Empowerment through female vanguards in masculine professions?

A study from the United States examined how the exposure to gender roles in the field of work are related to the self-view of women as a leader and to their interest in masculine professions. When exposed to traditional job incumbents (e.g. male surgeon or female nurse) compared to non-traditional (e.g. female pilot or male flight attendant), women perceived themselves more as a leader. Compared to a control group, exposure to both, non- and traditional job incumbents, is related to less interest in masculine and more interest in feminine occupations. The researchers explain these counterintuitive findings by threatening upward comparison in case of successful females in masculine, high-status professions or by highlighting possible backlashes women face in male-dominated fields.

Rudman, L. A., & Phelan, J. E. (2010). The effect of priming gender roles on women's implicit gender beliefs and career aspirations. Social Psychology, 41(3), 192-202. doi:10.1027/1864-9335/a000027

Organizations have to make senior management positions less “male”

Women's career aspirations are affected by their perceived congruence with senior management positions and by their perceived opportunity to reach senior management, as a US study revealed. Organizations should therefore assure that senior management roles are not predominantly associated with masculine characteristics and should evaluate their promotion systems to eliminate such psychological barriers to women's advancement into senior management.

Sharabi, M. (2015). Life domain preferences among women and men in Israel: The effects of socio-economic variables. International Labour Review, 154. 519–536.

The positive side of career barriers : Perceived difficulties in career can motivate career engagement

University students who report more barriers in their career development (e.g., lack of support, unfavorable labor market) are more engaged in proactive career behaviors, such as networking or career exploration, according to a German study. However, the positive effect of career barriers only emerged when students also had high confidence in their abilities to master challenges at work. The results suggest that barriers combined with confidence can spur engagement in career development.

Journal of Vocational Behavior