Careers advancement of women: Applying a multi-level relational perspective in the context of Turkish banking organisations

Abstract

This paper investigates the question of why women remain under-represented in management positions despite their increasing presence in the Turkish banking sector context. By using an integrative framework that brings together the relational and institutional perspectives, this paper seeks to understand how macro-level contextual influences reflect on meso-organisational processes and practices, which in turn influence women’s micro-individual career trajectories. This paper explores the careers experiences of 49 female banking professionals from three distinct banking organisations (Turkish, Western and Islamic). The findings reveal that women’s limited representation at managerial level is an outcome of the interplay between macro, meso and micro level issues. At the macro level the paper highlights religion-based fragmented social structure as a key factor in the socio-cultural context of Turkey. At the meso level, the analysis of the three different cases identifies factors relevant to both Western and Middle Eastern societal contexts. At the micro level, the analysis highlights how women’s perceptions of macro-level barriers change depending on their organisational context, emphasising the interrelatedness between these three levels. The paper contributes to women’s career literature by providing the Turkish perspective and introducing novel insights into the interplay between societal forces, organisational practices and individuals’ perceptions.

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