Close Relationships, Gender, and Career Salience

According to traditional gender roles and stereotypes, men are given the primary role of breadwinners (work orientation), whereas women are responsible for the nurturance of children and the maintenance of the family dwelling (family orientation). Therefore, it could be presumed that women and men with a steady romantic relationship give a different importance to their career. However, several factors may affect the relation between close relationships and career salience, namely, (1) characteristics of the individual (education and employment status, gender ideology, gender role identity), (2) characteristics of the relationship (e.g., dependence on the partner, presence or not of children), and (3) characteristics of the partner (e.g., gender ideology, educational attainment). Moreover, these factors may affect career salience differentially in men and women. Both members of 148 Spanish couples, all white and middle-class, answered an individual questionnaire. The results show that women and men obtained similar scores in career salience. However, women with children, a low educational level, and traditional gender ideology and those who were strongly influenced by their partners showed lower career salience than women with the opposite characteristics. Moreover, whereas career salience among men was unrelated to the characteristics of their partners, career salience among women was related to the gender ideology, labor situation, and educational attainment of their partners.