Sex Differences in Occupational Aspirations and Expectations

The research reported in this paper examines sex differences in the prestige and sex-type of occupational aspirations and expectations held by adolescents. Sex differences in the discrepancy between aspirations and expectations are examined, and the effects of socioeconomic background and academic achievement on the unmeasured construct of occupational ambition are compared for the two sexes. The study is based on a random sample of eleventh-grade students in Pennsylvania. The findings indicate that: (I) occupational aspirations and expectations held by adolescents are highly differentiated by sex according to the pattern of sexual segregation in the occupational structure; (2) boys aspire to and expect higher levels of occupational attainment than girls; (3) boys' occupational aspirations and expectations are characterized by greater variability than those of girls; (4) the discrepancy between the prestige of occupations aspired to and expected is greater for girls than boys at higher levels of aspiration; (5) there is no difference in the sex-type of occupations aspired to and expected by boys, but girls are more likely to aspire to male-dominated occupations than to expect they will enter them; and (6) both socioeconomic background and academic achievement have a greater effect on occupational ambition for boys than girls, although these variables have a greater effect on girls than has been found in previous studies.