Sexism, vocational goals, and motivation as predictors of men's and women's career choice

In the present study we analyzed the impact of vocational goals, sexist attitudes toward women, & motivation on career choice, in a sample of 448 Spanish college students (65.2% women & 34.1% men). Although we found some similarities between men & women in terms of their motivational orientations (extrinsic vs. intrinsic) & vocational goals, men's extrinsic motivations appear to differ depending on the college major. We also found differences in sexist attitudes toward women by gender & chosen major: both male & female students enrolled in technical majors reported the most sexist attitudes (both hostile & benevolent). These findings underline the importance of taking sexist attitudes toward women into account in attempts to explain gender differences in career choice, something which has been largely overlooked in the research to date. Tables, References. Adapted from the source document.