Gender Roles in the Romantic Relationships of Women in STEM and Female-Dominated Majors: A Study of Heterosexual Couples

Based upon social structural accounts of mate preferences and career interest, it is often suggested that women avoid high status, traditionally masculine careers such as those in science, technology, engineering, or math (STEM) in favor of pursuing more traditionally feminine communal goals, or, alternatively, that women in STEM may have difficulty establishing and maintaining long-term romantic relationships, as their career choices are incongruent with gender role norms. A third possibility is that women in STEM fields may establish less traditionally stereotypical relationships with respect to values placed on careers and family and with respect to traits typically associated with one gender more than another. This study assessed the career and family values, as well as personality and cognitive traits, in 118 heterosexual romantic couples attending college, half including a woman in a STEM major and half including a woman in a female-dominated major (FDM). STEM couples revealed only limited gender differences all of which were counter to gender role stereotypes. FDM couples presented with a more traditional picture of a future in which the male partner was the bread-winner and the female more committed to her family role. Results suggest that women seeking careers in high status jobs may seek partners who share similar values and are more willing to set aside career success for the sake of the relationship.