Analyzing the career development barriers faced by rural women in India

Abstract

In India, one of the most populous countries in the world, women make up approximately half of the country’s population. While most of Indian women hold the highest educational degrees and enter the workforce almost in every sector, rural women are lagging behind in their career development. The study was aimed at investigating the factors that inhibit and challenge rural women to progress in their career development. The study was conducted in two folds of data collection. The first fold is qualitative data using interviews with 10 rural women and their analysis using thematic analysis, and the second fold is quantitative research and data collection from 148 rural women using a semi-structured survey questionnaire based on the identified themes and analyzed using SPSS. The findings of the study illustrated various barriers related to personal, social, family, economic, and infrastructure issues. Respondents spoke about several challenges they face with not having support to continue their higher studies. Eighty-five percent of rural women demonstrated they are suppressed in society due to gender stereotypes and are predominantly overburdened with family responsibilities. Furthermore, the study recommends significant implications for Indian women and the government from a global perspective.