Organisational Barriers and the Female Managerial Career: Some Empirical Evidence from Ireland

Christine Cross
Margaret Linehan

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DOI: 10.2190/WR.13.3.c

Abstract

The dearth of women in senior management positions internationally has been the subject of much debate and research in recent years. While the question regarding the small number of senior female managers has been posed for decades, it has been of particular significance in Ireland in recent years as a result of the emergence of the "Celtic Tiger" and the associated rise in female labour force participation. Building on this background, the current study investigated the impact of organisationally created barriers on female managerial career progression in Ireland in an effort to increase our understanding of this familiar issue. The findings reveal that despite the introduction of employment equality legislation, the rapid changes in human resources (HR) practices, and the changes in social attitudes in Ireland, women believe they are still faced with a set of insurmountable obstacles in the workplace. As a result, many of the female managers in this study feel pressurised into not pursuing their career aspirations of attaining senior management positions in the short to medium term.

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