careers. Responses were solicited to items dealing with career choice; focus was on those factors perceived as barriers to entrance into nontraditional careers. Respondents were 1350 high school seniors and students from two- and…

A study examined the internal and external barriers that deny New Hampshire women equal access in vocational/technical classes and sought to ascertain why high school women in New Hampshire predict poorly paying careers for themselves. During the study data were collected from the following sources: vocational enrollment figures for New Hampshire…

This literature review examines financial, administrative, and attitudinal problems that impede the expansion of sex equity opportunities in post-secondary vocational programs. After discussing the decreased willingness of the government to fund sex equity programs, the paper notes the forces that have increased the participation of women in…

A study examined the types of role models who influence career choice in young women planning traditional (education) careers in math- and science-related fields or nontraditional (engineering) careers. The hypothesis was that nontraditional women would be more likely to cite the influence of male role models or influences on career selection than…

Replicating a study conducted 10 years earlier in Colorado, a research project documented current gender perceptions of Wisconsin students and compared responses to those reported in the earlier study. The Wisconsin study included 3,363 students in grades 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12 in 26 schools who were asked the question, "If you woke up tomorrow…

French statistics show that in the area of training and employment, differences in behavior patterns between men and women have diminished considerably. Nonetheless, sexual segregation remains strong, especially in scientific and technical fields. Distribution among training streams remains uneven. In tertiary and upper-level education and…

A project developed and tested methods to reduce sex-role stereotyping in occupational education programs. A total of 460 students completed two surveys that obtained information on background, education and career plans, influences on choice of occupation, perceptions of support for nontraditional career choice, and perceptions of occupational…

This final report of Project OPTION (Opening People to Increasing Opportunities Now) is also a handbook including methods used in the project and suitable for replication. The first section outlines the design of the project, whose goals were to reduce the influence of sex-role stereotyping on students' career choices, increase awareness of…

This guidebook provides direction and information that will help students understand what nontraditional occupations are, what is creating new opportunities in such occupations, and what employers and nontraditional employees say about the new trends. The first of thirteen chapters gives the student information on how to use the guide. Chapter 2…

Data from the National Longitudinal Study of the High School Class of 1972 showed that factors influencing female entry into male-dominated higher education programs included academic ability, more high school courses in mathematics and science, and work-oriented attitudes, but not family influence. (MH)

We present a review of an after-school program that has been running at Queensborough Community College of the City University of New York for the past 5 years. The program is unique among after-school activities for high school students in several ways. First, it deliberately focuses on students who do not excel in science and math courses and…

ASETS (Achieving Sex Equity Through Students) is a peer leadership program designed to prepare Michigan high school students to develop and present sex-equitable career-related programs to middle school students. The emphasis is on career decision making based upon career interests rather than gender. This handbook is a guide for a 2-day workshop…

This student guide is designed to lead students into self-evaluation and analysis and to enlighten them to the many career choices open to them in the 21st century. The concepts of gender, sex bias, gender equity, and sex stereotyping are introduced first. Discussed next are the following aspects of career choice: the relationship between course…

In spring 1998, 1,057 10th-grade students were surveyed as one component of a statewide evaluation of Arizona's school-to-work system designed by the Morrison Institute for Public Policy. This second survey measured attitudes toward and participation in career activities. Results were compared to baseline data collected from over 2,000 10th-grade…