Job attitudes of men and women are similar in many areas

5 February 2001 - Current popular books may describe men as being from Mars and women from Venus, but dreams of success in the workplace are still equal. So says a random-selection survey of 800 people working in New Jersey. Commissioned by Gibbs College, the survey was conducted by South Brunswick-based National Research, Inc.

"The survey showed gender similarity in several areas," says Mary Jo Greco, Gibbs College president. She observes that men and women are remarkably similar when it comes to reasons for staying in a job, reasons for leaving, levels of technical training, attitudes toward superiors, sense of job security, satisfaction regarding education preparation, and hopes for moving up. But the survey showed that more women than men, ages 18-44, used computers at work, with computer use evening out for workers 45 and older.

"The one area where the survey noted significant differences was in salary and number of weekly hours on the job," says President Greco. "When it came to respondents earning less than $30,000 annually, the percentage of women in the 18 to 44 age range was almost double that of the men. For workers over 45, women outnumbered men almost three to one in the less than $30,000 category. Double the number of men in the over-45 group earned between $30,000 and $50,000 and when the survey questioned respondents about salaries between $75,000 and $100,000, three times the number of men were the high earners."

"Some of this may be attributed to the time put into the workplace," says President Greco. She notes that in both age categories, men worked double the hours - up to 60 hours a week. When it came to working longer than 60 weekly hours, the ratio was less but the survey still indicated that men generally worked longer hours. Whether respondents worked in the public or private sectors, the survey still found the salary discrepancy based on gender.

"The important concept for educators preparing students for the work world to recognize is that - for men and women - equality starts with training and the willingness to apply this training with equal vigor to level out salary differences," says President Greco. "It still holds that those who are willing to put in a longer work week generally will take home increased compensation. Institutions, including Gibbs College, are positioned through interesting curricula, challenging internships, and effective placement services to provide the tools and the motivation to succeed. It is up to students to take these tools to the next level with open minds and the patience to learn how they can benefit their work environments and how their work environments can continue to help them grow."

The Gibbs survey used a random digit dial (RDD) method of telephone number selection ensuring that every household phone exchange, even unlisted ones, had an equal chance of being dialed. The margin of error for the study is + or - 3.5 percent at the 95 percent confidence interval. The survey was stratified by county based on census and projected census information, as well as by additional demographic data.