Daily Environments During Emerging Adulthood and Gender Atypical Occupational Choices: The Role of Sexist Experiences

Past research on occupational choices often focuses on the role of personal attributes. Research is needed that examines whether daily environments and individuals’ reactivity to these environments contribute to occupational choices. This study utilizes experience sampling methodology to examine whether daily sexism and affective reactivity to sexism predict the gender typicality of desired occupations of emerging adults in male-dominated majors (MDMs). 40 women and 40 men college students in MDMs reported desired occupations and experiences of sexism and general mood during the past hour four times a day for 2 weeks – allowing for an examination of whether some individuals report a more negative mood when they recently experienced sexism (i.e., reactivity). Results indicated that higher reactivity to sexism (but not daily sexism) predicted women desiring more female-typed and men desiring more male-typed occupations. Results suggest that career counselors should consider the role of daily sexism in career development.