The impact of potential marriage and family on women's career decisions: An analysis of women in traditional and nontraditional fields

• Main Author: Marron, Deborah J
• Language: ENG
• Published: ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst 1997
• Subjects: Academic guidance counseling|Higher education|Womens studies
• Online Access: https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations/AAI9737559

During the past two decades women have entered the workforce in record numbers; they currently comprise nearly 48% of the workforce. Although their presence has been felt in occupations that have been traditionally held by men, their numbers remain concentrated in occupations that have been traditionally held by females. Using a grounded theory approach, this qualitative research looked at women's career decision-making to see to what extent marriage and family issues played a role in their career decisions. Although previous research has focused on such factors as personal characteristics and parent-child relationships as they relate to women's choices of traditional or nontraditional occupations, few studies have explored the relationship of women's career choices and potential marriage and family. Through a comparison of women who are currently working in traditional occupations with women who are working in nontraditional fields, this study explored women's perceptions of balancing future marriage and family roles; the role that sequencing plays in future role balancing; and the impact of women's concerns about future role balancing on their choices of traditional or nontraditional careers. Ten college graduates who chose traditional occupations and ten graduates who chose nontraditional occupations were interviewed. The tape recorded interviews were transcribed, marked, labeled, and grouped in categories. Passages within each category were then reviewed to synthesize the material. The final part of the process involved a review of the interview material in order to identify new learning regarding the impact of potential marriage and family on women's career decisions. The themes identified through the interviews are consistent with the summary of major barriers to and facilitators of women's career choices that are identified by Betz (1994). Those participants who chose to major in fields that are nontraditional for women indicated that they chose those fields based on their skills and interests and believed that they could "fit" family into their careers. All of the participants discussed the need for flexibility of schedules to accommodate roles associated with marriage and family.