26 CAREER DEVELOPMENT
The ongoing battle of the sexes
career, those seeking non-traditional career pathways may encounter gender biases that impact on women’s career development. This edition I will explore the issues that impact on women in the broader working environment.
We look at non-traditional careers for hygienists and oral health therapists and how to challenge the barriers to women’s career development
Gender stereotypes have long influenced the development of women’s careers. Beliefs that women should raise children and keep a tidy home have limited both educational opportunities and job roles for females. However, labour force statistics indicate that in today’s society women participate significantly in paid employment, and being a ‘traditional’ homemaker is now the exception rather than the rule (Betz, 2006). It is accepted in recent literature that both men and women in their pursuit of a satisfying life can balance both work and family commitments; in fact research has demonstrated that there is a strong symbiotic relationship between our career and personal lives (Betz, 2006). However, women’s involvement in the workforce continues to be vastly different from men; women are more likely to work in part-time roles, are under-represented in nontraditional roles, have lower salaries than their male counterparts, and are expected to maintain significant home duties (Betz, 2006; Patton, 1997a). Studies of specific occupations such as academia have demonstrated that only a tiny percentage fill senior positions, and that difficulties with managing career and home life actually creates conflict (Foster, 2001). A number of socialised barriers to women’s career development have been identified in the literature. There are still many gender biases perceived by society; roles such as nurses (and dental
By Melanie Hayes
I AM OFTEN contacted for career advice because of my own varied career path, which involves clinical care, teaching, research and professional advocacy. However, I felt unprepared to assist people and their queries, and that led me on the path to complete formal study in career development. When I talk with colleagues, graduates and even students about their personal career development, it is clear from these conversations that their university degrees are only preparing them for a single career outcome, and graduates are unaware that the range of attributes they possess
would be transferrable to a variety of occupations or career pathways – which is what lead me to write this regular column. However, it would be naïve to assume that recognising your abilities and attributes is enough for successful career development. Despite improvements in workplace equity, issues in career development exist for many sub-populations, including females. While dental hygiene and oral health is still a predominantly female
Identifying the barriers
