Career aspirations of women in corporate management: The case of South Korea

Abstract

As there are so many internal and external obstacles that hold women back from even aspiring to be managers, it is vital to investigate and identify what constitutes these. Using the Korean Women's Development Institute's Female Workforce Panel Survey in 2007, this study examines the impact of both personal and organizational factors on career aspirations of women employees and managers. The findings indicate that educational qualifications are amongthe most important predictors of levels of career aspiration of women managers. In addition, Work-life Balance policies were beneficial in keeping women managers motivated. Discriminatory personnel practices seemed to increase women's career goals, too. Finally, women with the highest ambitions were less likely to be influenced by organizational norms. © 2009.