Androgyny in a male-dominated field: the relationship of sex-typed traits to performance and satisfaction in engineering

• Published in: Sex roles 1987-11, Vol.17 (9-10), p.529-547
• Main Author: JAGACINSKI, C. M
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Androgyny; Biological and medical sciences; Engineers; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Job Performance; Job Satisfaction; Motivation. Job satisfaction. Attitude; Occupational psychology; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Sex Role Attitudes
• ISSN: 0360-0025; 1573-2762
• DOI: 10.1007/BF00287734

Data from a national questionnaire survey of M & F engineers (N = 346 each) were used to investigate the relationship between self-ratings of instrumentality & expressiveness & measures of job performance & satisfaction. It was hypothesized that engineers high in instrumentality (androgynous & masculine) would report higher levels of job performance & satisfaction than engineers low in instrumentality (feminine & undifferentiated). The measures of performance included technical & supervisory responsibility levels, salary, & involvement in professional activities. Each of these measures was significantly related to instrumentality but not to expressiveness; however, less than 6% of the variance in each performance measure was accounted for by instrumentality ratings. For each of the measures of performance & satisfaction, there was no significant difference between androgynous & masculine Rs, demonstrating no effect for expressiveness among engineers high in instrumentality. The engineers' self-ratings of various abilities were also significantly related to instrumentality, & there were significant interactions between expressiveness & instrumentality. Although a few sex differences were found, the magnitude of the effects was generally smaller than that for instrumentality. 6 Tables, 33 References. Modified AA