Women students and career goals: A study of their attitudes, aspirations and expectations for careers in business

Abstract

Scope and Method of Study: This study assessed the attitudes of women enrolled in senior and graduate level classes in a college of business administration toward career, marriage, and family. Additional purposes of the study were to assess sex differences in aspirations and expectations towards levels of management, and to examine the effects of background factors on both men and women's aspirations and expectations regarding work. Data were obtained from questionnaires administered to 342 students in eleven senior and graduate level business classes. Based on past research, attitudes of women regarding career, marriage, and family were predicted. Three hypotheses were proposed and analyzed by means of chi-square and correlation tests.

Findings and Conclusions: The findings of the study supported all hypotheses proposed. The results indicated that senior women prefer to combine marriage, family, and career, with additional data revealing that an overwhelming percentage favored maintaining a continuous career and having children at the same time. In addition, women's expectations and aspirations towards levels of management were found to be lower than those of men. However, women did expect to work in middle level management and planned to do so while having children. Background factors were not found to be significantly related to women's aspirations and expectations towards levels of management, but three background factors were found to be significantly related to men's expectations towards levels of management.