Career Development Assumptions

According to Betz (2002), much of career theory is based on the following assumptions:

1. Work is the most important aspect of people’s lives

2. Career decisions can and should be based on a rational matching of the individual’s traits and attributes to the characteristics

3. Career development should progress along a rational path showing continued upward movement toward greater responsibility.

4. Talent and hard work will be rewarded (p. 335).

This model is based on the values of individualism and autonomy.

For women and particularly, women of color, this model simply does support their work lives and experiences.

1. Often work is not the most important aspect of our lives – family and community often take a front seat.  

2. Flowing from the first premise, that family, rather than work, is the most important aspect of people’s lives, career decisions are often and primarily made based on the family’s financial needs (how much do we need to pay the bills?) rather than on the luxury of matching our individual traits and attributes to the characteristics of the job. Secondarily, career decisions are then made based on the needs and demands of the family’s schedule (when do I need to be available to cook dinner, take the kids to practice, etc. and how far can I commute in order to accomplish this?) As a common result, women chose to take on positions that are not the best career fit.

3. With the glass ceiling as one major barrier preventing women from experiencing continued upward mobility (along with family constraints, one’s own psychological walls (e.g. fear of success) and societal expectations of women), career development rarely progresses as supposed above – a rational path showing continued upward movement toward greater responsibility.

4. Along with the above concerns of the glass ceiling, family, personal and societal constraints, talented, professional women often do not experience rewards (especially not compared to men) of their talent and hard work. Thereby, motivation and incentives for women become more personal and internal than organizational and external.

While the above issues might sound disheartening, they are not. The good news is there is an opportunity to create and develop a new model of career development for women – a model based on collectivism and support. One that assumes that work is not the center of one’s life; that understands that career decisions are made within the context of other life experiences and obligations; that the path of career development might be more jagged with interruptions; and that career goals are enveloped within the context of personal goals and internal motivators.

Reference:

Betz, N. E. (2002). Explicating an ecological approach to the career development of women. The Career Development Quarterly, 50, 335–338. Retrieved December 2, 2006, from http://0-web.ebscohost.com.library.alliant.edu/ehost/pdf?vid=99&hid=107&sid=e24542d0-5d2b-4ac4-99ab-771d665137bc%40sessionmgr102

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