During the past two decades there has been a dramatic increase in the number of women pursuing managerial and professional careers. Many of these women have prepared themselves for careers by undertaking university education and they now comprise almost half of the graduates of professional schools, such as accounting, business and law.
Research evidence suggests that these graduates enter the workforce at levels comparable to their male colleagues and with similar credentials and expectations, but it seems that women’s and men’s corporate experience and career paths begin to diverge soon after that point. It is evident that although managerial and professional women are at least as well educated and trained as their male counterparts and are being hired by organisations in approximately equal numbers, they are not entering the ranks of senior management at comparable rates.
The perspectives brought together in Advancing Women’s Careers provide a practical look at the effect and role of women in organisations. The book explores the various initiatives that leading-edge organisations have implemented to support the career advancement of managerial and professional women, and analyses which measures worked and which did not. The current directions in business that underpin changes in policies adopted for women managers are highlighted and linked to this discussion. The contributions to the book come from leading scholars and researchers as well as human resource professionals responsible for implementing specific organisational efforts.
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