Female Afghan engineers’ perceptions of chokepoints along the career trajectory to entrepreneurship

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this study is to explore the perceptions of Afghan female engineers regarding opportunities and barriers to starting their own engineering/construction company in Kabul through three career trajectory chokepoints related to training through higher education, the engineering workplace and entrepreneurship, through the lens of feminist theory. Design/methodology/approach Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted. A Web-based survey was also conducted to collect data from participants who were not able to participate in the in-depth interviews. Thematic content analysis was used to analyze the collected data. Findings As a result of the analysis, three main themes were developed related to “chokepoints” that Afghan female engineers face along the path to starting their own construction companies: “entering and studying engineering,” “career development” and “starting her own engineering business”; the authors address the subthemes of barriers and opportunities confronted by Afghan women at each chokepoint. Research limitations/implications Due to civil unrest, the authors are only able to reach a sample of Afghan female engineers working in the capital city of Kabul. Practical implications Afghanistan shows, perhaps, the most severe underrepresentation of female engineers of all countries in the world, yet no research gives them a voice to explain the challenges their face to starting their own engineering/construction businesses. The authors are able to report their perceptions and articulate recommendations to encourage female entrepreneurship in the engineering/construction sector in Afghanistan. Social implications Afghan women face significant barriers to having meaningful careers in the science, technology, engineering and medicine professions. The findings provide information for regulators regarding why Afghan women do not start their own engineering firms. Originality/value As physical security and resource constraints generate difficulty in accessing Afghan women in general, this is the first paper to report the perceptions of Afghan female engineers regarding the barriers and opportunities they perceive on the path to engineering entrepreneurship.