Occupational suitability bias for full-time and part-time employment in sex-typed jobs

The present study examines the effects of employment status (full time, part time), job sex type, and job applicant sex upon judgments of occupational suitability. Sixty-three male and 176 female undergraduate students (ranging in age between 17 and 32 years) read a brief vignette describing either a man or a woman. Subjects then rated the occupational suitability of the person for three male sex-typed jobs (plumber, bus driver, cabinetmaker) and three female sex-typed jobs (secretary, telephone operator, hairdresser). In one condition subjects were explicitly told that these jobs were full time. In a second condition subjects were explicitly told that these jobs were part time. Results indicated a sex-congruency bias for both full time and part time employment. However, there was evidence that sex congruency bias is reduced for part-time employment.The author is grateful to Dr. Julian Barling, Dr. Rudolf Kalin, and Kevin Kelloway for their comments on an earlier draft of this article. The comments provided by the anonymous reviews were also appreciated.