Aligned Expectations in an Era of Uneven Change

• In Event: Gendered Pathways Through Postsecondary Education and Into Work

Abstract

Although women have made dramatic gains in education over the past fifty years, progress toward gender equality in the labor market has slowed. One explanation may lie in how adolescents connect their educational expectations to their intended occupations. These plans are central to status attainment and social mobility but are often studied separately. Examining them together highlights the importance of alignment when students’ educational goals match the requirements of their desired careers. Using 43 years of data from the 12th-grade Monitoring the Future (MTF) study, we examine how the alignment between adolescents’ educational and occupational plans has changed over time and how these changes vary across key social dimensions such as gender and social class. Overall rates of alignment have remained stable. However, young women are more likely than young men to report aligned plans, especially for advanced professional careers. Shifts in the gender gap vary across social classes, with smaller changes among youth from higher status backgrounds. Analyses using restricted-access panel data from the MTF study shows that alignment is positively associated with higher levels of completed education and entry into higher-status professional occupations across most groups. However, these benefits are strongest for women from lower social classes. Findings highlight how early goal coherence shapes stratified and gendered pathways to adulthood and help explain persistent barriers to gender equality.

Authors

• Abby Young, West Virginia University

• Ann M. Beutel, University of Oklahoma