Introduction
The gender of a child has a significant effect on its perception of reality, which is formed by the expectations of others. Parents and the people in a child’s immediate surroundings, including friends, siblings, and teachers, play a significant role in forming a child’s worldview and future choices. Thus, children’s career aspirations are heavily affected by gender role expectations put forth by cultural factors and family dynamics.
The Role of Gender in Career Choice
Even in the modern era, young people choose occupations based on family dynamics. According to a recent study, gender-typical thoughts about future careers were linked to parents’ jobs, as parents pose as role models for children (Endendijk & Portengen, 2022). Additionally, the youth’s feelings of gender similarity were linked to their gender-specific expectations. These results imply that parents’ jobs, work schedules, and task delegation at home all impact how their children perceive their future roles in the family and at work (Endendijk & Portengen, 2022). Thus, family dynamics significantly impact a child’s aspirations, as they are inclined to follow their parents’ example.
Moreover, sociocultural factors, such as the media, shape children’s choices of future jobs. A recent study has found that nearly half of young people base their work pursuits on what they have seen or heard on TV, film, and radio. Based on the role models they see in the media, they tend to choose traditionally prevalent jobs for their gender (Children’s Career Aspirations, 2018). Thus, mass media pose gender expectations on the youth, influencing them to choose traditional occupations associated with their gender.
Conclusion
Hence, cultural factors, as well as family dynamics, have a significant effect on children’s career aspirations. As the youth see their parents as examples of gender roles, they tend to copy their behavior in terms of job choice and task delegation at home, thus perpetuating traditional gender roles. Moreover, young people tend to base their worldview on mass media, thus basing their future occupation on the role models from TV or film. To summarize, current family dynamics and mass media create role models for young people, influencing their job preferences.
References
Endendijk J. J., & Portengen C. M. (2022). Children’s Views About Their Future Career and Family Involvement: Associations with Children’s Gender Schemas and Parents’ Involvement in Work and Family Roles. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 1–11. Web.
Children’s career aspirations limited by gender stereotypes and socio-economic background. (2018). Web.