Women managers in Britain and Hong Kong : the importance of culture for career paths and the experience of work

This thesis examines the lives and careers of women managers in Britain and Hong Kong in order to establish the role that culture plays in shaping the particular configurations that emerge. Through both quantitative and qualitative research career path patterns are observed that reflect different orientations and experiences of the career between women in Britain and women in Hong Kong.;The particular organisation and perception of the family, and women's role within it, has fundamental implications for the manner in which women engage in the labour market. In addition the cultural organisation of relationships between men and women, and their perceived role in relation to each other, play a key role in explaining the different interpretations of experiences which at times are on the surface similar. As a result of the different careers, work orientations, perception of family and perception of gender relations it is argued that assertions about women's position, discrimination and gender (in)equality can make sense of the cultural setting from which they were generated but cannot necessarily be applied universally.