ABSTRACT
There is a need to consider the macrosystemic contexts within which women's careers develop. McMahon et al. (2010: 67) encourage career practitioners ‘to consider the sociopolitical factors that may have influenced the lives of older women and to listen carefully to their personal career stories'. Some of those stories can be heard later in this chapter, but it seems apposite to begin by considering the influence of the broader South African context, both positive and negative, in which Black South African women have constructed their career development.
