Career persistence of women software professionals in India

Abstract

Purpose

This paper seeks to explore career centrality, belief in gender disadvantage, and career success definition as the determinants of career persistence among women software professionals in emerging economies like India. The control variables used are marital and parental status.

Design/methodology/approach

A survey questionnaire was administered to 190 software women professionals and statistical analyses were used to test the hypotheses.

Findings

Belief in gender disadvantage and objective success definition are differentiators for career persistence while career centrality is not. Marital status and parental status are relevant control variables.

Research limitations/implications

Further exploration is needed of the dimensions of career centrality constructs and control for demographic variables.

Practical implications

Organizations should consider investments in child care support and other flexible work options so that women continue to remain in their careers.

Originality/value

This is the first known study to explore career persistence among women with a focus on culture unique to Asian countries like India.

Citation

Srinivasan, V., Murty, L.S. and Nakra, M. (2013), "Career persistence of women software professionals in India", Gender in Management, Vol. 28 No. 4, pp. 210-227. https://doi.org/10.1108/GM-01-2013-0011