Race/Gender Ecological Model

The Theoretical Era can be divided into two categories: Modern and Postmodern. This blog will discuss one theory from the Modern Era, The Race/Gender Ecological Model of Career Development.

 

Theorists: Cook, Heppner, and O’Brien

Summary:

The model states, “human behavior results from the ongoing, dynamic interaction between the person and the environment. Behavior is the result of a muiptlicity of factors at the individual, interpersonal, and broader sociocultural levels.”

 

• This theory has been used to understand and intervene in the vocational behavior of diverse women
  • Example: women’s and girl’s issues related to education and the workplace, sexual violence, and legal issues
•  This model recognizes that every person has a gender and a race that shape an individual’s career throughout life

• Four subsystems that influence human behavior:
  • The Microsystem- This includes the interpersonal interactions within a given environment such as home, school, or work setting)
  • The Mesosystem – This constitutes interaction between two or more microsystems such as the relation between an individual’s school and his or her work environment
  • The Exosystem- This consists of linkages between subsystems that indirectly influence the individual, such as one’s neighborhood or the media
• The Macrosystem- This is the ideological components of a given society, including norms and values

- The Macrosystem embodies values like White Privilege, Eurocentric worldviews, race-/gender- appropriate ideologies, or race/gender typing of occupational choice

 

Additional Links: Article

 

Reference:

Gysbers, N.C., Heppner, M.J. Johnston, J.A. (2014). Career Counseling: Holism, Diversity, and Strengths. Alexandria, VA: American Counseling Association.