Do Young Women Expect Gender Equality in Their Future Lives? An Answer From a Possible Selves Experiment

Abstract

This study examined young women's expectations about gender equality in their future careers and marriages. The study implemented a possible selves method in which 114 undergraduate women from a Midwestern university in the United States were randomly assigned to envision themselves as married mothers employed either full-time, part-time, or not at all and possessing either an advanced degree or a bachelor's degree. Participants indicated their expectations for gender equality by estimating their own and their future husbands' expected salaries and hours per week of housework and employment. They also evaluated their possible selves and estimated their emotional well-being and likely attainment of several important life goals. Greater employment produced greater expected gender equality, although in all conditions participants expected to have lesser salary and more domestic work than their husbands. With employment, compared with no employment, and with an advanced degree, compared with a bachelor's degree, participants rated their possible selves more positively and estimated that they would have greater emotional well-being and attainment of life goals related to respect and finances. However, employment negatively affected participants' anticipated relationships with their children. Thus, our participants' reactions displayed a tradeoff between satisfying their employment goals and their goals for their relationship with their children.

Young Women’s Anger in Romantic Relationships: Gendered Rules and Power

“…These findings are similar to those reported by other researchers who have found that there is a nonegalitarian norm in romantic relationships where men have more power and privilege than women, although some movement toward egalitarianism can be observed (Gerson, 2009;Sassler & Miller, 2011;Sprecher & Felmlee, 1997). Our findings are also consistent with findings from studies examining emerging adults' imagined futures, where women participants have reported a mixture of realism and optimism regarding egalitarianism in their future couple relationships (Fetterolf & Eagly, 2011;Orrange, 2003). Although young women are aware of existing general inequalities between men and women, they are optimistic about their capabilities of being able to achieve more egalitarian arrangements than the previous generation (Fetterolf & Eagly, 2011).…”

Separating Spheres? Diverging Trends in Youth's Gender Attitudes About Work and Family

“…Accordingly, women's status in the workplace has improved in multiple ways: The gender pay gap has narrowed (Mandel & Semyonov, ), the significance of employer discrimination in promotions has declined (Meyersson Milgrom & Petersen, ), increasing numbers of mothers remain employed (Bureau of Labor Statistics, ; Percheski, ), and so forth. In contrast, gender equality in the family has lagged behind: Women still do most of the caretaking and housework (Sayer, ) and stereotypically gendered patterns in romantic relationships pervade (Fetterolf & Eagly, ; Hamilton, Geist, & Powell, ). Where there has been improvement for women in the family realm, it results more from increased time living apart (marriage delay and divorce) and a reduction in women's total amount of time spent on housework rather than from a convergence in gendered behavior (England, ; Sayer, ).…”

La relevancia encubierta del género: las percepciones de los futuros maestros sobre la igualdad y las desigualdades contextuales

“…Los resultados de este estudio también concuerdan con otras investigaciones (Bianchi et al, 2000;Davis & Greenstein, 2004;Fetterolf & Eagly, 2011) que han demostrado que cuanto mayor es el nivel educativo de la persona, sus actitudes serán más equitativas que aquellos que tienen un menor nivel. Por tanto, la importancia de la educación en la formación de la igualdad sugieren varias vías para una intervención continuada y pertinente en la Educación Superior, lo cual implica, en primer lugar, mejorar el acceso y la participación de los jóvenes a la educación, y en segundo lugar, incorporar el género de manera transversal tanto en la educación reglada como en la formación universitaria.…”