One of four research projects designed to examine barriers to the entrance of women into nontraditional careers, the study summarized here examined the attitudes held by 638 New Jersey high school students, teachers, and other professionals at comprehensive and vocational-technical high schools toward sexual harassment. Study participants were…

This study examined gender roles and career orientation among 126 male and 126 female fourth through sixth grade gifted students. The Children's Sex Role Test was used to assess masculinity, femininity, and androgyny. While results showed more gender appropriate scores for males than females, overall more boys than girls were classified as…

Previous research on the personality traits and needs of professional women has found that women in nontraditional roles possess traits that are more characteristic of the male sex role, and that in many instances they are higher on those traits. To determine sex and occupational differences in the self-perceptions of male and female psychologists…

Literature on female learning styles was reviewed to suggest implications for traditionally male vocational-technical education programs. The study focused on comparing and contrasting cognitive styles, a learning style dimension, between females and males. The field-dependent/independent distinction was found to be important for traditionally…

Over the years, the responses of men and women to interest inventories have shown large differences that, in the interests of sex-fairness, have necessitated separate scales and norms for empirically built inventories. The degree of overlap between scores on male- and female-normed scales quickly identifies the individual with sex-typical or…

High school students rated males and females in traditional and nontraditional occupations on six personality traits: ambition, effectiveness, emotionality, intelligence, responsibility, and traditionality. Results revealed more occupational stereotypes than sex role stereotypes. (Author/MJL)

Tested the influence of a supportive family on 142 women employed in or studying for nontraditional careers. Results showed the importance of emotional support by parents, siblings, peers and teachers. Suggests counselors encourage women to locate role models and mentors if preparing for nontraditional careers. (Author/JAC)

Examined relationships of perceived influence of female and male role models, gender role, and performance self-esteem to college women's (N=107) career salience, aspirations, and choices. Perceived role model influences were significantly related to career salience, educational aspirations, and nontraditionality of occupational choices.…

The role of vocational counseling in the career exploration process of young people is examined. It is argued that providing information about abilities and interests via same-sex and opposite-sex norms conveys more information than use of norms based on an overall group and facilitates exploration of nontraditional careers. (SLD)

As part of a longitudinal research project to investigate attrition among female enlistees, a study was conducted to assess the differences between male and female recruits in background, occupational values, and motivation for enlistment. A sample of 1,000 men and 1,000 women was administered a questionnaire during the early weeks of recruit…

Although research has shown that children tend to designate traditional sex-role areas when asked what they would like to be and that girls nominate a narrower range of vocations than do boys, more recent findings suggest that children of both sexes nominate equal numbers of vocations. Older girls, unlike boys, also choose nontraditional…

Past research has detailed conflicting results in investigations of sex differences and job satisfaction. To explain sex differences and job satisfaction within the framework of subtle treatment discrimination (a situation variable) and beliefs about roles for women (a person variable), 1578 employees of a large corporation completed demographic…

Research published in the 1970's indicated that young children expressed extremely traditional attitudes regarding appropriate sex-role behavior. Middle-class children (N=47) between the ages of four and eight were interviewed about their sex-role attitudes in order to determine the extent to which recently changing cultural mores have influenced…

From 1969 to 1984 the value women put on status-attainment goals has increased, but the value placed on domestic-nurturant goals has not decreased. This shows an amalgamation rather than a masculinization of feminine values. The increase in women aspiring to graduate degrees was greater than for men. Implications are discussed. (VM)

Analysis of 232 elementary school children's questions posed to nontraditional workers reveals that gender schemata are important aspects of a child's thought processes. Common characteristics of their questions are identified. Boys and girls fill part of their gender schema with like kinds of information about what is gender-appropriate behavior.…