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Choices and Challenges: A Qualitative Exploration of Professional Women's Career Patterns
Author(s) -
Whitmarsh Lona,
Brown Donalee,
Cooper Jane,
HawkinsRodgers Yolanda,
Wentworth Diane Keyser
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
the career development quarterly
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.846
H-Index - 53
eISSN - 2161-0045
pISSN - 0889-4019
DOI - 10.1002/j.2161-0045.2007.tb00079.x
Subject(s) - career development , career pathways , qualitative research , career management , career planning , work (physics) , career portfolio , psychology , cognitive information processing , public relations , medical education , sociology , social psychology , pedagogy , political science , medicine , social science , engineering , mechanical engineering
With the rapid changes occurring in the role of work in women's lives, this research project was designed to examine the career planning, career decision making, and work history of women in both female‐dominated and gender‐neutral careers (U.S. Department of Labor, n.d.‐a). A qualitative analysis of structured interviews identified 6 emerging themes: variations of career/family patterns, career encouragers, career obstacles, personal compromises, career changes, and career decision‐making patterns. Insights for strengthening the exploration process and strategies for supporting career management are presented based on the emerging themes.