Gender as a moderator of relation between emotional intelligence and career development

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship of emotional intelligence with career development and the moderating role of gender in the relationship. This study adopted a survey research design. Questionnaires were used to obtain data on emotional intelligence, career development and demographic factors from 485 secondary school students (male=255, female=230) randomly selected from 5 states in southwestern Nigeria. Data analysis included regressing career decision-making self-efficacy and career maturity on emotional intelligence and gender. Results indicated that emotional intelligence and gender predicted career development and gender moderated the relationship between emotional intelligence and career development. The implication of the findings is that counseling psychologists should assess the emotional intelligence of the male and female students when conducting career counseling. In addition, the findings suggest that the students need to be exposed to counseling interventions for enhancing their emotional intelligence. This study is able to demonstrate the relationship of emotional intelligence and career development of secondary school students in Nigeria and the first to explore the moderating role of gender in the relationship. (Department of Guidance and Counseling, Kampala International University, Kampala 256, Uganda)