A Comparison of Women in Non traditional and Traditional ...

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C a n a d i a n J o u r n a l o f Counselling / Revue canadienne de counseling / 1999, V o l . 33:4

A C o m p a r i s o n o f W o m e n i n N o n traditional a n d

Traditional Science Majors:

Implications for Career Counsellors

Pamela E. Silcox

Anne L . Cummings

The University of Western Ontario

Abstract

T h i s study examines differences in the career self-efficacy, self-esteem, attitudes toward feminism, a n d developmental environments o f 135 w o m e n i n traditional (Nursing, O c c u p a t i o n a l

T h e r a p y ) a n d n o n t r a d i t i o n a l ( E n g i n e e r i n g , C o m p u t e r Science) science majors. T h e results

indicated that w o m e n i n traditional a n d n o n t r a d i t i o n a l science majors d i d not differ o n the

variables o f career self-efficacy or attitudes toward f e m i n i s m a n d self-esteem, a l t h o u g h Nursing students r e p o r t e d significantly h i g h e r self-esteem than the other groups. Qualitative differences were f o u n d in types o f career barriers with traditional science majors i n d i c a t i n g

self- a n d other-imposed barriers, while n o n t r a d i t i o n a l science majors t e n d e d to cite m o r e

external barriers.

R¨¦sum¨¦

Cette ¨¦ t u d e examine les d i f f ¨¦ r e n c e s o b s e r v ¨¦ e s chez 135 femmes inscrites dans des cours

universitaires scientifiques t r a d i t i o n n e l s ( p r o f e s s i o n i n f i r m i ¨¨ r e , e r g o t h ¨¦ r a p i e ) et n o n

traditionnels ( g ¨¦ n i e , i n f o r m a t i q u e ) , au p o i n t de vue de leur a u t o - e f f i c a c i t ¨¦ en m a t i ¨¨ r e de

l e u r c a r r i ¨¨ r e , de l e u r e s t i m e d e s o i , de l e u r s a t t i t u d e s e n v e r s le f ¨¦ m i n i s m e et d e

l ' e n v i r o n n e m e n t o ¨´ elles ont g r a n d i . Les r ¨¦ s u l t a t s i n d i q u e n t q u ' a u c u n e d i f f ¨¦ r e n c e n'avait

p u ¨º t r e c o n s t a t ¨¦ e entre les femmes ayant choisi des cours scientifiques traditionnels o u n o n

traditionnels, en ce q u i c o n c e r n e les variables d ' a u t o - e f f i c a c i t ¨¦ en m a t i ¨¨ r e de leur c a r r i ¨¨ r e

o u leurs attitudes envers le f ¨¦ m i n i s m e o u leur estime de soi. Il est c e p e n d a n t ¨¤ noter que les

¨¦ t u d i a n t e s - i n f i r m i ¨¨ r e s p r ¨¦ s e n t a i e n t u n e estime de soi b e a u c o u p plus ¨¦ l e v ¨¦ e que les autres

groupes. C h e z les ¨¦ t u d i a n t e s de cours scientifiques traditionnels, des d i f f ¨¦ r e n c e s qualitatives

ont p u ¨º t r e o b s e r v ¨¦ e s dans certaines c a t ¨¦ g o r i e s d'obstacles ¨¤ leur c a r r i ¨¨ r e , i n d i q u a n t des

obstacles i m p o s ¨¦ e s par e l l e s - m ¨º m e s o u les autres, tandis que chez les ¨¦ t u d i a n t e s de cours

scientifiques n o n traditionnels, des obstacles e x t ¨¦ r i e u r s ¨¦ t a i e n t plus souvent i n d i q u ¨¦ s .

In the last decade there has been a growing awareness that a small n u m ber of y o u n g w o m e n are selecting mathematics a n d science as majors i n

university. Despite the changes i n society that have allowed w o m e n more

access to a wider r e a l m o f careers, w o m e n still aspire to traditional

careers more often than to n o n t r a d i t i o n a l careers (Betz & Fitzgerald,

1987). In o r d e r f o r counsellors a n d educators to u n d e r s t a n d what

changes need to be made to increase the n u m b e r o f w o m e n choosing

scientific careers, it is important to understand what factors influence

w o m e n i n m a k i n g their career decisions. T h e current research exam-

T h i s article is based o n a Master's thesis by Pamela E . Silcox a n d supervised by A n n e L .

C u m m i n g s . A n earlier version o f this article was presented at the Congress for the C a n a d i a n

W o m e n ' s Studies Association, May 1998, Ottawa, O N .

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265

ines factors that may be related to w o m e n choosing either traditional or

nontraditional science majors. " T r a d i t i o n a l " science majors are those

majors deemed "appropriate" for w o m e n by society i n which a n d women

make u p the majority of students (e.g., N u r s i n g ) , whereas i n nontraditional science majors (e.g., E n g i n e e r i n g ) , w o m e n are i n the minority.

O f the small n u m b e r o f theorists who have p r o p o s e d models o f

career d e v e l o p m e n t f o r w o m e n (e.g., A s t i n , 1984; F a r m e r , 1985;

Gottfredson 1981), the m o d e l of Betz a n d Fitzgerald (1987) was chosen

as the basis of the current study. C o m p a r e d to other theories, it is a more

inclusive, multivariate m o d e l that better captures the complexity of factors i m p i n g i n g o n women's career decisions. Betz a n d Fitzgerald (1987)

hypothesize four sets of factors w h i c h facilitate women's career development: (a) individual variables (high ability, liberated sex-role attitudes,

instrumentality, androgynous personality, high self-esteem, strong academic self-concept); (b) b a c k g r o u n d variables (working mother, supportive father, h i g h l y educated parents, female role models, w o r k

experience as an adolescent, androgynous u p b r i n g i n g ) ; (c) educational

variables ( h i g h e d u c a t i o n , c o n t i n u a t i o n i n mathematics, w o m e n ' s

schools); a n d (d) adult lifestyle variables (late marriage, few c h i l d r e n ) .

For the purposes of the current research, the first two factors of the

Betz a n d Fitzgerald (1987) m o d e l were chosen for study. O f the individual variables, self-esteem, career self-efficacy (academic self-concept),

and gender-role values were i n c l u d e d i n the study because the research

literature provides greater support for the influence of these three variables i n career development than for the variables of instrumentality

and androgyny. Ability level was not as appropriate for the p o p u l a t i o n

participating i n this study because university students are generally at a

h i g h ability level. O n e of the strengths of this m o d e l is that i n addition

to intrapsychic variables, it also includes sociocultural variables. Thus,

Betz a n d Fitzgerald's (1987) first f o u r b a c k g r o u n d variables were

also i n c l u d e d i n the study: w o r k i n g status of mother, support of father,

educational level of parents a n d extrafamilial female role models. E d u cational variables a n d adult lifestyle variables were not i n c l u d e d because

they were not as applicable to the w o m e n i n this study, all of w h o m had

h i g h education, continuation i n mathematics, a n d were not yet at the

life stage of marriage a n d c h i l d r e n .

Fitzgerald a n d Betz (1987) define career self-efficacy expectations as

a belief i n one's ability to p e r f o r m career-related behaviours successfully. They believe that career self-efficacy is a useful construct for

u n d e r s t a n d i n g women's under-representation i n traditionally male

careers. Lucas (1997) suggests that w o m e n tend to possess a higher

degree of self-efficacy with regard to traditional careers, given the fact

that their social environments may be providing less access the information necessary to develop feelings of efficacy with respect to career-

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Pamela E . Silcox a n d A n n e L . C u m m i n g s

related, n o n t r a d i t i o n a l behaviours. However, other studies (Nevil &

Schleker, 1988; Schaefers, Epperson, 8c Nauta, 1997; Ritchie et al., 1997)

have f o u n d that w o m e n w h o choose a n d persist at n o n t r a d i t i o n a l

careers possess a h i g h degree of career self-efficacy. Further research is

needed to clarify the role of self-efficacy i n nontraditional career choices.

Closely related to the concept o f self-efficacy, a n d equally important

i n women's career development, is the concept o f self-esteem. A n u m ber o f authors define self-esteem as one's evaluation o f self a n d degree

of acceptance of self (Lobel, Agami-Rozenblat, & Bempechat, 1993; L o n g ,

1993). Betz a n d Fitzgerald (1987) include self-esteem i n their m o d e l

because they believe that low self-esteem can be a barrier to women's

career decision m a k i n g because o f low confidence i n themselves. However, recent research has h a d m i x e d results with some research indicating that w o m e n i n nontraditional areas possess higher self-esteem than

their traditional counterparts (Kleinplatz, McCarrey, & Kateb, 1992),

a n d other research finding the opposite to be true ( L o n g , 1993). Thus,

further research with this variable is warranted.

T h e t h i r d individual variable i n Betz a n d Fitzgerald's (1987) m o d e l is

gender-role attitudes. This variable is i n c l u d e d i n their m o d e l because

research has shown that liberal attitudes towards women's roles is a strong

predictor of women's career involvement. In addition, more liberal gender-role attitudes a n d a feminist orientation have been f o u n d to predict

career choices that are nontraditional for women (Fassinger, 1990,1994;

O ' B r i e n & Fassinger, 1993). This finding suggests that w o m e n who grow

u p i n an environment that allows them to develop feminist gender-role

attitudes are more likely to consider a wider variety o f potential career

options.

Besides these three intrapsychic variables, the Betz a n d Fitzgerald

( 1987) m o d e l also includes sociocultural variables such as family factors

and extrafamilial role models as being important to women's career

choices. Betz a n d Fitzgerald (1987) believe that female role models a n d

family e n v i r o n m e n t s w h i c h h e l p to foster self-esteem, career selfefficacy a n d strong feminist attitudes can facilitate w o m e n to consider

n o n t r a d i t i o n a l careers. Previous research s u p p o r t s this b e l i e f by

r e p o r t i n g that women i n nontraditional careers a n d majors are more

likely to come f r o m homes i n w h i c h there is: (a) a h i g h rate of maternal

employment (Erez, 1987; Jagacinski, 1987); (b) fathers are supportive;

and (c) parents are highly educated a n d employed i n professional positions (Betz, 1994; Jagacinski, 1987; M a u , D o m i n i c k , & Ellsworth, 1995).

Research has also shown that teachers a n d university professors can play

an important, but somewhat lesser, role i n i n f l u e n c i n g women's decisions to pursue nontraditional occupations (Betz, 1994; Betz 8c Fitzgerald,

1987; M a u , D o m i n i c k , & Ellsworth, 1995; Ritchie et al., 1997; Scheye &

Gilroy, 1994). However, it is not k n o w n whether role models differ for

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w o m e n w h o choose n o n t r a d i t i o n a l versus traditional science majors.

Finally, the research h i g h l i g h t e d thus far suggests that w o m e n may

potentially experience a n u m b e r of intrapsychic a n d environmental

barriers to choosing a nontraditional career. For example, Swanson a n d

Tokar (1991) f o u n d women's perceptions of barriers to career development (e.g., conflict between personal relationship a n d career roles,

discrimination, pregnancy) were responsible for a discrepancy between

women's abilities a n d their achievements.

T h e goal of the current study is to understand better the factors that

h i n d e r w o m e n i n choosing traditional or nontraditional science majors

w i t h i n a C a n a d i a n context. A l l previous research o n the Betz a n d

Fitzgerald m o d e l and related variables has occurred i n the U n i t e d States.

O n the basis of the research review above, this study will examine two

hypotheses a n d two research questions: (a) w o m e n i n nontraditional

science majors are m o r e likely to have h i g h e r levels of career selfefficacy, self-esteem, a n d stronger feminist orientations than women i n

t r a d i t i o n a l science majors; (b) c o m p a r e d to w o m e n i n t r a d i t i o n a l

science majors, w o m e n e n r o l l e d i n nontraditional science majors will

more often come f r o m homes with one or two professional parents, a

h i g h degree o f maternal employment outside of the h o m e , a n d strong

paternal support; ( c) is there a difference i n role models chosen by

w o m e n i n traditional a n d nontraditional science majors? a n d (d) what

barriers d o w o m e n i n n o n t r a d i t i o n a l a n d traditional science majors

encounter or foresee encountering?

METHOD

Participants

Participants were 135 female undergraduates f r o m two t r a d i t i o n a l

female faculties (37 fourth-year N u r s i n g a n d 46 first- or second-year

O c c u p a t i o n a l Therapy students) a n d two nontraditional female faculties (8 C o m p u t e r Science a n d 44 E n g i n e e r i n g students f r o m all four

years of their programs) at the University of Western O n t a r i o . Participants ranged i n age f r o m 17 to 44 years with an average age of 23.8

years.

Measures

Self-Efficacy. T h i s variable was measured using the short f o r m of the

Career Decision- M a k i n g Self-Efficacy Scale ( C D M S E ) (Taylor & Betz,

1983), w h i c h was developed i n 1996 (Betz, K l e i n & Taylor, 1996). T h e

C D M S E - short f o r m (SF) consists o f 25 items rated o n a five-point scale

d e s i g n e d to measure self-efficacy expectations related to tasks or

behaviours considered to be associated with career decision m a k i n g .

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Pamela E. Silcox and A n n e L . C u m m i n g s

H i g h scores indicate greater feelings of career self-efficacy. Tests of

reliability for the C D M S E - S F indicate h i g h i n t e r n a l consistency with

coefficient alphas r a n g i n g f r o m .73 to .83 (Betz, K l e i n , & Taylor, 1996).

Internal consistency for the present sample was .92.

Self-Esteem. T h e Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSE) (Rosenberg, 1970,

1989) is a global measure of self-esteem. Respondents rate 10 self-report

items, o n a four-point G u t t m a n scale, a n d the resultant overall score is

indicative of their level of self-esteem (Gray-Little, Williams, & H a n c o c k ,

1997). A h i g h score indicates low self-esteem. T h e R S E has been f o u n d

to have h i g h internal consistency, with scores r a n g i n g f r o m a low of a =

.88 (Gray-Little, Williams, & H a n c o c k , 1997) to a h i g h G u t t m a n scale

coefficient of .93 (Rosenberg, 1970, 1989). Coefficient alpha for the

present sample was .82.

Attitudes Toward Feminism. Attitudes toward feminism were measured

by the Attitudes Toward F e m i n i s m a n d the Women's M o v e m e n t Scale

( F W M ) (Fassinger, 1994). T h e F W M is a 10-item, 5-point rating scale

measuring affective reactions to f e m i n i s m a n d the women's movement

(Fassinger, 1994). A h i g h score indicates m o r e f e m i n i s t attitudes.

Internal consistency scores have shown this scale to be reliable with

reports of full scale reliability coefficients for w o m e n as h i g h as .86

(Fassinger, 1994). T h e internal consistency of the present sample o n

this instrument was .84.

Personal Questionnaire. D e v e l o p e d by the author, this i n s t r u m e n t

i n c l u d e d seven questions to assess the sociocultural variables. T h e first

three questions were rated o n a 5-point scale: ( 1, 2) To what extent does

your mother (father) support your career decision? (3) To what extent

have y o u encountered barriers i n the process of m a k i n g your careerrelated decisions? (4) N a m e one person a n d their relationship to y o u

who i n f l u e n c e d your career decision m a k i n g a n d indicate whether the

influence was positive or negative; (5) List any barriers or restrictions

that y o u have encountered or expect to encounter with regards to your

choice of career; (6, 7) mother's (father's) occupation.

Responses to Question five were assessed using qualitative analysis

methods. Themes were derived by the first author f r o m the responses

using the qualitative methodology developed by Straus a n d C o r b i n

(1990). C o n c e p t u a l labels, d e e m e d to best describe the data, were

assigned to the responses. Next, conceptual labels that were related were

g r o u p e d together to f o r m categories. T h e first a n d second author then

independendy placed each response i n a category. Interrater agreement

between the two coders o n 128 individual barriers was 92%. Disagreem e n t o n c a t e g o r y p l a c e m e n t was r e s o l v e d t h r o u g h c o n s e n s u s

discussion.

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