Exploring links between gender, dwelling and career interests among black emerging adults

Abstract

The objectives of the research were (1) to establish the theoretical and empirical relationship between gender, dwelling and the career interests of young African emerging adults; and (2) to determine whether gender and dwelling positively and significantly predict the career interests of young black emerging adults. The participants comprised a convenience sample of 159 black African final-year students at a South African tertiary institution (57% rural, 43% urban; 63% females, 37% males). Primary data was collected by means of a biographical questionnaire and the Career Orientations Inventory (COI). Regression analysis showed that gender significantly explained the variance in the participants’ entrepreneurial creativity interests, while dwelling significantly explained the general management, service dedication to a cause and technical and functional career interests. The Wilcoxon two-sample test further revealed significant differences in the career interests of the participants residing in rural areas and those in urban areas. Males had a stronger interest in the entrepreneurial creativity career orientation compared to their female counterparts. The findings should extend career development theory pertaining to black African emerging male and female adults by providing new insights into the career interests of Africans living in rural and urban areas.