The barriers and enablers to career and leadership development

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this study is to contrast how the relationship between career and leadership development and workplace culture is experienced by women in two different countries and the implications this has for human resource development initiatives. Design/methodology/approach The study used a qualitative narrative research design to understand how the lived experiences of Australian and Vietnamese early- to mid-career female academics is engendered. Findings The study identified a number of key barriers and enablers that affected women’s career and leadership development. For the Australian participants, the main barrier included the competing demands of work and life and male dominated organisational cultures that discriminate against women in covert ways. The main enabler was mentoring and the building of professional networks that provided their careers with direction and support. For the Vietnamese participants, the main barriers were overt and included male-dominated organisational and societal cultures that limit their career and leadership development opportunities. The main enabler was having a sponsor or person with power in their respective organisation who would be willing to support their career advancement and gaining recognition from colleagues and peers. Research limitations/implications Gaining a deeper understanding of the barriers and enablers that effect women’s career and leadership development can be used to investigate how culturally appropriate developmental relationships can create ways to overcome the barriers they experience. Originality/value The study analysed the contrasting experiences of barriers and enablers from two cultures. The participants narrated stories that reflected on the gender politics they experienced in their career and leadership development. The narrative comparisons provide a unique lens to analyse the complex cultural experience of gender and work with potential implications for human resource development.

Strategies to Improve Women’s Leadership Preparation for Early Career Global Health Professionals: Suggestions from Two Working Groups

“…During each 40-minute working group session, participants were divided into breakout rooms to discuss the following topics: (1) Strengthening Networks, (2) Building Essential Skills, (3) Authentic/Inclusive Leadership, (4) Building Job-Seeking Skills, (5) Mentorship. The focus areas were chosen based on previous literature that described various barriers to women’s leadership in relevant fields [ 12 13 ]. We asked participants to discuss their assigned topics, specifically focusing on how institutions can better support emerging women leaders in global health, and asked one person from each group to take notes.…”

“…Barriers to women’s leadership in different countries and settings have been well established in the literature at the individual and institutional levels [ 12 13 ]. Lack of mentorship, workplace power imbalances, work-home responsibility imbalance, and gender bias may occur at each career stage for women and affect career advancement [ 14 15 ].…”

Review of research for two decades for women leadership in higher education around the world and in Vietnam: a comparative analysis

“…Vietnamese women are under-represented for senior roles in prestigious organizations compared to other countries (Pham, 2019). To the best of our knowledge, till now, only seven studies have been done in Vietnam on this topic (Hong, 2018;Kelly, 2011;Lazarian-Chehab, 2017;Mate et al, 2019;Nguyen, 2013;Soryaly and Khon, 2017;Dang, 2017).…”

Career advancement comparative perspective study of university lecturer

“…Previous research showed that more men hold professorship than women (Camacci et al, 2020). Based on literature studies, female lecturers consider the importance of balancing life and work (work-life balance) by doing all household affairs and pursuing a career (Mate et al, 2019).…”