Career barriers: Do we need more research?

Research on career barriers has stressed the commonalities among women, and the ways in which women can develop the personal and professional skills they need to demonstrate their commitment to the organization. However, this individualistic focus is not appropriate for dealing with the problem of combining career and family responsibilities. Our research focus must now turn to the commonalities among organizations, and the ways in which different organizational structures and cultures are more or less responsive to women. A study of Canadian National Sport Organizations illustrates some of the issues in this approach.Dr. Dallas Cullen is a member of the Department of Organizational Analysis in the Faculty of Business at the University of Alberta, with a teaching specialization in gender issues in organizations. Some of her previous research focussed on the impact of affirmative action on women's labour force participation in Canada and the U.S.