Whole-Person Career Assessments Can Reduce Gender Differences in Career Recommendations

Despite being useful tools for career exploration, career fit assessments based solely on vocational interests may reinforce gendered occupational segregation. The current study examined whether a broader, whole-person fit assessment could expand gender representation in career recommendations across STEM fields. A sample of 758 U.S. adults completed multiple, validated career fit measures, including: interests, personality, work values, knowledge, and skills. On average, the largest gender differences were found in self-ratings of interests, knowledge, and skills, with smaller gender differences in work values and personality. In turn, interests, knowledge, and skills produced the largest gender gaps in career recommendations, whereas personality and work values consistently produced smaller gender gaps. We also examined the impact of adopting a more holistic standard to make career recommendations – specifically, being a good fit based on any one of the five measured individual differences. This resulted in larger percentages of both men and women recommended across STEM careers. Importantly, because the individual difference domains also vary in their predictive validity for relevant career outcomes, we recommend that practitioners draw on multiple domains to increase both validity and gender inclusion. Altogether, whole-person fit assessments show promise for broadening the range of STEM careers that people consider.