Gender and work values: a comparative analysis.

The results of recent investigations on work values suggest that the contradictory findings in regard to gender differences may be rooted in variations in the underlying structure of the work-values domain. In the present study a definitional framework for work values was proposed and tested. Smallest space analysis (SSA; Guttman, 1968) was performed on the ratings of 24 work-value items by samples of men and women from Hungary, Israel, and the Netherlands. A double-ordered conceptual system, a radex structure, was obtained in each of the samples, reflecting two hypothesized facets: modality of outcome (cognitive, affective, and instrumental) and type of system performance contingency. Essentially the same structure was obtained for women and men. However, women ranked affective outcomes as well as some of the instrumental and cognitive values higher than men did, whereas men ranked some other cognitive (influence, independence, responsibility) and instrumental (pay) items higher than women did. Personal growth and use of abilities were ranked higher by men in some samples and by women in others.