Abstract. Applicant job pursuit intentions impact the composition of an organization’s applicant pool, thereby influencing selection outcomes. An example is the self-selection of women and men into gender-congruent jobs. Such self-selection contributes to a lack of gender diversity across a variety of occupations. We use person-job fit and the role congruity perspective of social role theory to explore job pursuit intentions. We present research from two cross-sectional survey studies (520 students, 174 working adults) indicating that at different points in their careers women and men choose to pursue gender-congruent jobs. For students, the choice was mediated by value placed on the job’s associated gender-congruent outcomes, but for working adults it was not. We offer suggestions for practitioners and researchers.
