It is a widely accepted fact that women play a significant role in both the personal and professional spheres. Over the years, women's struggles have been chronicled in autobiographies and literary works. Women are becoming more prevalent in the workplace, and notable individuals like Indira Nooyi, for instance, are carving out niches for themselves in the corporate workspaces that were once thought to be patriarchal strongholds. As a result, it is important to recognize the contributions of works that chronicle these struggles. In light of this, this research aims to conduct a literature review and analysis of the works of women in the corporate workplace. More precisely, the study aims to examine the collection of works (books, essays, and conference papers) that detail the challenges experienced by women in the corporate workplace. The works document these previously mentioned features and span the last ten years. Using databases like Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar, the study employs a literature review process to methodically map the scholarly literature. The study tracks the development of narratives about women in the corporate world by identifying important writers, frequently cited works, and popular research trends. It focuses on the main issues of gendered leadership, work-life balance, glass ceiling impacts, gender discrimination, and how corporate cultures affect women's careers. This study offers a thorough understanding of the academic landscape by analyzing the literature through a literature review lens, highlighting both the advancements made in recording women's struggles and the gaps that still exist in the investigation of intersectional and global variations in women's experiences.

This study examines gender relations and role dynamics among women working in health services (Puskesmas). The research conducted in depth interviews to uncover the paradox in the workplace with eight months of PAR involving 15 healthcare workers in Yogyakarta. Although the majority of health workers are women, organisational structures and leadership practices continue to adhere to masculine values, such as assertiveness in decision making. This creates a workplace where women are underrepresented in leadership roles. In the domestic sphere, the main findings of this service demonstrate that women working in professional fields face a double burden, characterised by the phenomenon of two shifts, where they are solely responsible for both their household and professional responsibilities. This physical and mental burden places women in the role of home coordinator and family emotional bearer. In couple relationships, a collaborative or team model is used, but patriarchy remains, albeit modified. Couples maintain symbolic boundaries of masculinity and patriarchy in the form of cultural residue. Despite this, the interviewees demonstrate a high level of critical awareness, viewing nature as a social construct, rejecting rigid gender dichotomies, and adopting a flexible and functional understanding of gender.

Fashion operates as a critical medium through which individuals negotiate identity, culture, and modernity. This study explored how career women in Bolgatanga, Ghana, express cultural identity through fashion and examined the integration of indigenous materials into professional attire. Guided by sociological, cultural identity, and cultural representation theories, the study employed a descriptive cross-sectional design with a mixed-method approach. Data were collected from 150 career women (teachers and bankers) through questionnaires and from 10 fashion designers through semi-structured interviews. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics, while qualitative insights were thematically examined. Findings revealed that career women value fashion as a means of affirming identity and cultural pride, though institutional dress codes often restrict everyday cultural expression. African prints dominate Friday wear, while garments such as fugu and smocks are reserved for ceremonial occasions. A practical design component integrated fugu, leather, and calabash into three professional garments. Evaluation of these garments demonstrated high acceptability, with preferences leaning toward designs that subtly balanced cultural symbolism and professional aesthetics. The sheath dress with fugu side panels and calabash buttons emerged as the most preferred. The study concludes that culturally inspired professional fashion offers a pathway for cultural preservation, women’s empowerment, and creative industry development. It recommends greater institutional flexibility in dress codes and enhanced collaboration between designers and artisans to sustain indigenous craft traditions while advancing professional fashion in Ghana.

Traditional concepts and culture usually lead to doubts about women's leadership in the workplace. Women are often criticized for their inability to execute, lead, and perform as well as men in leadership and management. Therefore, this study aims to explore the effects of transformational leadership on leadership self-efficacy and organizational performance for women's career leadership in Taiwan. This study employed the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) and the General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSES) to measure transformational leadership behaviors. The results of this study show that idealized influence directly affects leadership self-efficacy. Inspirational motivation and intellectual stimulation directly affect both self-efficacy and organizational performance. Furthermore, individual consideration has a direct impact on organizational performance, while leadership self-efficacy also exerts a direct influence on organizational performance. The findings reveal that career women who employ high levels of transformational variables are more likely to be more potent than those who use lower levels.

Although advancements have been made in gender equality, women still occupy fewer senior academic positions, especially in semi-metropolitan universities. This research examines practical approaches to promote women's career advancement in universities, emphasising the institutional and systemic obstacles that impede their development, such as limited access to mentorship, bureaucratic funding procedures, and implicit gender biases. The research begins by framing the ongoing gender inequalities in academia, highlighting the necessity for targeted measures. The issue underscores the gradual progress of women in attaining leadership positions, even with current policies advocating for gender equality. An interpretivist research design was adopted for this study, employing a qualitative research approach with an explorative research design. The study was conducted at a selected university in Limpopo. Purposive and convenience sampling were used to select twenty female academics. Data were collected through in-depth interviews. Gender equity theory and feminist theories were applied in this study to challenge male-centric frameworks. Thematic analysis was employed to identify essential strategies for the advancement of women. offering workshops to improve leadership abilities, the significance of institutional support, the specific training necessary to prepare women for higher positions, and the relevance of gender-sensitive training in addressing implicit biases and workplace discrimination. The study's results carry important implications for university leaders and policymakers, highlighting the necessity for structured mentorship initiatives, policy changes, and resource allocation to enhance gender equity. By implementing these strategies, the university can help break the glass ceiling and foster a more inclusive environment in academic leadership.

This paper explores the drivers and experiences of midlife women lawyers seeking to refocus on their legal careers after a break. Studies suggest professional women rarely return to previous roles, and research on the careers of midlife women is limited. Using reflexive thematic analysis, a qualitative study involving 11 midlife women lawyers identified three themes - ‘It’s (all) about time’, ‘Expectations, roles and identity’, and ‘Finding a new path – bridging the gap’ and the overarching theme of ‘Emotions’. The research expands literature on women’s careers at midlife providing a new model to support their career development.

The current social reality is characterized by the increasing opportunities for women to take on leadership positions, which has a positive impact on society as a whole. It can be argued that the current processes are part of a gradual transformation of labor norms towards gender parity. Empirical studies have shown that female leaders have made significant contributions to improving collective collaboration, enhancing organizational efficiency, implementing fair resource allocation mechanisms and promoting democratic principles within workplaces. However, despite the proven benefits of female leadership, the dominant position among managers in the Russian public and corporate sectors remains in male hands. In addition, there are still invisible gender barriers that persist despite the positive dynamics, which will require further significant efforts from all participants in social interaction.

Purpose This paper examines the barriers constraining women's career choices and progression within the South African construction industry. Design/methodology/approach The study employed a mixed-methods research approach, utilizing a questionnaire survey of construction industry workers listed in the Construction Professions Register, the Builders Collective and the Housing Assembly Organization. It also used interviews to validate the quantitative data. The data collected were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics, including factor analysis. Findings The study found that 39 of the 46 barriers identified have normalized values greater than 0.5 and, therefore, are classified as critical. From a ranking perspective, the top five barriers to the career choices and progression of women in the construction industry are male domination in the construction industry careers, gender bias, unfriendly workplace cultures, lack of strategies and policies for gender balance and educational expenses. Furthermore, the KMO score for this study is 0.778, which exceeds the standard threshold, meeting the required standards for principal component analysis. Research limitations/implications This study draws upon literature from other countries due to the limited literature available, specifically focusing on South Africa. However, such references may overlook the country's distinctive political history of racial segregation, which influences the research findings. Practical implications This study concludes that women will choose construction as a career and progress in the construction industry if targeted interventions and supportive environments promote gender inclusivity and encourage their professional growth. Originality/value This research helps shape initiatives to overcome barriers, such as underrepresentation, regarding women's professional aspirations and career progression within the construction sector.

Social changes occurring in Surabaya, as the second largest city in Indonesia, have influenced women's roles in society, where more women are choosing to pursue careers rather than marriage. This study aims to understand the factors influencing the decisions of women aged 25-40 in Surabaya to pursue careers. The method used is a qualitative approach with a phenomenological design, where data is collected through semi-structured interviews and non-participatory observations. The results indicate that higher education and financial stability empower women to reject marriage and reshape their views on existing social norms. Additionally, these findings suggest that educated women tend to be more independent and capable of making decisions based on their personal happiness. The conclusion of this study emphasizes the importance of understanding women's life choices in a modern context, as well as the need for policy support that promotes gender equality and job opportunities for women.

This paper explores the perspective of gender subversion for the liberation and the independence of women. The issue concerning constructed gender trouble and identity is discussed and analyzed, using the insights of Judith Butler whose performativity has been considered the theoretical lens that gender is not an inherent identity and can be subverted. To discuss this issue, Caryl Churchill’s play Top Girls has been undertaken as a primary source of information for textual analysis. The play is performed by all female cast where female characters play multiple roles to contrast and show the transition in gender roles. The objective of this paper is to portray the subversive character of women who have undergone repression, suffering, sacrifice, and compromise in a capitalist and individualist society. Their resistance to patriarchal norms has made them independent rather than obeying the supremacy of males. For instance, the celebration organized by Marlene with historical and legendary women reflects both the challenges faced by women and their success as career and independent women. As a qualitative approach of study, it reviews some articles and books concerning Churchill and her play as secondary sources of information. The play as a primary source has provided data and information how the gender roles are challenged and independence of female characters is reflected. The findings of this study indicate that the play attempts to subvert the traditional gender role by reflecting Marlene as a successful and independent female character.

This study aimed to analyze the effect of financial literacy and self-control on the financial management of early career women in Surabaya. A quantitative approach was applied using a survey method through questionnaires distributed to 145 respondents, who were accounting graduates from public universities in Surabaya. Data were analyzed using SmartPLS 4.0 with the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) approach. The results revealed that financial literacy and self-control had a positive and significant effect on financial management. These findings indicate that higher financial literacy is associated with better budgeting and wiser financial decision-making. Furthermore, self-control helps early career women avoid impulsive spending triggered by workplace lifestyle pressures. This study was limited to a single city and profession, so the findings cannot yet be generalized. Nonetheless, it provides an original contribution by highlighting the combined importance of financial literacy and self-control among young professional women.

Female leadership and women's career development have been widely discussed in academic studies, business schools, organisational management philosophy, and daily societal topics. Despite significant endeavours to improve gender diversity and parity in managerial roles, especially senior to executive ones, in the corporate workplace, women still face more challenges and difficulties in achieving their higher goals along their career paths. As a fundamental part of the industry sector, women with senior and higher positions in the furniture manufacturing field are rare. The need for more women leadership is against the field's shared interests in attracting more talent, accelerating industrial transformation, and achieving a new leadership model in the post-COVID era. Applying a qualitative in-depth interview approach, the research collates data from 16 practitioners from 14 Chinese and Sino-Vietnamese furniture manufacturing SMEs with purposive sampling. The study discloses that the key impediments that lead to women's strenuous career growth in senior and executive management teams in furniture manufacturing SMEs encompass promotion mechanisms, professional expertise, gender bias, family-related responsibilities, social networking, and age; the secondary obstacles that rank closely behind include resource distribution, self-doubt, low ambition, and marital status; along with the minor barriers that consist of "Queen Bee" syndrome, maternity leave and lactation, sexual harassment, and workplace gaslighting. The study contributes to conducting first-hand empirical research in Chinese and Sino-Vietnamese furniture manufacturing SMEs, specifying the career-development barriers to female managers in those SMEs, concentrating on figuring out how to overcome those obstacles for female practitioners' career development in those SMEs, implementing simultaneous research in China and Vietnam; and supplementing relevant research in women's career development in the furniture manufacturing industry.

Women remain underrepresented in cardiology. The culture of academic cardiology is referenced as a barrier to inclusivity. Surveys provide a limited understanding of experiences faced by female cardiologists. The purpose of this study was to characterize organizational cultural barriers and facilitators to career advancement for women in academic cardiology using in-depth interviews and qualitative thematic analysis. Twenty-three women in 3 academic cardiology divisions were interviewed using a semistructured guide tailored to the study aim. Thematic analysis of interview transcripts was performed using an inductive and deductive coding approach. Through this multistep analysis process, themes and subthemes were identified. Three themes were identified as barriers to careers in academic cardiology. (1) Institutional and divisional practices negatively impacted careers by limiting leadership opportunities, pay and resource inequity, variable recognition and promotion, and harassment. (2) The covert culture or unintended norms within a system negatively impacted all participants through tolerance of benevolent paternalism, achievement limited to "women's work," and gender stereotypes and behavior norms. (3) Consequences of these experiences included burnout and a desire to leave their institution. Mentorship, protected time, and financial support for academic productivity were identified as career facilitators. Professional barriers remain for women in academic cardiology, fundamentally linked to the conflict between personal values and the culture of their division. Academic cardiology divisions committed to gender equity should align policies with practice to increase both women's representation as well as success in cardiology.

Abstracts from the NIH Office of Research on Women's Health 2025 Annual BIRCWH Meeting: Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women's Health November 4, 2025.

ABSTRACT This study departs from feminist media studies to examine how gendered appearance pressures shape the professional practices of television news journalists during the COVID-19 pandemic and as a regular practice. Through in-depth, semi-structured interviews with male and female journalists, the research reveals persistent aesthetic expectations that disproportionately affect women. While male journalists generally face minimal scrutiny regarding their appearance, female journalists are subject to stringent aesthetic standards, which are not equally applied to their male counterparts. These pressures not only increase safety risks for women during the pandemic due to mask removal for make-up application, but also perpetuate gender biases within the newsroom. Additionally, findings highlight that these aesthetic expectations often impact women's career advancement, as some female journalists are chosen based on appearance rather than merit. By challenging the notion of meritocracy within journalism, this research advocates for inclusive standards that prioritise skills over appearance, fostering equitable work environments that value professional contributions regardless of gender.

Despite recent publications on aspects of economic thought in modern Greece, the issue of women economists pursuing careers and producing research in economics has been neglected. The purpose of the present article is to fill this void by giving an overview of women economists who left their mark in twentieth-century Greek economy and society, as high-ranking employees in banks, as professors and scientific associates in universities and research centers, and as authors in scientific economic journals. HIGHLIGHTS The lives and work of women economists in Greece have been understudied. Between 1920 and 1970, few women economists entered academia, most others followed more humble careers. The study reveals women’s efforts to pursue careers in economics in the age of institutionalization of Greek economics. The study facilitates comparisons among women in different countries, as well as of women in different careers.

The article explores the theoretical, methodological, and practical aspects of women's participation in the governance processes within the public administration system of the Republic of Kazakhstan. It analyzes key trends over the period from 2010 to 2025, identifying the main barriers that hinder women's career advancement and their access to senior leadership positions. Particular attention is given to assessing the qualitative dimension of women’s involvement through the use of the Women’s Leadership Effectiveness Index, which allows for evaluating not only quantitative participation indicators but also the impact of women on the quality of managerial decision-making. The analysis reveals that despite a relatively high representation of women in linear and support-level positions, their actual involvement in strategic management remains limited. The article emphasizes the need to move beyond a formal approach to gender balance and instead focus on creating an environment that enhances the effectiveness of female leadership. As a novel contribution and a recommendation for strengthening institutional mechanisms that support women in leadership, the article proposes the implementation of the “Gender Labs” model within government bodies. This model is designed to systematically promote women’s integration into management processes. By combining analytical tools with institutional measures, this approach enables more effective identification of barriers and the development of strategies to overcome them. Keywords: women's leadership, public administration, effectiveness, gender policy, Kazakhstan, discrimination

The issue of the Dalit women's movement in Nepal has been an important debate in the sociopolitical and academic arena from the initial phase of the sixtieth decade. Caste-based discrimination, economic exploitation, and social exclusion against Dalit women and Dalits, as well as harsh untouchability-related laws enforced by the Varna-based caste system and Hindu rulers, were the main causes of the Dalit women's movement in Nepal. Dalit women have been compelled to live in the face of many caste-based injustices and atrocities for centuries, in which they are consistently deprived access to the state's many opportunities. In Nepal, the Dalit women's movement has been instrumental in changing many facets of traditional society, promoting gender equality, ending caste-based discrimination and untouchability, and obtaining rights for Dalit women alongside other marginalized women. This study investigates how the Dalit women’s movement is perceived and how the caste system affects the lives and careers of Dalit women in Nepal by means of the author’s auto-ethnography and in-depth interviews taken with Dalit women. The study not only discloses how the caste system controls the power regime and state mechanisms, it also exposes how it influences the sociocultural and political structures. Indeed, the initial phases of the Dalit women's movement and the Badi women's movement were effective in creating pressure to bring about sociopolitical empowerment, reducing caste-based discrimination, and strengthening leadership in public domains, despite certain controversies of the Dalit women-led non-governmental organizations that were activated in the name of the Dalit women's struggle after the democratic era began in 2046. In order to free themselves from centuries of severe repression and many forms of discrimination as so-called lower-caste, lowest-class, and highly marginalized women, this paper suggests the unification among Dalit women and the conduction of their strong and result-oriented struggle in Nepal.

Women in the rail industry hold only about 10% of jobs, and even fewer in specific technical roles. The underrepresentation has the potential to hamper innovation and productivity while limiting full utilization of diverse talent perspectives. With an aging transportation workforce facing imminent retirements, failing to recruit and retain underrepresented groups, particularly women, threatens long-term workforce sustainability and service continuity. Teams with greater representation of women are shown to deliver superior organizational performance through enhanced decision-making and problem-solving capabilities. In rail operations, where complex scheduling, safety compliance, and operational efficiency are critical, diverse teams can provide more adaptive and creative approaches to these essential challenges. This study aims to offer comprehensive insights into the history of the participation of women in rail, barriers to balanced participation, and strategies to enhance women’s representation in the rail industry. Employing an extensive literature review, case study analyses, identification of professional organizations focused on the representation of women in technical fields, the findings highlight that although women’s participation remains limited, there is noticeable progress. Success stories from other countries and male-dominated industries provide valuable strategies for attracting and retaining women in rail careers. The study identifies entrenched industry perceptions as significant barriers. It concludes that an industry-wide, comprehensive effort is important to shift these perceptions and increase women’s participation in the rail sector.

This study investigates the dynamic interaction between career aspirations and family planning decisions among women in Lagos State, Nigeria. It explores how societal norms, personal ambitions and practical considerations influence these choices, using the Work-Family Conflict Theory as a guiding framework. Employing a qualitative research approach, a diverse group of 30 women in their reproductive years were selected from Lagos Island Maternity Hospital (LIMH) and Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) using a combination of purposive and snowball sampling techniques. Thematic content analysis was used to analyse their perspectives. The findings reveal that women with ambitious career goals often delayed childbearing to avoid career interruptions, reflecting a shift towards viewing career success as compatible with family life. However, health considerations sometimes supersede career ambitions, indicating a complex interplay between work, health and family planning. Contextual factors such as societal norms and workplace support systems also play a role in shaping family planning decisions. Women in self-employment experience greater flexibility in managing both careers and families, whereas those in traditional employment face more rigid constraints. Supportive workplace policies, particularly maternity leave provisions, emerge as critical in facilitating family planning decisions. Self-employed women emphasise the autonomy they gain in managing family planning, while those in structured employment often navigate stricter timelines. There is a need to align family planning policies with women's career goals, and future research should explore these dynamics in diverse settings.