Male acceptance of female career roles

Forty-two male university students rated five written female role statements matched with video taped females on an 11-point probability of marriage scale. A significant main effect for work roles revealed the order of preference to be Immediate Nurturer, Delayed Nurturer, Homemaker, Integrator, and Career Primary — confirming the expected preference of these middle-class college males for women who combine traditional family goals with some degree of career involvement. There was also an interaction between work roles, female physical attractiveness, and male self-esteem, which revealed an inability of low self-esteem males to tolerate the very attractive career-oriented female.