Most research conclusions about educational and career goals have been based on white middle-class samples. To promote greater awareness of the diversity of experiences, please discuss other factors t
Summary WOMEN’S EDUCATIONAL GOALS, ATTAINMENTS, AND CAMPUS EXPERIENCES• Across ethnicities, adolescent girls endorse higher educational and occupational goals than do boys. • Women obtain the majority of associate’s, bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees, and half of all professional degrees. • Worldwide, girls’ access to education is improving, but several countries still have seri- ous gender gaps. • The campus climate can be problematic for some women. They may experience sexism in the classroom, and many perceive the aca- demic environment as hostile and demeaning. • Women of color, poor women, and women with disabilities experience additional prob- lems on campus. WOMEN’S WORK-RELATED GOALS • College women generally aspire to less presti- gious careers than college men. Few women decide to enter the physical sciences or engi- neering. • Career counselors can do several things to sup- port and expand women’s career aspirations. • Most college women envision their futures as involving employment, marriage, and moth- erhood. Many plan to interrupt their employ- ment for childrearing. • Women have lower salary expectations than men. Possible explanations are women’s knowledge that females earn less than males, their willingness to accommodate their jobs to their family lives, and their belief that they deserve less. INFLUENCES ON WOMEN’S ACHIEVEMENT LEVEL AND CAREER DECISIONS • There is no evidence that women have less motivation to achieve than men do or that women stay away from high-achieving situa- tions because they fear success. • Gender differences in attributions for perfor- mance are very small and are more likely to occur when making attributions in gender- stereotypic domains. • Women display less self-confidence than men, especially in relation to male-linked tasks and when estimates of one’s performance are made publicly. • Women with nontraditional gender-related traits or attitudes are more likely to aspire toward male-dominated careers. • Women’s feelings of self-efficacy for particular occupational fields are related to their aspira- tions for those fields. • Career decisions of sexual minority individu- als are sometimes influenced by their percep- tions of the job climate for lesbians and gay men. • Family support and family and cultural values can influence women’s career development. • Job-related characteristics valued more highly by males include a good salary, promotions, and opportunity for advancement. • Characteristics valued more strongly by females are interpersonal relationships and helping others. However, women in male- dominated occupations highly value mascu- line-typed job qualities. Chapter 9 Education and Achievement If You Want to Learn More Bilimoria, D. & Lord, L. (Eds.). (2014). Women in STEM careers: International perspectives. Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar Publishing. Branch, E.H. (Ed.). (2016). Pathways, potholes, and the persistence of women in the sciences: Reconsidering the pipeline. Lanham, MD: Lexington. DuQuaine-Watson, J. (2017). Mothering by degrees: Single women and the pursuit of post-secondary education. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press. Fitzgerald, T. (2013). Women leaders in higher education. London, UK: Society for Research in Higher Education. Gill, J. et al. (2016). A girl’s education: Schooling and the formation of gender, identities, and future visions. London, UK: Palgrave Macmillan. Jackson, J.F.L. & O’Callaghan, E.M. (2014). Measuring glass ceiling effects in higher education: Opportunities and challenges. 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