This paper aims to open up the rationales that are used to argue for an increase in male participation in the early childhood education and care (ECEC) workforce. Two theoretical concepts are highlighted and compared: gender balance and gender flexibility. An ethnographic study was conducted in one unusual nursery that has five male workers, using…

The study examines the career decision-making of Swiss academic high school students opting for a career in a non-traditional, gender-typed area of work during the transition to higher education. Based on a longitudinal study, a qualitative study with 11 female students in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and 13 male student…

Studies of gender identity and activity preferences in young children and of the characteristics of work culture in traditional male trades are used to support the argument that women seeking nontraditional employment are faced with a work identity based on a traditional concept of masculinity. Reconstructing work cultures to ensure equal access…

Describes a year-long elementary school program in Hull (England) designed to diminish sex stereotyping. Employed craft, design, and technology projects, caring jobs for boys, football for girls, and school visits by adults in nontraditional occupations. Improved behavior of boys resulted, allowing teachers to give equal attention to girls. (DM)

Male (N=120) and female (N=120) clients were counseled by male or female counselor classified as masculine, feminine, or androgynous in sex-role orientation. Clients' career choice traditionality was measured during counseling, following counseling, and with respect to clients' career six months later. Counselor gender and gender-role orientation…

A survey of Year 12 Australian students in coed private (n=105), coed public (n=57), and all-female (n=78) schools revealed a relationship between gender-role identity and traditional/nontraditional career choices; occupations were more gender neutral, but blue- and pink-collar jobs remain stereotyped. Type of school did not influence girls'…

Women are significantly underrepresented in those occupations most highly valued in Western society. To investigate sex role stereotypes as the discriminant variable between female students in male programs and in traditionally female programs, female Israeli vocational high school students (N=1,138) completed the Bem Sex Role Inventory (BRSI),…

In 1977, when women in West Germany (the Fedeal Republic of Germany) got the legal right to be employed outside the family against their husband's will, paragraph 1356 of the Civil Code, defining housework as the woman's duty, was abolished. Until then, heavy social pressure kept women close to home; in most cases, the choice of an outside…

Examined contributions of 4 sex-typed socializations to 6 differences in self-efficacy in l0 male- and l0 female-dominated occupations among male (N=78) and female (N=8l) Japanese undergraduates. Found females in male-dominated occupations had lower self-efficacy, felt they had fewer female role models, considered themselves feminine, and had low…

Criticizes Brandow's article on sex equality in Israel, discussing occupational status of women, women's education, women in the military, duality of religious and secular values and legislation, and role division between husbands and wives. Concludes that Israel's equality of the sexes is marked by gains in societal balance. (AOS)

Investigated socioeconomic status (SES) background and gender of 334 Grade 12 adolescents in relation to prestige level and gender composition of occupations. Results indicated significant relationship between SES background and occupational prestige level for males and females, with high SES females more likely than low SES females to choose…

Analysis of employment and higher education patterns among women in Britain, Germany, and Sweden found discipline is the major factor influencing labor market entry, with most women preparing for traditionally female occupations and following financially less rewarding careers. While women in nontraditional occupations begin with an economic…

A study was conducted to determine Finnish vocational teachers' gender-role attitudes. It also identified the personal and professional variables that best explained the variance in gender-role attitudes. The sample consisted of 923 comprehensive vocational institute teachers from all major geographical areas of Finland; 92.3 percent returned a…

Describes a lesson plan that uses on the ordinary life of women in Kenya as a means of introducing students to issues concerning women and work in Africa. Students compare the typical daily schedules of a rural and an urban Kenyan woman and examine their different sets of obligations. (MJP)

For some years, the European Commission on Childcare and Other Measures to Reconcile Employment and Family Responsibilities has given priority to the role of men as caregivers. Work in child care services remains one of the most gender-segregated occupations in the entire labor force, and this discussion paper adopts a clear position that more men…