Interest in the careers of women is still highly relevant and remains an often-discussed topic amongst both scholars and practitioners. Despite several decades of legislative reform and government intervention combined with considerable efforts from advocacy groups, women remain significantly under-represented in the higher echelons of organisations. This situation leads to a remarkable paradox: a high number of well-trained and educated women that do not achieve the same career success as men but are often labelled as a hidden and under-utilised resource within organisations.
A central proposition underpinning this research is rather than describing obstacles women face, research should focus on factors that help women to get ahead (Baskerville Watkins & Smith, 2014; Shaw & Leberman, 2015). For decades, commentators have realised that successful individuals have employed tactics to aid their advancement (Orpen, 1994; Rasdi, Garavan, & Ismail, 2011); reflecting engagements to influence and manipulate the system that is responsible for career decisions (Orpen, 1994; Pazy, 1988). In fact, Mackenzie Davey (2008, p. 650) claims that “…political processes are seen as fundamental to gender… because political activity is seen as gendered and masculine…is part of the informal system which constructs organization from which outsiders are excluded; and…is linked to the performance, achievement and maintenance of power.”. Thus, career processes are politically-charged and to succeed, women need to influence key stakeholders and negotiate political structures responsible for career decisions in order to overcome male privilege in the workplace.
In particular, the project considers the relationship between political skill, self-efficacy and perceived organisational support as factors contributing to women’s career success. While many studies have highlighted the significance of coaching and mentoring for women, this study underlines the importance of self-efficacy to women’s career success. Research has already indicated the importance of high self-efficacy beliefs to career success, yet socialisation and gender roles seem to sometimes undermine the development of strong self-efficacy beliefs amongst many women. This in turn affects how women see themselves leading to the formation of intrinsic career barriers and reduced career ambitions.
In addition, the study also examines the importance of perceived organisational support (POS) to women’s career development. While POS has been shown to increase the affiliation of individuals to the organisation, little research has been done to establish the influence of POS on the career success of women. Consequently, more research is needed to understand the role that POS plays in affecting perceptions of how women feel valued and supported within the organisation.