The Role of Gender in the Career Aspirations of Professional Psychology Graduates: Are There More Similarities Than Differences?

Abstract Although it has been claimed that the increase in the number of females enrolled in graduate programs in professional psychology has implications for the future of research, teaching, and clinical service, more research is needed to evaluate such claims. Canadian graduate students in professional psychology programs were surveyed to examine gender differences in their academic achievements, professional interests, career plans, as well as the reasons for their career choices, expected salaries, and personal opinions regarding affirmative action. Overall, the similarities between genders outweighed the differences. However, women were more likely than men to expect child-rearing to disrupt their careers, to make their career choices based on job flexibility, and to expect lower maximum salaries. Women were also less likely to want to pursue jobs in academia, yet were more likely to advocate for the recruitment of women into academia. The potential implications of the changing gender composition and overall trends in professional psychology are discussed. The face of professional psychology has changed in recent years. The American Psychological Association (1995) task force on the changing gender composition of professional psychology reported that in 1994, 64% of clinical doctorate students were women (i.e., an increase of 38% since 1973). There has been a dramatic increase in the number of women pursuing and obtaining doctoral degrees in clinical and counseling psychology, with current statistics estimating that there are two females for every one male in doctoral programs (Snyder, McDermott, Leibowitz, & Cheavens, 2000). Despite this relative increase in female graduates, there has been little research on how the changing gender composition of graduates will affect the profession. Based on research regarding gender differences in the general population as well as assumptions regarding male and female attributes, Snyder et al. (2000) have argued that the increase in females in professional psychology could have important implications for the future of academia, research, and clinical practice. They suggested that, relative to men, women have greater access to emotions, are less confrontational, are more communal, place greater value on relationships, are more nurturing and aware of other's needs, and are more egalitarian and willing to share power in relationships. Accordingly, they hypothesized that, when compared to males, female graduates will be less likely to enter academia due to the fierce competition, demanding work environment (e.g., tenure pressures), and difficulty juggling family commitments (i.e., child rearing) and work responsibilities. Thus, they predicted that women will be drawn towards careers that they perceive as flexible and will enable them to attend to child-rearing and other household responsibilities. Furthermore, they predicted that women will have fewer scholarly publications compared to their male counterparts. In the realm of psychotherapy, they predicted that women will be more likely to emphasize relational and systemic factors in treatments compared to men, a prediction based on the finding that women are more communal and aware of others' needs. Women may also be more likely to undervalue their work and lower their fees to recruit clients, which in part, may be due to altruism and increased sympathy for their clients. They also proposed that in comparison to men, women will also be more likely to endorse affirmative action for entrance of diverse populations into graduate programs and the profession. Although Snyder et al. (2000) made intriguing predictions regarding the future of professional psychology, their hypotheses were largely based on speculation, as there is currently no research conducted on the differences between men and women in professional psychology programs. A study examining the factors that affect the career paths of graduate students in psychology, as well as students' opinions with respect to the future of the profession, is needed to test Snyder et al. …