GENDERED CAREER CHOICE - IS SEX-STEREOTYPING THE CAUSE OR THE CONSEQUENCE

The interaction between school pupils' schematic representations of 's ocial' and 'technical' roles and the impact that the 'sex-typing' of c areers has on occupational choice were investigated using stimulus vig nettes. Questionnaire data pertaining to occupational choice were coll ected from first-year university students enrolled on courses designat ed as either 'social' or 'technical'. The prototypical in-group positi ons for the two occupational areas were calculated and used as the bas is of vignettes depicting either a male or female school pupil experie ncing difficulty in deciding whether to pursue a technical or socially oriented career. The vignettes were presented to 107 school pupils ag ed 16-18 who were asked which career area they thought the target pupi l was likely to choose. Results indicate that subjects were able to id entify correctly the prototypical characteristics utilised in the vign ettes and that these were of greater importance in their expectation o f course choice than the 'sex' of the target pupil.