Female manager career success: The importance of individual and organizational factors in South Korea

Abstract

Our paper focuses on Asian female managers and the influence of individual and organizational factors on objective and subjective career success. We use a survey and interviews of female managers in South Korea post-1997 Asian financial crisis and pre-2008 global financial crisis. Importantly, we find male-dominated business and societal cultures stemming from the context to be crucial. The implications of our findings include the greater need to take into account the restraints on individual actions and the need for state and management support. We conclude that the role of context is too often underplayed and needs to be more fully addressed in analysis of female careers in not only Asia, but also more widely. Key points: The article examines the influence of individual versus organizational factors on objective and subjective career success using both a survey and interviews of female managers in South Korea post-1997 Asian financial crisis and pre-2008 global financial crisis. The article finds male-dominated business cultures stemming from the spatial context a crucial impact on female careers and the implications include the greater need to take into account the restraints on individual actions and context, and to provide more business and management support and understanding of female careers. The article concludes that the role of context is too often underplayed and needs to be addressed in research on female careers. © 2016 Australian Human Resources Institute.