A game of chutes and ladders: Gender and aspirational resources during the COVID-19 pandemic

Career aspirations shape career pathways and long-term outcomes and contribute to gender inequality. We examine how the sudden disruption of structural conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic differentially affected the career aspirations of working mothers and fathers. We bridge literatures on work-family conflict and gendered career aspirations to consider which job structures and family arrangements served as aspirational resources that supported career goals during this time of uncertainty. Using interview data from 62 matched, different-gender, dual-career spouses raising young children, we find that mothers' career aspirations more often contracted or became less accomplishable compared to fathers'. Importantly, we find that job security, standardized career ladders, and access to and decision to use paid childcare functioned as aspirational resources for women: mothers in secure jobs with career ladders and fewer childcare responsibilities could maintain their career plans. In contrast, even fathers in ladderless, insecure jobs could expand their career aspirations in some cases, as they tended to rely on their spouses' (or paid) household labor as an aspirational resource. Our findings demonstrate how gender, job structures, and household arrangements intersect in shaping career aspirations during times of broad social disruption, ultimately advantaging men and disadvantaging women.