A Study of the Relationship Between Maternal Employment History and a Woman\u27s Sex Role Orientation and Career Development

Much of the research reviewed suggests that there is some relationship between a woman\u27s mother\u27s employment history, a woman\u27s sex role orientation, and a woman\u27s commitment to a career. In this study, the sex role orientation, career commitment, and career decision making of college women were examined in relation to length of maternal employment history. It was found that the longer a mother worked during the daughter\u27s lifetime, the greater was the daughter\u27s own desire to work. The length of maternal employment history was not found to significantly influence the daughter\u27s sex role orientation or career decision making process. It was also found that the more feminine a woman\u27s sex role orientation, the less she desired to work. Also, the more feminine a woman saw herself, the less she tended to rely on the planning style, the most effective style of decision making, and the more she tended to rely on the intuitive style, which is more effective than the dependent style of decision making, but less effective than the planning style. The more feminine a woman saw her role, the less advanced she was in her decision making about an occupation. Sex role orientation was not found to significantly influence the dependent style of decision making or the decision making tasks of choice of college or major. These findings support the conclusions that the concepts of work and decision making about such work, are not typically part of a feminine sex role orientation. One factor which seems to influence whether a woman includes work in her life plans is the extent of her mother\u27s employment