“It’s Alright to Want Something Different”: Exploring Women’s Narratives about Career Transitions and Sustainability
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Abstract
Objective: this study aims to analyze the motivations behind the exit of women without children from corporate careers and how these transitions impact career sustainability. We argue that career transitions involve dynamic processes of person–career fit shaped by gendered organizational contexts, through which structural gender inequalities influence women’s perceptions of career sustainability over time. Methods: the research is based on 20 narrative interviews with Brazilian women who underwent career transitions. Thematic analysis was conducted using the sustainable career framework, considering the dimensions of agency, meaning, time, and context. Results: based on the results, we propose a processual theoretical model that highlights how career sustainability is built through transitional processes over time. The findings indicate that gender plays a significant role in shaping transitions toward more sustainable trajectories and the mobilities required to maintain employability. Conclusions: even among women with resources and skills to navigate the labor market, we identify what we define as ‘gendered exhaustion’ — a condition marked by emotional fatigue resulting from the persistent confrontation with gendered barriers to accessing and remaining in prestigious organizational roles.
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