The Earnings Gap and Sex-based Socialization of Expectations: An examination of the differences between men and women college students in their aspirations and career path expectations

Socialization has undoubtedly played a part in career choice differences between man and women, and thus in producing the wage gap. The following study is an examination of the differences between men and women college students in their aspirations and career path expectations as they related to sex-based socialization and the earnings gap. The first reason for choosing college students is that they have fewer constraints on high level career choices than men and women without college degrees, so differences found in the career choices of males and females would not be attributable to level of education. The second reason for choosing college students is that they have completed the early life socialization process, so the complete effect of sex-based socialization on one\u27s early life career choice could be measured