Women in Male-Dominated Professions: Distinguishing Personality and Background Characteristics

Abstract

Samples of 64 women in atypical professions (As) and 71 equally educated women in sex-typical professions (Ss) were compared to determine personality and background correlates of female participation in male-dominated professions. Subjects were American born women under 50 years of age who held master's degrees and were employed in fields with over 75% male or female participation. They completed a biographical questionnaire, the Cattell 16PF, and the Bem Sex Role Inventory under three instructional sets. As predicted, As were more likely than Ss to be firstborn, to have had mothers who were employed after marriage, and to mention different influences on their career development, specifically the positive influences of men. Contrary to prediction, As were not less likely to have brothers than Ss and groups did not differ o n the cluster of competency traits on the Cattell 16PF suggested by previous research. The personality differences found between As and Ss, such as the greater toughmindedness and assertiveness of As, are seen as consistent with role demands of atypical employment, as were group differences in sex typing on the BSRI for the "

Patterns of Adjustment to the Career/Family Conflict of Technically Trained Women in the United States and Israel1

“…Thus, 63% of the American but only 37% of the Israelis have a father in the same profession. Also, over half of the women in our two samples are first-born children (U.S.-52%, Israel-62%), a feature that conforms with the findings of other studies concerning the personal background of women who choose nontraditional careers, and shows that our two samples are typical in this respect (Fitzpatrick & Silverman, 1989;Lemkau, 1983). The majority of the married or cohabiting women in both subsamples have partners who are themselves engineers, managers, or top professionals.…”

The Relationship of Participation in Sports and Physical Activity to Body Objectification, Instrumentality, and Locus of Control Among Young Women

“…Although based on a sample of only 200 college students, the metric we provide could be used by other researchers interested in more in-depth studies of the effects of sports participation on women. This metric is in many ways analogous to the traditional/nontraditional classification systems used to describe women's work force participation (e.g., see Lemkau, 1983) and that indicated substantial differences in the personality constellations of women participating in traditional versus nontraditional occupations. Given that sports were, until recently, a nontraditional role for women, further distinctions according to gender-role traditionality may be less useful.…”

Aspiring to Careers in Male-and Female-Dominated Professions: A Study of Black and White College Women

“…Earlier reported race differences in the level of aspirations may be primarily a function of differences in aspirations to female-compared to male-dominated professions. Female-dominated professions have fewer opportunities for upward mobility and advancement and, holding requirements for job entry constant, tend to be lower status occupations (Lemkau, 1983). Male-dominated professions are characterized by greater emphasis on economic considerations and tend to be somewhat higher in status.…”

“…It seems that the level of parental support for nontraditionals is greater than that observed for traditionals (Sandberg, Ehrhardt, Mellins, Ince, & Meyer-Bahlburg, 1987). In addition, nontraditionals report having more support from external sources, especially from both male familial and male peer relationships (Houser & Garbey, 1985;Lemkau, 1983). Interestingly, the effects of social support for black women have also been found to provide a strong contribution for their career attainment (Fleming, 1983;Gilkes, 1983;Murrell, 1989).…”