Between the traditional and the contemporary: careers of women managers from a developing Middle Eastern country perspective

Informed by Institutional Theory, this study adopts an exploratory, qualitative, in-depth interviews-based approach as it explores the self-reported career paths of 32 women managers in Lebanon. The results indicate that in contrast with the majority of Western-based literature, the traditional-organizational career path in comparison to contemporary career patterns is still relevant, and continues to exist for Lebanese women managers as they progress in their managerial careers. At the same time, the findings suggest that women selectively adopt some aspects of contemporary, flexible careers to navigate their career paths amidst the macro-national economic and sociocultural factors and institutional challenges. The overall results and the implications for various stakeholders are further discussed in light of the related literature. This study suggests that scholars interested in women's careers in under-researched developing nations need to further integrate the agentic process – and the role played by women's individual agency in constructing their careers as they respond to institutional mandates – into their career models in more details. Similarly, multinational companies currently operating or interested in expanding their operations to the developing Arab Middle East region should incorporate these factors into their management and human resource practices.