Focusing on women as state policymakers, this theme issue covers such topics as women in state cabinets and fundraising for women candidates. Discusses the recent rise of women in public office, their strategy of collaboration instead of confrontation, and the characteristics and leadership traits that women need to succeed in politics. (GEA)

Presents examples of students who have chosen unusual career paths: males in female-dominated occupations, females in male-dominated occupations, and a few women in or aspiring to management positions within traditional fields. (CT)

This study of female high school seniors' career selections indicates that females who enroll in industrial arts courses could have their career aspirations changed by the exploratory experience. (SK)

Women in nontraditional business roles were more achieving, emphasized production more, saw themselves as having characteristics more like managers, and considered the domestic role less important. The two groups did not differ in attitude toward the importance of their careers, or their perceptions of their husband's attitudes. (Author)

Literature on women in occupations where men predominate is reviewed from 1930 through 1976 and discussed with reference to women's personality and background characteristics. Data are discussed as supporting Almquist and Angrist's "enrichment hypothesis" whereby the nontraditional woman is seen as the product of unusual, positive factors. (Author)

During a two-week period, 17 kindergarten children in an experimental group were exposed to nontraditional role models and curricular materials and a control group of 22 kindergarten children was exposed to a curriculum unrelated to vocational or sex roles. Neither group made a significant change in their vocational role preferences. (Author)

Fifty men classed as career-traditional tended to endorse antifemininity, toughness, homophobic attitudes, and restrictive emotionality compared to 50 career-nontraditionals. The groups did not differ in status norms, attitudes about work-family conflicts, or difficulties with success, power, and competition. (SK)

Examined student (N=188) responses to measures of Expectancy and Valence to six male- and six female-dominated careers. Found that Expectancy X Valence interaction for occupation accounted for variance in choosing occupation; gender differences were marked and consistent across expectancy, valence, and likelihood of choosing occupation, varying…

Examined perceptions toward student career choices of 197 Canadian teachers. Each teacher examined one of eight vignettes describing student currently making career decision. Vignettes varied by gender, type of occupational choice, and traditionality of extracurricular activities. Found that teachers were more likely to encourage traditional…

Anticipated and final majors of 1,700 students at 8 women's colleges and 818 female students at 7 coed colleges were analyzed. At women's colleges, 40-70% of the women shifted from female-dominated to neutral or male-dominated majors, compared with only 25% at coed schools. At both types of schools, 22% of women left male-dominated majors. (SK)

Investigated self-esteem, achievement, and career choices of 218 high school students in small rural school. The Self-Esteem Inventory scores tended to be low. Most students selected occupations traditional for their sex, regardless of their self-esteem scores. Young women were more likely than young men to consider nontraditional occupations.…

Describes two-week summer program for adolescent girls featuring awareness of nontraditional career choices provided via cooperative plan from public school system, community college, and university. Notes that, upon completion of 80 hours of activities such as business and industry visitations, technical/trade shop hands-on activities, and…

The language and history of nursing have labeled it women's work, influencing legal decisions and raising a significant recruitment/retention barrier for men: the job title and image. Proactive recruitment from target groups, role models, and use of appropriate media are strategies to redress the sex imbalance in nursing. (SK)

This study explores the degree to which emotional and relationally oriented aspects of masculinity and gender nontraditional vocational interests predict the gender traditionality of employed men's occupations. Participants include 166 men employed in a range of occupations from gender nontraditional (i.e., female dominated) to gender neutral to…

This study was conducted to examine sex role characteristics common to women making nontraditional career choice; to determine whether dissatisfaction is affected by congruence of sex role, self-concept, and traditionally of program; and to investigate whether sex role self-concept plays a role in women's ratings of satisfaction within their…