Career Interventions for Promoting Gender Equality: Methodological Aspects

Abstract

Women commonly face a complex network of barriers that hinder their career trajectory. Therefore, this article aims to address career interventions as a methodological strategy to minimize gender inequalities in the workplace. Given the scenario of inequalities experienced by women, attention in the development of interventions is needed, so that problems are not worsened with superficial initiatives that focus only on individuals. This article discusses gender inequality in careers; presents recommendations for research with interventions; exemplifies some interventions and provides a step-by-step guide for designing them, which consists of choosing the theoretical framework, defining the objectives, target audience and context, identifying resources, structuring the intervention, defining the content, activities and assessment. The limits and possibilities of using interventions in research on gender and career are discussed, in addition to the challenges of this scientific field.

The Impact of Motherhood on Women’s Career Progression: A Scoping Review of Evidence-Based Interventions

“…More generally, each organization should analyze the specific conditions of its employees, since women with dependent children are not a homogeneous group (e.g., number and age of children are related to different career outcomes [33,70]). This follows Oliveira-Silva and Barbosa-Silva's [7] recommendations for tailored interventions targeting audiencespecific needs and characteristics.…”

“…Research has offered several explanations for why this might be. The first is stereotypes about gender and leadership [7]. Leadership remains largely associated with stereotypically masculine attributes such as competitiveness, aggression, and selfishness [8], contributing to a scenario where women are viewed as less equipped to assume leadership roles [9].…”

“…Interventions encompass a broad spectrum of activities, treatments, programs, or initiatives designed to tackle specific issues, achieve defined outcomes, or influence particular variables [22]. Considering the specific barriers that motherhood imposes on women's career advancement, gender-and motherhood-sensitive interventions may offer important opportunities for leveling the playing field if they aim to reduce gender inequality and transform social conditions by addressing structural issues such as biases and stereotypes [7].…”

“…The journal with the most publications (9.6%) was Gender, Work & Organization. Regarding the year of publication, 2021 was the year with the most papers (11), followed by 2022 (7). Finally, most of the studies, 55.8%, used a female-only sample, the research was conducted in organizations (51.9%), and it generally did not distinguish between the knowledge field of the participants (61.5%; see Table 1 for details).…”

“…Beyond the interventions identified in the reviewed articles, recommendations from Oliveira-Silva and Barbosa-Silva [7] emphasize that interventions for gender equality should be multilevel and target systemic sexist structures, such as the gender norms and stereotypes that contribute to perpetuating women's main and naturalized role in reproduction, nurturing, and child rearing. When transposing these recommendations to motherhood and career, they would include actions at the interpersonal level, such as discussing the desired number and spacing of children with a partner, how to share and balance family priorities, and the impacts of postponing pregnancies in favor of a career-a dilemma so familiar for women but so unknown to men.…”