Title: Barriers to career advancement of women: role of mentoring and networks

Authors: Jyoti Chauhan; Geeta Mishra

Addresses: Amity College of Commerce and Finance, Amity University, Noida – 201303, India ' Amity College of Commerce and Finance, Amity University, Noida – 201303, India

Abstract: Lower female representation in executive positions has been a concern across the world. However, there have been many barriers faced by women in their career ladder. This study has majorly focused on a few barriers namely; lack of mentoring, exclusion from informal networks, and demographic profile of women, and how all these factors can influence the career advancement of women. This study has collected data using a questionnaire and a final sample of 195 women in the service sector was analysed. Inline to examine the impact, exploratory factor analysis (EFA), and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) have been applied to check for the reliability and validity of data and constructs. Further, multiple regression has been used to test the hypotheses of the study. Results revealed that total experience and managerial position significantly impacts the career advancement of women. Mentoring and exclusion from informal networks are also found partially impacting the career advancement of women.

Keywords: barriers; career advancement; mentoring; networks; service industry; Delhi NCR; glass ceiling; career development; leadership.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEBR.2021.118407

International Journal of Economics and Business Research, 2021 Vol.22 No.4, pp.369 - 393

Received: 17 Jun 2020
Accepted: 12 Aug 2020
Published online: 25 Oct 2021 *

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