Section 2 - Guide your future

Section 2 How Societal Gender Norms Influence Career Choices and Professional Confidence

Societal gender norms play a crucial role in shaping individuals’ career aspirations and professional confidence. From a young age, societal expectations often dictate which roles are deemed “appropriate” for men and women. For instance, women are frequently discouraged from pursuing careers in STEM fields due to persistent stereotypes within a gender-segregated labor market (Galos & Coppock, 2023).

These stereotypes and societal expectations have a significant impact on self-assessment of abilities and career aspirations, especially for women in STEM. Research shows that women tend to anticipate experiencing more negative and fewer positive emotions, alongside a heightened sense of threat, in stereotype-triggering situations (such as being one of the few women in a math course). This emotional response has been linked to lower career aspirations in STEM fields (Schuster & Martiny, 2017).

Self-limiting beliefs, shaped by internalized gender norms, can lead individuals to undervalue their abilities, avoid challenges, and opt for less ambitious career paths. In male-dominated industries, women may feel compelled to adopt a more masculine leadership style, which can conflict with their authentic selves and hinder career progression. Research shows that women in these environments often encounter gender bias and a lack of role models in leadership positions, contributing to feelings of inadequacy (Linehan & Scullion, 2008).

To support students in reflecting on their career choices and understanding how societal gender norms may influence them, the collaboration between counselors and students, utilizing The Co-Creation Dialogue CARDS, offers valuable insights. These cards are designed to foster reflective discussions during counseling sessions, helping counselors guide students in exploring how gender perspectives impact various aspects of career decision-making. This approach helps students identify both the challenges and opportunities they may face in their professional journeys. Engaging with this content allows students to recognize internalized biases and develop strategies to overcome them, leading to a more authentic and fulfilling career path (Tolstrup 2021).

Seeking mentors and building support networks are also essential strategies. Women in male-dominated industries have found that establishing mentorship prograde greater inclusion (Woehler, Cullen‐Lester, Porter, & Frear, 2021).

Practical Application

Now, let’s explore how to apply these concepts in practice using the Co-creating Counselling Model and the Co-creation Dialogue Cards. (Co-creation model and Dialogue Cards here, User manual here).

The Co-creating Counselling Model serves as a framework for guidance, helping individuals recognize and address how societal gender norms influence career choices. This approach empowers them to challenge self-limiting beliefs, build professional confidence, and expand their career aspirations.

A key factor in this process is the guidance counselor’s awareness of their own gender perceptions—both explicit and implicit. To develop this awareness, guidance counselors can engage with the CO-creation Dialogue Cards individually or in groups, gaining insight into their perspectives. This self-reflection is a crucial first step in supporting others as they navigate career decisions influenced by gender norms.

Additionally, the self-reflection tool, introduced in the section below, can be a valuable resource in this context.

In the My Life Story field, the counselee can reflect on their understanding of gender and their sense of self-efficacy in relation to it. As a guidance counselor, you might ask:

What education and careers have your parents, siblings, or grandparents pursued? How has this influenced you?
What part-time jobs have you held? How did you get them, and how have they shaped your thoughts on career choices?
Have you ever worked in or considered a field traditionally associated with the opposite gender?

To facilitate reflection in this area, you can use the following Co-creation Dialogue Cards:

Card 1 – Inspiration

Card 5 – A sense of Belonging

Card 6 – Personal Values

Card 8 – Vocational Prejudices

Place these four cards side by side and invite the individual to select one for reflection. As a guidance counselor, you can then ask follow-up questions, incorporating the ones above to deepen the conversation.

In the What Do I Want field, you can help the guided person explore their goals while also examining how gender perceptions may support or hinder them.

As a guidance counselor, encourage reflection on how their career choices align with their authentic self. What values should shape their life? This is an opportunity to challenge self-limiting beliefs and expand their sense of possibility.

In the What Can I Do field, you can build on discussions from the What Do I Want field, focusing on factors that either support or limit career choices.

Here, the emphasis is on strengthening the guided person’s self-efficacy, particularly in breaking away from conventional career paths and overcoming self-limiting beliefs.

The following Co-creation Dialogue Cards are especially useful in this field:

Card 2 – Motivation

Card 3 – Barriers

Card 4 – Sociality

Card 7 – Selfperception

In the Is the Goal Realistic field, you review and assess the discussions so far.

Here, you support the guided person’s self-efficacy in confronting gender stereotypes. As a guidance counselor, you can ask:

On a scale from 1 to 10, how confident are you that you will achieve your goal?

On a scale from 1 to 10, how would you rate your resources and competencies to make it happen?

If the responses are not scored relatively high by the guided person, revisit the What Do I Want and What Can I Do fields to further explore motivation and readiness.

In the Action Plan field, the guidance counselor and the guided person collaborate to develop a plan that supports their chosen career path. This process may involve identifying potential obstacles and determining the necessary steps to overcome them.

Tools and Resourses

Self-Evaluation Guide for Guidance Counselors

Assessing Competence in Gender-Aware Career Guidance

This self-evaluation guide is inspired by the book Co-creating Guidance (Tolstrup, 2022). It can be used individually by a guidance counselor or collaboratively with colleagues.

To encourage reflection on practice and enhance the quality of gender-aware guidance.

Read the questions below and answer them honestly. Think about how your family, school, media, and society may have influenced your choices.

To what extent are you aware of how you create opportunities for reflection on career choices and gender?
How do you actively integrate this into your guidance?

Are you aware of your own perceptions of gender and career?
Do you consciously avoid imposing your own perspectives, ensuring they do not limit the guided person?
Are you empathetic to the guided person’s background and experiences?
Do you practice active listening and curiosity?
Do you avoid defining the guided person based on gender norms?
Do you foster an environment of trust and genuine interest?

Did your guidance help the individual recognize their own gender perceptions and their impact on career choices?
Were gender norms and their influence on career decisions explicitly discussed?
Did the guided person have the opportunity to reflect on their own perceptions?
Was the guidance characterized by openness and inclusivity?
Did the guided person gain a better understanding of their strengths and competencies?

To what extent did you support the guided person in taking ownership of their future?
Did your guidance help them challenge unintentional career limitations based on gender?
Did you foster belief in their ability to pursue education or careers typically associated with the opposite gender?

This guide serves as a tool to continuously refine gender-aware career guidance practices and ensure meaningful, inclusive career conversations.

GOOD PRACTICE

Thomas is a primary school counselor, and through his involvement with open sources in the current project, he became aware of how his implicit gender perceptions influence his guidance.

For instance, he never suggests caregiving careers to boys or typically male jobs to girls.

To address this, he invites three colleagues to a one-hour reflection session, where they work through the eight reflection cards and use the self-evaluation guide.

Afterward, Thomas completed a group guidance session with five 9th-grade students.

He places a large, A3-sized print of the co-creating model in the center of the table where the students are seated.

They worked through each field, like explained above, one by one, beginning with “My Life Story.” Thomas explains that they will be discussing the factors that influence their career choices.

Standing at a field a student draws a card that belonged to the specific field and reflected on the question. Thomas encourages everyone to share their thoughts and reflect on one another’s responses.

Then another student draws another card, and the process continued.

After having worked with the cards, the students evaluated the process. They said that it had been very interesting, and they had discussed themes that they had never thought about before.

Thomas, the counselor, was very pleased with the process. The students participated with passion, and the reflection was on a high level.

References and Links

Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. W.H. Freeman.
Galos, D., & Coppock, A. (2023). Gender composition predicts gender bias: A meta-reanalysis of hiring discrimination audit experiments. Science Advances, 9(18), eade7979. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.ade7979
Linehan, M., & Scullion, H. (2008). The development of female global managers: The role of mentoring and networking. Journal of Business Ethics, 83, 29–40. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-007-9657-0
Schuster, C., & Martiny, S. (2017). Not feeling good in STEM: Effects of stereotype activation and anticipated affect on women’s career aspirations. Sex Roles, 76, 40–55. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-016-0665-3
Tolstrup, L. (2022). Samskabende vejledning. Dansk Psykologisk Forlag.
Woehler, M., Cullen‐Lester, K. L., Porter, C. M., & Frear, K. A. (2021). Whether, how, and why networks influence men’s and women’s career success: Review and research agenda. Journal of Management, 47, 207–236. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206320960529

Quiz

Understanding Gender’s Role in Career Guidance

What is one significant way that societal gender norms impact career choices?

What is a common emotional response for women in STEM fields due to gender stereotypes?

Which of the following is an example of a self-limiting belief caused by gender norms?

What is a key benefit of using the Co-Creation Dialogue Cards in career guidance?

Answers: B, B, A, B