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An examination of gender differences in Mexican-American attitudes toward family and career roles

Sex Roles: A Journal of Research, June, 1998 by Mary Gowan, Melanie Trevino

As the work force continues to become more diverse, understanding cultural differences becomes increasingly important (Cox & Nkomo, 1990; Nkomo, 1992). Researchers who have examined cultural differences have typically focused on between-country differences. Much less attention has been given to within-country cross-cultural issues, especially relative to the management of employees (Erez & Earley, 1993). However, all employees in a company may not have the same cultural background - an increasingly likely event - even though they are citizens of the same country. Many U.S. citizens still retain identification with their own ethnic group and, consequently, may have different needs and values from the dominant group. For instance, researchers have already begun to note that minority groups may have different cultural values and biases concerning career and family (Penley, Gould, de la Vina, & Murphy, 1989; Arbona & Novy, 1991; Cox, Lobel, & McLeod, 1991). Understanding these differences is important for those organizations attempting to adequately and appropriately address employee issues centered around the difficulty of juggling work and family roles.

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One group that has received almost no attention in the careers research is Hispanics (Domino, 1992; Ornstein & Isabella, 1993; Penley et al., 1989), a surprising omission since Hispanics, and in particular Mexican-Americans, are the fastest growing ethnic group within the United States and within the labor force (Triandis, 1994). Projections are that, early in the 21st century, Hispanics will surpass African-Americans to become the largest minority group in the U.S. (Knouse, Rosenfeld, & Culbertson, 1992). Understanding more about the Hispanic culture is, therefore, important for designing and managing successful programs in the workplace.

The purpose of this study is to begin to address this lack of research by examining responses of Mexican-Americans to career and family issues. Specifically, the study presents and tests hypotheses regarding Mexican-American gender differences in attitudes toward female work roles and in attitudes toward parental responsibility for child care. We are focusing on Mexican-Americans since this group represents 63% of the Hispanic population in the U.S. (Fernandez, 1991). This distinction is important as differences exist within the Hispanic culture based on one's nation of ancestry (Penley et al., 1989; Romo & Romo, 1985). Little organizational research has included Mexican-Americans.

We are also examining gender differences since previous research (e.g., Covin & Brush, 1991) has identified gender differences in attitudes toward career and family issues. This previous research has focused on Anglo-American (non-Hispanic) groups (Greenhaus & Beutell, 1985). We are interested in examining whether differences found in that research exist in a different cultural context. This examination is important since most workplace initiatives to respond to work/family concerns are based on attitudes and needs of Anglo-Americans (Nkomo, 1992) and, consequently, may not be applicable to other ethnic groups. Research has already shown that a primary difference between Anglo-Americans and Hispanics centers around the role of family (Negy, 1993). This research suggests that workplace initiatives related to family concerns and designed for Anglo-Americans may not be applicable to Hispanics.

Family and Career Conflict

Schwartz's (1989) highly controversial dual career track discussions (commonly called the "mommy-track") typify the conflict between family and work roles. Researchers have shown that even though males are more involved in family issues than they used to be (Hall, 1989, 1990; Wilcox, 1989), females are still more likely to experience greater stress than males over their dual roles as parents and employees (Covin & Brush, 1991). Women continue to bear much of the responsibility for child care and maintenance of the home (Barnett & Baruch, 1989; Gutek, Nakamura, & Nieva, 1981) even though many of these same women have large investments in their careers. These findings suggest, and research has confirmed, that the attitudes of males and females differ relative to career-family issues and that males hold more traditional view of gender roles (Covin & Brush, 1991).

In discussing the nature of these role differences, Greenhaus and Beutell (1985) note that conflict exists because work and family roles have distinct requirements and norms that are not always compatible. They point out that the salience of each of these roles may also be a factor in determining the level of work vs. family conflict that exists.

Further, researchers have found that the basic concepts of femininity and masculinity, concepts correlated with the salience of work and family roles, may have differing meanings across different cultural groups (Vazquez-Nuttal, Romero-Garcia, & DeLeon, 1987). As Russo (1987) suggests, gender itself should be considered a dynamic construct that varies across ethnic groups - hence, our interest in gender differences in attitudes toward family and career roles of Mexican-American.

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An examination of gender differences in Mexican-American attitudes toward family and career roles

Sex Roles: A Journal of Research, June, 1998 by Mary Gowan, Melanie Trevino

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