Religious Orientations and Women's Expected Continuity in the Labor Force

Most observers concur that during the past 20 years there have been remarkable changes in the employment attitudes and behaviors of US women; today there is considerably greater variation among married womens work orientations and behaviors than there was 20 years ago. While certain religious orientations and perspectives may support womens adoption of the secularized work ethic other contemporary religious perspectives may view that adoption more dimly. This study examines the relationship between womens religious orientations and their expectations regarding paid employment. Data were collected through a mailed questionnaire sent to senior women students from 2 land grant universities in spring 1983. College programs selected for study were either predominantly female or predominantly male. Usable returns from both samples numbered 318. Religious devoutness was measured by a Guttman-type scale. Other measures included a self-esteem scale and items designed to solicit background information regarding mothers education and her paid employment activity; sex-role attitudes were measured with the 30-item Sex-Role Attitude Scale; a personality-style scale was used to measure assertiveness and responsiveness. A path model was constructed and the several sets of influences on womens work expectations were discovered and interpreted. Empirical conclusions tend to suggest that religion operates on expected work continuity mainly via gender role preferences. Greater devoutness tends to increase degree of gender role stereotyping and conventionality which in turn decreases expectations for a high degree of continuity in the paid labor force.