Discusses recent perspectives on gender differences in life and career planning, focusing on gendered context of women's and men's lives. Notes that men and women develop different orientations regarding occupational achievement and interpersonal relationships that interact with broader sociocultural norms for sexes' behavior to produce different…

Identifies four approaches to career planning based on situational leadership theory: the network approach, self-help approach, engineering approach, and mentor approach. Guidelines for the selection of a planning method based on the nature of the work environment and personal preference are discussed. (JAC)