Career psychology factors as antecedents of career success of women academics in South Africa

Word processed copy.Includes bibliographical references (p. 168-180).The difference in career success among male and female academics is welldocumented and a number of qualitative studies have offered explanations about the challenges faced by women academics. This study provided an empirical investigation into the relationship between selected career psychology variables and the career success of women academics in South Africa. This research employed organisational theory to explain career success. The impact of work centrality, motivation, career anchors and self-efficacy on career success was examined. Care-giving responsibility was included as a moderating variable on work centrality. The examination of career theory and the testing of these particular career variables in relation to the career success of academic women have not been conducted before in South Africa. Other studies in the field have typically been qualitative in nature or have focused on explanations why women are often unsuccessful in academia. Those few studies that address success amongst academic women have been conducted outside of South Africa and thus offer findings from a different context. This study builds on this previous body of knowledge by examining the constructs empirically