Effect of Gender and Work Experience on Importance of Job Characteristics When Considering Job Offers

Abstract

This research investigated gender and work experience differences in the importance of job characteristics. Ratings of eight job facets, representing 48 characteristics, were provided by 102 seniors and 504 alumni from a mid-sized, Midwestern public university. Women gave significantly higher ratings to family life accommodations, pleasant working conditions, travel, interpersonal relations, benefits, and societal contribution and significantly lower ratings to the pay and promotion facet. Significant work experience differences were found on seven facets. Graduating seniors rated the facets as more important than did alumni. Our results suggest seniors may need assistance with deciding among competing job offers, as they seem to think all job characteristics are important. ********** Predictions have been made, based on census data, that the adult work force will shrink in the future (Goldstein, 1989), suggesting increased competition among employers for graduating seniors. As students compare job offers, they are likely to consider various job characteristics offered by prospective positions (Heckert & Wallis, 1998). Companies need to be aware of which job characteristics warrant the most attention to attract and retain these future workers. In addition, college career counselors need to be aware of any differences between male and female students in what they deem most desirable in a potential job. In working with their clients, counselors may assume erroneously that the goal is to maximize salary. In fact, recent research (Browne, 1997) has shown that both men and women are willing to accept lower salaries if certain desirable features are present. That said, women, on average, do receive less pay than men (Gasser, Oliver, & Tan, 1998). For example, in 1990, women's average weekly pay was equal to approximately 77% of men's earnings (Davidson & Cooper, 1992). Even within the same occupation, women have been found to receive less pay (Firestone, Harris, & Lambert, 1999). Furthermore, numerous studies (c.f., Heckert & Wallis, 1998) have found gender differences in the pay expectations of male and female college students. However, researchers have failed to discover the reason for this pervasive pay inequality. Many theories have been created in an attempt to explain the gender differences in salary and salary expectations. One of the more widely used theories is the Human Capital Approach (Firestone et al., 1999) in which differences in pay are attributed to differences in job inputs (e.g., years of work experience, effort, knowledge, highest degree earned) and concern with various job attributes. In general, researchers (c.f., Heckert et al., 2001; Jackson et al., 1992) have failed to find gender differences in the job inputs most likely to affect salary. On the other hand, the premise that pay differences may stem from differences in job characteristic importance remains a possibility. Proponents of the Human Capital Approach have argued that women trade off higher salaries for other desirable job attributes (Firestone et al., 1999). For example, Mitchell (1984) suggested female physicians earn less because of their unwillingness, once they have reached a certain salary, to work extra for additional remuneration. In other words, to females, salary is less important than having sufficient time off. Obviously, for the Human Capital explanation to be correct, gender differences must exist on job characteristics' importance. Gender Differences in the Importance of Various Job Characteristics Much of the research on gender differences in job characteristic importance has been done on samples of business students (Beutell & Brenner, 1986; Browne, 1997; Honeycutt & Rosen, 1997; Major & Konar, 1984; Martin, 1989). In addition, two studies (Redman et al., 1994; Todisco et al., 1995) focused on medical students. …