Balancing Work-Life: Examining the Career Decisions of Women Educational Leaders
Abstract
Abstract Views: 0This research study explores the growth of career patterns in women and the factors affecting their career decisions. For women to participate in society, the male-dominated culture was challenged when women decided to have a strong footing in leadership positions and at the same time balance work and life. Therefore, it was necessary to investigate what made these women career-oriented, while simultaneously managing their homes. This qualitative research using the narrative technique examined the causes that led women leaders to work toward their career development. It also investigated as to how this decision affected their lives. Through purposive sampling, eight department heads from different universities in Karachi were selected and interviewed. Through thematic analysis, the data was analyzed. This study implies that women are aware of the effects of their decisions still they pursue their careers because their cause is more important to them. In conclusion, this study contributes to understanding the factors influencing women's career decisions and the impact of these decisions on their lives.
Downloads
References
Abbas, F., Abbas, N., & Ashiq, U. (2021). Glass ceiling effect and women career: Determining factors in higher education institutions. Sir Syed Journal of Education & Social Research, 4(1), 1–8. https://doi.org/10.36902/sjesr-vol4-iss1-2021(1-8)
Agha, N. (2021). Kinship, patriarchal structure and women’s bargaining with patriarchy in rural Sindh, Pakistan. Springer Nature.
Aggarwal, N., & Singh, H. (2019). Women and wealth: Financial propinquity to business Success. Australasian Accounting Business and Finance Journal, 13(2), 69–87. https://doi.org/10.14453/aabfj.v13i2.5
Aksana, N., Kısaca, B., Aydına, M., & Demirbuken, S. (2009). Symbolic interaction theory. Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences, 1(1), 902–904. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2009.01.160
Ali, R., & Rasheed, A. (2021). Women leaders in Pakistani academia: Challenges and opportunities. Asian Journal of Women's Studies, 27(2), 208–231, https://doi.org/10.1080/12259276.2021.1924481
Barkhuizen, E. N., Masakane, G., & Van der Sluis, L. (2022). In search of factors that hinder the career advancement of women to senior leadership positions. SA Journal of Industrial Psychology, 48, Article ea1986. https://doi.org/10.4102/sajip.v48i0.1986
Cho, Y., Kim, N., Lee, M. M., Lim, J. H., Han, H., & Park, H. Y. (2015). South Korean women leaders’ struggles for a work and family balance. Human Resource Development International, 18(5), 521–537. https://doi.org/10.1080/13678868.2015.1076562
Corbin, J., & Strauss, A. (2014). Basics of qualitative research: Techniques and procedures for developing grounded theory. Sage publications.
Delina, G., & Raya R. P. (2013). A study on work-life balance in working women. International Journal of Commerce, Business and Management, 2(5), 274–282.
Fazal, S., Naz, S., Khan, M. I., & Pedder, D. (2019). Barriers and enablers of women’s academic careers in Pakistan. Asian Journal of Women's Studies, 25(2), 217–238. https://doi.org/10.1080/12259276.2019.1607467
Gallos, J. V. (1989). Exploring women’s development: Implications for career theory, practice. In M. B. Arthur, D. T. Hall & B. S. Lawrence (Eds.), Handbook of career theory. Cambridge University Press.
Giele, J. Z., & Elder, G. H. (Eds.). (1998). Methods of life course research: Qualitative and quantitative approaches. Sage Publications.
Goco, E. B. (2019). Experiences of mothers from dual–career families on child-rearing of their preschool-aged children [Bachelor thesis]. University of the Philippines.
Goswami, R. (2021). Role of women in decision-making in the family. Journal of Technology and Innovative Research, 8(4), 264–269.
Heath, K. (2012). Women in leadership: Strategies for balance [Doctoral dissertation, Pepperdine University]. Theses & Dissertations, Pepperdine Digital Commons. https://digitalcommons.pepperdine.edu/etd/268
Helvaci, M. A., & Eker, N. (2019). The effect of teachers' work-life balance on organizational citizenship behavior. European Journal of Education Studies, 6(6), 59–81.
Holland, J. L. (1997). Making vocational choices: A theory of vocational personalities and work environments. Psychological Assessment Resources.
Ismail, N., & Kinchin, G. (2023). Construct of phenomenological analysis: Case study of Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Egypt Scholars Journal, 2(1), 7–17. https://doi.org/10.52649/egscj230809
Kim, N., & Baek, P. (2017). A new perspective on Korean women leaders’ career development. In Y. Cho, R. Ghosh, J. Y. Sun, & G. N. McLean (Eds.), Korean women in leadership. Current perspectives on Asian women in leadership. Palgrave Macmillan.
Kim, S. H., & Park, J. Y. (2012). The relationship between personality and child rearing stress of employed mothers. Journal of the Korean Home Economics Association, 50(8), 41–52.
Krishnan, V. R., Alias, S. N., & Idris, K. (2020). Factors influencing career success among women managers: A research framework. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 10(9), 470–484.
Loyola, M. C. C. A. (2016). Career development patterns and values of women school administrators. Journal of Education and Practice, 7(5), 26–31.
Maldonado, L. G., Kim, K., & Threeton, M. D. (2020). An application of Holland’s theory to career interests and selected careers of automotive technology students. Journal of Career and Technical Education, 35(1), 36–54. https://doi.org/10.21061/jcte.v35i1.a3
McCloskey, D. W. (2016). Finding work-life balance in a digital age. Information Resources Management Journal, 29(3), 53–70. https://doi.org/10.4018/irmj.2016070104
Ollier-Malaterre, A., & Foucreault, A. (2017). Cross-national work-life research: Cultural and structural impacts for individuals and organizations. Journal of Management, 43(1), 111–136. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206316655873
Pečjak, S., & Pirc, T. (2020). Parental involvement in children’s career decision–making process in Slovenia: Parents and children’s perspective. Journal of Psychological and Educational Research, 28(2), 31–54.
Ren, X., & Caudle, D. J. (2020). Balancing academia and family life: The gendered strains and struggles between the UK and China compared. Gender in Management: An International Journal, 35(2), 141–165. https://doi.org/10.1108/GM-06-2019-0093
Sharif, N., Ahmed, N., & Sarwar, S. (2019). Factors Influencing Career Choices. IBT Journal of Business Studies, 5(2), 5–9.
Shemahonge, Z., Kyando, N., & Malingumu, W. (2022). Women in education leadership and management: A critical analysis of leadership approaches in education agencies in Tanzania. European Journal of Research and Reflection in Educational Sciences, 10(3), 10–18.
Sirgy, M. J., & Lee, D.-J. (2018). Work-life balance: An integrative review. Applied Research in Quality of Life, 13(1), 229–254. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11482-017-9509-8
Taser-Erdogan, D. (2022). Careers advancement of women: Applying a multi-level relational perspective in the context of Turkish banking organizations. Human Relations, 75(6), 1053–1083. https://doi.org/10.1177/00187267211002244
Tiwari, H. (2021). Gender in career decision making by women: An autoethnographic account. Global Journal of Management and Business Research, 19(11), 10–19.
Venter, E., & Kruger, J. (2017). Exploring women’s perceptions regarding successful investment planning practices. South African Journal of Economic and Management Sciences, 20(1), Article ea1486. https://doi.org/10.4102/sajems.v20i1.1486
Welmilla, I. (2020). Strategies for work-life balance for women in the academic profession of Sri Lanka. Asian Social Science, 16(5), 130–143. https://doi.org/10.5539/ass.v16n5p130
Wise, R., Charner, I., & Randour, M. L. (1976). A conceptual framework for career awareness in career decision-making. Counselling Psychologist, 6(3), 47–53. https://doi.org/10.1177/001100007600600309
Yousaf, R., & Schmiede, R. (2017). Barriers to women’s underepresentation in academic excellence and positions of power. Asian Journal of German and European Studies, 2, Article e2. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40856-017-0013-6
Zulfiqar, A., Kuskoff, E., Povey, J., & Baxter, J. (2024). Homemaker or breadwinner: Labour force participation of Pakistani women. Advance online publication. Community, Work & Family. https://doi.org/10.1080/13668803.2024.2336031
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
UER follows an open-access publishing policy and full text of all published articles is available free, immediately upon publication of an issue. The journal’s contents are published and distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC-BY 4.0) license. Thus, the work submitted to the journal implies that it is original, unpublished work of the authors (neither published previously nor accepted/under consideration for publication elsewhere). On acceptance of a manuscript for publication, a corresponding author on the behalf of all co-authors of the manuscript will sign and submit a completed Copyright and Author Consent Form.
Copyright (c) The Authors