Although partially caused by sex differences in aspirations and qualifications, the underrepresentation of women in professional and managerial positions also reflects the persistence of sex discrimination at the entry level. Discrimination against women applying for traditionally male jobs seems to increase with ambiguity about the fit between…

Past studies on the sex-typing of occupations have used a single bipolar scale, ranging from masculinity to femininity. An empirical examination of both occupational sex roles and occupational prestige was conducted using two unipolar scales to assess masculinity and femininity. College students (N=183) rated 94 occupations, which were then…

This paper documents the efforts of Albuquerque Technical Vocational Institute's (TVI) Trades and Service Occupations Department to recruit and support women in nontraditional occupations. Nontraditional careers are defined as those occupations in which women comprise less than 25 percent of the population. While women are entering professional…

This paper consists of 16 suggestions for retaining nontraditional students in classes in which it is unusual for them to participate. Emphasis is on female students in traditionally all-male fields, such as trade and industrial courses. Some of the suggestions are the following: (1) have more than one nontraditional student in a class; (2) give…

Preservice teachers' attitudes toward the roles of women in society and their knowledge about women and the world of work were examined. Three groups each consisting of 30 undergraduate education students majoring in early childhood education, elementary education, and secondary education were surveyed. Questionnaire responses were analyzed to…

Technology education has a long history of attempting to make female students comfortable with the field. Although there has been limited success in recruiting females into the field, the situation is much more positive than it was 75 years ago, when girls were often forbidden to take "manual training" classes. A 1980 Montana report on gender bias…

Change in the roles of women in American society during the past 15 years provides an opportunity to evaluate basic theories dealing with life course, the impact of early socialization, and trait analysis. The case of women in the legal profession is of particular value in exploring these issues since law, an exclusively male domain for more than…

Three papers present views on women in technology programs and occupations, and on Corning Community College's (CCC's) program to encourage women to enter technological fields in which they have been historically underrepresented. First, Edward F. Herman presents the historical background to the development of CCC's Women in Technology program,…

A literature review was conducted to determine how women's role was seen in vocational education and development. The study reviewed the historical background of occupational gender segregation related to vocational education, reviewed and described the role of women and division of labor, and summarized labor market statistics concerning females…

Both men and women who engage in non-traditional occupations (occupations in which 80 percent or more of the participants are of the opposite sex) are generally happy with their occupational choice, according to interviews with seventy such women and ten men. The women, however, experienced more discrimination and sexual harassment, while the men…

The purpose of the study reported in this speech was to ascertain whether perceived barriers to entering nontraditional occupations as measured by a barriers-to-entry survey could be employed to accurately discriminate among women's consideration of a nontraditional occupation. Using a stratified random sample of 500 women (51% response) living in…

This paper examines three topics related to women's involvement in non-traditional occupations: (1) the historical origin of occupational classification; (2) the influence of World War II on women's expanded participation in the workforce; and (3) women's entry into non-traditional occupations. The industrial revolution in Europe and later in the…

In order to increase women's representation among quantitative degrees, Berryman (1985) suggested two strategies: (1) increase women's share of the initial mathematical/scientific pool; or (2) reduce attrition from the pool. However, current research indicates that the decision to enter a quantitative field of study for women is the result of a…

A study examined the attitudes of a group of 66 fifth and eighth graders in four classes in an intermediate school located in rural southeast Louisiana toward a set of traditional sex role-typed occupations. Age (grade level) did not appear to influence students' attitudes toward the interrelationship of sex and occupational choice. Furthermore,…

This research was conducted to identify factors contributing to the enrollment of male high school students in Ohio in program areas nontraditional for their sex. Using the 1980 Executive Student Follow-up Report, 28 vocational education programs not traditional for males in Ohio (less than 20 percent male enrollment) were identified, and the top…