Occupational Preferences: Children's Projections for Self and opposite Sex

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Abstract
One hundred eighty-six children and adolescents at the first-, fifth-, eighth-, and 11th-grade levels were interviewed concerning occupational preferences. They were asked first what they would like to be when they grew up and second what they would like to be if they were members of the opposite sex. An examination of the traditionality of occupational choices revealed that significantly more females than males stated personal preferences for nontraditional occupations (i.e., occupations socially identified with the opposite sex of the S or with neither sex). Moreover, when projecting choices for the opposite sex, females generally selected traditional occupations for males, while a significant number of males nominated nontraditional occupations for females. The findings suggest that children of both sexes assume that males will enter careers that are sex-typed, while females may enter either sex-typed or non-sex-typed careers.