Enabling the career development of female managers in finance and retail

Abstract

PurposeIn the UK financial services and retailing sectors there is a clear anomaly between the numbers of females employed and their representation at management levels. The aim of this study is to investigate the nature and significance of factors that actively enable the career development of female managers in these contexts, in organisations with an above industry average representation of female managers.Design/methodology/approachA cross case analysis of seven organisations, four from the financial services sector and three from the retail sector, forms the basis of the empirical evidence. In total 62 management interviews and 87 focus group participants contributed to the development of the case studies.FindingsRecognition of the business benefits of a managerial gender mix at a senior organisational level emerges as a significant enabler, as does the congeniality of the organisational context in terms of transformational management styles and supportive organisational cultures that limit reliance on impression management in career development. In more practical terms, flexible working arrangements as well as accessible training and development opportunities for all employees, emerge as an important enablers of career development for female managers.Practical implicationsThe results highlight the importance of the key human resource policies and their application by operational managers.Originality/valueBy adopting a cross‐industry study, the paper highlights that, while different barriers may exist for female career progression in each sector, a similar set of enabling factors are common to the organisations studied, regardless of sector specificity.