Maternal Influences upon Women's Attitudes Toward Career-Achievement, 1968-1969

These data were collected to investigate the nature of and influences upon women's attitudes about feminine professional competence and the desirability of the career achievement role. The study focused on women's tendency to devalue feminine professional competence and the relationship between their attitudes and career choices as well as their mother's attitudes and experiences. The sample was drawn from students at Swarthmore College, a small coeducational liberal arts college with rigorous intellectual standards. A two stage design was used. Participants were paid volunteers who were members of the student body of about 1100. Usable data were received from 110 female and 67 male students (collected only to mask the purpose of the study); 22 of the female students served as a control group. The first stage measure was an Articles Test to determine the influence of an author's sex on perceptions of the quality of a scholarly article. The second measure was a 26-item Likert-type attitude scale on the desirability of a career orientation in women, the compatibility of career and family roles, the femininity of career women, and women's ability to achieve intellectual excellence. The personal data sheet obtained information about parents' education and occupation, siblings, religion, and education. For the second stage of the research, participants were ranked according to the Articles Test. Of the 86 students tested, 22 were in the highest quartile, and 22 in the lowest quartile in their tendency to devalue feminine professional competence. Of those 44 students, 40 were interviewed in depth. Interviews lasted about 45 minutes and were taped. The interview dealt with mothers' experiences, conflicts, feelings, and attitudes concerning work and the feminine role, fathers' attitudes, and the reactions of subjects to their mothers' choices and patterns. The Murray Research Archive holds all original record paper data and audiotapes of interviews. Audio Data Availability Note: This study contains audio data that have been digitized. There are 4 audio files available