A survey of why women choose non-traditional careers in Northern California

Thesis (M.A., Education (Behavioral Sciences Gender Equity Studies)) -- California State University, Sacramento, 2010.This study will examine women???s personal attitudes on gender and their experiences and beliefs about gender equity in work related environments. This study will also address the following questions: What are women???s attitudes toward gender? How do women perceive gender equity training and gender bias in their careers? What are women???s experiences with gender equity promotion and education in their careers? Overall, this study sought to obtain a better understanding of women???s personal attitudes and perspectives of how their gender plays a major role in non-traditional careers.\ud Sources of Data\ud Two sources of data were analyzed: an open-ended questionnaire that focused on the personal experiences of women who participated, and a Likert survey designed to measure participants??? attitudes toward various issues related to gender and reasons why they chose non-traditional careers. The methodology employed for this study involved both qualitative and quantitative research designs. Participants were required to fill out a questionnaire. Qualitative data was analyzed using a thematic approach while quantitative data collected was entered into the SPSS statistical software program.\ud Conclusions Researched\ud There remains areas that need to continue to be worked on in order to end discrimination and unfair labor practices towards women in general. Both men and women need to be educated on the practices of gender equality, and employers need to be educated on why and how the unfair wages employers offer to female employees is causing the female worker to work under men and not beside them as an equal.Education (Behavioral Sciences Gender Equity Studies