Cultural and Parental Communicative Influences on the Career Success of White and Black Women

Abstract

This study investigated cultural and parental communicative influences on the career success of White and Black women. A questionnaire was distributed to 123 Black and White women who were members of two organizations that required “career success” (professional/upper-level management positions) for admission. Participants in the study were asked to discuss their conceptions of career success, the communicative influence of their parents on their career choices, and the influence of mentors on their success. Results showed that culture differentially impacts how Black and White women define career success, which factors they feel contribute to success for women in their cultural groups, their cognizance of gender and race limitations during childhood, and their perceptions of their mother's influence on career success. In addition, teachers were most commonly identified as mentors and mothers were viewed as having the most influence on career success. The implications of these findings for career socialization processes are discussed.