Work experience and job satisfaction: Variation by age and gender

This chapter investigates whether there are differences in the determinants of job satisfaction depending on the age and sex of the worker. Age and gender are two of the most central bases of social structural differentiation. The prior experiences of men and women and persons of different age, as well as their situations, could foster distinctive outlooks, values, and needs, which could generate variant reactions to the very same work experiences. It also considers whether age and gender interact with work experiences in influencing job satisfaction. The data were obtained from the 1972-73 and 1977 Quality of Employment Surveys, through the Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research. The 1972-73 survey included a national sample of 1455 persons, chosen according to a multistage area probability design so as to be representative of the US working population. Gender and age inequalities in the labor force were initially investigated by assessment of mean differences in the work variables and job satisfaction.