Sex Bias in Counseling: Have Things Changed?

The Broverman et al. research that demonstrated that counselors hold stereotypic views of men and women is almost 15 years old. In the present study 249 counselors responded to the Sex Role Stereotype questionnaire to determine if counselors continue to hold different views of males and females. In the Broverman research males and adults were both seen as possessing traditionally masculine characteristics, whereas females were characterized as having traditionally feminine characteristics. Although in the current study males and females were still described in stereotypical ways, both masculine and feminine traits were attributed to adults. This change allows women to be seen as adults, a difference from the denial of adult roles for females as demonstrated in the Broverman et al. research.
This article presents an updated study of the Broverman et al. research using a larger sample population to determine whether counselors continue to hold different views of men and women after over a decade of awareness of sexual stereotyping. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]