Conformity to masculine norms and feminist consciousness as predictors of counselor professional identity

Problematic masculine norms, like dominance and rigidity, may conflict with the collective identity of the counseling profession and undermine counselor development. In this hierarchical multiple regression study, lower conformity to masculine norms and higher feminist consciousness predicted stronger counselor professional identity, when controlling for demographic factors. Findings were considered in the context of extant literature to clarify the nature of this problem and indicate possible directions for counselor education, supervision, and advocacy efforts.