ABSTRACT

The U.S. workforce has been changing rapidly. Close to half of working adults are women, and as the U.S. population becomes ever more racially and ethnically diverse, so too does the labour force. Using data collected from 13–18-year-old teenagers over three time periods across two decades, 1992 to 2012, this study examines changes in the career aspirations of teenagers, focusing specifically on gender and race/ethnicity similarities and differences. Comparable to the findings from many studies, the results show marked gender differences and few racial/ethnic differences. New to the discussion are the findings that White boys and minority girls are those leading the slow-moving wave towards gender parity in occupations. If the findings of this study are prescient, women and men are not likely to be working side-by-side in all occupations in the near future, but there should be significant shifts over the coming decades.

摘要

美国劳动力一直在迅速变化。接近一半的在职成年人是女性，而且随着美国人口种族和族裔多样性的日益丰富，劳动力也是如此。本研究使用1992年至2012年这20年间三个时间段内从13-18岁的青少年收集的数据，研究了青少年职业志向的变化，重点关注性别和种族/族裔的异同。与许多研究的结果相比较，结果显示出明显的性别差异和极少的种族/种族差异。讨论的新发现是，白人男孩和少数族裔女孩引领着缓慢发展的浪潮，朝着职业中的性别均等迈进。如果这项研究的发现是有先见之明的，