Family Encyclopedia >> Work

Both women and men value their careers

There is a pre-existing assumption that women attach less importance to their careers than men. A new study explored this assumption by evaluating how much men and women view their careers as a central part of their identity. For the study, data was collected from employees in 11 countries to determine whether the importance of careers to identity differs between the sexes. The results revealed more similarities than differences between women and men regarding career centrality.

For both men and women, the role of a family member or caregiver does not come at the expense of the investment in a work identity • As women are more likely to occupy lower quality jobs, they are more likely to have lower career centrality • Traditional gender beliefs cause both men and women to be less career-oriented, but the effect is stronger for women.

The findings reveal that gender differences in career-centric values ​​are likely related to both structural and cultural factors. It is argued that if women were given the same opportunities as men to get high-quality jobs, they would likely invest their identity in a career in a similar way.