Skip to main content
Intended for healthcare professionals
Restricted access
Research article
First published online August 7, 2009

On Men and Work: Taking the Road Less Traveled

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to review the literature related to men who pursue nontraditional career choices such as gender atypical occupations outside the home or being stay-at-home fathers. Key foundational findings and current studies that provide information about what factors influence men’s pursuit of nontraditional careers both in the paid labor market and as stay-at-home-fathers, as well as their experience of these important life choices, are reviewed. We then turn to specific recommendations from the literature which can inform the work of future researchers and career counselors in this area.

Get full access to this article

View all access and purchase options for this article.

References

Armstrong, P.I., & Crombie, G. ( 2000). Compromises in adolescents’ occupational aspirations and expectations from Grades 8 to 10. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 56, 82-98.
Bem, S. ( 1974). The measurement of psychological androgyny. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 42, 155-162.
Betz, N.E. ( 1995). Gender-related individual differences variables: New concepts, methods, and findings. In D. J. Lubinski, & R. V. Dawis (Eds.), Assessing individual differences in human behavior: New concepts, methods, and findings (pp. 119-143). Palo Alto, CA: Davies-Black.
Betz, N.E. ( 2005). Women’s career development. In S. D. Brown, & R. W. Lent (Eds.), Career development and counseling: Putting theory and research to work (pp. 253-277). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley.
Betz, N.E. ( 2006). Basic issues and concepts in the career development and counseling of women. In W. B. Walsh, & M. J. Heppner (Eds.), Handbook of career counseling for women (2nd ed., pp. 45-74). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Betz, N.E., & Hackett, G. ( 1981). The relationship of career-related self-efficacy expectations to perceived career options in college women and men. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 28, 399-410.
Bradley, H. ( 1993). Across the great divide. In C. Williams (Ed.), Doing women’s work: Men in nontraditional occupations (pp. 10-28). London: Sage.
Brooks, G.R., & Good, G.E. ( 2001). The new handbook of psychotherapy and counseling with men. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass .
Cameron, C. ( 2001). Promise or problem? A review of the literature on men working in early childhood services. Gender, Work & Organization , 8, 430-453.
Chung, B.Y., & Harmon, L.W. ( 1994). The career interests and aspirations of gay men: How sex-role orientation is related. Journal of Vocational Behavior , 45, 223-249.
Chusmir, L.H. ( 1990). Men who make nontraditional career choices. Journal of Counseling and Development, 69, 11-16.
Cushman, P. ( 2005). It’s just not a real bloke’s job: Male teachers in the primary school. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education , 33, 321-338.
Cross, S. ( 2002). Girls jobs for boys? Men, masculinity and nontraditional occupations. Gender, Work, & Organization, 9, 204, 226.
Croteau, J.M., Anderson, M.Z., Distefano, T.M., & Kampa-Kokesch, S. (2000). Lesbian, gay, and bisexual vocational psychology: Reviewing foundations and planning construction. In R. M. Perez, K. A. DeBord, & K. J. Bieschke (Eds.), Handbook of counseling and psychotherapy with lesbian, gay and bisexual clients (pp. 383-408). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association .
Dodson, T.A., & Borders, L.D. ( 2006). Men in traditional and nontraditional careers: Gender role attitudes, gender role conflict, and job satisfaction. The Career Development Quarterly, 54, 283-297.
Fassinger, R., & Assay, P. ( 2006). Career counseling for women in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields. In W. B. Walsh , & M. J. Heppner (Eds.), Handbook of career counseling for women (2nd ed., pp. 427-452). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Floge, L., & Merrill, D. ( 1989). Tokenism reconsidered: Male nurses and female physicians in a hospital setting. Social Forces, 64, 925-947.
Flores, L.Y., Navarro, R.L., Smith, J.L., & Ploszaj, A.M. ( 2006). Testing a model of nontraditional career choice goals with Mexican American adolescent men. Journal of Career Assessment , 14, 214-234.
Good, G.E., Wallace, D.L., & Borst, T.S. ( 1994). Masculinity research: A review and critique. Applied and Preventative Psychology, 3, 3-14.
Gottfredson, L.S. ( 1981). Circumscription and compromise: A developmental theory of occupational aspirations. Journal of Counseling Psychology (Monograph), 28, 545-579.
Gottfredson, L.S. ( 2005). Applying Gottfredson’s Theory of Circumscription and Compromise in career guidance and counseling. In S. D. Brown, & R. W. Lent (Eds.), Career development and counseling: Putting theory and research to work (pp. 71-100). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley.
Gysbers, N.C., Heppner, M.J., & Johnston, J.A. (2003). Career counseling: Process, issues, and techniques (2nd ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.
Gysbers, N.C., Heppner, M.J., & Johnston, J.A. (2009). Career counseling: Contexts, process and techniques. Alexandria, VA: American Counseling Association.
Hayes, R. ( 1989). Men in female-concentrated occupations. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 10, 201-212.
Heikes, J. ( 1992). When men are in the minority: The case of men in nursing . The Sociological Quarterly, 32, 389-401.
Helwig, A.A. ( 2004). A ten-year longitudinal study of the career development of students: Summary findings. Journal of Counseling & Development, 82, 49-57.
Heppner, P.P., & Heppner, M.J. ( 2008). The Gender Role Conflict literature: Fruits of sustained commitment. The Counseling Psychologist, 36, 455-461.
Hudson, W.W., & Ricketts, W.A. (1980). A strategy for the measurement of homophobia. Journal of Homosexuality, 5, 357-372.
Jome, L.M., & Tokar, D.M. ( 1998). Dimensions of masculinity and major choice traditionality . Journal of Vocational Behavior, 52, 120-134.
Lease, S.H. ( 2003). Testing a model of men’s nontraditional occupational choices. Career Development Quarterly, 51, 244-258.
Lemkau, J.P. ( 1984). Men in female-dominated professions: Distinguishing personality and background features. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 24, 110-122.
Lent, R.W., Brown, S.D., & Hackett, G. ( 1994). Toward a unifying social cognitive theory of career and academic interest, choice, and performance. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 45, 79-122.
Lidderdale, M.A., Croteau, J.M., Anderson, M.Z., Tovar-Murray, D., & Davis, J.M. ( 2007). Building lesbian, gay, and bisexual vocational psychology: A theoretical model of workplace sexual identity management. In K. J. Bieschke, R. M. Perez, & K. A. Debord (Eds.), Handbook of counseling and psychotherapy with lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender clients (2nd ed., pp. 245-270). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Lupton, B. ( 2000). Maintaining masculinity: Men who do women’s work . British Journal of Management, 11, S33-S48.
Mahalik, J.R., Locke, B.D., Ludlow, L.H., Gottfried, M., Scott, R.P.J., & Freitas, G. ( 2003). Development of the Conformity to Masculine Norms Inventory . Psychology of Men and Masculinity, 4, 3-25.
O’Brien, K.M., & Fassinger, R.E. (1993). A causal model of career orientation and career choice of adult women. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 40, 456-467.
O’Neil, J.M. ( 1990). Assessing men’s gender role conflict. In D. Moore & F. Leafgren (Eds.), Problem-solving strategies and interventions for men in conflict (pp. 23-38). Alexandria, VA: American Association for Counseling and Development.
O’Neil, J.M. ( 2008). Summarizing twenty-five years of research on men’s gender-role conflict using the Gender Role Conflict Scale: New research paradigms and clinical implications. The Counseling Psychologist, 36, 358-445.
O’Neil, J.M., Helms, B.J., Gable, R.K., David, L., & Wrightsman, L.S. (1986). Gender Role Conflict Scale: College men’s fears of femininity. Sex Roles, 14, 335-350.
Rabinowitz, F.E., & Cochran, S.V. ( 2002). Deepening psychotherapy with men. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association .
Rainey, L.M., & Borders, L.D. ( 1997). Influential factors in career orientation and career aspiration of early adolescent girls. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 44, 160-172.
Robertson, J.M., & Verschelden, C. (1993). Voluntary male homemakers and female providers: Reported experiences and perceived social reactions . The Journal of Men’s Studies, 1, 383-402.
Rochlen, A.B., McKelley, R.A., Suizzo, M.-A., & Scaringi, V. ( 2008). Predictors of relationship satisfaction, psychological well-being and life satisfaction among stay-at-home fathers. Psychology of Men and Masculinity, 9, 17-28.
Rochlen, A.B., Suizzo, M., McKelley, R., Suizzo, M., & Scaringi, V. ( 2008). ‘‘I’m just providing for my family’’: A qualitative study of stay-at-home fathers. Psychology of Men and Masculinity, 9, 193-206.
Simpson, R. ( 2005). Men in nontraditional occupations: Career entry, career orientation and experience of role strain. Gender, Work & Organization, 12, 363-380.
Skovholt, T. ( 1990). Career themes in counseling and psychotherapy with men . In D. Moore, & F. Leafgren (Eds.), Men in conflict. Alexandria, VA: American Counseling Association.
Tokar, D.M., & Jome, L.M. ( 1998). Masculinity, vocational interests, and career choice traditionality: Evidence for a fully mediated model. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 45, 424-435.
Tyler, L.E. ( 1977). Individuality. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
U.S. Census Bureau. (2006, June). Facts for features (p. 4).
Wade, J.C. ( 1998). Male reference group identity dependence: A theory of male identity. The Counseling Psychologist, 26, 349-383.
White, M.J., & White, G.B. ( 2006). Implicit and explicit occupational. gender stereotypes . Sex Roles, 55, 259-266.
Williams, C. ( 1993). Doing women’s work: Men in nontraditional occupations . London: Sage.
Williams, C. ( 1995). Hidden advantages of men in nursing. Nursing Administrator Quarterly, 19, 63-70.

Cite article

Cite article

Cite article

OR

Download to reference manager

If you have citation software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice

Share options

Share

Share this article

Share with email
EMAIL ARTICLE LINK
Share on social media

Share access to this article

Sharing links are not relevant where the article is open access and not available if you do not have a subscription.

For more information view the SAGE Journals article sharing page.

Information, rights and permissions

Information

Published In

Article first published online: August 7, 2009
Issue published: September 2009

Keywords

  1. nontraditional careers
  2. men
  3. stay-at-home fathers

Rights and permissions

Request permissions for this article.

History

Published online: August 7, 2009
Issue published: September 2009

Authors

Affiliations

Mary J. Heppner
P. Paul Heppner
University of Missouri

Metrics and citations

Metrics

Journals metrics

This article was published in Journal of Career Development.

VIEW ALL JOURNAL METRICS

Article usage*

Total views and downloads: 321

*Article usage tracking started in December 2016

Altmetric

See the impact this article is making through the number of times it’s been read, and the Altmetric Score.
Learn more about the Altmetric Scores


Articles citing this one

Web of Science: 25 view articles Opens in new tab

Crossref: 21

  1. Cracks and Care: Pastoral-theological Reflections on the Gender Implic...
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  2. Career development of male counseling psychology doctoral students: A ...
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  3. Caregiving Dads, Breadwinning Mums: Pathways to the Division of Family...
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  4. Young Men’s Entry and Persistence in Female-Dominated Occupations
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  5. Ruling the Country Without Losing the Self
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  6. Parents or Peers? Predictors of Prosocial Behavior and Aggression: A L...
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  7. An evocative portrayal of stay-at-home-dads’ experiences in elementary...
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  8. Stressors and rewards experienced by men in nursing: A qualitative stu...
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  9. Seekers, Finders, Settlers, and Stumblers: Identifying the Career Path...
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  10. Occupational gender stereotypes and problem-solving in Italian adolesc...
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  11. Male Nurses in Israel: Barriers, Motivation, and How They Are Perceive...
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  12. La prochaine génération d’employés
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  13. Drawing Fatherhood: The Working Father Figure in the Autobiographical ...
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  14. The Changing Nature of Work in Men's Lives: Implications for Counselin...
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  15. Affirming the Strengths in Men: A Positive Masculinity Approach to Ass...
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  16. A Mixed Methods Study of Male Recruitment in the Counseling Profession
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  17. Life Without Work...
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  18. Barriers experienced by male office management students in a tradition...
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  19. Who Is Going to College? Predicting Education Training From Pre-VR Con...
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  20. Practice and Research in Career Counseling and Development-2009
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  21. Traditional and Nontraditional Work and Family Roles for Women and Men
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar

Figures and tables

Figures & Media

Tables

View Options

Get access

Access options

If you have access to journal content via a personal subscription, university, library, employer or society, select from the options below:


Alternatively, view purchase options below:

Purchase 24 hour online access to view and download content.

Access journal content via a DeepDyve subscription or find out more about this option.

View options

PDF/ePub

View PDF/ePub