Psychology 320: Gender Psychology Lecture 44

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Psychology 320 Gender PsychologyLecture 44
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Reminder
The midterm exam will test material associated
with Chapters 9, 10, 11, and 12 of the textbook.
With respect to Chapter 11, you are responsible
for p. 299-316 and 322-324 p. 317-322 (i.e.,
achievement) will be discussed in the last
quarter of the course and will be tested on the
final exam.
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Education, Careers and Work
1. Are there advantages associated with same-sex
schooling?
2. How do females and males divide occupational
and domestic labour?
3. Do females and males value similar job
characteristics?
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Are there advantages associated with same-sex
schooling?

• Given sex discrepancies in school performance
  and the prevalence of sexual harassment in
  schools, many researchers, theorists and policy
  makers advocate for the implementation of
  single-sex schools.

• A recent review conducted by the US Department
  of Education (2005) suggests that single-sex
  schools (SS) offer some benefits over mixed-sex
  schools (MS).

• The primary findings of the review include the
  following

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Outcomes Variables for Single-Sex vs. Mixed-Sex
Schools Academic Achievement (US Department of
Education, 2005)
Outcome Variable Findings of Review
General and subject-specific achievement tests SS gt MS
Meritorious scholarships attained Insufficient data
College GPA Insufficient data
College graduation rates SS MS
Post-secondary test scores (e.g., GRE, MCAT, LSAT) SS MS
Graduate school attendance rates SS MS
Postgraduate licensure tests scores Insufficient data
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Outcomes Variables for Single-Sex vs. Mixed-Sex
Schools Adaptation and Socioemotional Adjustment
(US Department of Education, 2005)
Outcome Variable Findings of Review
Bullying Insufficient data
Delinquency MS gt SS
High school drop out MS gt SS
Eating disorders SS gt MS (females only no data for males)
Teenage pregnancy Insufficient data
Self-esteem MS gt SS (males only SS MS for females)
Locus of control SS gt MS
Educational and career aspirations SS gt MS
Participation in school-related activities SS gt MS
Selection of non-traditional college major SS gt MS (females only no data for males)
Political activism SS gt MS (females only no data for males)
Post-secondary unemployment MS gt SS
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Outcomes Variables for Single-Sex vs. Mixed-Sex
Schools School Climate or Culture (US
Department of Education, 2005)
Outcome Variable Findings of Review
Leadership opportunities SS gt MS
Value placed on leadership and grades SS gt MS
Student satisfaction MS gt SS (high school), SS gt MS (college)
Parent satisfaction Insufficient data
Teacher satisfaction Insufficient data
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How do females and males divide occupational and
domestic labour?

• Over the past several decades, womens
  participation in the paid labour force has
  increased steadily.

• Today, women comprise 48 of the Canadian
  labour force (Statistics Canada, 2010).

• A relatively large proportion of these
  women66 have young children.

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Women and Men as a Percentage of Total Employment
(Almey, 2006 Statistics Canada, 2010)
Percentage of Total Employment
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Percentage of Women with Children Under the Age
of Three Who Are Employed (Almey, 2006)
Percentage of Total Employment
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• Although women are more likely to be employed
  today than in the past, it remains the case
  that

• females are less likely than males to be
  employed 58 of Canadian women are employed
  68 of Canadian men are employed (Almey, 2006).

• females are more likely than males to be
  employed in part-time positions 70 of
  part-time workers are female (Almey, 2006).

• relatively few malesless than 7assume the
  role of stay-at-home dad or househusband
  (Smith, 2007).

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• females are more likely than males to be
  employed in teaching, health, clerical/administra
  tive, and sales/service occupations 67 of
  employed females work in these occupations 30
  of employed males work in these occupations
  (Almey, 2006).

• females are more likely than males to perform
  domestic activities (e.g., housework, cooking),
  irrespective of their employment status

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Proportion of Household Labour Performed as a
Function of Sex and Economic Dependence
(Greenstein, 2000)
Proportion of Household Labour
Wifes Economic Dependence (-1High, 1Low)
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• Indeed, in households where women are employed,
  domestic labour is more likely to be divided on
  the basis of gender than in households where
  women are not employed (Ortega Tanaka, 2004).

• Moreover, breadwinner wives do more domestic
  work than wives who earn salaries similar to
  their husbands economically-dependent husbands
  do less domestic work than husbands who earn
  salaries similar to their wives. Explanation
  Deviance neutralization (Greenstein, 2000).

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Do females and males value similar job
characteristics?

• A recent meta-analysis (Konrad et al., 2000)
  indicates that females are more likely than
  males to value the interpersonal characteristics
  of their jobs, whereas males are more likely
  than females to value the status-related
  characteristics of their jobs.

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Sex Differences in Preferences for Job
Characteristics (Konrad et al., 2000)
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• Consistent with the sex difference that has
  been found for the value placed on earnings,
  research has shown that females have lower
  salary expectations than males

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Expected Salary by Sex (Heckert et al., 2002)
Females Males
Overall Entry pay Peak pay 34,60064,600 42,900108,600
Business administration Entry pay Peak pay 36,60073,000 45,600129,400
Biology Entry pay Peak pay 49,90082,600 77,000179,000
English Entry pay Peak pay 24,80045,300 25,80088,400
Psychology Entry pay Peak pay 32,10060,400 32,60060,700
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• Major and Konar (1984) suggest that four
  factors account for the lower salary
  expectations of females in relation to males

1. Sex differences in the importance of salary
As noted already, females place less value on
earnings than males.
2. Sex differences in career paths Females
pursue less advanced education, plan to spend
fewer years working full-time, and self-select
into lower paying occupations than males.
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3. Sex differences in expected job inputs
Females have lower expectations of their own
performance than males and are more likely to
devalue their performance than males.
4. Sex differences in social comparison
standards Females tend to compare themselves to
other females, who are relatively low-earning
males tend to compare themselves to other males,
who are relatively high-earning.
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Major and Konars (1984) Model of Sex Differences
in Pay Expectations
Importance of Earnings
Career Path Factors
Sex
Pay Expectations
Job Input Factors
Social Comparison Standards
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• Evidence supports the role of each of these
  factors in explaining sex differences in salary
  expectations. However, the strongest predictor
  of salary expectations is social comparison
  standards (Heckert et al., 2002)

r between expected entry salary and comparison
others pay .96 r between expected peak salary
and comparison others pay .73
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Education, Careers and Work
1. Are there advantages associated with same-sex
schooling?
2. How do females and males divide occupational
and domestic labour?
3. Do females and males value similar job
characteristics?