Career Counseling for African Americans

How will counselors help African Americans prepare for making career choices in the future? Each chapter, written by authorities in the field of vocational counseling, takes a distinctive approach.

This book is the first edited volume devoted exclusively to career counseling with African Americans. African Americans are now at parity with the graduation rates of White Americans, yet disparities in employment continue to abound. At the same time the job market is changing and in need of more highly qualified workers, society must begin to understand the career and employment needs of Black Americans if it is to more effectively utilize this available market resource. Recent data indicates that stronger economies have a competitive edge if they have a more diverse workforce. More effective career counseling must be provided for African Americans so that they can become more thoroughly integrated in the world of work, thus creating stronger economies for society and more satisfying and challenging lives for this segment of the United States. Career Counselors need to be trained to effectively interact with African Americans. This volume begins to shed more light on just how to do that. This book presents nine significant topics focusing on career counseling for African Americans: *basic issues and concepts; *career assessment; *career counseling with African Americans; *career counseling with dual career African American couples; *career transition issues; *affirmative career counseling with African American women; *career counseling in non-traditional career fields; *the impact of the glass ceiling on the career development of African Americans; and *future directions in career counseling theory, research, and practice with African Americans.

Contents: Preface. M.T. Brown, E.J. Pinterits, Basic Issues in the Career Counseling of African Americans. C.M. Ward, R.P. Bingham, Career Assessment for African Americans. R.P. Bingham, C.M. Ward, Career Counseling With African American Males and Females. L.A. Gilbert, R.P. Bingham, Career Counseling With Dual-Career Heterosexual African American Couples. M.G. Constantine, V.F. Parker, Addressing the Career Transition Issues of African American Women: Vocational and Personal Considerations. A.M. Byars, Rights-of-Way: Affirmative Career Counseling With African American Women. A.M. Hargrow, F. Hendricks, Career Counseling With African Americans in Nontraditional Career Fields. R.E. Phelps, M.G. Constantine, Hitting the Roof: The Impact of the Glass-Ceiling Effect on the Career Development of African Americans. D.B. Pope-Davis, B.K. Hargrove, Future Directions in Career Counseling Theory, Research, and Practice With African Americans.