Some Observations on the Career Paths of Women

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
This article seeks to contribute to a structural theory considering the connections among individual and organizational influences on career paths. Using stratified systems theory, the author develops a model of structural and individual development that integrates individuals'capabilities and organizations'requirements and defines work in terms of time frames for completing goals. A sample of 168 women managers and military officers from the United Kingdom and U.S. took part in semistructured interviews, and the resulting data is used to describe different types of career paths and consider the consequences of different types of potential. The author concludes that institutional barriers have different natures and impacts on the full realization of women's competence at different strata of organizations.