Occupational Sexism - Social Role Theory

Social Role Theory

Social role theory may explain one reason for why occupational sexism exists. Historically women’s place was in the home, while the males were in the workforce. This division consequently formed expectances for both men and women in society and occupations. These expectances in turn gave rise to gender stereotypes that play a role in the formation of sexism in the work place, i.e., occupational sexism.

According to a reference there are three common patterns associated with social role theory that might help explain the relationship between the theory and occupational sexism. The three patterns are as follows:

1. Women tend to take on more domestic task;
2. Women and men often have different occupational roles; and
3. In occupations, women often have lower status

These patterns can work as the fore ground for the commonality of occupational stereotypes.

An Example

One example of this in action is the expectancy value model. This model describes how expectances may be linked to gender discrimination in occupations. For example, females are expected by society to be more successful in health related fields while men are expected to be more successful in science related fields. Therefore, men are discriminated against when attempting to enter health related fields, and females are discriminated against when attempting to enter science related fields.

The forefront for this model is based on an individual’s aspirations towards a career. These aspirations in turn led to expectances of successful careers. However, socialization trumps the effects of personal aspirations and expectations, because socialization has the tendency to shape individuals self-perceptions. Therefore, when a man enters a stereotypic female career, his socialized self-perceptions might influence him to be more aware of possible occupational sexism (and the same applies to women).