When I grow up I want to be ...

Young women's rights to work and pursue a career has become an integral component in women's demands for self-expression, autonomy and equity. However, for many young women the process of choosing a career is rarely straight-forward. Within the western context decisions about higher education and career are shaped by the neo-classical theory of human capital and competing narratives of gender, work and family. While important these broad discourses ignore the local and personal; the subjective meanings made by young women as they engage in choosing a career and imagining a career-life future. This book presents unique insights in this process, following the career decision making journeys of twenty-seven young women in their final year of school (TEE / Year 12). The book explores the young women's understandings of career and the many people, spaces and places which they identified as significant in their decision making journeys. The exposition presented in this book make it an important resource in the broad field of gender studies, career choice, vocational development, human resources and labour market studies.

Autorentext

Angela Barns has a PhD from the Graduate School of Business at Curtin University of Technology in Western Australia. Currently she is a senior lecturer with the School of Occupational Therapy and Social Work.