ABSTRACT

The women who have spoken here have given us insights into how women’s career trajectories and opportunities are shaped by the intersections of historically situated cultural values and structures, and place-specific sociopolitical and economic factors. This network of intersections is framed within colonial and postcolonial legacies that do not neatly fit into single-theory explanations or one-dimensional western conceptualizations of glass ceilings or a generalized patriarchy. Whatever the actual impediments described in the concept of glass ceiling may or may not be, one thing is certain: They can only be made intelligible by reference to local sites, sociopolitical and cultural contexts and histories. We need to look at the politics of place-that is, historically contingent and shifting cultural and political discourses, structures, and processes-to understand how women shape and are shaped by the social enactment of personal and professional relations, career aspirations and mobility, and concepts of career.