Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to discuss how women managers themselves interpret the factors that constrain and those that facilitate management careers for women. We will do this by first reviewing some of the interpretations that have been put forward in the academic literature to explain the relatively small number of women managers and particularly the small number of very senior women managers. In the light of these interpretations, we will examine the opinions of a sample of intermediate and senior women managers in the public and private sectors in Ontario and Québec. More specifically we will look at their answers to questions about what blocks and what facilitates management careers for women generally and what obstacles they themselves have met. We will then compare their interpretations of their own career development with the interpretations that exist in the literature.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Adler, Nancy, J. and Izraeli, Dafna N.: 1988, Women in Management Worldwide (M.E. Sharpe Inc., Armonk, New York).
Cullen, Dallas: 1988, ‘Career Barriers: Do We Need More Research?’, paper presented at Women in Management: Research Symposium (Mount Saint Vincent University, Halifax).
Fagenson, Ellen A.: 1988, ‘On Women in Management Research Methodology: Your Theory is Showing’, paper presented at Women in Management: Research Symposium (Mount Saint Vincent University, Halifax).
Gerson, Kathleen: 1985, Hard Choices (University of California Press, Berkeley).
Gutek, B. and Larwood, L.: 1987, Women's Career Development (Sage Publications, Beverly Hills, Calif).
Harragan, B.: 1977, Games Mother Never Taught You (Warner Books, New York).
Hennig, M. and Jardim, A.: 1977, The Managerial Woman (Anchor Press/Doubleday, Garden City, NJ).
Kanter, R.: 1977, Men and Women of the Corporation (Basic Books, New York).
Marshall Judi: 1984, Women Managers, Travellers in a Male World (Wiley, Chichester, Sussex).
Morrison, A. M., White, R. P., and Van Velsor, E.: 1987, and the Center for Creative Leadership, Breaking the Glass Ceiling (Addison-Wesley, Reading, Massachusetts).
Simard, Carolle: 1983, L'Administration Contre Les Femmes (Boréal Express, Montréal).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Caroline Andrew, Cécile Coderre and Ann Denis teach at the University of Ottawa; Caroline Andrew in the Department of Political Science, Cécile Coderre and Ann Denis in the Department of Sociology. All three are actively involved in the Women's Studies Programme at the University of Ottawa.
We wish to acknowledge with thanks the financial support of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, and of the University of Ottawa for this study.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Andrew, C., Coderre, C. & Denis, A. Stop or go: Reflections of women managers on factors influencing their career development. Journal of Business Ethics 9, 361–367 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00380334
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00380334