Women Are Just As Career-Oriented As Men... Duh

We've all come across the supposed question at some point: Are women as career-oriented as men? The answer, of course, is a resounding "yes, obviously," but sexist jerks around the world (and especially on Fox News) seem to love drawing gender divisions where there are none. The vast majority of the time, it's not worth arguing with them — misogynistic douchebags will be misogynistic douchebags, after all. On the other hand, sometimes the opportunity to rub their sexism in their faces is too good to pass up.

Today's edition of "suck it, sexism," is brought to you by Ithaca College, where researchers recently analyzed whether women really are less career-oriented than men. There's no denying that a small gender gap in career centrality exists, but is it due to nature or nurture? To answer the question, researcher Stephen Sweet analyzed the cultural forces that go into the importance of career between genders, and his analysis supports what you likely knew already: Women are just as work-oriented as men, if given the opportunity. According to Sweet, the role of caregiver — a job which, even today, largely falls to women — doesn't actually affect the level of importance people place on their work. Perhaps most importantly, he also found that the difference in career centrality largely owes itself to cultural factors: Women are more likely to work in lower quality jobs, so to speak, because there aren't as many opportunities for them elsewhere. Crazy, right?

Furthermore, an emphasis on traditional gender beliefs leads both men and women to place less importance on their careers, but the effect is more pronounced in women than in men. According to Sweet, women would be just as job-oriented as men...if we just had the same opportunities. Unfortunately, a world where women and men are equal may be a long way off — but at least we're getting there.

TL;DR: Women are just as career-oriented as men, but we don't often have the opportunity to show it. Say it with me now: DUH.

Images: Ray_from_LA/Flickr, Giphy (2)