Shelley J. Correll's study explores how cultural beliefs about gender influence the career aspirations of men and women. The research presents an experimental model showing that gender status beliefs create different standards for attributing performance to ability, which in turn affect how men and women assess their own competence in career-relevant tasks. The study found that when participants were told men are better at a task, men assessed their ability higher than women, even when they received the same scores. In contrast, when participants were told men and women have equal ability, no gender differences were observed in assessments or aspirations. The findings are compared to a previous survey showing men have higher self-assessments of mathematical ability, contributing to their higher persistence in science, math, and engineering careers. The study highlights the role of cultural beliefs in shaping career choices, as gender differences in career preferences can lead to persistent gender segregation in the labor market. The paper argues against "demandside" explanations of gender segregation and instead focuses on "supply-side" factors, such as how men and women develop preferences for different careers. It uses status characteristics theory and the concept of stereotype threat to explain how gender beliefs influence self-assessments of competence, which in turn affect career aspirations. The study also discusses the limitations of human capital explanations, which assume differences in career choices are due to individual preferences. However, these explanations fail to account for the influence of cultural beliefs on self-assessments. The paper presents an experiment to test how gender status beliefs affect self-assessments of task competence. The results support the model, showing that when men are believed to be better at a task, they have higher self-assessments of their ability, leading to higher aspirations for career-relevant activities. The study concludes that cultural beliefs about gender can lead to biased self-assessments, which in turn influence career choices and contribute to gender segregation in the labor market.Shelley J. Correll's study explores how cultural beliefs about gender influence the career aspirations of men and women. The research presents an experimental model showing that gender status beliefs create different standards for attributing performance to ability, which in turn affect how men and women assess their own competence in career-relevant tasks. The study found that when participants were told men are better at a task, men assessed their ability higher than women, even when they received the same scores. In contrast, when participants were told men and women have equal ability, no gender differences were observed in assessments or aspirations. The findings are compared to a previous survey showing men have higher self-assessments of mathematical ability, contributing to their higher persistence in science, math, and engineering careers. The study highlights the role of cultural beliefs in shaping career choices, as gender differences in career preferences can lead to persistent gender segregation in the labor market. The paper argues against "demandside" explanations of gender segregation and instead focuses on "supply-side" factors, such as how men and women develop preferences for different careers. It uses status characteristics theory and the concept of stereotype threat to explain how gender beliefs influence self-assessments of competence, which in turn affect career aspirations. The study also discusses the limitations of human capital explanations, which assume differences in career choices are due to individual preferences. However, these explanations fail to account for the influence of cultural beliefs on self-assessments. The paper presents an experiment to test how gender status beliefs affect self-assessments of task competence. The results support the model, showing that when men are believed to be better at a task, they have higher self-assessments of their ability, leading to higher aspirations for career-relevant activities. The study concludes that cultural beliefs about gender can lead to biased self-assessments, which in turn influence career choices and contribute to gender segregation in the labor market.