TY - JOUR
T1 - Links between family gender socialization experiences in childhood and gendered occupational attainment in young adulthood
AU - Lawson, Katie M.
AU - Crouter, Ann C.
AU - McHale, Susan M.
N1 - Funding Information:
This study was funded by a grant from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development ( R01-HD32336 ) to Ann C. Crouter and Susan M. McHale, co-principal investigators. The authors would like to thank Drs. David Almeida and Rachel Smith for their helpful comments and suggestions on earlier versions of the manuscript.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2015 Elsevier Inc.
PY - 2015/10/1
Y1 - 2015/10/1
N2 - Gendered occupational segregation remains prevalent across the world. Although research has examined factors contributing to the low number of women in male-typed occupations - namely science, technology, engineering, and math - little longitudinal research has examined the role of childhood experiences in both young women's and men's later gendered occupational attainment. This study addressed this gap in the literature by examining family gender socialization experiences in middle childhood - namely parents' attitudes and work and family life - as contributors to the gender typicality of occupational attainment in young adulthood. Using data collected from mothers, fathers, and children over approximately 15. years, the results revealed that the associations between childhood socialization experiences (~. 10. years old) and occupational attainment (~. 26. years old) depended on the sex of the child. For sons but not daughters, mothers' more traditional attitudes toward women's roles predicted attaining more gender-typed occupations. In addition, spending more time with fathers in childhood predicted daughters attaining less and sons acquiring more gender-typed occupations in young adulthood. Overall, evidence supports the idea that childhood socialization experiences help to shape individuals' career attainment and thus contribute to gender segregation in the labor market.
AB - Gendered occupational segregation remains prevalent across the world. Although research has examined factors contributing to the low number of women in male-typed occupations - namely science, technology, engineering, and math - little longitudinal research has examined the role of childhood experiences in both young women's and men's later gendered occupational attainment. This study addressed this gap in the literature by examining family gender socialization experiences in middle childhood - namely parents' attitudes and work and family life - as contributors to the gender typicality of occupational attainment in young adulthood. Using data collected from mothers, fathers, and children over approximately 15. years, the results revealed that the associations between childhood socialization experiences (~. 10. years old) and occupational attainment (~. 26. years old) depended on the sex of the child. For sons but not daughters, mothers' more traditional attitudes toward women's roles predicted attaining more gender-typed occupations. In addition, spending more time with fathers in childhood predicted daughters attaining less and sons acquiring more gender-typed occupations in young adulthood. Overall, evidence supports the idea that childhood socialization experiences help to shape individuals' career attainment and thus contribute to gender segregation in the labor market.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.jvb.2015.07.003
DO - 10.1016/j.jvb.2015.07.003
M3 - Article
C2 - 26977112
AN - SCOPUS:84938221510
SN - 0001-8791
VL - 90
SP - 26
EP - 35
JO - Journal of Vocational Behavior
JF - Journal of Vocational Behavior
ER -
