Abstract
Despite some progress being made towards gender equality, a pervasive feature of labor markets across the world is that women continue to suffer disadvantage in multiple areas of their lives. In particular, women’s career pathways are constrained by systemic disadvantage, yet there is limited acknowledgement in traditional career theory that the career support needs of women are distinctively different. To contribute to career theory development, research, policy, and practice that are relevant to women across countries and cultures, an international qualitative and comparative study investigated the retrospective career stories of older women (aged 45–65). The research was conducted in the developed countries of Australia and England and the developing country of South Africa. Thirty-six in-depth interviews have provided detailed stories of the women’s careers that have emerged from an exploration of their work and learning pathways. Based on these stories, in the present chapter we review the broad context of women’s position in labor markets internationally, briefly outline the qualitative research approach adopted, present emergent findings under three key themes (learning across the life-span, work influences, and social influences), and, in the light of these findings, consider the relevance of existing theory, policy, practice, and research for the career development of women.
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Bimrose, J., McMahon, M., Watson, M. (2014). Older Women’s Retrospective Narratives of Their Work and Learning Pathways. In: Arulmani, G., Bakshi, A., Leong, F., Watts, A. (eds) Handbook of Career Development. International and Cultural Psychology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-9460-7_31
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-9460-7_31
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