Marital and family correlates of women managers' attrition from organizations

Abstract

This study examined the attrition of women managers from organizations. The extent of the problem, the reasons for it, and the marital and family correlates associated with it were investigated as a function of women's career choices. Of 391 women MBAs, only 17% had left jobs with large organizations, but an additional 24.8% said they intended to leave their jobs. The respondents fell into two main categories. Those who were unemployed ( n = 36) or working part-time ( n = 18) cited wanting more time with their children as a reason for their work status. They had heavy family responsibilities, but planned to forego full-time employment only while their children were preschoolers. Those who were self-employed ( n = 31) and those who wished to quit their full-time jobs ( n = 97) had the least family obligations. Gender-related factors, such as office politics, and work-related factors, such as the lack of opportunity to progress, were the reasons they gave for their dissatisfaction with corporate life.