Why Women Enlist: The Navy as an Occupational Choice

Women and men enlisting in the Navy today are making a similar occupational choice now that most of the barriers to equal opportunity have been lifted. Yet there is a popularly held belief, and some evidence for this belief, that the motives for joining and work values of female and male enlistees d...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Thomas,Patricia J
Format: Report
Language:English
Subjects:
ATTITUDES(PSYCHOLOGY)
ENLISTED PERSONNEL
FEMALES
HUMANS
JOB ANALYSIS
MOTIVATION
NAVAL PERSONNEL
PE62763N
Personnel Management and Labor Relations
RECRUITS
SEX
VALUE
WU0303
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Summary:Women and men enlisting in the Navy today are making a similar occupational choice now that most of the barriers to equal opportunity have been lifted. Yet there is a popularly held belief, and some evidence for this belief, that the motives for joining and work values of female and male enlistees differ. Using an experimental questionnaire, this study assessed the background, motivation-for-enlistment, and occupational values of 1000 recruits of each sex. The results indicated that women and men entering the Navy have different backgrounds but enlist for the same reasons; i.e., to make something of their lives, to acquire education and training, and to travel. The sexes differed, however, on two-thirds of the occupational value items. Men were more interested in getting ahead in their jobs and women placed a higher value on a clean, cheerful environment and in helping others. Women also were more negative than men towards jobs involving work with materials or machines rather than people, a physical risk, and monotony. It was concluded that the values of many of the women were not consistent with the nontraditional jobs to which they were apt to be assigned.