Gender, aspirations, and achievements: Relating work and family aspirations to occupational outcomes

Abstract

Although women have increased their labour market participation and educational level they still lag behind men in their occupational achievements. An important discussion in the literature as well as in popular media is whether this is due to a gender difference in aspirations. In this study the importance of aspirations for work outcomes is studied in more detail in four empirical chapters using a variety of methods. Results showed that there were gender differences in work and family aspirations that followed traditional gender roles. In general, women thought that family aspirations were more important than men while men thought that career aspirations were more important than women. However, this study showed that women did not lose their ambition when having children. Furthermore, there were also gender differences in how these aspirations related to work outcomes. More specifically, when family aspirations were related to work outcomes, family aspirations were positively related to men’s work outcomes but negatively related to women’s work outcomes. Moreover, work aspirations seemed to matter more for the work outcomes of women than of men. Thus, similar aspirations did not always lead to similar outcomes for men and women. This dissertation also investigated the direction of the relationship between aspirations and earnings. Results showed that work aspirations affected earnings rather than the only way around, but this relationship was only found for women. For men there was no evidence for a relationship in either direction using longitudinal data. Finally, the importance of the aspirations of the partner were investigated. It was found that the aspirations of the partner could function as a resource or a restriction. Where partners seemed to stimulate each other’s aspirations, it also appeared to be the case that the aspirations of the partner could limit or stimulate one’s own labour market participation. Together, this dissertation has investigated several aspects of the relationship between aspirations and work outcomes. It contributed to previous research by explicitly including family aspirations when investigating the relationship between aspirations and work outcomes, by investigating the direction of the relationship between aspirations and earnings, and by combining insights from various research fields. This study has implications for policy makers, employers, and employees. For policy makers it is important to realise that the same aspirations for men and women do not always lead to the same outcomes. Women do not lose their career aspirations when they have a child. Hence, employers should give mothers the chance to realize their ambitions. Finally, it is good for women to realize that their work aspirations do have an effect and that if they hold on to their aspiration they may increase the chance of achieving their desired work outcomes.