Parents' Perceptions of Occupational Fit

Brenøe, Anne () and Daphne Rutnam ()
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Brenøe, Anne: University of Zurich
Daphne Rutnam: University of Zurich

No 18431, IZA Discussion Papers from IZA Network @ LISER

Abstract: We study how adolescents’ second-order beliefs about their parents’ occupational preferences shape gendered career aspirations. In a consequential early-career choice setting, we combine a parental choice experiment with a randomized salience intervention among students. Parents give gendered recommendations, but students substantially overestimate fathers' preference for boys to choose male-dominated occupations as well as mothers' preference for girls to choose female-dominated occupations. Making the same-gender parent salient raises aspirations for gender-congruent occupations, while highlighting the opposite-gender parent and both parents has no effect. Salience does not shift perceived occupational fit, suggesting that identity-based second-order beliefs can reinforce occupational gender segregation.

Keywords: gender norms; second-order beliefs; occupational aspirations; parental beliefs; identity and career choice; early-career choices; choice experiment; field experiment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C93 D91 I21 J16 J24 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026-03
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