Successful Career Women

The dramatic increase in women's participation in the labor force has prompted considerable interest among researchers, particularly those who are interested in women, careers, and career development. However, when considering career success for women, the majority of past comparison research has used a male model for characteristics of success. Cecilia Northcutt's study attempts to identify the personal characteristics that successful career women have in common across career fields and to formulate a more appropriate female model.

To identify general and specific characteristics of successful career women, the author considers the following: What characteristics do successful career women have in common, regardless of their career field? What factors might affect women's achievement motivation and self-esteem? What other factors might affect the self-esteem and achievement motivation of successful career women and what factors do they share? Do successful career women see themselves as successful and how do they define success? Using data based on a questionnaire that gathered information on self-esteem, achievement motivation, self-descriptive words, ethnicity, age, income level, and occupation, Northcutt offers some provocative suggestions about the personal and professional characteristics of successful career women. Her work will interest sociologists and psychologists and will offer guidance to women who are entering the workforce, as well as to women who are already there.

CECILIA ANN NORTHCUTT is a psychologist in private practice. She has authored curriculum and instructional materials for the Arizona Department of Education and the Arizona Department of Corrections, as well as articles published in Career Education Quarterly and Arizona Personnel and Guidance Journal.