WOMEN MID-LEVEL CAREER PROFESSIONALS: NAVIGATING THEIR CAREER TRAJECTORY TO HIGHER EDUCATION LEADERSHIP

Abstract

Women mid-level career professionals continue to face obstacles as they move forward in their careers. Opportunities for advancement and balancing personal and professional commitment remained challenging. Supportive relationships were integral in career guidance, navigating decision-making and office politics, and networking. This qualitative study explored the shared lived experiences of women mid-level career professionals in higher education. The focus was to examine their professional experiences, focusing on the challenges faced, perception of leadership, supportive relationships in the workplace, and institutional support via professional development. In addition, leadership self-efficacy, social capital, and intersectionality between race and gender were highlighted to understand further the experiences of mid-level career professionals in higher education. The research questions were: (1) What are the shared experiences of mid-level women professionals in higher education? And (2) How do work relationships influence the experiences of mid-level women professionals in higher education? There were fifteen participants in this study who were recruited via email and self-identified as mid-level career professionals. They were required to complete an interest form, demographic survey, and two 60- 90-minute interviews. Seven themes emerged and were organized into three categories: (a) perceptions of leadership styles & professional identity, (b) challenges, support, & morale in the workplace, and (c) work relationships influence on career growth. There were several findings in this study. There was ambiguity around the definition of mid-level career professionals. Perceptions of effective leadership styles were contradictory. Advancement opportunities continued to be challenging, and often, women hit a wall. There was invisibility due to lack of support from supervisors, and title- consciousness played a factor in seeking guidance and learning opportunities. The balance of personal and professional lives was difficult and influenced decision-making in terms of career trajectory. An increase in women supporting women was imperative to creating connections between mid-level and senior-level. Lastly, the experiences of Black women mid-level professionals did not differ much from the experiences of participants who identified as white. However, all the women of color in this study spoke to sponsorship for validation. Overall, this research contributed to a deeper understanding of women mid-level career professionals’ experiences in higher education.