Handbook of research on promoting women's careers / edited by Susan Vinnicombe [and others].

'Professors Vinnicombe, Burke, Blake-Beard, and Moore have assembled an internationally and intellectually diverse cast of contributors to chronicle and examine the implications of the seismic shift in women's roles in the global workforce. Collectively, they make a strong case for why advancing women's careers is a key business as well as societal issue that must be addressed if the full potential of all societal members is to be tapped. This book belongs on the bookshelf of all scholars of gender and career issues as an essential reference.' -- Gary N. Powell, University of Connecticut, US. 'This is an excellent book posing key questions about women and careers in leadership, such as why do women have less access to the top jobs. It presents research on women's experiences in leadership, discusses the barriers they face as well as initiatives to promote their career advancement. I can see this being a critical resource for those who research and teach women in management.' -- Fiona Wilson, University of Glasgow, UK. 'As more women take on highly visible leadership roles, such as CEO or C-suite executive, I am often asked whether there continues to be a need for research on women's career development. This book effectively answers the challenge behind that question by documenting the status of women in business and by marshaling empirical evidence of gender effects on careers. The chapters provide a rich, theoretically grounded overview of women's career development and action steps for accelerating the growth of women's representation in leadership.' -- Alison M. Konrad, Western University, Canada. Why is it that relatively few women achieve senior management positions despite their increasing levels of education and years of work experience? How can we change this? In a changing world where women have dominated as graduates from universities in the West, recent research has shown that the same trend is also strikingly evident in the newly emerging markets. Tapping into this female talent pool is extremely important and advancing women's careers has become a key business issue. This Handbook lays out a number of promising approaches. First the business case for doing so is presented. The challenges facing women are reviewed, followed by various programs that address particular needs such as mentoring, leadership development programs for women, work and family initiatives, and succession planning. Finally, case studies of award-winning organizational initiatives are described. The book identifies obstacles women face in career advancement and possible initiatives to address them. The work will be highly sought by scholars and doctoral students interested in women in organizations. Human resource managers and consultants will also find plenty of invaluable information in this resource.