Changing Gender Expectations

June 18, 2012 in Daily Bulletin

Catherine Rampell parsed through the latest data from the Pew Research Center on gender differences in the work place. Highlights include:

  • 66% of women between 18 and 35 say that being successful in a high-paying career or profession is important. For males it’s just 59%.
  • This is a change from 1997 – when the same poll was last carried out, and men were more likely to agree than women.
  • This trend is backed up by the fact that women now outnumber men on college campuses.
  • This trend isn’t limited to young women. Roughly equal proportions of males and females between 35 and 64 say that a career is important.
  • Just as in 1997, both males and females will put being a good parent and having a successful marriage as more important than a career.
  • However for men the importance of having a successful marriage has fallen while for women it has risen.

To read many (many, many) more details about changing attitudes across genders and age groups, how the various percentages have changed, why women are investing in value added skills, the evolution in family values, why women now want it all, and the average age of first marriage, click here.

Source: The New York Times