Cross-cultural correlates of career and parental role commitment

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between country of birth or ethnicity (cultural proxies) and career and parental role commitment, and whether or not that relationship is mediated by two psychological dimensions known to differ across Mexican and USA cultures. These mediators are family achievement orientation and gender role orientation. Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected from 372 working female students at community colleges in the USA and Mexico. The survey focussed on career and parental role commitment, family achievement orientation, and gender role attitudes. Findings – Both country of birth and ethnicity predict career and parental role commitment. Females born in Mexico and Hispanics have higher career role commitment and lower parental role commitment than females born in the USA and non-Hispanic whites. Family achievement orientation and gender role attitudes partially mediate these relationships. Research limitations/implications – Cross-cultural research of work and family issues needs to incorporate psychological dimensions in accounting for country/ethnic differences. Practical implications – Employees’ cultural backgrounds should be considered in designing programs to support family and work balance. Social implications – Assistance programs designed to enable Hispanics to work will be valued and fit with the Hispanic cultural focus on working as a means to care for family. Originality/value – This study addresses a stated need in the work/life literature for research that addresses cross-cultural differences, and research in the cross-cultural research that calls for the inclusion of psychological dimension mediators between culture and the variables of interest.