Exploring the Career Resilience Processes of Women in the Early Stages of Traditionally Male Careers

Abstract

Although career resilience (CR) research has revealed insights about the conditions under which individuals overcome obstacles and achieve career success, it has not explicated the nature of CR processes or considered how CR processes may be unique to particular social groups. Based on interviews with 41 women who self-identified as being in the early stages of traditionally male careers (TMCs), this study integrates CR with the communication theory of resilience to elucidate how women persist in TMCs despite facing gender-based marginalization. Findings reveal three broad categories of CR processes that (a) engage gendered discourses (using stereotypes, defying stereotypes, justifying behavior, proving worth), (b) challenge gendered discourses (building confidence, direct confrontation, engaging with network) or (c) both engage and challenge gendered discourses (organizational belonging). These themes provide a more robust understanding of CR and suggest future research directions.

Keywords:

• Career Resilience
• Careers
• Communication Theory of Resilience
• Gender

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Correction Statement

This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Notes

1. Although it was not the goal of our study to document the frequency with which each CR process was reported by participants, it may be helpful to describe the relative appearance of the processes in our data. The category of engaging gendered discourses was reported by the most participants, then challenging gendered discourses, with engage/challenge reported by the fewest number of participants. Within engaging discourses, going above and beyond and defying stereotypes were the processes noted by the most participants. Within challenging discourses, engaging with one’s network was a CR process utilized by nearly all participants.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Patricia E. Gettings

Patricia E. Gettings is an Assistant Professor of Communication at the University at Albany, State University of New York. Her research explores how individuals’ personal relationships and organizational lives influence one another, and how individuals communicatively negotiate these overlapping spaces.

Elizabeth Dorrance Hall

Elizabeth Dorrance Hall is an Assistant Professor of Communication at Michigan State University and a Director of the Family Communication and Relationships Lab. Her research focuses on difficult conversations and how close relationships evolve over time.