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Collins, Samantha Lillian (2008) What future worlds of work do women executives aspire to and how might they be accomplished?: an exploratory study within banking and professional service companies in London and New York. Doctoral thesis, London Metropolitan University.
This research approaches the questions "to what future worlds of work do women executives aspire, and how might these aspirations be accomplished?" This is undertaken through a futures study within the banking and professional services industries, in which, despite over 30 years of organisational initiatives, legislation, research and social change, there are few women in executive positions.
During the course of the study fifty women working mainly in London and New York as executives in banking and professional service firms were asked to visualise the nature and character of their preferred future world of work, and how this might be achieved.
A qualitative research methodology, within a pragmatist/academic orientation and a social constructionist research epistemology provided a means by which to consider how women executives make meanings and construct personal narratives of their future world of work. Discourse analysis, abductive reasoning and concepts of interpretation and sense-making provided a robust analytical approach. Research methods included in-depth interviews, a Delphi study, focus groups, scenario building, incasting, factional story writing, backcasting and route-mapping.
Three evocative, authentic, credible and impactful scenarios were constructed for the future world of work for women executives, entitled "The Business Case World," "The Change Agents World" and "The Entrepreneurial World". They originated from an analysis of the data emerging from a Delphi study and subsequent focus group, were then developed through telephone interviews and in their final version took the form of three interlinking stories of "a day in the life of' three women executives in the future. Practical route maps to support the achievement of each of these scenarios are then presented, following a series of focus groups.
Through the creation of these scenarios and route maps to their achievement, this study provides a career-planning tool for women executives, a development and retention tool of women for organisations and a process through which researchers can conduct a future study for women executives.
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