Women's Perception of Barriers and Facilitators of Success: A Grounded Theory Study

Despite dramatic increases of women in higher education, a significant gap remains in women's socio-economic activities, a manifestation of success in life today. This study aims to investigate the barriers and facilitators of success for women. We used a grounded theory approach and semi-structured interviews to conduct a qualitative study with women between 30 and 40 years. Using theoretical and purposive sampling, we continued the interviews until achieving theoretical saturation, and finally, 25 people were interviewed. After transposing data into MAXQDA qualitative data analysis software, they were analyzed using constructivist grounded theory coding methods. The findings emerged in eight categories: (1) one-dimensional socialization and external limitations, (2) restrictions on career prospects, (3) lack of financial and family support, (4) lack of skill-based training, (5) role pressure of housekeeping (6) access to university education (7) focus on personal empowerment and (8) cyberspace opportunities. “Constraints and role duality” was considered the core category. The findings suggest that the intersectional socio-cultural systems that shape individuals' identities involve women in a cycle of learning about systemic influences so that participants develop the semantic structures needed to filter out discriminatory effects. It should be noted that the social system has been able to provide new opportunities for women; however, the weight of gender social components is still high, and these opportunities have not been realized