Maternal employment and perception of sex roles among college students

Examined sex-role perceptions held by male and female college students with reference to the students' mothers' employment history. 120 undergraduates rated men, women, and themselves on an inventory of bipolar phrases describing sex-role relevant characteristics. Results of t-test comparisons indicate that both men and women with employed mothers perceive significantly smaller differences between masculine and feminine roles than do men and women with homemaker mothers. The women's perceptions of the sex roles are more strongly influenced by the mother's employment than are the men's perceptions. Maternal employment also tends to raise the estimation of one's own sex concerning those characteristics that are seen as socially desirable for the opposite sex. (15 ref.)