Mid-level career women aspiring to C-suite positions in America's Fortune 500 companies

Abstract

This narrative inquiry study investigates the workplace behaviors and experiences of mid-level career women as they interact with other career women in the workplace. This study sought to determine how these interactions, behaviors, and experiences influence, if at all, women's career trajectories within Fortune 500 companies in the United States. The research strived to further understand how and why women may be impacted by workplace gender discrimination and female socially aggressive behaviors while trying to advance to corporate C-level positions. The research outcomes intend to inform future practice, validate findings in the literature relevant to workplace gender discrimination, and contribute further perspective on how and why career women's experiences with other career women may influence the direction of their professional pursuits. Three predominant themes emerged from the data: career women's resilience, mechanisms for advancement and workplace incivility. The theory of queen bee syndrome was selected as the theoretical framework as a lens to view the problem and the study's findings. The study's five findings indicated that career women's resilience and their collective agency, gender-based socially aggressive behaviors, and female workplace competition are factors that influence the trajectory of women's careers into the C-suite.--Author's abstract