A study is reported which explores encouragements and discouragements for achievement-related behaviors in samples of 200 young black female students in tertiary institutions (100 career vs. 100 traditional women). A number of significant findings and nonsignificant trends combined to suggest that for women the perception of greater encouragement from significant others in the immediate environment is necessary to compensate for the sex role expectation of nonachievement, and that women who set high goals believe they are acting in accord with significant others. This is in support of Stake and associates' hypotheses (Stake, 1979; Stake & Levitz, 1979). The combination of an interview and self-report methodologies appeared to be useful in gaining better understanding of implications of occupational choice in young women. The possibility that a finer grained multivariate analysis of the factors affecting occupational choice and expectations is something that needs to be taken seriously in future research, howerer.

Key words: career, marriage, women, gender, South Africa