Explicating an ecological approach to the career development of women

Career Development Quarterly, June, 2002 by Nancy E. Betz

In this response, the author highlights the contributions of E. P. Cook, M. J. Heppner, and K. M. O'Brien's (2002) ecological approach to women's career development and reviews the ways that the case studies in this special section illustrate that model. Although this model may enrich and improve career theories and counseling, the author urges caution in assuming that the emphases of an ecological model apply to all women. The concept of individual differences within, as well as between, the genders must remain paramount in career theory and counseling approaches. The author urges further attention to research and counseling interventions that help explicate the utility of the ecological model.

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Cook, Heppner, and O'Brien's (2002) article "Career Development of Women of Color and White Women: Assumptions, Conceptualization, and Interventions From an Ecological Perspective" is based on the premise that much of the theory and research in the career counseling literature is insufficient to adequately assist large numbers of women because the theory and research are based on fundamental assumptions that do not describe the lives of many women--both women of color and White women. In a nutshell, much of career theory and technique is based on the following assumptions: (a) that work is the most important aspect of people's lives; (b) that career decisions can and should be based on a rational matching of the individual's traits and attributes to the characteristics of occupations; (c) that career development should progress along a rational path showing continued upward movement toward greater responsibility, job complexity, and, it goes without saying, rank and financial rewards; and (d) that talent and hard work will be rewarded. It is a model based on the values of individualism and autonomy.

Cook et al. (2002), suggested, in contrast, that for many women and for cultures other than White western European, the family/group/collective may be more important than has been previously factored into people's reasons for working and their decisions about what work to pursue. For many women, meeting and balancing the demands of family and work are the most salient, and often the most stressful, aspects of at least part of adult life. Career development may not be linear and progressive, as pointed out in the landmark work of Super (1957), Harmon (1967), Wolfson (1976), and Betz (1984) on the variety of career patterns found among women. Linearity and progressive advancement may be more easily disrupted in the career paths of women versus men by commitments to family and by environmental/structural barriers (see also Fitzgerald & Betz's, 1994, extensive discussion of such barriers as a function of gender, race, social class, and sexual orientation).

Cook et al. (2002), accordingly, suggested incorporation of what they term an ecological perspective in career counseling: "A person's behavior is, therefore, a representation of the complex interaction among the myriad factors that constitute her or his life, referred to as the ecosystem" (p. 296). Using ideas from previous writers in ecological psychology (e.g., Bronfenbrenner, 1977), they suggested that an ecological perspective includes environmental interventions that focus on social support and on individually oriented interventions targeted toward increasing individuals' abilities to deal with environmental barriers to their goals and objectives.

The authors (Cook et al., 2002) provided several examples of how an ecological perspective might be implemented in career counseling--interventions in organizations and schools; changing policies about child care; educational interventions that are designed to reduce sexual harassment; creating supportive networks, including access to mentors and role models; and devising strategies for increasing salaries (which are still less than those of comparably employed men).

In summary, Cook et al. (2002) reminded counselors that their focus must include the environment (ecosystem) of the individual with whom they are working, as well as the individual difference variables emphasized in traditional vocational psychology/career counseling. In essence, in this article the authors reminded counselors that their perspective must be much broader and more complex than they may have assumed or been taught and that their roles include being a cheerleader and social change agent as well as an individual counselor.

To illustrate Cook et al.'s (2002) basic notions, six case studies are provided. Davidson and Huenefeld (2002) provided the case of Eileen (AiLing), who is both Chinese American and lesbian. Eileen faces a serious conflict of values within her identities: It is simply not acceptable to be a lesbian within the Chinese culture. Eileen worries about needing to make a career choice that is appropriate to her race and gender but which does not fit with her own interests. Eileen cannot be "true to her whole self" in either of her environments, and she needs help clarifying and dealing with these conflicts. It is here that I believe a counselor can be uniquely useful. In the counselor's office, Eileen can be true to all the components of her identity because the counselor values her as a lesbian, as a Chinese American, and as a woman struggling to integrate two highly valued, yet conflicting, identities. There are no easy answers for Eileen, but the counselor can help her to articulate the dilemmas she faces and to seek support from her communities.