title: Occupational gender stereotypes: is the ratio of women to men a powerful determinant?
abstract: Gendered division of occupational choices still exists in contemporary Japanese society. Women are underrepresented in traditionally male-dominated fields, while few men occupy positions in traditionally female-dominated areas. The purpose of the present study was to examine occupational gender stereotypes and its relation to the female-to-male ratio of jobholders. Participants were 540 Japanese (262 women, 278 men) who participated in an Internet survey. The results showed that the female-to-male ratio of jobholders was a strong predictor of gender stereotyping. That is to say, contemporary Japanese recognized male-dominated occupations as typically masculine and female-dominated ones as typically feminine. Gender comparisons revealed that men rated female-dominated occupations as more feminine in nature than did women, while women rated male-dominated occupations as more masculine than did men. Future implications for career interventions focusing on occupational gender stereotypes were also discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Sciences, Osaka Kyoiku University, 4-698-1, Asahigaoka, Kashiwara-shi, Osaka, Japan. adako@cc.osaka-kyoiku.ac.jp
authors.forename: Tomoko
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Adachi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002321:Career Choice; D003625:Data Collection; D005260:Female; D005783:Gender Identity; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D012744:Sex Ratio; D013240:Stereotyping; D055815:Young Adult