Women managers' careers in information technology in China: high flyers with emotional costs?

Abstract

Purpose -This study seeks to focus on Chinese women managers and gender aspects in information technology (IT) management. Design/methodology/approach -Women managers' experience on career is explored in relation to the Chinese cultural environment and within the IT industry. Two special topics emerged from the in-depth interview results: high future expectations and strong belief in own competence. Background methodology of the study is Q-sort methodology and interpretive analysis. Findings -The findings suggest that IT women managers are high achievers with a high level of ambition. A joy of career advancement and full use of their potential is seen in their perceptions of work and career. The findings also indicate that Chinese women's career development in the IT field calls for identity reconstruction in both their private and work lives. This refers to a work-family conflict within Chinese culture which emphasizes Guanxi and close societal ties. Although not expressed specifically, it was possible to read from the subtext that women also expect certain emotional costs from career advancement. Practical implications -Although there are still only few women in top-level positions in China, the study confirms their potential to succeed in management, at least in a recently developed field like IT. The findings indicate that the recent sweeping technological changes provide women with a platform to penetrate. It gives them a chance to be recognised for their achievements in the field of new technology and proves their ability to advance to the upper realms in this field. Originality/value -This study accumulates the understanding on women's careers and career strategies worldwide and especially in China.

Barriers to Career Progression: A Study of the Perceptions of Nepali Women Employees

“…The study also divulges the fact that it is mostly women who have to face the problem arising out of work and family balance, which is substantiated from the high mean scores on items such as family role being main responsibility, job transfers avoidance, resistance working beyond office hours, as well as women lack exposure and opportunities for progress. These findings support the reference of Aaltio andHuang (2007) on Hofstede's (1984, J. R. Adhikary Journal of Business and Management Research, July 2016, Vol. 1, No.…”

“…Being the first of this kind in Nepal, this study will help broaden the sphere of extant Nepali literature regarding women in employment. Additionally, this study confirms with the many earlier studies that like management theories, research is culture bound (Hofstede, 1998, as cited in Aaltio & Huang, 2007). Also, the results support earlier findings that women from whichever part of the world, do face numerous barriers for career advancement, what differs are the context and the magnitude (e.g., Sujatha, 2008).…”

“…Empirical evidences drawn from numerous studies (e.g., Aaltio & Huang, 2007;Omar & Davidson, 2001) have indicated that the experiences of women in management across national boundaries are similar to a certain extent. Nevertheless, some clear differences exist across national boundaries due to cultural uniqueness.…”

“…But, with the increasing participation of Nepali women in the formal employment sector (Central Bureau of Statistics [CBS], 2009), it is important that a better understanding of their career growth is developed. Taking a cue from Hofstede's (1998, as cited in Aaltio & Huang, 2007) remarks on the ways in which management, organizational theory, and research itself are culturebound, the influence of traditional Nepali culture on the real experience of its women may be assumed to differ from the experience of their Western counterparts. This study is an attempt to provide explanation for the gender gap in career advancement prevalent in Nepali organizations by exploring the career progression barriers as perceived by Nepali women employees and identifying whether the perceived barriers are specific to various occupational and professional sub-groups.…”

Walking the tightrope between work and non-work life: strategies employed by British and Chinese academics and their implications

“…In China, marriage and motherhood are not purely personal choices and decisions, whilst organisations seldom adopt formal policies and practices that help improve WLB. Therefore, for those who have childcare and/or other home responsibilities, employment of domestic labour and drawing on family net-works for support appear to play a key role in the personal coping process in Chinese society (Aaltio and Huang 2007;Lo, Stone, and Ng 2003;Ren and Foster 2011;Thein, Currie, and Austen 2006;Xiao and Cooke 2012). To date, there is a large body of literature on WLB coping strategies generally, but less is known about the coping strategies that individual academics have developed to manage their WLB.…”