Driving a career in Tehran: Experiences of female internet taxi drivers

Abstract

This qualitative study explores the career experiences of 34 female internet taxi drivers (FTDs) in Tehran, the capital city of Iran, and responds to the call for international and contextual perspectives on careers. We adopt the intelligent career framework and the institutional logics perspective to understand the FTDs' career given their institutional context. First, we shed light on why (i.e., financial needs, flexibility, passion for driving, and social relationships), how (i.e., preferring female passengers, driving skills, navigation skills, becoming less feminine, accessing a car, and self-protection), and with whom (i.e., internet-based taxi company, passengers, family, and citizens) our participants work. Then, we illustrate that normative (e.g., traditional division of labor) and structural (e.g., economic hardship) forces constrain and drive why, how, and with whom the FTDs navigate their career. Our findings unpack an understudied career in an unconventional context and extend the boundaryless career perspective to examine nonprofessional independent contract workers.