Reasons and Realization of Exit Decisions of Women Bank Managers in Bangladesh: A Kaleidoscopic Career Model View

Abstract

The study aims to identify the reasons why women bank managers leave their jobs as well as their realization after the exit. Based on spillover theory while taking a Kaleido scopic view, the study tried to explore women bank managers’ exit career decisions through a gender lens. Utilizing a qualitative method, first purposive sampling and then snowballing technique were used to identify women bank managers who have quitted from their jobs. They were then interviewed using a semi-structured questionnaire. Findings show that the participants went through both work interference with family (WIF)and family interference with work(FIW) spillover resulting in work-family conflict (WFC)thus requiring more ‘balancing (B)’ instruments, as the majority of the participants were in their mid-career. However, ‘authenticity (A)’ and ‘challenges (C)’ still lied there with lessen force to impact. Accordingly, two major recommendations came out of the study to retain the talents of women in the workforce: availability of childcare centers and flexible work arrangements. Further study is suggested on both the areas to check the viability and probable execution.

Keywords: Exit decision, Women, Banking, Kaleidoscope Career Model (KCM)

Notes on Contributor
Associate Professor, Department of International Business, University of Dhaka. Email: mansura@du.ac.bd
Professor, Department of Banking and Insurance, University of Dhaka. Email: hasina.sheykh@du.ac.bd
An ILO survey (2013 cited in Sheykh 2016) reporting on women’s lower work-family balance (WFB) showed an average Bangladeshi woman’s contribution of 10.34 hours per day spent in household work in contrast to a man’s 2.26 hours..