Private patriarchy’s impact on women’s careers: through kaleidoscope career model lens

Women in patriarchal societies are often oppressed in a variety of ways both inside and outside the home. Although public patriarchy is known as a key impediment to women’s progression, how private patriarchy impacts women’s professional lives is yet to be understood. This study adopts the kaleidoscope career model (KCM) lens to investigate private patriarchy’s impact on women’s careers. Semi-structured interviews with 40 educated and professional Bangladeshi women reveal that these women experience private patriarchy directly and indirectly in the forms of discriminatory gender expectations, unequal marital power and society-imposed familial oppression. While pre-marital household restrictions and discrimination can impact the job performance of married women, the progress and continuity of their careers in patriarchal societies hinge upon obtaining consent to work from both their husbands and parents-in-law. Results from this first study combining KCM and patriarchy indicate that the interplay of career authenticity, balance and challenge may not necessarily correspond to distinct career stages. Rather, it is observed that professional women’s direct, indirect and no experiences of private patriarchy shape their career priorities in a patriarchal context.