RESEARCHER’S DIGEST
Dr Julia Yates, Senior Lecturer in Organisational Psychology at City, University of London, shares her latest digest of careers-related research.
01
GENDERED PERCEPTIONS OF OCCUPATIONS
Hancock, A. J., Clarke, H. M., & Arnold, K. A. (2020), Sexual orientation occupational stereotypes, Journal of Vocational Behavior, 103427. We all know that stereotypes of jobs exist and that, despite our best efforts, they influence career choices, often limiting individuals’ horizons and reinforcing social inequalities. However, although they are widespread and invidious, they aren’t really very well understood. The authors of this study (based in Canada) examined occupational stereotypes linked to sexual orientation, asking participants to say whether they would assume someone doing a particular job would be likely to be homosexual or heterosexual. They identified six ‘gay jobs’ (by which they mean that most participants said that they would assume that a man working in one of the roles would be gay): hairdresser, make-up artist, fashion designer, dancer, dressmaker and interior decorator. In contrast, they found no occupations which they could similarly categorise as ‘lesbian jobs’. The lack of ‘lesbian jobs’, they suggest, could be linked to the invisibility of lesbian sexuality in the workplace – the failure of others to recognise the significance of lesbian sexuality. The study also found (unsurprisingly, but disheartening nonetheless) that male jobs tend to have higher prestige than female jobs, and gay jobs have lower prestige than heterosexual jobs. On a slightly more optimistic note, they also found that gendered perceptions of occupations are lessening over time.
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PHOENIX JUNE 2020
02
MEDICAL SPECIALISM AND GENERAL PRACTICE
Harris, M., Wainwright, D., & Wainwright, E. (2020), What influences young doctors in their decision-making about general practice as a possible career? A qualitative study, Education for Primary Care, 31(1), 15-23. I thought this one might be of particular interest to those of you working with medics, helping them to choose their specialisms. There is a significant shortage of GPs in the country, and the authors of this study spoke to medical students to try and shed some light on why general practice is not as popular as other medical specialisms. They found that GPs were often the butt of jokes amongst the medical students, but that this kind of banter did not seem to actually influence medics’ choices. The students saw plenty of positives within general practice, seeing that GPs have interesting and varied jobs. However, it seems that they are put off by the isolation and loneliness that they associated with the specialism. This is an interesting finding and one that the medical profession might be wise to address. Students’ views were influenced by their experiences on placement, so that might be a useful place to start.
