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Psychology 320: Gender Psychology

Lecture 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:

3. Do females and males value similar job characteristics?

2. How do females and males divide occupational and domestic labour?

1. Are there advantages associated with same-sex schooling?

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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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Outcome Variable Findings of Review

General and subject-specific achievement tests SS > 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

Outcomes Variables for Single-Sex vs. Mixed-Sex Schools: Academic Achievement

(US Department of Education, 2005)

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Outcome Variable Findings of Review

Bullying Insufficient data

Delinquency MS > SS

High school drop out MS > SS

Eating disorders SS > MS (females only; no data for males)

Teenage pregnancy Insufficient data

Self-esteem MS > SS (males only; SS = MS for females)

Locus of control SS > MS

Educational and career aspirations SS > MS

Participation in school-related activities SS > MS

Selection of non-traditional college major SS > MS (females only; no data for males)

Political activism SS > MS (females only; no data for males)

Post-secondary unemployment MS > SS

Outcomes Variables for Single-Sex vs. Mixed-Sex Schools: Adaptation and Socioemotional Adjustment

(US Department of Education, 2005)

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Outcome Variable Findings of Review

Leadership opportunities SS > MS

Value placed on leadership and grades SS > MS

Student satisfaction MS > SS (high school), SS > MS (college)

Parent satisfaction Insufficient data

Teacher satisfaction Insufficient data

Outcomes Variables for Single-Sex vs. Mixed-Sex Schools: School Climate or Culture

(US Department of Education, 2005)

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How do females and males divide occupational and domestic labour?

• Over the past several decades, women’s 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 women—66%—have young children.

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0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

1979 1989 1999 2009

FemaleMale

Women and Men as a Percentage of Total Employment (Almey, 2006; Statistics Canada, 2010)

Per

cent

age

of T

otal

Em

ploy

men

t

10

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

1976 1986 1996 2006

Percentage of Women with Children Under the Age of Three Who Are Employed (Almey, 2006)

Per

cent

age

of T

otal

Em

ploy

men

t

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• Although women are more likely to be employed today than in the past, it remains the case that:

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

females are less likely than males to be employed: 58% of Canadian women are employed; 68% of

Canadian men are employed (Almey, 2006).

relatively few males—less than 7%—assume 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/administrative, 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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0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.7

0.8

-1 -0.5 0 0.5 1

WivesHusbands

Pro

porti

on o

f Hou

seho

ld L

abou

r

Wife’s Economic Dependence (-1=High, 1=Low)

Proportion of Household Labour Performed as a Function of Sex and Economic Dependence

(Greenstein, 2000)

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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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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

Expected Salary by Sex (Heckert et al., 2002)

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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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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.

3. Sex differences in expected job inputs: Females have lower expectations of their own performancethan males and are more likely to devalue their performance than males.

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Sex

Importance of Earnings

Pay Expectations

Major and Konar’s (1984) Model of Sex Differences in Pay Expectations

Career Path Factors

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:

3. Do females and males value similar job characteristics?

2. How do females and males divide occupational and domestic labour?

1. Are there advantages associated with same-sex schooling?