Navigating Career Ambitions: The Impact of Relative Status, Gender, and Career-Home Conflicts among Individuals in a Romantic Relationship

Abstract

Gender expectations influence career ambitions reported by men and women. Traditional gender norms associate men with the role of primary breadwinner and women with the role of caregiver, contributing to the experience of career-home conflict which is reported to be higher for women. In this study, we aim to explore how career ambition is impacted by men and women’s relative status compared to their partner and if this is qualified by their experienced career-home conflicts. Furthermore, we tested whether especially women with higher status than their partner experience career-home conflicts, resulting in lower reported ambition. The findings of this study (N = 209) indicated that women who have higher relative status compared to their partner report higher career ambition. However, we did not find an effect of relative status on career ambition for men. Contrary to our predictions, career-home conflicts did not moderate the association between relative status and career ambition, and there were no gender differences. Overall, the results imply that the relationship between relative status, career-home conflict, and career ambition is not significantly different for men and women. In the discussion section, it is shown how these findings contribute to a better understanding of heterosexual couples’ dynamics and how to address and understand better career-home conflict.