Factors Affecting Career Aspirations among Married Women

The general goals which an individual sets for himself/herself in life are called aspirations. The present study is an effort to understand the carrier aspirations of married women along with highlighting the reasons of married women taking up or continuing higher education after marriage and probe the factors affecting and hindering their carrier aspirations. This exploratory study was conducted through qualitative approach which included open ended questions and in-depth interviews with women who were pursuing their carrier in academics after marriage. The sample size of the present study was 30 married women research scholars drawn from University of Allahabad having the age range of 25-35. Content analysis of the responses was done and the results revealed that the challenges posed by the married women are responsibility which includes childcare and house hold activity, cultural expectation within the family, lack of time for themselves due to maintaining balance between work-life and role demand. Results also indicate that most of the women do not change their career aspirations after marriage and one of the important reasons behind this was the support of their husband and family. Other factors that emerged for continuing higher education by the married women are self-dependence, extension of their knowledge and enhancing social prestige through an academic degree. Results also emphasize that married women with children are facing more challenges in comparison to those married women who had no children.