Career Priority Patterns among Managerial and Professional Women

Abstract

Cette recherche examina les antecedents et les condquences des modtles de prioritt dans la carritre professionnelle des femmes cadres. Sept cent quatre vingt douze femmes expliqukrent leur attachement A la carritre en premier, ou A la carriere modifike en fonction de la famille. ou A la camtre orientee en fonction de la famille. L'kchantillon dans son ensemble etait plus oriente vers carriere et famille plut6t que vers camtre en premier. Des variables demographiques et situationnelles furent mises en correlation. selon les hypotheses, avec I'opkrationnalisation des modtles de prionte de cam'kres. Les femmes tournkes vers la carritre et la famille avaient davantage de partenaires et d'enfants. passaient plus de temps sur des travaux d'appoint, travaillaient moins d'heures par semaine et se trouvaient dans le bas des organigrammes. Ces femmes faisaient preuve aussi. significativement, de moins de satisfaction au travail. de moins d'implication dans leur tlche, de moins de satisfaction dans leur carrikre et de moins d'ambition. avec des intentions plus grandes de demission. Cependant, elles avaient une vie plus satisfaisante. Des suggestions sont proposees pour le dkvelopement des camtres professionnelles ,et manageriales des femmes, et pour les entreprises.This research examined antecedents and consequences of managerial and professional women's career priority patterns. Seven hundred and ninety-two women indicated their commitment to career-primary, modified careerfamily, and career-family orientations. The sample as a whole was more career-family than career-primary. Demographic and situational variables correlated with the operalisation of career priority patterns in predicted ways. Career-family women were more likely to have partners and children, spend more hours on second shift work, work fewer hours per week, and be in lower levels of management. These women also reported significantly lower job satisfaction, job involvement, career satisfaction and future career prospects, and greater intention to quit. However they reported greater life satisfaction. Implications for the career development of managerial and professional women, and for organisations. are offered.Requests for reprints should be sent to Prof. Ronald 1. Burke. Faculty of Administrative Studies. York University.

Career progress and career barriers: women MBA graduates in Canada and the UK

“…Therefore, if, on the supply side, women gained more expertise and adopted more male patterns of career planning (person centred approach) and if, on the demand side, this was buttressed by a commitment to equal opportunities in the workplace (corporate practices approach), then their career progress would be enhanced. Still (1992) for example has referred to the need for women to gain the right qualifications and skills and Burke and McKeen (1994) argue that many women, in tacit acceptance of this approach, embark of higher level qualifications such as an MBA in order to try to overcome some of the barriers they face in their careers.…”

Family Influences on the Career Life Cycle

“…On the one hand, research has shown that women attempting to combine professional or managerial careers with family commitments report less job satisfaction, less job involvement, and less career satisfaction than women who chiefly emphasized their careers (Burke & McKeen, 1993). Kirchmeyer (2002) found that having children is associated with reduced perceptions of career success for female managers, and employees experiencing strong difficulties balancing competing work and home responsibilities have also reported lower levels of subjective career success (Peluchette, 1993).…”

25 Years On: Reflecting on the Past and Looking to the Future in Gender and Management Research

“…Women's voice research was thus concerned with highlighting gender difference in areas such as career progress and career orientation (e.g. Alban- Metcalfe, 1984;Burke and McKeen, 1994;Burke, Rothstein and Bristor, 1995;Davidson and Cooper, 1992;Gutek and Larwood, 1987;Hammond and Holton, 1991;Nicholson and West, 1988;Rosen, Miguel and Pierce, 1989;Tharenou, Latimer and Conroy, 1994), experience of career barriers (e.g. Adler, 1993;Coe, 1992;Hansard Society Commission, 1990;Marshall, 1984;Oakley, 2000;Povall, 1984) and leadership behaviours (Davidson and Cooper, 1987;Donnell and Hall, 1980;Ferrario, 1991;Loden, 1985;Rosener, 1990) with the explicit aim of achieving 'gender justice' through the removal of gender-based barriers to career success.…”