Tradition Knows Best?

            

   The goal of my blog is to understand gender inequality in the work place. Stereotypically women are nurturers while men are the bread winners. These stereotypes are due to the Social Role Theory. Gender stereotypes arise from the traditional roles of men and women. One would think that if women were to enter the work force and take on masculine jobs, this long standing stereotype would end. Disproving my theory, Laurie Rudman et al. (2010) conducted a study that concluded women like to choose careers that are associated with feminine traits, and shy away from masculine jobs.

                The goal of Laurie Rudman’s (2010) research is to see if women that are primed with traditional gender roles from a young age, increase their acceptance of automatic gender stereotypes. Will their acceptance mean a reduction in interest in occupations that typically masculine? One hundred and seventy one women college students completed the Implicit Association Test to measure stereotypes and self- concepts.

                When giving the students the exam, she gave them thirty black and white photos that were each imprinted with a picture of a male or female in a traditional or nontraditional prime. For example, a male economics professor at Stanford would present a typical prime. A traditional female prime would be as a hair dresser or house wife. The atypical primers consist of male and female roles switching, reversing the typical primers.  After this section, the researchers asked each woman which of the careers mentioned they preferred. Results found that typical priming does influence stereotypes and career aspirations for these women. Atypical priming did not influence gender stereotypes.  The research also found that women were less interested in male jobs.

                I believe women’s apprehensiveness to holding traditionally masculine jobs is because it is not easy to enter a male dominated job. Many women might want to avoid social rejection. The participants of the study are college students about to graduate.  These students are not aware of the possibilities that await them. It could be beneficial to question women currently holding jobs that are in search of new opportunities. Their opinions about holding same gender jobs could change after college. In addition, because few women hold prominent positions in male dominated occupations, there are few role models to value.  If all women buy into the theory that traditional roles are best, stereotypes will never find ground to change.


Reference: Rudman, L.A., & Phelan, J.E. (2010). The Effect of Priming Gender Roles on Women's Implicit Gender Beliefs and Career Aspirations. Social Psychology, 41, 192 - 202.