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.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsReferences
Arthur, N., & McMahon, M. (2005). Multicultural career counseling: Theoretical applications of the systems theory framework. The Career Development Quarterly, 53, 208–222.
Astin, H. S. (1984). The meaning of work in women’s lives: A sociopsychological model of career choice and work behavior. The Counseling Psychologist, 12(4), 117–126.
August, R. A. (2010). Women’s later life career development: Looking through the lens of the kaleidoscope career model. Journal of Career Development Online First. Retrieved from http://jcd.sagepub.com/content/early/2010/05/13/0894845310362221.full.pdf
Bakshi, A. J. (2011). Past adolescence, into and across adulthood: Career crises and major decisions. International Journal for Educational and Vocational Guidance, 11, 139–153.
Begum, N. (1994). Mirror, mirror on the wall. In N. Begum, M. Hill, & A. Stevens (Eds.), Reflections: The views of black disabled people on their lives and community care (pp. 17–36). London, England: Central Council for Education and Training in Social Work.
Bimrose, J. (2004). Sexual harassment in the workplace: An ethical dilemma for career guidance practice? British Journal of Guidance and Counselling, 32(1), 109–121.
Bimrose, J. (2008). Guidance with women. In J. A. Athanasou & R. V. Esbroeck (Eds.), International handbook of career guidance (1st ed., pp. 375–404). Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Springer.
Bimrose, J., & McNair, S. (2011). Career support for migrants: Transformation or adaptation? Journal of Vocational Behavior, 78(3), 325–334.
Bradley, H. (1996). Fractured identities: The changing patterns of inequality. Cambridge, MA: Polity.
Brooks, L., & Forrest, L. (1994). Feminism and career counseling. In W. B. Walsh & S. H. Osipow (Eds.), Career counseling for women (pp. 87–134). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Bryman, A., & Burgess, R. G. (1994). Reflections on qualitative data analysis. In A. Bryman & R. G. Burgess (Eds.), Analyzing qualitative data (pp. 216–227). London, England: Routledge.
Cedefop [European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training]. (2011). Working and ageing: Guidance and counselling for mature learners. Luxembourg, Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union. Retrieved from http://www.cedefop.europa.eu/EN/Files/3062_en.pdf
Charmaz, K. (1995). Grounded theory. In J. A. Smith, R. Harre, & L. V. Langenhove (Eds.), Rethinking methods in psychology (pp. 27–49). London, England: Sage.
Charmaz, K. (2007). Grounded theory: A practical guide through qualitative analysis. London, England: Sage.
Commonwealth of Australia. (2001). National strategy for an ageing Australia: An older Australia, challenges and opportunities for all. Retrieved from http://www.health.gov.au/internet/wcms/publishing.nsf/content/ageing-ofoa-agepolicy-nsaa-nsaa.htm/$file/nsaabook.pdf
Cook, E. P., Heppner, M. J., & O’Brien, K. M. (2002). Career development of women of color and white women: Assumptions, conceptualization, and interventions from an ecological perspective. The Career Development Quarterly, 50(4), 291–305.
Farmer, H. S. (1997). Diversity & women’s career development. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Fassinger, R. E. (2005). Paradigms, praxis, problems, and promise: Grounded theory in counseling psychology research. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 52(2), 156–166.
Glaser, B. G., & Strauss, A. L. (1967). The discovery of grounded theory: Strategies for qualitative research. Chicago, IL: Aldine.
Gottfredson, L. S. (1981). Circumscription and compromise: A development theory of occupational aspirations. Journal of Counseling Psychology Monograph, 28(6), 545–579.
Gottfredson, L. S. (1996). Gottfredson’s theory of circumscription and compromise. In D. Brown, L. Brooks, & Associates (Eds.), Career, choice and development (3rd ed., pp. 179–232). San Francisco, CA: Jossey Bass.
Hackett, G. (1997). Promise and problems in theory and research on women’s career development: Comment on Lucas (1997), Richie et al. (1997), McCracken and Weitzman (1997), Rainey and Borders (1997), and Schaefers, Epperson, and Nauta (1997). Journal of Counseling Psychology, 44(2), 184–188.
Hackett, G., & Betz, G. (1981). A self-efficacy approach to the career development of women. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 18(3), 326–339.
Harmon, L. W., & Meara, N. M. (1994). Contemporary developments in women’s careers counseling: Themes of the past, puzzles for the future. In W. B. Walsh & S. H. Osipow (Eds.), Career counseling for women (pp. 355–368). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
International Labour Office. (2010). Women in labour markets: Measuring progress and identifying challenges. Retrieved from http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_emp/---emp_elm/---trends/documents/publication/wcms_123835.pdf
Jütting, J. P., Morrisson, C., Dayton-Johnson, J., & Drechsler, D. (2006). Measuring gender (in)equality: Introducing the gender, institutions and development data base (GID) (Working Paper No. 247). Paris, France: OECD Development Centre. Retrieved from http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/17/49/36228820.pdf
King, N., & Horrocks, C. (2010). Interviews in qualitative research. London, England: Sage.
Lapour, A. S., & Heppner, M. J. (2009). Social class privilege and adolescent women’s perceived career options. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 56(4), 477–494.
Marshall, J. (1989). Re-visioning career concepts: A feminist perspective. In M. B. Arthur, D. T. Hall, & B. S. Lawrence (Eds.), Handbook of career theory (pp. 275–312). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
McMahon, M., Bimrose, J., & Watson, M. (2010). Older women’s careers development and social inclusion. Australian Journal of Career Development, 19(1), 63–70.
Miles, M. B., & Huberman, A. M. (1994). Qualitative data analysis (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Moore, S. (2009). No matter what I did I would still end up in the same position: Age as a factor defining older women’s experience of labor market participation. Work Employment Society, 23(4), 655–671.
O’Neil, D. A., Hopkins, M. M., & Bilimoria, D. (2008). Women’s careers at the start of the 21st century: Patterns and paradoxes. Journal of Business Ethics, 80(4), 727–743.
Patton, M. Q. (2002). Qualitative research & evaluation methods (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Patton, W., & McMahon, M. (2006). Career development and systems theory: Connecting theory and practice (2nd ed.). Rotterdam, The Netherlands: Sense.
Polkinghorne, D. E. (1994). Reaction to special section on qualitative research in counseling process and outcome. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 41(4), 510–512.
Polkinghorne, D. E. (2005). Language and meaning: Data collection in qualitative research and practice in adult literacy. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 52(2), 137–145.
Rainey, L. M., & Borders, L. D. (1997). Influential factors in career orientation and career aspiration of early adolescent girls. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 44(2), 160–172.
Savickas, M. L. (1993). Career counseling in the postmodern era. Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy, 7(3), 205–215.
Savickas, M. L. (1997). Constructivist career counseling: Models and methods. Advances in Personal Construct Psychology, 4(2), 149–182.
Smeaton, D., & Vegeris, S. (2009). Older people inside and outside the labor market: A review. London, England: Policy Studies Institute. Retrieved from http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/uploaded_files/research/22._older_people_inside_and_outside_the_labor_market_a_review.pdf
Thörnqvist, C. (2006). Family-friendly labor market policies and careers in Sweden—And the lack of them. British Journal of Guidance and Counselling, 34(3), 309–326.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2006). Charting the U.S. labor market in 2005. Retrieved from http://www.bls.gov/cps/labor2005/home.htm
United Nations. (2010a). Facts and figures on women worldwide. Retrieved from http://www.unwomen.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/UNWomen_ FactsAndFiguresOnWomen_20100702.pdf
United Nations. (2011). The millennium development goals report 2011. Retrieved from http://www.un.org/milleniumgoals/11-MDG%20Report_EN.pdf
United Nations. (2010b). End poverty 2015: Millenium development goals (DPI/2650 C). Retrieved from http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/pdf/MDG_FS_3_EN.pdf
Young, R. A., & Valach, L. (2000). Reconceptualising career theory and research: An action-theoretical perspective. In A. Collin & R. A. Young (Eds.), The future of career (pp. 181–196). Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2014 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
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
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-9460-7_31
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-9459-1
Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-9460-7
eBook Packages: Behavioral ScienceBehavioral Science and Psychology (R0)