Sue Street

Gender Role Preferences and Perceptions of University Administrators

This study provides a model for institution-specific assessment of gender role preferences and perceptions, based on the responses of 321 university administrators to the Sex Role Trait Inventory. Women administrators described their ideal woman, ideal man, and themselves as androgynous. For male administrators, the ideal woman was androgynous, but these men defined their ideal man and themselves as masculine. Women and men both perceived most actual women and men as sex-typing by male respondents, gender role attitudes of women and men, and particularly female and male senior administrators, were similar.

Gender Role Preferences and Perceptions of University Students, Faculty, and Administrators.

Gender role preferences for Ideal Woman and Ideal Man and perceptions of Most Women, Most Men, and Self were surveyed among women and men students, faculty, and administrators at a large state university. All groups preferred an androgynous Ideal Woman, but preferences for the Ideal Man were largely masculine sex-typed. All groups described sex-typed perceptions of Most Women and Most Men. Womens groups largely defined themselves as androgynous, while most mens groups saw themselves as masculine sex-typed. A general trend toward expression of higher levels of masculine gender was noted in university professionals when compared to student groups.

University Faculty Gender Roles Perceptions.

Gender role preferences for Ideal Woman and Ideal Man and perceptions of Most Women, Most Men and Self were surveyed in 400 faculty women and men, of which 83% were Caucasian, 9% Hispanic, 4% African-American, and 3% Asian. Both women and men faculty preferred an androgynous Ideal Woman, but a masculine Ideal Man. Similarly, faculty women described themselves as androgynous, while men described themselves as masculine. Both women and men perceive Most Women and Men as sex-typed. Women and men faculty preferences and perceptions were generally very similar.

Self-complexity of police trainees

Analysis of variance and t tests were performed on scores on Complexity of Self-concept Inventory for 110 police trainees and 477 university students in nine academic majors. No significant differences were found among any groups, suggesting that both groups utilize approximately the same number of dimensions in describing self. Implications for police personality are discussed.