Multicultural and Gender Influences in Women's Career Development: An Ecological Perspective Ellen P Cook, Mary J Heppner, Karen M O'Brien.

Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development. Washington: Jul 2005. Vol. 33, Iss. 3; pg. 165, 15 pgs

Abstract (Summary)
Any framework used to conceptualize the career development of women and of racial and ethnic minorities must accommodate multiple influences shaping their experiences concurrently and over time. An ecological model of counseling is proposed to expand conceptualizations and interventions of counseling practice with diverse groups of individuals. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]

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(6756 words) Copyright American Counseling Association Jul 2005 [Headnote]

Any framework used to conceptualize the career development of women and of racial and ethnic minorities must accommodate multiple influences shaping their experiences concurrently and over time. An ecological model of counseling is proposed to expand conceptualizations and interventions of counseling practice with diverse groups of individuals. Cualquier armazn utilizado para conceptualizar el desarrollo de la carrera de mujeres y de minoras raciales y tnicas debe acomodar mltiples influencias que forman sus experiencias concurrentemente y con el tiempo. Un modelo ecolgico de aconsejar se propone ensanchar las conceptualizaciones y las intervenciones de aconsejar la prctica con grupos diversos de individuos. Women from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds constitute a rapidly growing career counseling clientele much less visible a few years ago. Traditional models of career development evolved at a time when the typical worker was visualized as young, male, White, able bodied, publicly heterosexual, and ethnically homogeneous (White immigrants from Western Europe). However, today's U.S. labor force is far from homogeneous. As Bingham and Ward (1994) noted, "If vocational counseling was born from the changing demographics and economic needs of this century, then clearly career counseling will need to change in response to the changing needs of the coming century" (p. 168). Although the practice of career counseling has become increasingly extended to populations varying in age, sociocultural status, race or ethnicity, and gender, it has generally fallen short in understanding the needs of girls and women, particularly those of color (Gysbers, Heppner, &Johnston, 1998).

A common approach to addressing women's concerns in counseling has been to open our office doors to women without carefully considering the complexities of their realities. Unger (1995) wryly labeled this practice as "add women and stir." A framework that encourages analyses of women's diversities on multiple levels is essential. In this article, we propose an ecological perspective to aid in appreciating the complexity of factors that shape the career patterns of women of color and White women. Our ecological model attempts to place both ethnicity and gender at the core of understanding human behavior. This perspective provides a language for discussing person-environment dynamics common among individuals sharing certain characteristics, yet emphasizes that the most fundamental diversity to recognize is that of each individual life. an ecological perspective on career development Any framework used to conceptualize the career development of women and of racial and ethnic minorities must accommodate the multiple influences shaping their experiences concurrently and over time. These influences range from shared group to idiosyncratic experiences and from social-legal influences on the national level (e.g., civil rights legislation) to the individual's daily construing of the meaningfulness of her ongoing experience.

The ecological perspective in general suggests that human behavior results from the dialectic between the person and the environment. Kurt Lewin's classic formulation (that behavior is a function of people interacting in their environment) neatly summarizes the essence of the ecological perspective. Human behavior may be thought of as determined by interrelations between subsystems within a larger ecosystem (Bronfenbrenner, 1977). Such interrelationships occur simultaneously on multiple levels, so that a focus on any one level of interaction is by definition a limited picture of the dynamics shaping observable behavior at any one time. Behavior can be considered an "act-in-context" (Landrine, 1995, p. 5) in that the context is essential to the naming and meaningfulness of the individual's behavior rather than as an external force impinging on it. Within this model, it is clear that distinctions between the individual and the environment and interactions among them are essentially arbitrary and potentially misleading. By their very nature, humans live interactionally within a social environment. Even when they are alone, people are strongly influenced by the actions of others, whether indirectly (e.g., laws or social customs delimiting their behavior) or internally (e.g., the nature of their self-concepts influenced by previous interactions with others). Individuals also shape the environment around them in complex ways (e.g., overtly rewarding or punishing others for their behavior, self-fulfilling prophesies eliciting actions from others, changing the physical environment itself). The challenge presented by this understanding is responding to each element in a way that does not negate the ongoing influence of other elements. In his famous ecological model of behavior, Bronfenbrenner (1977) identified four major subsystems influencing human behavior: (a) Microsystems include the interpersonal interactions within a given environment, such as the home, school, or work setting; (b) mesosystems

comprise interactions between two or more microsystems, such as the relations between an individual's school and her or his work environment; (c) exosystems consist of linkages between subsystems that indirectly influence the individual, such as one's neighborhood or the media; and (d) macrosystems are the ideological components of a given society, including norms and values. These models are nested within one another, with microsystems at the heart and macrosystems encompassing all other subsystems. Although we recognize all four systems, the micro- and macrosystems seem most useful in conceptualizing the career development of White women and women of color and are the primary focus of this article. Consistent with Conyne and Cook's (2004a) discussion of ecological counseling, we first recognize the unique life experiences, traits, behavior repertoires, and perceptions that help to characterize a person. In career-relevant terms, major individual variables include career interests, self-efficacy, values, abilities, and occupational self-concepts (Super, Savickas, & Super, 1996). These characteristics can be readily described without explicit reference to others (e.g., through structured inventories) but are strongly influenced by the microsystem and macrosystem over time. In particular, those individuals or groups with whom an individual woman interacts directly (microsystem) have a dramatic impact on how she views herself and her career choices. Bronfenbrenner's (1995) work emphasizes the "proximal processes" (p. 620) of enduring interactions, particularly with significant others, and how individual characteristics can facilitate interactions between the individual and her or his environment. This interaction process is bidirectional: Individuals, in turn, influence their own environments. In Bronfenbrenner's (1995) words, a human being functions as "an active agent in, and on, its environment"(p. 634). The career development of all women occurs in a specific cultural context; that is, the values, customs, and norms of society implicitly provide messages about appropriate and inappropriate career paths based on the cultural and gendered context of which the girl or woman is a part. The larger culture operating as a macrosystem perpetuates career myths and stereotypes related to race and gender and, in fact, institutionalizes forms of race/gender discrimination. This macrosystem embodies such values as White male privilege, Eurocentric worldviews, race/gender-appropriate ideologies, or race/gender typing of occupational choices. Macrosystem values may be internalized by the individual (e.g., internalized oppression) and, on the microsystem level, influence how others treat a woman because of her gender or ethnicity. In addition, mesosystems, or the interactions between two microsystems, such as a young girl's parents and her teachers, can have a powerful role in defining and reinforcing certain choices and influencing foreclosure on other choices. Finally, exosystems are linkages between subsystems that have an indirect, although many times highly influential, impact such as that of media images that provide girls and women with information about appropriate and inappropriate career choices. The final element of our model concerns the dynamic relationship between the person and the environment (the "X" in the P E). The ecological counseling perspective emphasizes that individuals translate their interactive experiences into meaning, both idiosyncratic and shared with others (Conyne & Cook, 2004b). Consistent with recent constructivist models (e.g., Sexton & Griffin, 1997), we argue that individuals create their lives in part by this process of meaning making. In career terms, people can perceive opportunities (or not) in a way that is unique to

them. People compare themselves positively or negatively with desired models; conceive that the future is a rosy one or a dead end; internalize others' stereotypes as personally salient or dismiss them as irrelevant. This processing is a type of interaction with the environment that never stops and serves as the primary content of counseling: Clients can bring their ecosystem into counseling primarily through conveying how they understand and react to it. How can this ecological model be helpful in understanding career issues of women of color and White women? The ecological model recognizes that every person has both gender and race/ethnicity. These factors decisively shape an individual's career throughout life, as he or she encounters opportunities or roadblocks because of race or gender. Although individuals of the same biological sex or race may encounter similar circumstances because of their demographics, each career path is unique because of individual circumstances, meaning making, and reactions. Next, we present examples from the career development literature consistent with an ecological view of careers of White women and women of color over time and discuss some implications for counseling practice. early development Even very young children understand race/gender ideologies as they apply to occupational choice. Gettys and Cann (1981), for example, reported that children as young as 2 or 3 years identified sex-stereotyped occupations for women and men. Matlin (1996) reported that children between kindergarten and fourth grade become increasingly rigid about which occupations they perceived men and women could hold. African American elementary school students have been shown to demonstrate negative attitudes toward science (Yager & Yager, 1985). Such findings of the impact of the macrosystem on the individual support Gottfredson's (1996) theory of circumscription and compromise in which she theorized that children's perceptions of appropriate occupations become circumscribed into a narrow range of acceptable sex- and racetyped career options. This range is determined generally by the time the child is 6 to 8 years old and then is difficult to modify. How parents and teachers interact to influence girls' career development is also crucial (mesosystem). Teachers may attempt to foster interest in nontraditional careers, and the response of parents to these efforts is critical. An exosystem that may have an impact on young children's career development is their neighborhood. Students enrolled in a career exploration program (O'Brien, Friedman, Tipton, & Linn, 2000) noted that stressors in unsafe neighborhoods hindered their ability to focus on school and future career opportunities. Besides the relationship between unsafe neighborhoods and economic hardships, children who grow up in neighborhoods in which they feel safe may have additional advantages. Aspects of the ecological system can also have positive effects on the career development of girls and women. For example, role models at the microsystem level have been shown to play a critical role in career development (Betz, 1994). Similar-sex and similar-race role models facilitate a widening of the perceived acceptable opportunities. For example, in a study that compared schools with male and female principals, children were more likely to think that both men and women could be principals when their school had a female principal (Paradise & Wall, 1986). Career stereotypes and aspirations for women may vary according to race, ethnicity, and

social class depending on the role models available and expectations for success held by family members (Reid, Haritos, Kelly, & Holland, 1995). adolescence As children enter adolescence, they develop a sense of identity and question where they fit in the occupational world. Although the macrosystem supposedly pledges equality in educational opportunity, a hidden curriculum on the microsystem level (Lee & Cropper, 1974) reinforces sexist and racist views and devalues the experiences of racial and ethnic minority and White girls. A number of studies have examined the differential treatment of boys and girls at different levels of their educational experience (Sadker & Sadker, 1994). Although some of these studies indicate that blatant sexual or racial biases exist in the classroom, much of the data suggest that the biases are subtler, such as the ignoring of girls by the teacher. Acker and Oatley (1993) hypothesized that girls and women are underrepresented in science and technology at least partially because of lower teacher expectations for females' achievements in these fields. This form of passive discrimination (Betz, 1989) has been labeled the null environment by Freeman (1989) and is one that neither actively encourages nor discourages, but ignores the individual. Teachers may also not appreciate culture-based expectations for role behavior and achievement for girls of color that may interfere with academic success, for example, heavy domestic responsibilities that Latinas tend to carry (Ginorio, Gutierrez, Cauce, & Acosta, 1995). Teachers who engage in such practices have been educated in a macrosystem that reinforced the development of sexist and racist ideologies. Again, the interaction between teachers and parents serves as an important mesosystem for adolescent girls. Parents can intervene to help ensure that their daughters receive access to the same experiences provided to male students. Moreover, adolescents are influenced strongly by peers (microsystem) and the media (exosystem). Girls whose career aspirations do not match those of friends or media examples are apt to keep such interests secret or to abandon them. For example, the American Association of University Women (1992) reported that academically talented high school girls rarely select math or science careers. Failing to take certain key academic courses (especially mathematics) or to begin specialized training (e.g., in the arts) may effectively eliminate rewarding career opportunities for girls at an early age. The media also tend to overemphasize to girls the importance of certain limited images of physical attractiveness and present few models of successful women, particularly for women of color. Young women may simply not see themselves in the media and thereby conclude that success is not for them. late adolescence into adulthood Although the last decades have evidenced change in the workforce, gender and racial bias and discrimination continue to limit educational opportunities and the workplace for late adolescent and adult women. These race/gender biases start at the broadest macrolevel of die ecosystem and affect all die other levels of die system. Macrosystem ideologies about race and gender may form the basis for continued discrimination in hiring (Betz & Fitzgerald, 1987), in salaries (Eccles, 1987), and in harassment in higher education (Paludi et al, 1995) and the workplace (Reskin & Padavic, 1999). Even for racial and

ethnic minority and White women who perform exceedingly well, there appears to be a glass ceiling that stops them from achieving above a certain level in the occupational world. In her review of the current climate of organizations, Wood (1994) emphasized that hostile environments that devalue women still exist; informal networks continue to exclude racial and ethnic minority individuals and White women; and mentoring of White women and women of color is still rare. On the microsystem level, uniformity myths commonly operate to limit women's possibilities. White women and women of color daily encounter perceptions of dieir interests, abilities, values, and commitment to work based on their gender. Moreover, women of color face uniformity assumptions based on both their gender and their race. Stereotypes about certain groups of women of color (e.g., Asian women, African American women) abound and can negatively affect their career development. Employers may assign tasks or limit occupational advancement based on faulty beliefs about women of color. Career counselors may neglect to notice individual differences among members of a certain culture, such as level of acculturation of an individual client. Unfortunately, career counselors are not immune from making recommendations for interventions or future plans based on assumptions that are reflective of societal beliefs rather than a particular client's experience. At the individual level, one of the most important but poorly understood variables influencing interactions with the environment is that of race or gender identity. All individuals have both racial and gender identities that may interact to facilitate or hinder vocational achievement. For example, a woman of color who has developed a strong sense of herself as a woman may have the strength and determination to ask herself difficult questions about her racial identity. She may be confident enough to immerse herself in her culture and move toward greater acceptance of diverse races and ethnicities. In contrast, a woman who is at a beginning stage with regard to her gender identity may select a traditional occupation that is consistent with gender stereotypes. Moreover, for racial and ethnic minority women, finding role models or mentors who are of their race may be difficult, if not impossible, in some career fields. If a woman is beginning her journey toward racial integration and ascribes to the beliefs and values of the majority White culture (Preencounter; see Helms & Cook, 1999), her racial identity status may further ground her in low-prestige, low-paying occupations. For White women, their race (and a navet about their racial identity) may provide them with certain advantages over women of color because of the discrimination that women of color face in the workplace. Another important individual factor on the individual level affecting a woman's career development is the centrality of relationships with others for her selfperceptions and life decisions: a relational orientation among women (e.g., Gilligan, Lyons, & Hanmer, 1990) and a collectivistic orientation among people of color (Helms & Cook, 1999). These findings taken together may mean that connection to significant others or family may be of utmost importance for women of color and White women. For example, in a study investigating factors related to decisions about job relocation, women indicated that family considerations were the most important factor, whereas men listed "job for self" as their top priority (Catalyst Career and Family Center, 1981). Also, the majority of a sample of over 200 White women who were entering careers indicated that family was more important than career (O'Brien et al., 2000).

Moreover, Richie et al. (1997) found that connection to others was a salient characteristic of highly achieving African American and White women. There is some controversy in the feminist literature (e.g., Bohan, 1997) about the generalizability of the label relational to women's personality development. There is widespread agreement, however, that role commitments for many women may be aptly characterized as relational in nature. Women across racial lines carry major responsibility for maintaining important relationship ties within families and communities; perform a disproportionate share of home maintenance and child-care tasks (compared with men); and often heavily weigh what they perceive as their family's needs in their own career decision making (Betz, 1994; Gilbert, Hallett, & Eldridge, 1994; Shelton, 1999). The interaction between home and work serves as a salient mesosystem for adult women who struggle to balance relationships with partners and care for children or aging relatives with the demands of the work environment. Finally, sexual harassment deserves attention as an ecological dynamic because of its ubiquitousness and its pernicious effects. Sexual harassment prevails at every level of the educational system and the labor force (e.g., Webb, 2001). The dynamics of sexual harassment make educational and work environments hostile to women, humiliate and disempower them, and ultimately deny them equal access to educational and vocational opportunities. Women of color may be particularly vulnerable to harassment in academic settings because of racial stereotypes and perceptions about their vulnerability (Paludi et al., 1995). Sexual harassment is rooted in macrosystem beliefs about appropriate genderbased relations and is often condoned or overlooked by organizations in which women study and work. Women confronting sexual harassment often perceive this issue as a unique relationship problem between individuals (microsystem) rather than a manipulation of power common throughout organizations within society (macrosystem), and they tend to feel personally responsible for eliciting, managing, and resolving the problem (meaning making). Women who face sexual harassment experience high levels of stress (Fitzgerald, 1993), psychological distress (Gutek & Koss, 1993), physical illness (Koss, 1990), and poor work performance (Culbertson, Rosenfeld, Booth-Kewley, & Magnusson, 1992). Cook, Heppner, and O'Brien (2004) summarized the impact of multiple forms of discrimination using the metaphor of the ladder of success: Being White, Anglo, well-educated, able-bodied, male, and heterosexual has commonly meant that the bottom ladder rungs are carpeted and relatively easy to climb. For others, discrimination removes the bottom rungs entirely, forcing the person to jump unaided over the gap or remain grounded in subsistence level jobs or unemployment. Movement upward may be possible, but the ladder for these individuals is not constructed the same. (pp. 222-223)

multiple identity career issues for women In any model encompassing both gender and race/ethnicity dynamics, it is essential to recognize how these sets of influences may interact in the lives of individual women. Depending on the setting, aspects of multiple identities may be differentially salient, posing unique strengths, challenges, or both. Individual women sharing the same demographics may perceive and respond to the same challenges quite differently because of their life histories and cognitive perceptions. For women of color, the confluence of both race and gender may pose additional challenges to their career development not experienced by White women. A woman of color is particularly susceptible to double binds that present contradictory, culturally based definitions for appropriate behaviors over which she has little control and that pose difficulties however she chooses to behave (Unger, 1995). She may struggle with defining herself primarily as a "woman" or as a "person of color." She may perceive that her female colleagues want to connect with her as a woman but that these colleagues may not understand issues related to race in their mutual relationship. One of the limitations of many women's groups has been the tendency to ignore or diminish the importance of race and class. Moreover, the focus of many women's groups historically has been to address issues of importance to White women, for example, "new" issues women as a group face "today" from working outside of the home. This point of view neglects the fact that women of color have had a long (and often painful) history of working outside the home, in some cases caring for the homes and children of White people. Working collaboratively with men of color who share an understanding of race dynamics may be an invaluable support for women of color. A primary ethnic identification may minimize attention to issues of gender, however (e.g., Thomas & Miles, 1995). Conservative standards for women's behavior characteristic of some groups can pose additional barriers to women of color's career aspirations (e.g., Latinas; Ginorio et al., 1995). Perhaps the most salient and troubling interaction of race and gender in career development involves the compounded discrimination that women of color face in the world of work. Historically, both people of color and White women have been denied access to equal opportunities and resources in the educational and vocational systems (Betz, 1994). Women of color experience multiple forms of discrimination because of their status in at least two underprivileged groups. Women of color who succeed in career pursuits may feel caught between two worlds, not really belonging to either (Turner, 1997). Unfortunately, few studies have examined the strengths that women of color bring to the work environment, for example, a mother's acceptance of her daughter's working outside of the home and high career aspirations for her (e.g., Reid et al., 1995; Turner, 1997). This omission may be another reflection of unconscious racism, in which those not fitting the implicit standards of Whiteness are imagined only to suffer as a consequence. the invisible minority: lesbian and bisexual women

Women's sexuality influences their career development in myriad ways. Heterosexual women frequently limit their career possibilities to accommodate intimate relationships with men and caring for children (Betz, 1994; O'Brien et al., 2000). Many lesbian and bisexual women also consider issues related to relationships and children when making career decisions (Fassinger, 1996). However, these women deserve special mention within the ecological model because they frequently face discrimination at the macrosystem and microsystem levels (Croteau, Anderson, Distefano, & Kampa-Kokesch, 2000). Fassinger (1996) highlighted several issues of importance in the vocational development of lesbian women (and bisexual women who are involved with women). First, lesbian women may be involved in the coming-out process at the same time that they are making vocational decisions. The coming-out process, while empowering for many lesbian women, may also negatively (and temporarily) affect self-confidence, decision making, and focus on career tasks. In addition, certain career choices may seem risky because of anticipated homophobic reactions (e.g., teaching children) or because of justifiable fears of being isolated (e.g., working in conservative parts of the country). Lesbian women may face a reduction in financial and emotional support from their families (Fassinger, 1996) that may place them at risk given the demonstrated importance of attachment to parents in vocational development for women (O'Brien, 1996; O'Brien etal., 2000). Fassinger (1996) also indicated that lesbian women may face bias in vocational testing and counselor bias if they seek assistance with career concerns. Finally, lesbian women are often employed in low-prestige, low-paying, traditional jobs for women that do not use their ability or education (Morgan & Brown, 1991). Given that women continue to earn less than men (Lewin, 1997), many lesbian women may be economically disadvantaged. At the individual level, analogous to women of color, lesbian women may face difficulties in reconciling conflicting primary group identities (gender and sexual orientation), internalized homophobia, and frequently race or ethnic group identity as well (e.g., Hispanic bisexual woman). Identity issues may be compounded by personal struggles to come to terms with their sexual orientation, whether because of internalized homophobia or realistic concerns about how their coming out may affect personal and professional relationships with others (Fassinger, 1995, 1996). Their status is unique compared with that of other women for an additional reason: Sexual orientation is an invisible status unless the person chooses to disclose it verbally or through overt behaviors. In contrast, gender and race are central defining features of people's lives from birth (except for individuals with ambiguous physical characteristics or racial features). Lesbian and bisexual women make choices to manage the impact of their sexual orientation on their career patterns in a way that they and others cannot do for their gender or race/ethnicity. This possibility of choice can bring some degree of protection from discrimination but also a burden of choice, potential of alienation from oneself, and isolation from others (Fassinger, 1996). Despite the negative influences on career development faced by some lesbian and bisexual women, Fassinger (1995, 1996) noted that lesbian women may benefit from several facilitative factors to vocational choice. First, it appears that many lesbian women endorse nontraditional gender role attitudes and thus maybe open to a range of nontraditional career fields. Moreover,

there appears to be more support for nontraditional careers within the lesbian community (Meyerding, 1990). Morgan and Brown (1991) suggested that this greater openness may be a result of the economic reality that nontraditional occupations offer higher salaries and thus help to mitigate the wage disparity of not living with a higher earning male partner. second, particularly in urban communities, lesbian and bisexual women may find a strong sense of community with other women offering networking opportunities and social support. Third, Fassinger (1996) indicated that lesbian women do not make career decisions to accommodate men (although consideration of dual careers and caring for children also has an impact on lesbian women). In addition, lesbian women expect to have to work throughout their lifetimes in that they probably will not depend on men for financial assistance (Fassinger, 1996). Given the discrimination and strengths associated with a lesbian lifestyle, career counselors working with bisexual and lesbian women should assess carefully the ecologically based system of challenges and resources available to an individual woman. summary Career development for women occurs within a context of multiple influences related to gender and race/ethnicity. From early childhood, women's perceptions of themselves and their possibilities are shaped by ongoing interactions with others within their immediate environments (microsystem) and by broader sociocultural dynamics defining a woman's life according to parameters set by the interaction of her gender and race/ethnicity (macrosystem). The boundaries between these person, microsystem, and macrosystem levels of influence are dynamic rather than static; an individual is an active agent in her lifelong career development, but she is strongly influenced by factors outside of her choosing; and race and ethnicity are powerful determinants of everyone's career development, whether the person is privileged by her or his status or must struggle against externally defined constraints on career success. The outcomes of this complex and dynamic developmental process are predictably diverse: Some women become worldfamous political, social, or scientific leaders, whereas others struggle to make a living at entrylevel jobs. Women may maintain an exclusive focus on domestic or work roles either through choice or by necessity; others actualize a succession of commitments over their life span. What is the "best" fit for an individual woman remains a question without a simple answer. implications for counseling The challenge for counselors lies in translating these abstractions into a model useful for counseling practice. Conyne and Cook (2004a) provided a comprehensive introduction to basic principles of ecological counseling practice. In our ecological approach to career counseling (Cook, Heppner, & O'Brien, 2002), the target typically remains the client, but the goals and methods of the ecological career counselor are intended to shape optimal person-environment interactions for individuals to develop vocationally. The ecological perspective differs from the traditional individual counseling model in some important ways. Interventions, including those conducted on an individual basis through individual career counseling, are to be implemented through the ecosystem of the individual. The counselor understands that the client's career behavior is currently and will be influenced by a host of dynamic factors inherent in her (or his) ecosystem. Within this broader perspective, the counselor serves as an advocate and liaison,

working as a partner with the client to effect more successful and satisfying interactions within the world of work. Thus, in ecological career counseling, the counselor is challenged to make the environment more helpful and affirming for the individual, and also to help the client gain skills to cope successfully in the environment. Ecological counselors may effect changes in the environment to remediate or prevent certain problems (e.g., developing educational programs to reduce sexual harassment in a workplace) . Finally, a person's interpretation of life events as mediating processes shapes her or his behavior and the environment in a dynamic interaction. A counselor may explore how clients' cognitive processes affect their environmental interactions (e.g., their own gender or ethnic stereotypes impeding their relationships with coworkers or pursuit of career possibilities). Numerous case examples illustrating the ecological perspective applied to women's career issues are provided in a special section of The Career Development Quarterly (2002, Vol. 50, No. 3). This ecological model promises to expand counseling conceptualizations and interventions of counseling practice with diverse groups of individuals. Counselors can intervene using direct (e.g., individual or group counseling) or indirect (e.g., consultation, environmental design) methods for remedial, developmental, or preventive purposes with either the person or environment (or both) as targets of change (Conyne & Cook, 2004b). The challenge for the counselor is to work within a person's ecosystem and use her or his unique strengths to facilitate change. Such an approach does require a greater breadth of understanding and range of skills than typically associated with career counseling, but as a consequence, it respects the complexity of influences constituting an individual's life over time. [Reference] View reference page with links references Acker, S., & Oatley, K. (1993). Gender issues in education for science and technology: Current situation and prospects for change. Canada Journal of Education, 18, 255-272. American Association of University Women. (1992). How schools shortchange girls. Washington, DC: AAUW Educational Foundation. Betz, N. E. (1989). Implications of the null environment hypotheses for women's career development and for counseling psychology. The Counseling Psychologist, 17, 136-144. Betz, N. E. (1994). Basic issues and concepts in career counseling for women. In W. B. Walsh & S. H. Osipow (Eds.), Career counseling for women (pp. 1-42). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum. Betz, N. E., & Fitzgerald, L. F. (1987). The career psychology of women. Orlando, FL: Academic Press. Bingham, R. P., & Ward, C. M. (1994). Career counseling with ethnic minority women. InW. B. Walsh & S. H. Osipow (Eds.), Career counseling for women (pp. 165-195). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum. Bohan,J. S. (1997). Regarding gender: Essentialism, constructionism, and feminist psychology. In M. M. Gergen & S. N. Davis (Eds.), Toward a new psychology of gender: A reader (pp. 3147). New York: Routledge. Bronfenbrenner, U. (1977). Toward an experimental ecology of human development. American PsyAologist, 32, 513-531. Bronfenbrenner, U. (1995). Developmental ecology through space and time: A future

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Sadker, M., & Sadker, D. (1994). Failing at fairness: How American schools cheat girls. New York: Scribner's. Sexton, T. L., & Griffin, B. G. (Eds.). (1997). Constructivist thinking in counseling research, practice and training. New York: Teachers College Press. Shelton, B. A. (1999). Gender and unpaid work. InJ. S. Chafetz (Ed.), Handbook of the sociology of gender (pp. 375-390). New York: Kluwer/Plenum. Super, D. E., Savickas, M. L., & Super, C. M. (1996). The life-span, life-space approach to careers. In D. Brown, L. Brooks, & Associates (Eds.), Career choice and development (3rd ed., pp. 121-178). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Thomas, V. G., & Miles, S. E. (1995). Psychology of Black women: Past, present, and future. In H. Landrine (Ed.), Bringing cultural diversity to feminist psychology: Theory, research, and practice (pp. 303-330). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. Turner, C. W. (1997). Psychosocial barriers to Black women's career development. InJ. V. Jordan (Ed.), Women's growth in diversity: More writings from the Stone Center (pp. 162-175). New York: Guilford Press. Unger, R. (1995). Conclusion: Cultural diversity and the future of feminist psychology. In H. Landrine (Ed.), Bringing cultural diversity to feminist psychology: Theory, research, and practice (pp. 413-431). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. Webb, S. L. (2001). History of sexual harassment on the job. In L. Lemoncheck & J. P. Sterba (Eds.), Sexual harassment: Issues and answers (pp. 136-144). Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. Wood, J. T. (1994). Gendered lives: Communication, gender, and culture. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. Yager, R. E., & Yager, S. O. (1985). Changes in perceptions of science for third, seventh, and eleventh grade students. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 22, 347-358. [Author Affiliation] Ellen P. Cook, Counseling Program-Division of Human Services, University of Cincinnati; Mary J. Heppner, Department of Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology, University of MissouriColumbia; Karen M. O'Brien, Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park. The conceptualization work presented in this article was part of a larger body of work from the American Psychological Association, Division 17, section on Women's Advancing Together Conference. The authors thank the conference organizers and wish to recognize the other members of the Vocational/Career casebook Team: Kathy Ashton, Angela Byars, Fran Davis, Meghan Davidson, Lisa Flores, Misty Hook, Nancy Huenefeld, Monicajustin, Kathy Karageorge, Donna McDonald, Kristine Perrone, Michle Pride, Lisa Spanierman, Danielle Tones, Beverly Vandiver, and Nancy BeIz., who served as consultant. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Ellen P. Cook, Counseling Program-Division of Human Services, PO Box 210002, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45221-0002 (e-mail: Ellen.Cook@uc.edu).

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Subjects: Author(s): Author Affiliation: Women, Counseling, Career development planning, Models, Minority & ethnic groups, Gender Ellen P Cook, Mary J Heppner, Karen M O'Brien Ellen P. Cook, Counseling Program-Division of Human Services, University of Cincinnati; Mary J. Heppner, Department of Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology, University of MissouriColumbia; Karen M. O'Brien, Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park. The conceptualization work presented in this article was part of a larger body of work from the American Psychological Association, Division 17, section on Women's Advancing Together Conference. The authors thank the conference organizers and wish to recognize the other members of the Vocational/Career casebook Team: Kathy Ashton, Angela Byars, Fran Davis, Meghan Davidson, Lisa Flores, Misty Hook, Nancy Huenefeld, Monicajustin, Kathy Karageorge, Donna McDonald, Kristine Perrone, Michle Pride, Lisa Spanierman, Danielle Tones, Beverly Vandiver, and Nancy BeIz., who served as consultant. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Ellen P. Cook, Counseling Program-Division of Human Services, PO Box 210002, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45221-0002 (e-mail: Ellen.Cook@uc.edu). Feature References Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development. Washington: Jul 2005. Vol. 33, Iss. 3; pg. 165, 15 pgs Periodical 08838534

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