Early 20th-Century Career Counseling for Women: Contemporary Practice and Research Implications
Corresponding Author
Nuha Alshabani
Department of Psychology, University of Akron
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Nuha Alshabani, Department of Psychology, University of Akron, Buchtel College of Arts and Sciences, 290 East Buchtel Avenue, Akron, OH 44325-1901 (email: na32@zips.uakron.edu).Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Nuha Alshabani
Department of Psychology, University of Akron
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Nuha Alshabani, Department of Psychology, University of Akron, Buchtel College of Arts and Sciences, 290 East Buchtel Avenue, Akron, OH 44325-1901 (email: na32@zips.uakron.edu).Search for more papers by this authorAbstract
The authors critically examine the development of career counseling for women during the early 20th century. The development of career counseling for women lagged behind career counseling for men. Challenges, such as feminization of occupations, restricted occupational opportunities, and societal norms, stunted the development of career counseling for women. Furthermore, career counseling for women varied based on racial groups. Early writings discussed opportunities specifically geared toward White, college-educated, nonimmigrant women. Although these beginning opportunities provided formal guidance to White women, many other women were excluded from formal career counseling and are not represented in these writings. Implications include training practitioners to recognize their own biases when working with women, how gender bias influences career counseling inventories and career theories, and how counselors can challenge these biases and stereotypes to provide the full range of career opportunities to women. Future research should address the impact of career counseling on women of color.
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