CHARACTERISTICS OF WOMEN IN TRADITIONAL AND NON‐TRADITIONAL MANAGERIAL ROLES

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Abstract
This study investigated characteristics which distinguish women who choose traditional as opposed to non‐traditional careers and who function at differing occupational levels. 156 nurses represented the traditional sample, and 147 women in business and industrial positions in which 20% or fewer of the job incumbents were female comprised the non‐traditional career group. The women were matched according to age and education across three occupational levels. It was determined that women as a group in non‐traditional business roles as compared to the traditionals were more achieving, emphasized production more, saw themsleves as having characteristics more like managers and men, and saw no self‐characteristics which conflicted with those ascribed to male managers. The business women considered the domestic role as less important, had fewer children, and fewer children living at home, than did the nurses. The two groups did not differ in their attitude toward the importance of their careers, their perceptions of their husband's attitudes, nor in the education level of their spouse and parents. These findings lead to the conclusion that leadership attributes and behavior of women do vary between organizational settings and across occupational levels in predictable ways.
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