Gender and work: The occupational expectations of young women and men in the 1990s

This article uses data from a longitudinal survey of youth to examine the effects of gender on the occupational expectations and attitudes of youth in the 1990s. Twelve hundred youth from central and eastern Canada were surveyed in 1989 and 1994. Results show few gender differences in the status rankings in the youths' expected occupations, or in their intentions to enter the paid labour force. However, there were differences in the ways females and males saw themselves combining work and family responsibilities—especially pre-school aged children. The attitudes and experiences of the young women's mothers appeared to affect these plans—plans that were unrelated to social class background. The results are discussed in the context of McCall's notion on gendered dispositions. where she has been faculty since 1975. Her research interests include the sociology of education, youth and gender issues. She currently holds two research grants funded by Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada, one as principal investigator, the other as a member of a research network on longitudinal studies of youth. Her research interests include sociology of education and work, youth and gender issues.