A study of barriers to career advancement for professional women in investment banking.

A qualitative study was conducted to explore the barriers to career advancement for professional women in the investment banking industry. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with male and female participants to explore their beliefs and perceptions of these barriers. The story of Cinderella is used as an interpretative framework in which the findings are discussed. The key themes that emerged were structure of society, embodiment, male domination, support structures and networking. An additional theme, entitled ‘If the shoe fits’ is the underlying thread that links the other key themes together and forms the conclusion of the study