Name: K. Lalnunziri, C. Zothanawmia
Country: India

Year: 2026
Volume: Vol-11, No.2, July-Dec-2026
Page Number: 352- 361
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.23280532

Changing gender roles and women's increasing workforce participation have challenged traditional expectations regarding work and family responsibilities. Thus, this study examined gender differences in gender role attitudes and the associations between gender role attitudes and parenting-oriented and partner-oriented career planning among 150 Mizo emerging adults aged 18–29 years in Mizoram, India. Participants completed the Traditional Egalitarian Sex Role Scale and the Planning for Career and Family Scale. Independent-samples t tests, Pearson correlations, and multiple regression analyses were conducted. Women reported significantly more egalitarian gender role attitudes than men, t (148) = −4.94, p < .001, d = 0.81. Gender role attitudes were not significantly associated with parenting-oriented career planning, r (148) = .108, p = .190, but showed a weak negative association with partner-oriented career planning, r (148) = −.187, p = .022. Regression analyses further indicated that gender role attitudes negatively predicted partner-oriented career planning after controlling for gender, although the model explained only 5% of the variance. Neither predictor significantly predicted parenting-oriented career planning. These findings suggest that gender role attitudes relate differently to distinct dimensions of career planning. Future research should investigate how cultural norms, family expectations shape career and family planning among emerging adults using larger samples.

Keywords: gender role attitudes; career and family planning; emerging adulthood; gender differences; Mizo