Career Planning for Gifted and Talented Youth (continued)

Gifted Girls and Women:
Persisting sex role stereotypes and the continued socialization of girls for secondary roles means that, despite great gains in certain fields such as medicine and law, gifted girls are less likely than gifted boys to achieve their full potential. Although gifted girls outperform gifted boys in terms of grades, gifted boys achieve higher scores on college admissions examinations. Compared to gifted boys, gifted girls are underprepared academically, having taken fewer mathematics and science courses and less challenging courses in social studies. As a result, they have fewer options for college majors and career goals (Kerr, 1985). Bright women apparently let go of career aspirations gradually, first through underpreparation and later through decisions that may put the needs of husbands and families before their own. Gifted women fall behind gifted men in salary, status, and promotions throughout their working lives.

In order to ensure that gifted girls have the greatest possible chance to fulfill their potential, career planning should emphasize rigorous academic preparation, particularly in mathematics and science; maintaining high career aspirations; and identifying both internal and external barriers to the achievement of career goals. Many suggestions for career planning for gifted girls are provided in SMART GIRLS, GIFTED WOMEN (Kerr, 1985).

REFERENCES
Berger, S. (1989). COLLEGE PLANNING FOR GIFTED STUDENTS. Reston, VA: The Council for Exceptional Children.
Bloom, B. S. (1985). DEVELOPING TALENT IN YOUNG PEOPLE. New York: Ballantine.
Buescher, T. (1987). "Counseling gifted adolescents: A curriculum model for students, parents, and professionals." GIFTED CHILD QUARTERLY, 31(2), 90-93.
Colangelo, N., & LaFrenz, N. (1981). "Counseling the culturally diverse gifted." GIFTED CHILD QUARTERLY, 25, 27-30.
Frederickson, R. H., & Rothney, J. W. M. (1972). RECOGNIZING AND ASSISTING MULTIPOTENTIAL YOUTH. Columbus, OH: Merrill.
Kaufmann, F. (1981). "The 1964-1968 Presidential Scholars: A follow-up study." EXCEPTIONAL CHILDREN, 48, 164-169.
Kerr, B. A. (1985). SMART GIRLS, GIFTED WOMEN. Columbus, OH: Ohio Psychology Publishing.
Kerr, B. A., Colangelo, N., Maxey, J., & Christensen, P. (1989). "Characteristics and goals of academically talented minority students." Paper presented at International Educational and Vocational Guidance Conference, Edinburgh, Scotland.
Marshall, B. C. (1981). "Career decision-making patterns of gifted and talented adolescents." JOURNAL OF CAREER EDUCATION, 7, 305-310.
Silverman, L. (1989). "Career counseling for the gifted." In J. L. VanTassel-Baska & P. Olszewski-Kubilius (Eds.), PATTERNS OF
INFLUENCE ON GIFTED LEARNERS: THE HOME, THE SELF, AND THE SCHOOL (pp. 201-213). New York: Teachers College Press.
VanTassel-Baska, J. (Ed.). (1990). A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO COUNSELING THE GIFTED IN A SCHOOL SETTING (2d ed.). Reston, VA: The Council for Exceptional Children.
Watley, D. J. (1969). "Career progress: A longitudinal study of gifted students." JOURNAL OF COUNSELING PSYCHOLOGY, 16, 100-108.

ERIC Digests are in the public domain and may be freely reproduced and disseminated, but please acknowledge your source. This publication was prepared with funding from the Office of Educational Research and Improvement, U.S. Department of Education, under Contract No. RI88062007. The opinions expressed in this report do not necessarily reflect the positions or policies of OERI or the Department of Education.