| The Midlife Transition of Professional Women: An External and Internal Recalibration |
| | Gordon, Judith R. | Boston College | gordonj@bc.edu | (617)-552-0454 |
| | Beatty, Joy E. | Boston College | beattyjc@bc.edu | 617-552-0147 |
| | Whelan, Karen S. | Samford U. | kswhelan@samford.edu | (205)-870-2694 |
| | The midlife period has received increasing attention as large numbers of babyboomers enter this stage.
Previous research has described this period as a period of reevaluation and change, a natural developmental stage, and a crisis.
Prior research also identifies a process of re-balancing that occurs at midlife as individuals consider and make adjustments to
multiple domains of life: personal and professional, work and family, private and public. Women with families at any life stage
face special challenges in balancing work and family obligations. Prior research has not fully explored or explained the specific
process and outcomes of the rebalancing that occurs at midlife.
This empirical exploratory study examines the nature of balancing that occurs during the midlife transition for professional women
through the study of thirty-six women at the midlife period. They had each combined a relatively uninterrupted professional career
with marriage and children. Our data show the balancing at midlife for professional women to be an active process of recalibration.
The study finds that the recalibration has two major components: external or role and internal or cognitive. Our data identify and
explore the detail components of the external and internal recalibration. We then discuss the theoretical and practical implications
of our findings, and offer suggestions for future research. |
| | Keywords: women; midlife transition; empirical |
| Professional Women's Mid-Career Satisfaction: Toward a Multilevel Framework |
| | Auster, Ellen Ross | York U. | eauster@bus.yorku.ca | (416)-736-2100 x77898 |
| |
Professional women enter the workforce highly qualified and with great expectations.
As they climb the corporate ladder, they are more likely than men to experience stereotyping,
face bias in performance appraisal, promotion, and salary allocation and be confronted with
serious trade-offs between work and family (Auster, 1993; Capowski, 1996; Fagenson, 1990;
Griffith, 1998; Heilman, 1997; Ohlott, Ruderman, & McCauley, 1994; Powell & Butterfield, 1994;
Ragins & Scandura, 1995; Stockdale, 1996).
These objective facts of life for working women are well-documented. Less is known
however, about how satisfied women feel about their careers as they move beyond entry level
into mid-career. By the time women reach mid-career, are they discouraged, disgruntled and
dissatisfied? Or have they carved out a career, despite the aggravations, that they are quite
satisfied with? What individual and organizational factors do they perceive affect their mid-career
satisfaction? What factors explain differences among women in their mid-career satisfaction?
These are the central questions pursued in this paper as it begins to map out a multilevel
framework of key factors affecting professional women's mid-career satisfaction.
|
| | Keywords: women; mid-career; satisfaction |
| Women's Versus Men's Managerial Careers: Is It a Case of Comparing Apples and Oranges? |
| | Kirchmeyer, Catherine | Wayne State U. | c.kirchmeyer@wayne.edu | (313)-577-4513 |
| | This longitudinal study of mid-career managers compared the career progression of men and women over two periods of time.
Unlike the subjects of many earlier studies, these men and women had similar education and experience profiles. There was
evidence that women's careers unfold differently than men's, with income and promotion gaps widening over time. In addition,
certain career determinants had differential effects on progression and perceived success across the sexes. The findings
suggest that comparing women's and men's managerial careers in the late 1990's is a case of comparing apples and oranges,
and support gender-specific models of managerial careers. |
| | Keywords: career advancement; managerial careers; women in management |
| Towards a Model of the Female International Career Move: A Qualitative Study in a European Context |
| | Linehan, Margaret | U. College, Cork | m.linehan@ucc.ie | + 353 21 902633 |
| | Walsh, James | U. College, Cork | jw@ucc.ie | 353 21 902633 |
| | Research investigating the position of women in management has, largely, been confined within national boundaries. Over the last fifteen years, empirical studies of women in international management have been undertaken, predominantly in North America. In this research field, many questions remain unanswered or have been only partially addressed. The particular focus of this study is on the senior female international managerial career move in Europe. Fifty senior female expatriate managers were interviewed, representing a wide range of industry and service sectors. The study, for the first time, assesses an exclusively senior sample of female managers who have made at least one international career move.
This study of senior females in international management makes a theoretical contribution to the analysis of gender and international human resource management. The aims of the study were to develop an understanding of the senior female international career move in a European context in order to more fully understand the barriers that may limit women's international career opportunities.
The results of the study show that the senior international career move has largely been developed along a linear male model of career progression, a development which, taken together with gender disparity both in organisations and family responsibilities, frequently prevents women employees from reaching senior managerial positions. The study proposes a dynamic model of the senior female international managerial career move developed from the interview data. |
| | Keywords: women; management; europe |