Evaluating The Career Success of Female Employees in Nigeria

Career Success: A Case Study of Female Employees in Nigeria
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
1.1 Research Background
The status of women and how their careers have progressed in comparison with their male counterparts especially in progressing to managerial roles in various industries has been an interest for management practitioners and scholars over the last two decades (Davidson and Burke, 2004; Rowley and Yukuongdi, 2009; Jogulu and Wood, 2011).
It is observed that there has been an increasing rate in the participation of professional women in the labor market comprising over 40% of the workforce, womens share of s enior management positions still remains at an unacceptable low (ILO, 2004). Despite women possessing equitable education and experience as their male counterparts and given the growing percentage of women in middle management roles, it would be fairly expected to find a steady increase of them moving in to top management positions; however, this is not quite the case. Womens share of senior management positions still remains at an unacceptable low facing a glass ceiling and significant pay gap (McGraw 2011; Lyons and Smith 2008). In spite of the fact that both sexes appear to have opportunities of managerial and leadership success, there seems to be an implicit boundary beyond women could not go (Crompton, 2006; Udegbe, 1997) thus they seldom reach top level position in organizations and they also do not appear to achieve rapid career success with regards to moving up the hierarchy as their male counterpart (Droste, 2002).
In the Nigerian Public Sector the percentage of male employees in 2006 was 76 per cent, while 24 per cent are female employees (CIDA Nigeria GSAA, 2006). Available statistics from Goldstar (2005/06) reveals a high level of gender disparity at top management positions in Nigeria. Women are appointed to lower level job positions like permanent secretaries and administration, where they hold less than 14 per cent of the total management level position. (Mordi, Adedoyin and Ajonbadi, 2011). In the public sector, which is the highest employer of labor in the country, has 24% of female workforce while 76% are male, with less that 14% of the total management level positions held by women. In the private sector the percentage of women in the top management and directors positions as of 2005 was 13.84% and 13.87%
Career Success: A Case Study of Female Employees in Nigeria respectively, While in the following year (2006) the involvement of women as top management and directors declined to 13.11% and 8.14% respectively. Accordingly, researchers are of the opinion that there is a global trend reflects womens managerial careers as less successful compared to men (Adler, 1993, 1997; Anker, 1998; Antal and Izraeli, 1993; Arttachariya, 1997; Burke, 2006; Davidson and Burke, 2004). Davidson and Burke (2004) and Eagly (2007) maintained that this pattern suggests that women in management face significant challenges and barriers along their career that impede their further progression into senior positions.
1.2 Background of the Organization

This study will investigate employees in a public organization in Nigeria. The public sector has been the largest employer of the Nigerian labor market as such would make an appropriate choice for this study. The case organization is a public financial institution of the Federal Government. The chart below shows the organisational structure of the organization:
Fig 1.1:Organisational Chart Source: Organisation Database
Career Success: A Case Study of Female Employees in Nigeria From the organisational structure above the Governor and the Board of Directors are the top leadership and decision making positions that oversees the entire operations of the organization. It is worth highlighting that further datas gathered from the organizations database and archives revealed that since the establishment of the organization in 1958 the position of the Governor has been consistently held by men till date. Furthermore, the executive and non-executive Board of members currently has only men as members. This indicates that male employees are more successful in terms of advancing into more senior and decision making roles while the upward mobility or hierarchical progression of the female employees is at an utmost minimum. Hence, it is worth exploring the experiences and challenges of the female employees as well as examining possible factors influencing or impeding their career success and prospects of advancing into top management and highranking positions despite them (female employees) been as qualified and experienced as their male counterparts as regard compliance to the requirements of the organization.
1.3Relevance of This Research to the Organisation

The organization has a total staff strength of 5958, which comprises of females-1397 and male-4561. Thus, revealing a male dominated organization. Records from the organisational database reveal that no woman has taken up the top position of Governor and currently there are no females in the board of directors.
The findings of this research are expected to give an insight into the individual (female and male) perceptions of objective and subjective career success. And by so doing may provide an insight into the question as to whether female employees in the case organization are selfselecting in not progressing to senior roles (Governor and Board of Directors) and also help find out what factors might be affecting female career success prospects.
1.4Academic Perspective
This study contributes to the debate on women careers by widening the empirical scope and going beyond a Western cultural setting, in which majority of the existing studies is framed (Cole, 2004; Davidson and Burke, 2004; Eagly, 2007; Lyons and Smith 2008; Rowley and Yukuongdi, 2009; McGraw 2011; Jogulu and Wood, 2011). The differences in the social and cultural infrastructure between the Western and developing countries make it particularly
Career Success: A Case Study of Female Employees in Nigeria important to investigate a broader view of female career development by exploring individuals perceptions of career success with a consideration of national culture within the Nigerian context.
1.5 Research Aim and Objectives

This study investigates the career experiences of female employees in middle positions to explore their perceptions career success and career success measurement using objective and subjective career success. The study aims to examine the career experiences of female employees in middle positions in-depth to get a rich picture of factors that influences their careers success and examine perceived career barriers to their career progression. The objectives to achieve the aim of the research are as follows: To review literature on careers and career success in order to identify and gain an in depth understanding of the potential barriers that likely to impact on women career advancement. To explore the individual perception of the female employees in the case organization regarding the concept of career success. To identify perceived factors influencing the career success among female employees in the case organization. To identify the perceived career barriers faced by female employees in the case organisation. To recommend ways by which the career advancement of female employees can be enhanced in the case organization.
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Introduction
This chapter reviews relevant literature on career success with emphasis on female career advancement. Furthermore, the influence of career choices and how career success is measured will be elucidated from literature. The chapter continues to examine the prevalence and influence of factors on women career progression with a focus on Nigeria. Factors to be examined include glass ceiling phenomenon, gender stereotypes, family responsibility, cultural values and organizational culture within the Nigerian context.
2.2 Career
Arthur, Khapova and Wilderom (2005); Hall (2004) in their studies, refereed to career as the unfolding sequence of an individuals work experience over time. This definition emphasizes on the centrality of the themes work and time and doesnt adopt any static view of work arrangements but rather focuses on the relevance of time instead. It is regarded as one of the widely accepted definitions of career (Baruch, 2004) and it does not constraint the assumptions on where people work or what should determine career success. But it accommodates a view of career success based on a persons upward mobility within an organization, but just as a special case of extensive possibilities which can include the horizontal and upward mobility within recognized organizational or national contexts (Arthur, Khapova and Wilderom, 2005).
Heslin, (2005) identified two types of career namely, linear and non-linear A linear career is one that is developed within the organization, with focus on positions, hierarchical progression, in which an individuals advancement is subject to the needs of the organization. A non-linear career is concerned solely with the individual, the identification of personal values, skills and interest and in career opportunities both within and outside the work environment or organization. This study explores the linear career of female employees occupying middle positions in the case organization.
2.3 Career Success

Igbaria, Kassicieh, and Silver (1999) noted that an individuals elucidation and interpretation of career success depends on the particular career orientation of the person. Derr (1986) described career orientation as the way people define their success at work and that individual perceptions of career success reflect individual values, attitudes and motivation with respect to both work and life in a broader sense. There are two types of career success orientations: protean career (non-traditional career orientation) and conventional career (traditional career orientation). A protean career success orientation also attributes success to intrinsic or subjective factors and reflects the extent to which such a perspective to careers is adopted by an individual (Briscoe and Hall, 2006). The protean career is self-directed and values drive (Hall, 2004). A conventional or traditional career success orientation is a concept of career success based on measurable objective factors such as hierarchical promotions, pay, status or recognition, and its care value is advancement (Gattiker and Larwood, 1988). This study adopts a conventional career success orientation as it lays emphasis on the barriers/problems preventing the career progression of women in the case organisation. However, the primary research would seek to identify the career orientation of the female employees in middle positions by examining their perception of career success. Judge et al., (1995) (cited in Poon, 2004, p. 375) defined career success as the accumulation of achievements (real or perceived) arising from work experiences. Some other studies referred to career success as the positive outcome or perceived achievement of an individuals career experiences: accomplishing perceived or desired work-related aspirations and outcomes (Arthur, Khapova and Wilderom, 2005; Okurame and Balogun, 2005; Dolan, Bejarano and Tzafrir, 2011). Career success outcomes is described using both objective and subjective dimensions and it is measured along these two dimensions (Groeneveld, 2002; Hall and Chandler 2005; Heslin 2005; Ng, et al., 2005; Baruch and Quick 2007; Abele and Spurk 2009). This current study aims to examine female employees perception of career success and how they measure their success (objective and subjective). The next section describes the objective and subjective career success.
2.3.1 Objective Career Success

Objective career success is mostly concerned with individuals observable, directly measurable and verifiable (Abele and Spurk, 2009) achievements in terms of income, position, promotion or hierarchical status, upward functional mobility or progression, occupational status and performance (Hall 2002; Groeneveld, 2002; Dette, et al., 2004; Heslin 2005; Ng, et al., 2005; Dries, Pepermans and Carlier 2008).
Compared to subjective career success (which is perceptual and evaluative criteria), the objective career success is neutral and not biased in empirical assessment as its most widely used indicators such as salary, status and promotions can be both externally assessed by means like work records and confirmation from employees (Dette, Abele and Renner, 2004). These indicators reflect societal norms and understandings regarding how successful a career is, and are objective in the sense of being socially shared (Abele, Spurk and Volmer, 2010) instead of an individual evaluation that is central to a subjective description of career success (Arthur, Khapova and Wilderom, 2005). Objective achievements like income or hierarchical status are proxies for performance. Many studies tend to use only income as the measure for objective success. However, it is argued that objective criteria for success such as income and status can be a less valid indicator for career success as they can be affected by factors that can be deficient and beyond an individuals control. For example, as a result of substantial differences in countries such as the power structures, economic and social stratification, taxation systems and markers of status, the objective success experienced in some occupations are more strongly affected (Hollenbeck and McCalls (2003). However, such potential deficiencies in objective success measurement are commonly dealt with by evaluating or measuring the subjective career success of individuals in conjunction with their objective attainments (Heslin, 2005).
2.3.2 Subjective Career Success

The subjective or intrinsic career success is generally referred to as the personal satisfaction one achieves in his/her career or ones job related accomplishments (Orser and Leck, 2010). It is defined as an individuals feelings (actual and anticipated) of career-related attainment across a broader time frame that exceeds ones immediate job satisfaction as well as a wider
Career Success: A Case Study of Female Employees in Nigeria range of outcomes (not objective), such as recognition or sense of identity (Greenhaus, Callanan, & Godshalk, 2000; Law, Meijers, & Wijers, 2002). The subjective career success is concerned with self-career related evaluation and internal apprehensions, across any dimensions that are relevant to a person (Arthur, Khapova and Wilderom, 2005). Subjective career success is typically measured using self-perception of career accomplishments and expected career prospects (Dries et al. 2008). Individuals evaluate their career success with regard to personal criteria such as their career aspirations and ambitions. Interpretations of career success vary amongst individuals as well as their views on career concepts in terms of direction and frequency of movement within an organization or any workplace. Examples of other criterias for subjective career success are job satisfaction or career sati sfaction (Arnold & Cohen, 2008). Previous studies (Gallos, 1989; Powell and Eddleston, 2008) have showed that men and women perceive success differently and that women tend to have different aspirations than their male counterparts. For example Henslin (2005) found that men evaluated their career success in terms of objective achievements such as finance and promotions; while women tend to evaluate their career success in a more internal and subjective way, using criterias like sense of fulfillment and interpersonal relations.
Some studies have confirmed that both objective career success and subjective career success are interrelated (Judge, Kammeyer-Mueller and Bretz 2004; Ng et al. 2005; Tu et al. 2006). Previous studies like Gattiker and Larwood (1988), Peluchette (1993), Nabi (2003), Maimunah and Roziah (2006) and Hennequin (2007) stressed the relevance of examining the subjective career success together with objective career success as a result of their implications to the quality of working life and psychological wellbeing of employees.
Reflecting on the literature about approaches to defining career success, the subjective perceptions, intrinsic values (an individuals attitudes about his or her career) and extrinsic values (salary and hierarchical progression) individuals ascribe to career success will be the focus of this study. The literature above would aid the primary research of this study by exploring the individual perception of both subjective (intrinsic) and objective (extrinsic) career success as suggested by Heslin (2005) in order to gain an insight on the intrinsic and extrinsic values the female employees in middle positions within the case organisation ascribe to career success. Potential difficulties of measuring objective career highlighted in the literature (power structures, economic and social stratification, taxation systems and markers of status) would be eliminated as the focus of this study is on female employees
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Career Success: A Case Study of Female Employees in Nigeria within a case organisation and industry as opposed to making comparisons with a different organisation or industry. However, the actual measurement of career success achieved is beyond the scope of this research as this research only examines individual perceptions of career success.
2.4 Factors Influencing Career Success

Few studies have identified and examined varieties of factors impacting individual career success outcomes (both objective and subjective career success). They include sociodemographic factors, human capital factors, interpersonal factors and individual differences (Gattiker and Larwood, 1988; Judge et al., 1995; Kirchmeyer, 1998; Lortie-Lussier and Rinfret, 2005; Thomas et. al., 2005; Yu, 2012).
Socio-demographics reflect individuals demographic and social backgrounds which include age, race, marital status, gender and family structure. These factors are known to have some influence on both individual objective and subjective career success. For example, Judge et al. (1995, p.501) citied in Orser and Leck, (2010) reported that gender and marital status predicted compensation, [. . .] executives were older, male, married, and whose spouse worked outside the home earned higher salaries than other executives. Accordingly, demographic variable like family structure or situation if stable does have a positive effect on subjective career success such as work satisfaction for both male and females (Kirchmeyer, 1998; Kossek and Ozeki, 1998).However, family responsibilities is considered as potential barriers which could impede women career progression especially in cases where there is conflict between work and family responsibility (Mordi, HAdedoyin, Ajonbadi, 2011).
The human capital is constituted by the cumulative educational, acquired personal and professional experience that can enhance individuals career attainments or an employees value to an employer (Judge et al., 1995; Baruch, 2009) which in all, forms the basis for career progression (Gattiker and Larwood, 1989; Jaskolka et al., 1985; Judge et al., 1995). Human capital theory (Becker, 1965) is predicated on the assumption that the labour market rewards investments that an individual makes in him or herself and such investments might be advantageous towards increasing opportunities for success (Becker et al., 1990; Judge et al., 1995).
Career Success: A Case Study of Female Employees in Nigeria Interpersonal factors involve supportive relationships between employees in the workplace that facilitates performance and career success. They include mentoring, supervisor support, personal contacts and professional network support, training and skill development opportunities (Kirchmeyer, 1998; Baruch et al. 2005; Thomas et. al., 2005). Some previous studies have associated these factors with both objective and subjective success. For example, a study by Allen et al. (2004) on the career benefits of individuals made comparisons with those who were mentored and non-mentored found out individuals who had been mentored earned greater objective and subjective career success than those who had no mentors. The studies further indicated that career and/or organisational-related mentoring is positively
related career success such as salary growth, career and job satisfaction, promotions and satisfaction with the mentor.
Individual differences represent personality traits. Many studies have identified traits inspired by previous research such as the model of career of career success proposed by Judge et al. (1995) they include, attitudes toward work, motivation, ambition, aspiration, attitudes toward organizational norms, and the importance placed on work compared with family (LortieLussier and Rinfret, 2005). Most research on career success factors found that these personality traits among others like locus of control, self-monitoring, self-esteem, and motivation for achievement have been found in previous research to have all been related to career success and satisfaction as well as having direct or indirect effect on organizational outcomes (Judge et al., 1995; Lyness and Thompson, 2000; Judge and Bono, 2001; Bradley and Roberts, 2004; Olsson and Pringle, 2004).
The current study aims to explore the perceptions of female employees in regards to factors influencing their career success in the case organization. The literature would aid the
analysis of responses in the primary research by creating core themes using the factors mentioned in the literature above to examine the perceived career success factors of the female employees in the case organisation. The next section examines the potential barriers womens career progression in Nigeria.
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2.5 Barriers To Womens Career Progression

Barriers are referred to as events, factors or phenomenon that prevents, impedes, or tends to control access to individuals from advancing or making progress (Ismail and Ibrahim, 2007). They can be tangible or intangible, actual or perceived by the receiving individual (MaskellPretz and Hopkins, 1997). Glass Ceiling is a phenomenon mainly used in signifying and explaining invisible impenetrable barriers preventing the upward or vertical movement of individuals in the society or organisation. The glass ceiling helps to explaining the reasons for the lack of or poor representation in leadership, top management and decision-making status and it is mainly used describing the difficulties women experience in both reaching these positions (Abidin et.al, 2008). Characteristics of organizations with glass ceiling as identified by Fagenson-eland and Parker (1998) as follows: non-supportive working for female employees, draw attention to gender differences, low female participation in group or team activities as a result of gender differences, little or no career advancement support for female employee to prepare them for decision making positions or management positions.
The purpose of the next few sections is to provide an in-depth understanding of the barriers and challenges that have hindered women from progressing into more senior roles in their careers.
2.5.1 Gender Stereotypes

Stereotypes are cognitive schema and clusters of perceived personality traits applied to social groupings (DeLamater and Myers, 2007). Stereotypes is the notion that certain members of a group will possess the traits and behavioral characteristics that are attributes and expected of individual members of that group (Cleveland et al., 2000; Bono and Duehr, 2006). Gender is strongly linked to the concern of stereotyping and refers to the socially constituted interrelationships between both sexes. Gender stereotypes reflect shared social beliefs, values and norms that dictate the characteristics and behaviors (roles) which are ascribed to individuals (men and women) based on their gender or sex (Eagly and Carli, 2003). Danziger and Eden (2007) argued that the gender differences between male and females does have a significant influential impact on the eventual career accomplishment, despite both sexes possessing the same academic and education level. Accordingly, studies have reported that in comparison to
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Career Success: A Case Study of Female Employees in Nigeria men, women have reported not being given equal challenging management opportunities and choices (de Pater et al., 2009) and as such most qualified women tend to opt out of development opportunities as they perceive limited opportunities for progression and career success (Brady and McLean, 2002).
Research in social psychology (Desert & Leyens, 2006; Smith & Bond, 1999; Williams & Best, 1986) has shown that stereotypical beliefs are widely shared and present in all cultures that have been studied. The cultural background of individuals often determines their
experiences at early socialisation and later influences their attitudes and behaviors, which is also reflected in their occupational roles (Fagenson, 1986; Harragan, 1977; Horner, 1972; Riger and Galligan, 1980; Schein, 1973, 1975). Through this process of socialization, male and female gender acquire their prescribed role-relate skills and engage in activities that are likely to be required of them so as to be afforded opportunities and to achieve positive outcomes as deemed necessary (Eagly, Wood and Diekman, 2000b; Ismail and Ibrahim, 2007).
2.5.2 Occupational Gender Stereotype

Research studies have confirmed the prevalence of gender stereotypical views and gender prejudice which are in favor of the male gender in the higher echelons of organisational power and are capable of exerting significant influence on the career progression of females in the work place (Schein 1973; 1975). For example, Mordi, Adedoyin and Ajonbadi (2011) in their study of Nigerian women working in a number of industries found that management roles were gender stereotyped thereby influencing attitudes toward the appropriateness of females in management and leadership roles. As a result of the gender prejudice faced in the workplace (especially male dominated societies and organizations) womens aspiration appeared to be constrained by a need to restrict their career hopes to gender/sex-appropriate activities and by the strength of occupational segregation. Women were found to express greater interest in jobs that were thought suitable and in line with social perception of roles attributed to female gender group. Further, the study revealed that women expressed more interest in jobs that had high proportion of women who have been successful.
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Career Success: A Case Study of Female Employees in Nigeria The findings from the literature on gender role stereotyping and the challenges it poses to the career progression opportunities of women especially female employees in a male dominated work environment would be further researched upon in the primary research by exploring the pervasiveness of gender role stereotyping in the case organization. This study aims to examine the perceptions of women in middle management positions, who might aspire to attain senior leadership and management positions.
2.6 Culture And Careers: Nigerian Perspective

The Nigerian society is predominantly male-dominated as such inherently places males in positions of power and authority across the country. This is also being reflected in organisational authority and status often held by men rather than women. A fundamental characteristic of the Nigerian traditional ethos is patriarchy (Aina, 1998; Nwagbara, 2009). The societal landscape of the nation is primarily structured on the axis of social stratification couched in male supremacy; this culture specific tradition is often tolerated and seen as acceptable. It is common in Nigeria to impose different expectations of the role of men and women based on the higher social status been ascribed to men. Consequently, there is preponderance of male employees, managers and leaders in most organizations operating in Nigeria (Otite, 2005). The widespread assumption that the primary responsibility of a woman is to be committed to the home and family whereas the primary responsibility of the man is to be the provider of the family is widely accepted in the Nigerian society as a result of the country patriarchal systems of socialization and cultural practices. Accordingly, researchers were of the view that the gender roles of men and women had negative impact on the career of Nigerian women in the workplace as their access to leadership is been consrtrained (Olojede, 2004; Olowe, 2001; Author, 1996).
Organizations exist within cultural contexts and as such their organisational structures, employee behavior and management are most likely to be influenced by the national culture of the country or environment where their operations are carried out (Neelankavil et al., 2000). Key factors in Nigeria that are likely to shape an individuals career decision and career mobility within the organisation include specific economic conditions and socialcultural factors.
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Career Success: A Case Study of Female Employees in Nigeria In terms of the social-cultural context, Nigeria is a country with a rich cultural heritage that attaches significance to the extended family system and personal ties where close and distant relatives form a social network of relationships that serves as a social insurance and is commonly built on ethnic lines. In the society, there is an emphasis on sharing, independence and reciprocal obligation. The Nigeria society is deeply organized along ethnic lines and as such individuals are generally committed to maintain the sovereignty of their ethnic affiliation in the work environment. Most employers tend to be more favorably disposed towards individuals who are of similar ethnic background or relatives in some cases. An empirical study by Ituma and Simpson (2009) on the career boundaries of ICT employees in Nigeria, found that individual employment prospects and career advancement are largely dependent on ethnic identity and state of origin. Individuals in the workplace who had ethnic affiliations were given preferential treatment in promotions and privileges than their other colleagues, by so doing limiting the career advancement of qualified professional and exploring different career opportunities.
This study will follow up the literature in the primary research by the examining the perceived career barriers of female employees in the case organisation in order to find out if their career progression prospects are limited as a result of national cultural values.
2.6.1 Organisational Culture In Nigeria

The concept of organizational culture is significant to understanding the barriers faced by career women. An explanation for the glass ceiling concept is considered to be organisational culture and leadership positions being heavily occupied by men (Cullen and Christopher, 2012). Harvey and Brown (1996) cited in Ismail and Ibrahim, (2007, p.5) defined organisational culture as a system of shared meanings, values, beliefs, practices, group norms of the members to produce behavioural norms with regard to the working conditions of the organization.
In patriarchal societies like Nigeria, top management activity and senior roles has been seen as the prerogative of men (Hannagan, 2005). There are structures regulating the roles of women and a number of these structures tend to aid the collective programming the societal
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Career Success: A Case Study of Female Employees in Nigeria mind and socio-cultural practices, making the underrepresentation of women in senior management roles acceptable (Tai et al, 2005). In this sense women in employment would be left to contend with the fact that their male counterparts portray and see themselves as the best fit
or rightful occupants of leadership or decision making positions coupled with the fact that the society or environment tend to support this.
Okafor, Fagbemi and Hassan (2011) in their study of female employees in male dominated occupations such as manufacturing found that women had experienced irregularities in terms of promotions and in some cases some experienced blocked promotions in comparison to their male counterparts. The study further revealed that women in the workplace were being excluded from networks and especially women employed in male dominated occupations, whom were often considered as aliens. These attitudes pose as a challenge to the career advancement of Nigerian women, and were found in this study to be attributed to influencing factors such as ethnicity, religion, family background and social status.
Other empirical research revealed the occurrence of discriminatory management practices and policies in most organizations in Nigeria that were regarded by respondents as detrimental to female employees. For example, access to organizationally sponsored educational, training and developmental opportunities was found to be often unequal between male and female employees as management often recommended men as the first choice for relevant training and other professional development programmes before a thought of female employees irrespective of the female holding the same position or experience as their male counterparts (Okafor, Fagbemi and Hassan; 2011; Mordi, Adedoyin and Ajonbadi, 2011; Bevan and Thompson, 1992; Wernick, 1994; Hall, 1995; Burton and Ryall, 1995).
Reflecting on the aforementioned the primary research would contribute to the literature by examining the experiences and challenges faced by the female employees in the case organization to ascertain if they still faced discrimination as a result of organisational culture and practices preventing them from progressing into more senior roles in comparison with their male counterparts.
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2.6.2 Family Responsibilities In Nigeria

Researchers (Lirio et al., 2007; Burke and Vinnicombe, 2005; Greenhaus and Parasuraman, 1999; Parasuraman and Greenhaus, 1994; Powell and Mainiero, 1992) have considered family responsibilities in the context of women career progression especially in relation to their marital status and child care (Powell and Maineri, 1992; Anker, 1997; Powell and Butterfield, 2003; Davidson and Burke, 2004). Some studies have indicated that joggling career and family can have a detrimental or negative effect on womens career advancement. Studies carried out in the West have shown that female managers have had to make difficult and in some cases compromising choices, such as not being married or giving up child bearing in comparison to their male colleagues, who in most cases are had families (Powell and Graves, 2003; Greenhaus and Parasuraman, 1999). However, some studies (such as Lirio et al., 2007; Aycan, 2004; Cooke, 2006; Bank and Vinnicombe, 1995) indicated that in other cultures outside the Western sphere, which lays significant importance of the family network, motherhood does not act as a barrier to womens careers.
Women within the Nigerian society are beginning to reach the pinnacles of their careers (Madichie 2009), but this is coming at the detriment of their families and health. The ability to joggle the roles of mothers, wives, homemakers and their various roles at work is rather challenging. The ability of female employees to maintain/balance their work and family responsibilities does have an impact on their career progression as they sometimes struggle to meet their various commttments, which at some instance get them frustrated and they feel trapped as a result of role conflict (Hassan,2007; Fayemi, 2005; Author, 1996). Although the same effect of having to balance the responsibilities of work and family is recognized to be affecting both men and women; however, it more likely to be problematic for women as they have the primary responsibility child bearing and other house domestic responsibility (Parasuraman et al. 1997; Collins 1993; Reed and Kratchman 1990; Gaetner et al.1987).
The role conflict theory suggests that there are limited amount of time and energy an individual possesses and any additional roles creates tension between competing demands resulting in role conflict or a sense of overload (Fu and Shaffer, 2001). Okafor and Amayo (2006) in their study work-family conflict in Nigeria stressed that that the conflict between work and family responsibilities was a source of concern for both organisations and
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Career Success: A Case Study of Female Employees in Nigeria individuals. The multiple roles performed by individuals both men and women especially those who are parents in the Nigerian society today can become overwhelming and result in work-family conflict. Women in Nigeria are in most occasions confronted with the challenge of having to manage their responsibilities at work and that of their family at home. Accordingly, most women tend to be distracted at some point with the burden of balancing both responsibilities thereby hindering progress along their career paths (Chovwen, 2006; Okafor1, Fagbemi and Hassan, 2011). This research would follow up on the findings from the literature on work-family conflict by exploring the subjective view of women in the case organization in regards to the influence on family responsibility on their career progression prospects and overall career success.
2.7 Summary
Careers unfold over time and career success is measured using either subjective (intrinsic) or objective (extrinsic) career components. Although, each of the components are interdependent, previous research studies confirms that the duality of both career success measures (subjective and objective) make each relevant to the other and influence each other over time. Thus, most career researchers have argued the importance of considering and assessing both perspectives of career as the depth of the career success construct can be better seen from looking through both lenses at the same time. The criteria mainly used by research studies for objective career success includes income, promotions and occupational status. While the most common criteria of subjective success is ones interpretation or assessment of career achievement and experience, for instance, career or job satisfaction and comparative judgments (Arnold & Cohen, 2008). As suggested by career researchers (e.g., Arthur,Khapova, & Wilderom, 2005; Heslin, 2005). This study takes an objective approach by examining the career progression of female employees and a subjective approach by exploring the individual perception of careers success and career experiences. It was also found that individuals had different perception of the conception of career and career success. Further finding also supported the idea of gendered careers. Female
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Career Success: A Case Study of Female Employees in Nigeria employees were more motivated by subjective (intrinsic) aspects of the job while their male counterparts were motive by the extrinsic (objective) aspects of the job (Groeneveld, 2009). The literature further identified factors that influence an individuals career success outcomes (both objective and subjective career success) based on orgainsational and individual determinants. The literature identified factors that have been widely accepted as determinants for career success; they include socio-demographic factors, human capital factors, interpersonal factors and individuality.
The literature indicated that women in some societies and industries still face a variety of challenges that may well impede them in their desire to progress into more senior and decision making roles. The phenomenon referred to as glass ceiling is mainly used to describe the difficulties and challenges women experience preventing both reaching executive position in any organization and climbing to higher societal positions. These challenges can be work-family responsibility, stereotypes, societal norms and values, organisational structure and practices. The next chapter focuses on the research methodology, explaining how the study intends to systematically gather the data needed to achieve the research objectives.
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CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY
3.1 Introduction
The chapter will give a detailed description the research methodology utilised to achieve the research objectives and highlights the theoretical justification for it. It includes a description of the strategy necessary to conduct the kind of research that will meet the objectives of this study such as sampling, data collection and approaches to analysing the collected data. The semi-structured interview research method is used in collecting the primary data for this research study.
3.2 Qualitative Method

The qualitative research method is subjective and non-numeric in nature. It focus on exploring as much detail as possible and rather concerned with gathering and analysing primary datas in as many forms without the use of numbers. Unlike the quantitative method, the qualitative approach includes methods of collecting datas which are more or less concerned about describing meaning, rather than drawing statistical inferences (Izedonmi, 2005). The use of semi structured interviews is the common qualitative method practiced in organisational research studies (Lee, 1999) and case studies fall into this category and they provide a more in-depth rather that breadth and richer description of the investigation.
3.2.1 Justification of Method

This research study is mainly non-numeric in nature but rather explorative and has to do mainly with getting a clear and precise statement of the individual perception of the recognized problem; as such a qualitative research method was very appropriate. Also, the need to gather primary data rather than revisiting or re-evaluating existing research made the qualitative methodology very appropriate for an exploratory study of this kind, and to develop an understanding of an under-researched subject matter (career success in the Nigerian context) rather than hypothesis testing or making direct comparisons with quantitative cohort studies conducted in Western countries and other regions.
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Career Success: A Case Study of Female Employees in Nigeria The semi-structured interviews was adopted for collecting the primary data for this research as it enables the researcher gather unquantifiable in-depth knowledge and information (Dany and Torch 1994; p 321) on this research area. Using the semi-structured interview as the most appropriate method of investigation for this research allows for more detailed and rich data on the career perception and career experiences of female employees to be gathered through responses, probing and clarification of meaning where required during the interviews (Merriam, 1998). The qualitative research has been adopted by similar studies on careers management and barriers (e.g McElwee & Al-Riyami, 2003; Schinnar, 2007; Tlaiss and Kauser 2011; Simpson et al, 2010).
3.2.2 Advantages Of Semi Structured Interviews

I. The semi structured interview is a purposeful conversation (Saunders 2009) and as such fits perfectly with this research study as the participants were purposively sampled for this research in order to get first hand data on individual perception of career success. The participants have the opportunity of responding freely to the questions (Saunders 2009).
II.
The interview with the respondents gives me (the researcher) the opportunity to be flexible in the order of questions and time spent on each question whilst carrying out the interview. The researcher would be able to go into much detail and lay more emphasis on specific areas that the respondent is more comfortable with and willing to share as the interview progresses. Also if the respondent possesses relevant information to share as a result of her position (HR manager or a female board member etc) or experience in the work environment, the researcher has the opportunity to emphasize on some particular questions and where necessary formulate additional relevant questions during the course of the interview and by so doing the researcher/interviewer gain control of the conversation and is also able to pick up non-verbal messages such as behaviour, attitude.
III.
The interview allows for individual expression of ideas and leads to the discovery of in-depth and detailed narratives of participants individual career experiences (Fassinger, 2001: 279), which are unobtainable using other types of research
20
Career Success: A Case Study of Female Employees in Nigeria (Featherston, 2008). By so doing, the researcher is able to have a glimpse into the world of the participants which includes their personal feelings and stories.
IV.
If required the researcher would be able to provide clarity on the research area, aims and objectives, and rectify any form misunderstanding that arises either prior to commencing the interview or as the interview progresses.
V.
This research aims at gaining a novel understanding and perceptions of career success of women in the Nigerian context where little research has been carried out; thus a qualitative research method would be best suited as the method allows for the emergence of in-depth responses (Merrigan & Huston, 2009), and is commonly known to be used in situations where there has not been a lot of prior research and the where key issues and concepts may not be very well understood using other methods like the questionnaire.
3.2.3 Possible/Anticipated Disadvantages of Semi-Structured Interviews to This Research and Ways the Researcher Intends to Overcome Them
I. During interviews the interviewer might sometimes unwittingly give out cues or signals. This was averted in this research by carrying out pilot interviews, and being very conscious of my expressions (facial, eyes and body) while having conversations with respondents.
II.
Semi-structured interviews could be expensive, especially in research cases like this where the research requires going out of any present geographical location to a different continent or country. This was averted by carrying out the interview during my visit to Nigeria while on a short visit. Also in cases where a face-to-face interview was not possible as a result of the participant been unavailable, a telephone interview was used instead.
III.
Respondents might be unwilling to share extensive details of their career experiences such as female discrimination at their work as a result of either confidentiality issues
21
Career Success: A Case Study of Female Employees in Nigeria or the suitability of the place of interview (office or work environment). Such problems would be minimised by guaranteeing their personal and employer confidentiality in the consent form and allow for option of holding the interview at a different or public location that the respondent is comfortable with.
IV.
The process of carrying out a semi-structured interview is time consuming. It requires lots of early planning such as trying to make contacts and keeping appointments with respondents and working within their tight schedules. In order to manage time effectively I (the researcher) made contact with friends and former colleagues who are employees of the company of interest as it would reduce the amount of time spent on trying to get an appointment. Also I (researcher) was professional and precise as possible during the interview so as to cover all the interview questions.
V.
The relatively small sample of participants in the interviews makes it a less representative of the perceptions of female employees in Nigeria and thus less generalizable (Merrigan & Huston, 2009).
3.3 Access To The Organisation

Informal consent was obtained from former colleagues and few contacts working in different roles and levels in the organization that this research is focused on. I also follow up on new leads before sending formal letter headed and obtaining signed formal informed consent on commencing my dissertation.
3.4 Sampling
The interviews were carried out with ten (10) female employees holding varying positions in the organisation. The participants were drawn using both purposive sampling technique and snowballing process. Purposive is a non probability sampling technique where the sample is selected based on personal judgement about appropriate characteristics of the sample members (Zikmund et al., 2011). Purposive technique was adopted because the study targeted strictly at female employees in middle management positions who are aspiring to
22
Career Success: A Case Study of Female Employees in Nigeria progress into more senior roles within the case organisation. The purposive sampling
technique is advantageous to this study as it is useful for carrying out informative studies and it is also cost and time effective for the researcher since the participants and study organizations will be chosen specifically to suit this research as opposed to randomly. The snowballing process yields a study sample through referrals made among people who share or know others who possess the characteristic that are of research interest (Biernacki & Waldofl, 1981, p.141). This study adopted the snowballing process because it is acceptable for exploratory studies of this genre (Green et al., 1995), and was particularly useful for accessing hard to participants (Cornelius & Skinner, 2008; Myers & Pringle, 2005) who were in middle positions by asking identified participants to recommend other female colleagues were in middle positions within the organization to participate in the study. The only cause for concern in using the purposive sampling technique is that the small sample size might not be a true representation of perceptions of female in regards to career success in other organizations as such; the results cannot be generalized for the country Nigeria.
3.5 Interview Questions

The semi-structured interview questions were drawn from the research objectives. Probing and open-ended questions were used in developing the questions. Probing questions was used to gain access to the non-verbal messages in an exploratory and encouraging manner (signaling participants the expected level of depth). The questions was used to clarify and enquire further about key issues and particular areas of interest in-depth such as understanding the root of a respondents beliefs and thoughts around careers and career progression of female employees in the Nigerian cultural context. The open-ended questions along with prompts were used to allow participants to use their own language to articulate their experiences, expand discussion and to further elicit their opinions (Cresswell, 2003). The questions were designed to establish career profiles, obtain information on their career experiences (which include career development aspiration, career choices and career success) in the case organisation. Participants were also encouraged to
23
Career Success: A Case Study of Female Employees in Nigeria report critical incidents' (Flanagan, 1954) which have influenced their career success and career advancement in the organization. The first stage of the questions gauged the participants career experience and perception of career success and factors influencing their career success, which was designed to achieve research objective two and three. The questions were in-depth focusing on exploring the interviewees criteria for objective and subjective career success to gain an insight into how they evaluated the two perspectives of career success. Also, the participants perception of factors influencing their career success was explored. The second stage examined the participants perception on career barriers and challenges highlighted from the review of the literature (such as gender stereotyping, organisational culture, family related issues) that may have influence on their career development and success in the organisation; the questions also explored the perception of participants on any other inhibiting factors they thought had a negative impact on their career progression prospects into senior managerial leadership roles. These were designed to answer research question four. Prior to the carrying out the actual interviews, the researcher carried out mock interviews with course mates, flat mates and colleagues at work. This was done to ensure that suitable questions are asked and potential errors and problems with the interviews such as sending wrong body signals, time spent on each question, clarity of speech etc; are highlighted prior to commencing the actual interview.
3.6 Conducting the Interviews

The majority of interviews were conducted in person, two interviews were conducted via video conferencing and one interview was conducted over-the-phone. The interviews were conducted via the medium most convenient for the participants. Interviewees were allowed to make their choices on locations that were comfortable and well suited for the interview. Thus, most interviews were conducted in the participants offices, staff canteens and cafes. In order to insure anonymity, participants were assigned pseudonyms and the interviews session ranged from 45minutes to an hour. The duration of the interview provided sufficient time for drawing accurate assessment of participants perceptions; giving more time could result in
24
Career Success: A Case Study of Female Employees in Nigeria participant exhaustion and lesser time would have proven to be insufficient (Lindlof & Taylor, 2002). Before commencing the interview sessions the purpose and objectives of the study was explained to the participants and the establishment of confidentiality was carried out. This ensured the anonymity of the participants and awareness of their rights. The interviews were tape-recorded with the consent of the interviewee using a predetermined but flexible interview protocol and notes were also taken. The tape-recording allowed for more accuracy of responses for the interviews and provided a holistic view for the entire process. The interviews were steered by an interview guide that was developed to firstly to obtain the demographic profiles of participants and afterwards obtaining detailed informations geared towards gaining in-depth understanding of the interviewees perceptions of career success, career experiences and challenges. After the completion of each interview, the main themes, issues or question that emerged were summarised using a contact form. The interviews carried out were of an informal nature which immediately put participants at ease and allowed for trust to be established.
3.7 Data Analysis

Data was analyzed using multi-step content analysis methodology. This analysis method was very useful in identifying patterns of thoughts, recurring themes, and persistent ideas. The content analysis approach was very useful and effective as it made the identification of the most commonly reported experiences and perceptions possible (Lindlof & Taylor, 2002).
The interviews were transcribed verbatim, analysed and coded and major themes were identified. Coding is the process of segmenting data gathered from respondents with symbols, descriptive words or category names. During the interview precaution was taken not to impose coding categories a priori, rather categories were allowed to emerge from the data through my analysis of quotes from participants and observing their emotions so as not to miss any relevant theme.
The first stage involved the verbatim transcription of data from interview. The interview transcripts were coded and indexed using a coding dictionary developed using the interview
25
Career Success: A Case Study of Female Employees in Nigeria schedule/questions as a framework to organise and segment the interview data. Secondly, codes that had or shared similar features were identified and amalgamated where appropriate to form categories. Examples of categories developed include: ethnicity, socio-demographics, educational qualification, networking, sexual prejudice, experience, and mentor. Thirdly, the categories were further refined with the aim of integrating and developing core categories by investigating for interconnections between them. In this process a selective coding was performed such that codes with similar features were collapsed /combined together and subsequently, new categories were created when two or more similar codes did not fit with an existing category. Through the third process of selective coding on the existing the categories dominant categories emerged which were then treated as core categories around which other categories were draped. For instance, the following categories educational qualification and experience were linked together to form a core category referred to as human capital, while perceived sexual prejudice was categorized under gender discrimination. During the
concluding aspect of the coding process, a constant comparison method was carried out where I compared each interview to the other interviews, this allowed me to decide how they could be categorized (Lindlof & Taylor, 2002). Thus allowing the emergence of themes from data until there were no new emerging codes. Discrepancies in the interpretation of the meanings of the statements were discussed and resolved by third-party mediation involving another researching student and dissertation supervisor.
3.8 Ethical Issues

This research study was undertaken with proper consideration given to ethical issues. Participants received a covering letter inviting them for the interview and confidentiality statement that protected individual responses. Each interview commenced with an introduction of the purpose and objectives of the research and establishing issues of confidentiality. For ethical reasons the name of the case organization was withheld thus it is referred to as Public sector institution. The following principles were followed in this study in order to ensure the compliance of ethical issues: I. II. All information gathered during the interviews were confidential Ensured that the interview data were collected with the informed consent of respondents.
26
Career Success: A Case Study of Female Employees in Nigeria III. Privacy of respondents and the organisation were not invaded and anonymity adhered to. IV. Maintained objectivity when analysing data and avoid/do not interpret data collected from respondents. V. There was no form of deception of any sort both prior and during the interviews and when carrying out analysis. VI. No harm, pressure or influence on respondents during the interviews. The respondents had the right to quit the process or not to answer any question during the interviews.
3.9 Reliability
Reliability deals with stability, it is the degree to which a measure is stable (Bryman and Bell, 2003). That is, if the same results will be produced where the instrument is applied to the same individual on more than one different occasion (Easterby-Smith et al., 2008). Thus, the reliability of a research has to do with the precision, accuracy and acceptability of the results achieved in the research study (Cohen et al. 2007). In ensuring the reliability of this study, the researcher carried out the following: I. II. III. Applying research methods that were used previously by similar researcher study Carrying out pilot interviews prior to the actual interview Making use of multiple sources of gathering informations such as available closely related research papers, organisational websites and data base. IV. Asking questions using different formats so as to check for any changes and irregularities in the responses given. V. Providing detailed and accurate description of research methods and steps taken while collecting data and carrying out analysis.
3.10 Validity
Validity refers to the extent to which the research study achieved the objectives it set out to achieve at the start of the study (Greveter & Forzano, 2011). Put differently it has to the credibility of the research work based on sufficient facts and findings (Bryman and Bell, 2003). In overall, the validity of the research reflects the quality of the study
27
Career Success: A Case Study of Female Employees in Nigeria (Zikmund et al., 2011). In order to ensure the validity of this study the researcher carried out the following: I. The sample of questions was presented to the dissertation supervisor for correctness where appropriate. II. Making comprehensive notes and register of data about relevant events that have impact on the gathering of data and interpretation. III. Ensured consistency in research outcomes and interpretations by analysing gathered data in association with an academic peer. IV. Preparing and sending copies of interview transcription and summary to three of the participants who confirmed the accuracy of the transcribed and interpreted data. Thus, ensuring that the data gathered from this study could be considered to be reliable and valid.
3.11 Generalisability
The generalisability of the research has to do with the transferability of its contents including the achieved results and also the extent to which the study isand can be applicable to similar settings (Denscombe, 2002; Saunders et al., 2007). The sample size in this study was strictly restricted to a small sample size of female employees in middle positions in one organisation, which means to some extent their views could be a representative of other women working in the same organisation. However, this might not give a broader perception of other female employees in different organisations operating in the same industry or female employees in general working in various industries in Nigeria.
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CHAPTER 4: DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION

4.1 Introduction
This chapter sets out to explain the result of the primary research of this study in detail. The chapter presents an analysis of the data collected with the aim of collected from field research with the aim of achieving the research objectives two, three and four which were: To explore the individual perception of the female employees in the case organization regarding the concept of career success. To identify perceived factors influencing the career success among female employees in the case organization. To identify the perceived career barriers faced by female employees in the case organisation. It summarises the prominent themes revealed in the interviews conducted with the 10 female employees in middle level positions in the case study organisation. Each theme presented is supported by justification that includes quotations and excerpts from the semi-structured interviews. The purpose of this chapter is to provide insight on the perceptions of mid-level female employees based on their experiences with regards to career success and barriers preventing their career progression. Also, factors which influence the career success of female employees in the case organisation are explored in this chapter. Appendix A provides the interview protocols used for the female employees that participated in the interviews.
4.2 Demographic Profiles

Table 1 outlines the demographic profiles of the sample. A problem with obtaining respondents actual ages was due to their scepticism in providing this data; however, they were willing to provide their age range.The study participants range in age from 25 to 45 years and nine of them were married with children. All the female respondents were in middle positions and they all had undergraduate Bachelors honours degree with four having
29
Career Success: A Case Study of Female Employees in Nigeria postgraduate education. Their experience in the chosen organisation ranged from nine years to fifteen years.
Table 4.1: Demographic Profiles of Sampled Participants Years Respondent No. Job Position Age Range Organisation with Marital Status Highest Level Education of
HR officer Market
25-34 25-34 35-45
10
Single
Bachelors
Research lead Senior
Married
Postgraduate
analyst
15
Married
Bachelors
HR team lead Financial
35-45
13
Married
Bachelors
controller HR
25-34
Married
Postgraduate
officer Senior
35-45
Married
Bachelors
Information and technology officer Senior
35-45
12
Married
Bachelors
document controller
25-34
12
Married
Postgraduate
Senior recruiter Corporate
35-45
14
Married
Postgraduate
10
affairs officer
35-45
11
Married
Bachelors
30
4.3 Defining Career Success

This section addresses the first research question which intends to explore the participants perception of career success and career success measurement in order to get a detailed understanding of their career success orientation. The in-depth interview was analysed specifically to look for evidence of objective and subjective variable of career success and determine if they perceived career success more related to objective variables or subjective variables. The participants were asked an open question to give their definition of career success and how career success is and can be measured while making reference to their career. Prompt questions highlighting variables of objective and subjective career success were asked to gather more in-depth response. They were also asked to mention the most important achievement in their career and highlight on what variable(s) that is/are more significant in achieving career success. The findings from the responses given by the participants reveal a more subjective perspective rather that the objective career success. The opinions gathered from participants in this sense revealed more of intrinsic and non quantifiable measures of success. Seven out of ten of the participants defined career success based on subjective success. They believed that professional (job and career) satisfaction and personal satisfaction is success. Out of the seven participants three ascribed professional satisfaction (e.g. passion for their job and career) to achieving success While, four out of the seven participants perceived themselves as successful when they are able to achieve a balance of professional and family issues. The following quotes show the subjective definitions of career success include: been able to support my family through my career gives me a great deal of satisfaction and for that alone I feel successful (interviewee No. 9), I consider my current career status as successful because I am passionate about everything I do at my job (interviewee No. 4). being able to establish a balance in my job and family is most important for me in achieving success in my career (interview No. 3).
31
Career Success: A Case Study of Female Employees in Nigeria achieving my career goals and ambitions is career success (interviewee No.1). I consider my career as being successful so far because I am able to fulfill my role as a wife and mother and a career woman (interviewee No.10). one of the indicators of my accomplishments in my career is having a very stable family despite the high demands of my work (interviewee No. 6). I think success is based on individual preferences, for me having formed a highly qualified professional team is a huge achievement in my career (interviewee No.4).
Out of the interviewees, four described career success based on objective measureable variables which includes promotions and salary; they were of the opinion that promotions were an indication of achieving career success. According to interviewee No. 5 ....I evaluate my career success based on my career ambitions which includes getting promoted into more senior positions. Similar view indicating objective and measurable variables of success was also gathered from one of the interviewees. She explained careers success based on achieving a number of promotions along with increase in earnings: .....in the civil service progression to a senior rank comes with increased salary and respect which clearly indicates that the employee is achieving success on the job, in that sense yes I can say I have been successful thus far in my career having achieved a number promotions before getting to my current position (interviewee No. 2). The perceptions of career success from the participants was more subjective which achieving job and personal satisfaction was more important that financial rewards or promotions. Hence the result could did not completely reflect any inter-relation between subjective and objective career success as proposed by previous studies highlighted in the literature review they include, Judge, Kammeyer-Mueller and Bretz (2004); Ng et al., (2005); Tu et al., (2006).
Overall, the results are consistent with other studies highlighted in the literature such as the study of Heslin (2005), in which he proposes that womens career success is presented more from the subjective (intrinsic) point of view rather than the objective one. The results also confirms the findings of Simpson et al. (2004), which found women to value more intrinsic success outcomes such as job satisfaction and interpersonal achievement.
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4.4 Factors Influencing Career Success

The study participants were asked to identify factors that have influenced their career achievements since commencing their career in the organization. This study will examine responses using the categories of factors adopted in the literature (Gattiker and Larwood, 1988; Judge et al., 1995; Kirchmeyer, 1998; Lortie-Lussier and Rinfret, 2005; Thomas et. al., 2005; Yu, 2012) that influence individual career success. The responses gathered from the interviews revealed that factors perceived to influence the career success of the female employees in the case organsation were human capital factors (ten participants) and individual differences (eight participants).
4.4.1 Human Capital

Two key findings directly related to human capital were: work experience (eight participants) and educational level (five participants). Work experience: Eight of the participants shared the view that work experience influences their career advancement and success. They conceptualized full-time work experience in terms of kind of projects worked on and organizational tenure where the number of years of spent in the organization does determine their hierarchical movement up the corporate ladder as a result of the bureaucratic process of promotions to higher rankings within the organisational structure. The opinion gathered among the participants which highlight the impact of their work experiences in their careers include: my work experience has enhanced my career advancement and success since working in this organization (interviewee No. 8), as a result of my experience working on significant developmental projects for most of my ten years duration spent in this organization, I have had a lot of career achievements and progression opportunities (interviewee No.5), possessing significant management and leadership skills and experience has had a huge impact in my career achievements (interviewee, No.3), ...experience gained through my tenure in this organization has contributed to my professional success (interviewee No. 2),
33
Career Success: A Case Study of Female Employees in Nigeria my wide scope of expertise and experience within information technology meant I could take up roles in strategic levels and this aided my recent promotion to the position of a senior IT officer (interviewee No.7).
The findings of this study indicate that work experience enhances career advancement and success and opportunities confirm results from previous research studies (e.g. Cawsey et al., 1985; Hambrick & Mason, 1984; Vardi, 1991; Ituma and Simpson, 2009).
Educational Level: The positive role of education for career advancement and progression is widely acknowledged (e.g. Baruch, 2003; Tharenou, 2001). As shown in the literature, previous research studies into the career paths of women in management carried out in countries like Australia (Tharenou and Conroy, 1994); USA (Wentling and Thomas, 2007); United Kingdom (Vinnicombe and Singh, 2003) and Nigeria (Ituma and Simpson, 2009) highlights the significant impact of level of education on career success. This current study also indicated similar results.
The interviews revealed that the level of education attained by the interview participants appeared to be a major asset towards increasing women upward mobility within the hierarchy of organizations. Five of the participants were of the view that educational level influences career advancement and success. According to Interviewee No. 10 (Corporate affairs officer) ...I started my career at one hierarchical level above my colleagues because I had a masters degree, hence ideally my upward movement within the corporate ladder is meant to be a faster pace compared to someone entering into the organization with just a bachelors degree. A similar view was given by interviewee No. 6 .having a bachelors honors degree gave me an edge over other candidates with a HND certificate during recruitment. I also get to start at a higher hierarchical level as well as receive a higher paycheck. Interviewee No. 5 pointed out that having a postgraduate degree did increase my chances of selection during recruitment over other candidates with only undergraduate qualifications. Similar view was also given by interviewee No.9, obtaining a doctoral degree has been very significant in my career development and in achieving promotions.
The data gathered also indicate that possessing a relevant educational background, one of the participants mentioned that having a relevant degree was influential in increasing ones career
34
Career Success: A Case Study of Female Employees in Nigeria progression with the organization. She mentioned that having a business and finance related degree has been of immerse value to my career achievement and promotion to my current role as a senior analyst (interviewee No.3, senior analyst).
Overall, the data gathered from the interviews confirms the findings of previous research (Judge et al., 1995; Swinyard et al., 1980) that the possession of high level of education does influence women career success and is seen as appropriate enabler for achieving hierarchical progression and promotion and increase in salary and competitive advantage in the workforce (Tharenou, 1996; Lortie-Lussier and Rinfret, 2005; Ituma and Simpson, 2009).
4.4.2 Individual Differences (Personality)

Out of ten participants eight revealed that possessing certain personal traits /qualities were significant in their career development and career achievements. The prominent individual qualities revealed in the interviews include competency on the job (eight participants), being ambitious (six participants), motivated (six participants), being consistent (six participants) and confident (eight participants) were mentioned during the interview as prerequisites for career advancement and success in the workplace. The eight interviewees opined that these personality traits to a large extent had assisted them in advancing from previous lower level job positions to their current mid-level position. They believed that possessing these and other key personality traits are vital towards achieving their aspirations of progressing into senior management and leadership positions. The opinion gathered among the participants includes:
as a result of my enthusiastic and self driven personality, I put in extra effort and time in my job in order to achieve results and succeed in my current position (interviewee No. 9). having a high motivation, sense of responsibility, desire to learn and being competent in my job has afforded me a better shot at advancement in my career (interviewee No. 3). for me to be successful my level of motivation to achieve success must be high (interviewee No. 2).
35
Career Success: A Case Study of Female Employees in Nigeria my career development and ascension to my current role are strongly attributed to my personal qualities such as being energetic, friendly, sensitive, secure, confident and consistency in my job (interviewee No. 5).
The interviewees also revealed that women with low self-confidence might have the ability of facing and surviving the challenges in a male-oriented and male-dominated society and work environment like most organizations in Nigeria. According to interviewee No. 10 ...my personality has helped me a great deal in pulling through obstacles. I have a high selfconfidence and this has helped me in moving on despite the challenges at work
One of the participants believed that for women to be competitive and have a say so in a male dominated society and work environment they have display certain vital qualities. Interviewee No. 7 mentioned that in order to stand out and succeed in a male domi nated organisaton like this, we women have to be prepared to take on new demanding assignments, be focused, determined, competent and be firm.
Overall the data gathered revealed that personality plays an important role in women career advancement and success. The results of this study are in support of similar findings from previous studies on career success has been conducted on other regions e.g. USA (Thomas et. al., 2005) and Canada (Lortie-Lussier and Rinfret, 2005). Also the personality traits shown in the findings of this study possess similar component as that of The Big Five framework of personality traits by (Costa & McCrae, 1992) which is widely used in previous studies (Kirchmeyer, 1998; Baruch et al. 2005; Thomas et. al., 2005) highlighted in the literature, for understanding the relationship between personality and behaviours.
4.5 Barriers to Career Success

Respondents were asked about the barriers they faced and what lies ahead as they plan for their career. This research study uncovered five major themes from the analysis of the interview data: gender discrimination (10 participants), inadequate mentoring (8
participants), lack of networking (8 participants), balancing work/family responsibilities (7 participants) and ethnic allegiance (6 participants). This study also confirms the identified barriers as some of the prominent constituents of the glass ceiling inhibiting womens
36
Career Success: A Case Study of Female Employees in Nigeria upward mobility in the workplace. Each of the factors uncovered is discussed in the sections below.
4.5.1 Gender Discrimination

Previous studies of career development in Nigeria indicated that female employees experience severe discrimination in terms of career advancement and attainments mainly as a result of societal sex role stereotypes (e.g. Ituma and Simpson, 2009; Chovwen, 2006; Udegbe, 2003). The findings of this study further confirm these earlier works with eight out of ten of the participants pointing out the difficulties faced in recruitment and employment as a result of their gender. Interviewee No.3 mentioned that ... it is not uncommon for recruitment, promotion and increased job responsibility decisions to be based on marital and family circumstances- on the grounds that being married with child care obligations are seen to indicating a lack of dedication and less commitment to the job.
All the participants concurred that there are discriminatory practices embedded in the management policies and practices as a result of the organization being very male-oriented. The interviews furthered revealed that female employees who are aspiring to move into the next level of their and progress into senior roles sometimes feel frustrated and discouraged as a result of perceived sexism gender stereotypes and prejudices embedded in management policies and practices preventing them from developing their careers and making progress. According to one participant Most women who are due for senior management roles are not moving up the ladder as a result of certain policies that tend to be unfavorable towards women in management such as male colleagues being given preferential consideration for developmental assignments and training before a thought is given to a female counterpart(interviewee no. 9). This implies that the transition from middle to senior roles appears to be problematic for women. Female employees therefore have comparatively limited opportunity for developing competencies thus hindering their upward career mobility and career success. Hence, women tend to report slow career advancement in comparison to their male counterparts.
37
Career Success: A Case Study of Female Employees in Nigeria Another perception of discriminatory practices towards women in the organization revealed in the interviews was that men in leadership and positions of power are resistant to conceding authority to women or involving them in leadership and strategic decision making. Men were perceived as sometimes acting like their leadership positions were threatened by highly competitive female employees. In this regard, interviewee No. 6 (HR officer) reported that . There is a lot of resistance by men to involve women in decision making and positions of responsibility especially older men in senior roles.
The data gathered from the interviews reveal that gender discrimination was often very subtle in form such as exclusion from meetings and male peer groups. Six of the participants suggested that the exclusion of female employees from male peer groups and meetings perpetuated the more exclusively male sex-type custom and negative attitudes female employees in the organization. One of the interviewees revealed that women are often
excluded from meetings in which only the men are invited and this sometimes reduces our access to valuable inside information that could increase our advancement opportunities in the organization (interviewee No. 4). This brings to light that the participants perceived a
lack of acceptance and support from their male colleagues, indicated in the forms of exclusion, being taken for granted, being withheld relevant and enough information at work. A participants reported that most men in this organization especially the male bosses feel women are not just one of them and they treat you like an outsider irrespective of your, educational qualifications and years of service or experience (interviewee No. 7). Interviewee No. 10 also mentioned that women views are often not respected and considered. If a female colleague brings some new ideas or perspectives in getting the job done that is different from what the men are used to, the views of the woman is ignored and not given any consideration. I sometimes feel reticence from men in senior and leadership positions and it make it very challenging for me to speak out or give my opinion at work.
The prevalence of gender discriminatory practices in the work environment makes it unconducive for women to express their hidden or suppressed potentials. This research study indicates that perceived sexism gender stereotypes and prejudices continue to deny the promotion of women and in turn impede their career progression.
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4.5.2 Inadequate Mentoring

The second theme that emerged from the data gathered from the interviews was inadequate/lack of mentoring in the case organization. One of the significant factor influencing individuals career success and advancement identified in the literature is mentoring/role model relationship. However, these relationships are not easily established in some work settings as the selection process might sometimes be biased by the tendency of male mentors choosing male over female mentees (Linehan, Scullion and Walsh, 2001). This research study indicates that female mentors seem to be lacking as result of fewer women in senior managerial positions to provide enough mentoring for the female employees hence most female employees are more likely to be mentored by men. Of the ten interviewees nine believed that they received inadequate mentoring and it posed as a barrier to their career advancement and success. Nine of the participants felt uneasy being mentored by male bosses as a result of fear of such relationships being interpreted for an appearance of romantic involvement and for religious reasons (not having a close relationship with someone other than their husband). The interviews also reveal that seven of the participants felt having female mentors to share experiences and improve their confidence while working in a male dominated organisation. These findings are apparent in the following quotes:
..I would prefer having a senior female mentor with whom I can share experiences with and build on my self-confidence. Male mentors are mostly intimidating and can be challenging (interviewee No. 1). I prefer having a woman as my mentor, since the start of my career in I have not been mentored by a woman. Female mentors are difficult to come by because they are barely at senior levels (Interviewee No. 4).
The scarcity of women mentors in the organization makes it difficult for women (especially married women) who are not comfortable associating with men because of the issues involved in such a relationship. Although for me I am not bothered about the personality of a mentor, but what matters the most is their wealth of experience and knowledge of the job. Although studies confirm that cross-gender mentoring relationship is less likely to engage in close friendship social roles that involve after-work networking (especially informal
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Career Success: A Case Study of Female Employees in Nigeria networks) activities could be interpreted for an appearance of romantic involvement (Scandura, 1999).
Of the interviewees six had the experience of either formal or informal mentoring relationships; three of them had been mentored by males only, two had been mentored by females only, and one had been mentored by both males and females. The interviewees who had previously been mentored responded that the positive impact the experience had in the course of building their career. Interviewee No. 9 mentioned that ... while I was moving up the career ladder, my mentor was very supportive and encouraging. He was very hardworking, confident and determined. This increased my motivation to succeed and assisted me in moving despite the different challenges experienced.
Another participant highlighted the significance of engaging in mentoring relationship as a survival strategy in male dominated work environment. She was of the opinion that having a mentor has been influential in my career development; my mentor (male) was extremely helpful, he gives me useful advice on how to deal with challenging situations in my job, he takes time in talking through on how best to tackle demanding assignments (interviewee No. 7).
The findings of this research study reveal the significance of mentoring in the career advancement and success of women although the scarcity of female mentors in the case orgnaisation deters the female employees from making progress in their career as they felt having female mentors to share experiences and improve their confidence while working in a male dominated organisation. This finding confirms that of Chovwen (2004) who reported that experiences such as mentoring relationship although critical to success in organizations might in some cases be restricted for women.
4.5.3 Lack of Networking

The third theme that emerged from the data gathered from the interviews was lack of networking in the case organization. Studies opine that networking (peer relationship) and mentoring suggest some similarities for example, they are both capable of facilitating professional and personal development (Burke and McKeen, 1994). Whilst mentors are particularly useful during the early stages of professional career development, networking can
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Career Success: A Case Study of Female Employees in Nigeria be useful throughout the stages in professional career development (Linehan, Scullion and Walsh, 2001). Eight of the participants in this research study perceive that networking does have a positive impact on their career development but highlighted the lack of networking and the challenges of women networking in the case organization. This is apparent in the following quotes:
although there is a lack of networking for female employees in this organisation, networking among female workers would be of an advantage to the career development of female employees as it creates a medium for share experiences, learn and support each other so long we remain focused (interviewee No. 8). there is a lack of women social networking in this organization. It would be beneficial for us because by networking we would be able to have more informal contacts and get useful informations (interviewee No. 1). female employees stand to gain so much if we network in a coordinated manner and develop a bond like the mens network group (interviewee No. 3). I am aware of challenges in setting up womens networking group as straight away we are isolating ourselves, creating class and status and we always say we want to be treated equally with our male colleagues. This makes it difficult for some women like myself to be part of as I am very wary of women only group (interviewee No.10).
Despite the benefits provided by networks, however, four of the participants believed that women faced challenges from being involved in most of male informal networks which is perceived to most likely to entail quite an amount of business discussions and leads to making useful contacts. These participants believed that gaining access to male networks is still the most significant barrier that women in middle and management positions within the organisation have to overcome in relation to networking. They suggested that men, being the dominant group in the organization sometimes are inclined to maintain dominance by excluding female employees from social networking and informal interactions. This is what one study participant had to say:
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Career Success: A Case Study of Female Employees in Nigeria I think because we are a male-dominant organization, majority of key leadership positions are held by men. There is a network there, the men helping each other out and getting lots of career advancement opportunities compared to women (interviewee No. 5). women are not fully represented in networking events and after work meetings. We are often excluded from male bonding and informal networks in the view that we are not as proportionate to men (interview No.2).
One of the participants further suggested the integration of more female employees into informal networks which perhaps might enable more women in middle positions in progressing to senior management positions. One of the participants had this to say: networking among female employees and male colleagues in the organization should be encouraged by the management. It would be highly significant to women career development as we would be able to share experiences and learn from senior colleagues (interview ee No. 6).
4.5.4 Balancing Work/Family Responsibilities

The forth theme that emerged from the data gathered from the interviews was the challenge of balancing work and family responsibilities. Seven of the participants found it challenging to balance self, work and family. They believed that commitment to family was a major factor impeding their career advancement prospects. Considering it is women who take the majority of the responsibility of children, family and sometimes elder care, at some point in their working it is most likely that their career path can be truncated and as such creating a hindrance for career progression opportunities.
The data gathered from six married interviewees revealed that female employees in the organization had difficulties in joggling their roles as housewives, mothers, home makers and their role at work. The challenge of trying to maintain a balance of their work and family obligations tend to affect their ability to meet various commitments. These were expressed through comments that made reference to sacrifices that had to be made by their family and the organization such as absence from important family events and either turning down
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Career Success: A Case Study of Female Employees in Nigeria important job assignments or unable to carry out their roles more effectively. Some of the participants pointed out as follows: it is difficult to find time for myself. My main challenge is being a being able to balance everything, work, my parents, the kids especially when someone in the family like my kids or elderly mother is feeling sick (interviewee No.7). I am often faced with work and family role conflict and role-overload and its sometimes affect my productivity at work (interviewee No. 9)
having three kids along with a professional career can be very challenging, often conflicting with my work commitments such as turning down relocation request even when it offered an opportunity for advancing my career (interviewee No. 3) as a result of my family obligations I am not aspiring to take on more responsibilities than that of my current position (interviewee No. 10) juggling work, career and family responsibilities has been a very difficult issue for me. Not being able to access flexible working arrangement in the organization doesnt help female employees with children (interviewee No.6). my inability to meet with the travel and relocation demands of my previous position as a result of family commitments hindered my progression into a higher position that required more responsibilities (interviewee No. 2).
These findings provide evidence that the conflict between work and family responsibilities is a source of concern for female employees. This supports the role conflict theory highlighted in the literature which suggests that there are limited amount of time and energy an individual possesses and any additional roles creates tension between competing demands resulting in role conflict or a sense of overload (Fu and Shaffer, 2001).
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4.5.5 Ethnic Allegiance

The final theme that emerged from the interviews was the challenges and barriers encountered by the female employees in the case organization as a result of ethnic allegiance. Ethnic allegiance refers to preferential treatment in promotion and job opportunities based on ethnic affiliation and background. As highlighted in the literature, Nigerian society is deeply organized along ethnic lines, such that individuals of similar ethnic background to their employers or ethnicity that is highly represented in the management of their organization are mostly likely to be more favored. Ethnicity often act as a vehicle for discriminatory practices and prejudices such as negative attitudes and perceptions towards females by male superiors and colleagues whose ethnic values is primarily structured on the axis of social stratification couched in male supremacy. Six of the participants pointed out that this exists in the organization and the industry in which they operate. The participants also pointed out that working with superiors and colleagues who had difficulties dealing with other subordinates that were of a different ethnic tribe and did not support or created challenges to their career development or advancement. These findings are apparent in the following quotes: One of the participant mentioned that ... as a result of the human resource department of this organization been headed by an Ibo man (ethnic tribe) my colleagues who are of the same ethnic tribe do have a better rapport and in most cases they are given preferential treatment such as speedy approval of finance for training courses overseas and promotions opportunities before myself since I am from a different ethnic tribe (Interviewee No. 1). A similar view was given by interviewee No. 2 in an organization where the person in charge of employment is from the the Eastern, Southern or Northern region, either of them is most likely to fill such job openings with someone who is a member of their ethnic tribe or region, irrespective of other candidates possessing more experience and qualifications more suitable for the same position who happens to come from another ethnic group. Another participant had this to say ... in my current position there have been several times when I have had a male colleague who is a member of my team come up to me and say in a spiteful way that he was going to get promoted before me or he was going to be my superior as a result of his ethnic affiliations with the management (interviewee No. 6).
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Career Success: A Case Study of Female Employees in Nigeria The interviews also revealed that ethnicity does have a huge influence on the career advancement and success opportunities of employees in most public sector organisations such as the case organization. Interveiwee No. 8 the overall leadership position and other senior strategic positions such as executive member of the board, just as in most public owned organizations are appointed mainly based on ethnic affiliation and ethnic majority representation within the government. This implies that individual career advancement prospects and career opportunities are largely dependent on ethnic identity/ tribe irrespective of individual talent and capability. These findings support previous studies (Blunt, 1982; Marger, 1994), which found that ethnicity is often used for countering social isolation and as a basis of allocating resources in the workplace.
4.6 Summary
The findings from the responses given by seven out of ten participants with regards to defining career success revealed a more subjective perspective rather that the objective career success. The opinions gathered from participants revealed more of intrinsic and non quantifiable measures of success such as achieving professional and personal satisfaction. They also perceived themselves as most successful in their career when they able to maintain a balance between professional and family issues. Four participants defined career success based on objective variable such as promotions and salary. This finding reveal a mix career success orientation highlighted in the literature which include, a protean career orientation also known as a non-traditional career orientation (career success based on intrinsic or subjective factors and is non-measureable ) and the other conventional career orientation also referred to as traditional career orientation (career success based on measurable objective factors).
The results also reveal significant factors that influenced the career success of participants in the case organisation. They include work experiences, level of educational status and quality of attained educational qualifications and individual traits such as motivation, determination, ambition and attitude towards work. These findings were found to be consistent with the
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Career Success: A Case Study of Female Employees in Nigeria broad dimensions of factors influencing career success that have been found by Thomas et. al., (2005) in the US and Lortie-Lussier and Rinfret (2005) in Canada. The study confirmed the presence of a glass ceiling in the case organisation. Evidence of covert barriers faced by female employees in the case organisation were revealed in this study to be responsible for the slow career progression and underrepresentation of female employees in senior management and decision making positions in the case organisation. This research found that gender discrimination, ethnic allegiance, lack of networking, lack of mentoring and balancing work and family responsibility impeded the female employees career advancement and success. Some of the barriers found in this study were consistent with findings from previous studies conducted in other national contexts such as the UK (King et al., 2005), Italy (Bagdadli et al., 2003), the US (Hsieh and Kleiner, 2001). A distinctive barrier found to be prominent in this study was ethnic allegiance which might not be the case in other national contexts like the UK or US.
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CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

5.1 INTRODUCTION
This chapter is divided into two sections: conclusions and recommendations. The purpose of this research study was to explore the experiences of female employees in middle positions in the case organisation to see how they view career success and how this perspective may relate to the underrepresentation of women in senior managerial and decision making positions in the organisation. The study further identified factors influencing career success and factors impeding womens career progress in the case organisation. The chapter makes recommendations for enhancing the career progression of women in the workplace and also discusses the need for further research on womens career success in the non-Western context of Nigeria. Objective 1: To review literature on careers and career success in order to identify and gain an in depth understanding of the potential barriers that are likely to impact on women career advancement. The study found that career success is very important and meaningful to employees and their organizations. Studies reviewed in the literature referred to career success as the positive outcome or perceived achievement of an individuals career experiences: accomplishing perceived or desired work-related aspirations and outcomes (Arthur, Khapova and Wilderom, 2005; Okurame and Balogun, 2005; Dolan, Bejarano and Tzafrir, 2011). The literature revealed that individuals perceive and measure career success differently based on various factors and variables. Career success can be viewed and measured using either subjective (intrinsic) or objective (extrinsic) career components. The definition of career success based on measurable objective factors is referred to as a conventional or traditional career success orientation. While the definition of career success in terms subjective or intrinsic success rather than objective or material achievements is referred to as a protean career orientation.
Subjective career success is typically measured using self-perception of career accomplishments and expected career prospects (Dries et al. 2008). Individuals evaluate their career success with regard to personal criteria such as their career aspirations and ambitions. Interpretations of career success vary amongst individuals as well as their views on career concepts in terms of direction and frequency of movement within an organization or any
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Career Success: A Case Study of Female Employees in Nigeria workplace. Examples of other criterias for subjective career success are job satisfaction or career satisfaction (Arnold & Cohen, 2008). Compared to subjective career success (which is of perceptual and evaluative criteria), the objective career success is neutral and not biased in empirical assessment as its most widely used indicators such as salary, status and promotions can be both externally assessed by means like work records and confirmation from employees (Dette, Abele and Renner, 2004). These indicators reflect societal norms and understandings regarding how successful a career is, and are objective in the sense of being socially shared (Abele, Spurk and Volmer, 2010) instead of an individual evaluation that is central to a subjective description of career success (Arthur, Khapova and Wilderom, 2005). Objective achievements like income or hierarchical status are proxies for performance.
The literature revealed a number of factors that could impact on the career success of individuals such as socio-demographic factors, human capital factors, interpersonal factors and individual differences (Gattiker and Larwood, 1988; Judge et al., 1995; Kirchmeyer, 1998; Lortie-Lussier and Rinfret, 2005; Thomas et. al., 2005; Yu, 2012). Female employees are often faced a glass ceiling hindering their career advancement in the workplace. Glass Ceiling is a phenomenon mainly used in signifying and explaining invisible impenetrable barriers preventing the upward or vertical movement of individuals in the society or organisation. The glass ceiling helps to explaining the reasons for the lack of or poor representation in leadership, top management and decision-making status and it is mainly used describing the difficulties women experience in both reaching these positions (Abidin et.al, 2008). Characteristics of organizations with glass ceiling as identified by Fagensoneland and Parker (1998) as follows: non-supportive working for female employees, draw attention to gender differences, low female participation in group or team activities as a result of gender differences, little or no career advancement support for female employee to prepare them for decision making positions or management positions. Factors identified in the literature that often act as a glass ceiling or barriers in the workplace include; gender stereotypes and prejudice, work-family obligations, societal norms and values, organisational structure hindering their professional success. However, the degree of challenges and barriers faced by female employees in the workplace vary from country to country and from occupation to occupation (Punnett et, al., 2007).
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Career Success: A Case Study of Female Employees in Nigeria Objective 2: To explore the individual perception of the female employees in middle positions in the case organization regarding the concept of career success. The study found out that majority (seven out of ten) of the participants defined career success based on subjective career success rather that objective career success. These female employees defined and evaluated their career success based on intrinsic and non-measureable indicators such as job satisfaction, career satisfaction and personal satisfaction. The study also suggests that the definition of success for the professional career of the female employees in middle position in the case organization is related to marital status and individuality. The analysis of the findings carried out in chapter 4 indicates that for a female employee who is not married and without family, the definition of career success is associated with objective career success, as she is fully focused on her job and putting all her effort on developing her career, whilst for a married female employee with children who has family responsibilities, success is related to the subjective perception of career success, such as being able to balance work and family life. In all, the study suggested that female employees generally possess a subjective perception of career success and this was found to be consistent with other studies highlighted in the literature, such as the study of Heslin (2005), in which he proposes that womens career success is presented more from the subjective (intrinsic) point of view rather than the objective one. The results also confirm the findings of Simpson et al. (2004), which found women to value more intrinsic success outcomes, such as job satisfaction. However, this study found that despite being married a minority of the female employees defined success based on objective career success, using criteria such as promotions and upward hierarchical movement. It was also indicated that the married women who defined success in an association with objective perception also had a higher educational qualification in comparison with other participants, further suggesting that educational level does influence perception of career success. They aspire to progress into more senior roles and are able to
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Career Success: A Case Study of Female Employees in Nigeria maintain a balance with work and family life through the help and support from their spouses, relatives and nannies.
In all, the female employees demonstrated both protean (subjective/intrinsic success) and conventional (objective success) career orientation, but were predominantly protean as majority of the female employees defined career success based on subjective (intrinsic) success.
Objective 3: To identify perceived factors influencing the career success among female employees in the case organization. The analysis of the findings gathered from the interviews related to factors that influenced the career success of female employees suggests that human capital factors and individual differences (personality) have a significant influence on the success of the female employees in the case organization. The study found that work experience and educational level were the human capital factors that were perceived to have important influence in the career success and achievement of the female employees in the case organization. The prominent personality traits perceived as significant to the career success and advancement opportunities of female employees in the case organization was found to include competency on the job, being ambitious, motivated, being consistent and self confidence. The analysis of the datas gathered from the interviews in chapter 4 study also indicate that the predominant personality traits perceived by majority of the female employees as highly relevant in order to compete with a dominant male organization and increase their career advancement and success opportunities are self-confidence and competency on the job. The findings further suggested that the predominant factor that influenced the success of the female employees in the case organization were human capital factors. With respect to human capital factors the analysis revealed that the work experience acquired while working in the organization and educational level of the female employees increased their career advancement and success opportunities. The analysis suggests that the work experiences of the female employees had the most impact on their career advancement and success achieved thus far in their career. However, this study found that female employees who had a relevant higher level of education attributed their career advancement and achieved success in their
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Career Success: A Case Study of Female Employees in Nigeria career to their educational level. This leads to the suggestion that female employees with work experience and also possessing a high level of education stand will have better or increased career advancement and career success opportunities such as faster upward hierarchical movement within the corporate ladder and salary growth. In general, this study found that that personality traits and educational level both play an important role in women career advancement and success, but the possession of high level of education have a more significant impact on women career advancement and success and is seen as appropriate enabler for achieving hierarchical progression and promotion and increase in salary and competitive advantage in the workforce. These findings were found to be consistent with previous studies carried out in other Western countries which were highlighted in the literature such as (Judge et al., 1995; Swinyard et al., 1980; Thomas et. al., 2005; Lortie-Lussier and Rinfret, 2005).
Objective 4: To identify the perceived career barriers faced by female employees in the case organisation. This research study found that female employees in middle positions in the case organization have faced specific challenges and barriers in the workplace arising from Nigerias dominant (male) cultural mores, and some have had restrictions imposed on their upward career mobility by organizational barriers and by their families. The study found that the barriers faced by the female employees in the case organization are very similar to those found in many other (Western) countries; although local gendered cultural and attitudinal barriers still strongly influenced by societal and cultural patriarchic beliefs and practices are still pervasive in the organization and in Nigeria.
This research study research identified gender discrimination, ethnic allegiance, inadequate mentoring, lack of networking and balancing work/family responsibilities as significant challenges/obstacles encountered by female employees in the case organization that attributed to unforeseen barriers in their career paths. Gender discrimination was found to be the most predominant barrier encountered by the female employees in middle positions in the case organization. Female employees in middle positions comment about how they deal with fitting in to the male-dominated organization. According to the participants male employees
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Career Success: A Case Study of Female Employees in Nigeria do not feel comfortable having women as superiors and they perceive that structural barriers from policies and legislation prevent women from holding senior leadership positions. barriers were found to hinder the female employees career
The
identified
development/advancement and success prospects in the case organisation by limiting their progression into senior managerial roles and leadership positions which has lead and contributes to the underrepresentation of women in top senior roles in the case organization as highlighted in the introduction of this research study. For example, the participants (female employees in middle positions) faced covert barriers resulting from exclusions and negative attitudes from their male counterparts etc which had detrimental effects on their careers such as reduced and blocked promotions, blocked career development opportunities and occupational stress.
This study found some of the barriers to be consistent with findings from previous studies conducted in other national contexts such as the UK (King et al., 2005), Italy (Bagdadli et al., 2003) and the USA (Hsieh and Kleiner, 2001), thus further substantiating the claims that women are still faced with challenges and barriers (presence of the glass ceiling effect) impeding their career progression prospects in the workplace. However, the manifestation (the way it plays out), the scale (pervasiveness) and the contextual underpinnings of the identified barriers in the organization and the country (Nigeria) help provide distinct empirical contributions to the literature on womens career development and career success. For example, a distinctive barrier found to be prominent in this study was ethnic allegiance, which might not be the case in other national contexts like the UK or the US where both societies is seen to be moving towards achieving an egalitarian society by implementing affirmative action and prohibiting discriminatory practices based on race, ethnicity and colour.
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5.2 RECOMMENDATIONS
This section addresses the final research objective of this study. Objective 4: To recommend ways by which the career advancement of female employees can be enhanced in the case organisation.
5.2.1 Conducting a Structural Analysis of Policies and Practices within the Case Organization The top management of the organization should carry out a structural analysis and where appropriate make changes to uncover the strengths and weaknesses of their current policies and practices to determine what factors, if any, are still preventing female employees from progressing into and holding senior positions. By doing so doing, the organization would be able to shift their culture so that career barriers that may or does impede progression of female employees in middle positions are recognized, addressed or removed. Consequently, the organization would be able to create a conducive climate that both supports and facilitates women career advancement and success and a work environment where men and women can communicate freely with ease and compete equally. From the analysis of the gathered datas in chapter 4, majority of the female employees in middle position perceive that they are unfairly treated compared to their male colleagues in terms of promotions and progression into senior leadership positions. Bearing this in mind, the management of the organisation would be able to uncover enacted policies that that tend to be unfavorably to just male employees by carrying out a structural analysis of the organisational policies. This also creates a perception of fairness in female employees.
The literature of this study highlights the significance of maintaining a balance of career and family to the advancement and success of female employees. The ability of female employees to
maintain/balance their work and family responsibilities does have an impact on their career progression as they sometimes struggle to meet their various commttments, which at some instance get them frustrated and they feel trapped as a result of role conflict (Hassan,2007; Fayemi, 2005; Author, 1996). The analysis of the findings of this study indicates that majority of the female
employees in the case organization believe that maintaining work and life balance plays a crucial role in their career outcomes and where they are unable to achieve such balance it acts
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Career Success: A Case Study of Female Employees in Nigeria as a barrier to their career advancement and success. Hence it is rather pertinent that the organisation looks into creating a work environment that supports womens transitional career progression such as the possibility of introducing flexible and part-time working options, integrating work-life balance policies and providing a level of balance and security available to both female and male employees so as to ensure that female employees get as much
experience as their male counterparts. Further, by providing all employees (male and female)
with opportunities of voicing their needs and make specific suggestions or recommendations.
Ultimately the management and leadership of the case organization will find that the time spent on the aforementioned efforts will be a worthwhile cost- a much better and conducive workplace that would not stifle womens career advancement and success or lose their contribution to the overall success of the organization. But a work environment that promotes respective female employees to the higher levels where their contributions would impact on the career progression of other female colleagues and the success of the organisation.
5.2.2 Eliminating Gender Stereotyping and Ethnic Prejudice Following the findings of this research study, it is clear that perceived sexism, or gender stereotype and ethnic prejudice are significant career barriers faced by female employees in the case organization. The analysis of the data gathered from the interviews revealed that all the participants concurred that gender discriminatory practices embedded in the management policies and practices as a result of the organization being very male-oriented inhibited their career advancement and success opportunities. Further, six of the participants pointed out that ethnic prejudice within the organization also impede their career advancement prospects. Hence, it is of necessity and importance that gender stereotyping and ethnic prejudice are addressed and made public with its potential manifestations made apparent through active awareness encouraged by the management and leadership of the case organization. Since stereotyping is based largely in unconscious processes, management and leadership of the case organization should make these unconscious thoughts should be conscious within the policies and practices of the organization especially for decision makers involved in evaluating performances and recommendations for promotions of female employees. Efforts should be made by the management and leadership of the organisation to implement practices that force
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Career Success: A Case Study of Female Employees in Nigeria critical examination of decision making process and which allow for the surfacing of unconscious thoughts of gender stereotype and prejudice.
Discriminatory practices and behaviors based on ethnicity should not be sanctioned in the organization. Every employee should be made accountable for his/her actions and be aware that the organization does not in any way condone any sort of discrimination, misconduct and unethical behaviors. Management should introduce sanctions and possibly set up statutory ethical committee to handle issues relating to unethical behaviors and practices and any employee who engages in unethical or inequitable behavior should be sanctioned accordingly. By so doing, it becomes difficult to perpetuate acts like ethnic allegiance, and eliminates perceived sexism, gender stereotype prejudice in the organization giving room for creating a more gender-sensitive work environment. Female employees would have equal treatment as their male counterparts in the workplace and the negative attitude of male employees to their female colleagues would also be changed or eradicated.
5.2.3 Encourage Formal and Informal Mentor Program

As confirmed in the literature of this study, mentoring relationship is critical to women career advancement and success in organizations although might in some cases be restricted for women Chovwen (2004). However, these relationships are not easily established in some work settings as the selection process might sometimes be biased by the tendency of male mentors choosing male over female mentees (Linehan, Scullion and Walsh, 2001). All the participants in this study recognize
the significance of mentoring and its key role on their career development and career success. However, of the ten interviewees nine believed that they received inadequate mentoring and it posed
as a barrier to their career advancement and success.
Thus it is evident from this study that there is the need for the management and leadership of the case organization should design, continue to encourage and facilitate the development of formal and encourage informal mentoring/protge relationship especially for female employees. Also, training could be organized to highlight the benefits of mentorship/protg relationships in which female employees could participate. Also it may be necessary for the management and leadership of the organization to introduce incentives to encourage commitment to mentoring such as making mentoring a part of formal responsibilities of
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Career Success: A Case Study of Female Employees in Nigeria senior female and male employees and included in the performance assessment of supervisors and managers.
Maintaining a mentoring program that provides exposure of senior positions to female employees in their early careers and mid-careers can help present a realistic view of what it takes to advance in their career and be successful. Through informal mentoring female employees (at different career levels and positions) in the case organisation would be encouraged to network with each other and build positive relationships. By so doing, they have access to information and opportunity, share career experiences and afford protgs and junior female employees the opportunities to learn from the experiences of their mentors and senior colleagues so as to plan their careers ahead and overcome barriers such as the glass ceiling inherent in the organization that may hinder their development.
In general, the management and leadership of the case organisation would find that mentoring will help develop more competent female workforce, increase their upward career mobility, secure more promotions and facilitate women career advancement and success as highlighted in the literature. Further, formal mentor program would help develop future female mentors thus reducing or eliminating the lack of female mentors in the case organization as revealed in the findings of this study.
5.2.4 Encourage Continuous Training and Development of Female Employees From the analysis of the findings in respect to factors influencing career success majority of the female employees in middle position in this study believe that human capital which includes (work/job experiences and education) plays a crucial role in their career advancement and success. Also highlighted by previous research (Burke and McKeen, 1995) in the literature female employees who participate in greater number of education and training activities whether onsite or offsite the organization tend to be more organizationally committed, job satisfied and have higher career advancement and career success prospects. Bearing this in mind it is important that the management and leadership of the case organization encourage and continue to pursue education and training for female employees across all levels and positions in the organisation to get as much experience as required to boost their capabilities and assist them in their career development and progression.
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Career Success: A Case Study of Female Employees in Nigeria Limitations of Study and Suggestions for Future Research While a qualitative methodology was the most appropriate research method to employ in this exploratory study, the validity of this research study findings contained limitations which may require further validation and testing. The first weakness of this study was related to the sample size of participants. The sample size of 10 female employees might not represent all the female employees in the case organization. Second, this study is focused on a case organisation so the results might not be generalizable to represent other public and private sector organizations in Nigeria. The third weakness of this study was related to the
demographics of the participants, specifically their position and marital status. Drawing on the perceptions of female employees in middle positions ignores female employees in other positions, whose experiences might be significantly different to those of their more established colleagues in the case organization. Correspondingly, it was noticed that nine out of ten of the participants are married, with just one of the participants who was single at the time of the interviews, so the perception of a sole single female employee in middle position might not represent experiences of her colleagues who are also not married. Considering the aforementioned, the findings of this study have limited generalizability.
Beyond limitations, this research study presents opportunities for future research to be considered. First, future research should focus on the organization and its policies in the career development domain, especially where they affect female employees in their early career, mid career and those in junior managerial position seeking progression into more senior and leadership positions. This would enable the management and leadership of the organization gain in-depth understanding of unfavorable or discriminatory practices embedded in the organizational policies and practices that pose as challenges and barriers preventing female employees from advancing to more senior leadership roles in comparison to their male counterparts.
Second, further research needs to explore the degree to which organizations (public and private) in Nigeria support career and family. It is clear from the results of this study that the career advancement and success of female employees depends on functional and efficient ways for achieving a work and family balance. Hence, research should focus on identifying effective strategies for achieving this balance as the lack of achieving this balance creates a dilemma for female employees. This would also help in covering the gap in literature in the
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Career Success: A Case Study of Female Employees in Nigeria Nigeria context, given focus on work/life balance has had in countries like the UK and the US in the past decade. Third, further research could focus on longitudinal studies of female employees in other national (non-Western) context e.g. within the African continent or other developing countries. This would examine their career progression; cultural and attitudinal barriers they may encounter at work and if there are any differences in the career opportunities they have in their workplace. This would provide a valuable comparison of career success for women in other African and developing countries and share insight on the similarities or differences in perceptions by women in other countries and their respective cultures.
Fourth, future research may replicate this research study in the Nigerian private sector using expanded populations and different occupation groups and both qualitative and quantitative approaches to gauge the generalizability of the findings of this study. The responses obtained would provide more information to better validate the perceptions of female employees in Nigeria in respect to career success and barriers preventing women career progression.
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Evaluating The Career Success of Female Employees in Nigeria

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Evaluating The Career Success of Female Employees in Nigeria

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Career Success: A Case Study of Female Employees in Nigeria

1.2 Background of the Organization

Fig 1.1:Organisational Chart Source: Organisation Database

1.3Relevance of This Research to the Organisation

1.5 Research Aim and Objectives

Career Success: A Case Study of Female Employees in Nigeria

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

Career Success: A Case Study of Female Employees in Nigeria

2.3 Career Success

Career Success: A Case Study of Female Employees in Nigeria

2.3.1 Objective Career Success

2.3.2 Subjective Career Success

2.4 Factors Influencing Career Success

Career Success: A Case Study of Female Employees in Nigeria

2.5 Barriers To Womens Career Progression

2.5.1 Gender Stereotypes

2.5.2 Occupational Gender Stereotype

2.6 Culture And Careers: Nigerian Perspective

2.6.1 Organisational Culture In Nigeria

Career Success: A Case Study of Female Employees in Nigeria

2.6.2 Family Responsibilities In Nigeria

Career Success: A Case Study of Female Employees in Nigeria

3.2 Qualitative Method

3.2.1 Justification of Method

3.2.2 Advantages Of Semi Structured Interviews

3.3 Access To The Organisation

3.5 Interview Questions

3.6 Conducting the Interviews

3.7 Data Analysis

3.8 Ethical Issues

Career Success: A Case Study of Female Employees in Nigeria

CHAPTER 4: DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION

4.2 Demographic Profiles

25-34 25-34 35-45

Research lead Senior

HR team lead Financial

Information and technology officer Senior

Senior recruiter Corporate

Career Success: A Case Study of Female Employees in Nigeria

4.3 Defining Career Success

Career Success: A Case Study of Female Employees in Nigeria

4.4 Factors Influencing Career Success

4.4.1 Human Capital

4.4.2 Individual Differences (Personality)

4.5 Barriers to Career Success

4.5.1 Gender Discrimination

Career Success: A Case Study of Female Employees in Nigeria

4.5.2 Inadequate Mentoring

4.5.3 Lack of Networking

4.5.4 Balancing Work/Family Responsibilities

Career Success: A Case Study of Female Employees in Nigeria

4.5.5 Ethnic Allegiance

Career Success: A Case Study of Female Employees in Nigeria

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Career Success: A Case Study of Female Employees in Nigeria

5.2.3 Encourage Formal and Informal Mentor Program

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