Career Development Issues Facing Women in Student Affairs Administration / Nancy J. Evans.

As more women pursue professional careers, studies that examine the role of work in the development of women's identity are needed. To explore the developmental issues of women administrators in higher education, selected data were examined from a comprehensive study of 270 women in educational administration. Interviews related to career development issues were conducted with 25 women administrators in higher education in Indiana. Results from the 24 interviews which had been transcribed and rated revealed that, although no one career pattern could be identified among the women, careers played a very important role in their lives. The establishment and maintenance of careers were influenced by both internal and external factors. One striking characteristic of the women interviewed was their lack of clear career goals. An examination of differences related to age and to family status revealed that younger women and women who had never married were more likely to exhibit continuous work patterns and to have worked totally in higher education settings while married women, especially those with children, were more likely to have had discontinuous work patterns, greater role strain, careers influenced by their husbands' career decisions, and more varied work histories than did single women. The findings suggest that life stages can be identified within the careers of professional women and that these stages seem to be related more to internal processes than to external roles. (NRB)

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