The influence of protean attitude for women in STEM careers: coping-self efficacy as foundational and strong career identity as outcome

Abstract

Purpose The under-representation of women working in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) careers is a persistent problem worldwide. This dilemma is exacerbated by the fact that an insufficient number of women enroll in STEM studies, and a significant proportion of those who do join then opt out of their STEM careers at different points in their lives. The protean attitude emphasizes agentic individual control over one’s career, and thus offers women substantial potential for developing and enhancing career outcomes. Therefore, this study aims to investigate coping self-efficacy as an antecedent and career identity as a consequent of a protean attitude for women working in STEM. Design/methodology/approach Using a questionnaire survey, data were collected from 482 women working in STEM in the Middle East region. Multiple regression and bootstrapping methods were used in the analysis of the data. Findings The findings indicate that coping self-efficacy positively affects both protean attitude and career identity. The results also show that a protean attitude mediates the relationship between coping self-efficacy and career identity. Practical implications This research presents organizational management and government policy recommendations aimed at increasing the recruitment and retention of women in STEM careers. Originality/value The study addresses some of the main challenges related to identifying antecedents and outcomes of protean attitude.